"Les Blalock" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 20:16:49 GMT, "MrB"
wrote:

I have Covington's book "How to use a Computerized Telescope. In it, he
refers to leveling the tripod. Celestron says level the tube. Are the two
synonomous or is there some point on the tripod that needs to be leveled
as
well as the tube? Conceivably, the tripod mount could be way off level,
while the tube could be level. I'm a beginner, so be kind.

They are 2 different things.

Getting the tripod level is not very critical -- an accuracy of about 5
degrees is good enough.

(More critical if you expect the telescope to find stars before you have
shown it where any of them are.)

Getting the tube level -- i.e., parallel to the base -- for the starting
position is more critical. I made some marks on my NexStar (with the aid of
tape, to be non-destructive) so I could do this more easily.


--
Clear skies,

Michael Covington -- www.covingtoninnovations.com
Author, Astrophotography for the Amateur
and (new) How to Use a Computerized Telescope