Polar Alignment

While trying this method, and variations on it, I (and many others) discovered a simple and intuitive method for getting the scope very accurately set to 90° dec (relative to the mount, ie, parallel to the polar axis of the mount).  That quickly suggested a variation on the "polar alignment scope" method.  A standard polar alignment scope is a small finderscope-size scope attached to the mount and parallel to the mount's polar axis.  It generally has a glass reticle with the star pattern of the polar area etched into it. Then all you have to do is adjust the wedge so that the star pattern on the reticle matches the stars seen in the alignment scope.  My idea was to just use the finderscope as a substitute (since this method puts the finderscope parallel to the polar axis), with a small star-chart (or just your memory) substituting for the reticle.

Step 1:  Collimation will affect the accuracy, so you may want to collimate first (this is covered in the owner's manual).  Make sure the finderscope is properly aligned with the main scope (also covered in the manual).  It is useful for this alignment method (and many other purposes) to rotate the finderscope tube so that the crosshairs correspond to the RA and dec directions.  .

Before going to step two, you'll want to check that the dec setting circle is at least approximately calibrated.  Meade's instructions for this are also horrible, so here's a quick way to check and calibrate if you're not sure:  aim the scope at any convenient object and note the reading on one of the dec setting circles.  Now rotate the scope 180° (12 hours) in RA, and then flip the OTA back to the original direction by moving in dec, so that the scope is now pointed in the same direction (the scope will be upside down now!).  Find the same object again, and note the reading on the dec setting circle again.  (Make sure that you read the same circle as before!  It will be on the other side now!)  Ideally, it should read the same (but in a different quadrant of the circle).  If not, adjust the circle (loosen the center knob with the Meade emblem on it, then rotate the circle to adjust, then retighten) so that it reads halfway between the first and second reading.
It is also convenient (but not absolutely necessary) at this point to roughly calibrate the RA circle.  Roughly polar align the scope (adjust the wedge so that the azimuth is approximately north, with the wedge altitude approximately equal to your latitude, or just set the dec to 90° and adjust the wedge so that polaris is near the center of the finderscope), then pick your favorite bright star and calibrate the RA circle according to it.

Step 2:  In this step we use a simple method to get the scope very accurately parallel to the polar axis of the mount (as a side benefit, we can then also accurately calibrate the dec circle).  Also this method  provides a chance to check the fork arm/tube alignment.
Aim the scope at 90° dec (according to your dec setting circle).  Now loosen the RA clamp and look in the finderscope.  Rotate the scope in RA (ie, around the polar axis).  Ideally, you should see the stars in the field of view rotating around the center. If it is, re-check at higher accuracy by repeating this proceedure while looking through the eyepiece of the main scope rather than the finderscope.  In practice, you will probably see the stars moving around a fixed point that is not centered in the field of view. (The fixed point may not even be in the field of view!)  That fixed point is where the polar axis of your mount is actually pointed, and represents the true 90° dec direction for your mount (but not true 90° dec in the sky, because the wedge hasn't been fine tuned yet).  Using the dec fine control knob, adjust the scope in declination until the "fixed center of rotation" point appears as close as possible to the center of the field of view.  If you can't get the "center of rotation" to coincide with the center of the field of view, and the scope is collimated, the problem is that your fork arms and/or optical tube are not properly aligned and so the polar and dec axes are not perpendicular.  This is a common and badly overlooked problem. Click here for my page on correcting this problem. Even if you can get the center of rotation centered in the field of view, it's posible for both the fork arms and the tube to be out of whack in ways that cancel each other at 90° degrees dec, so it's best to check anyway.  Meade doesn't seem to check this very accurately at the factory, and errors of 1/4 to 1/2 degree are common, which translates immediately into similar sized pointing errors when using the setting circles.  Note that this is true even when using digital setting circles.

Once you're done, do not move the scope in dec- you'll need it set at its current position for step 3.

Now the scope is accurately parallel to the polar axis of the mount, so this is a good time to check the reading on your dec setting circle and recalibrate to 90° if necessary.  If you adjust the circle retighten the center knob very tight as the circle is prone to slipping.

Step 3:  All that is left is to fine-tune the wedge.  Rather than adjusting the scope for the "Polaris offset" as above, we'll do it the other way- leave the scope at 90° and find the true pole using the finderscope as a polar alignment scope.  The image below will be our "reticle" and shows the brightest stars near the pole.

This is approximately what you'll see through an 8X50 finder with the wedge properly adjusted and with the RA set at some multiple of 6h.(the 6X30 finder will show a somewhat wider field at lower magnification- the circle here has a diameter of 4 degrees).  The numbers around the edge are the RA, so this is where setting the finder crosshairs parallel to the RA and dec directions helps.  Setting the RA to a multiple of 6h will make the crosshairs correspond to the RA lines shown here, which aids in the alignment, since we're not using a real reticle here.  It's important to note that your view will be rotated by some angle, depending on the current time, but if your crosshairs are set to the RA and dec directions, they will match the 0, 6, 12, 18 hour RA lines shown.
 

The crosshairs in this picture are centered on the true pole (as of the year 2000- due to precession of the equinoxes, the position of the pole shifts very slightly over time, but this map will be reasonably accurate for at least a decade or so).  Polaris and the two other stars shown may be the only ones you'll see under moderately light polluted skies- at any rate, the two dimmer ones are the brightest other than Polaris in this field (ie, within 2 degrees of the pole).  The 6X30 finder may show a few other stars about as bright as the two dimmer stars shown here, but they'll be further from the pole.

Now that you've got an accurately aligned scope and calibrated dec circles, the only thing needed to find objects with the setting circles is to fine tune the calibration of the RA circle (using the same method mentioned before- it will be accurate now that the scope is accurately polar aligned- just aim the scope at your favorite bright star and adjust your RA circle to match the star's RA).

This method of polar alignment will give an accuracy of a small fraction of a degree, easily enough to find objects using the setting circles.  You can refine this method by using a significantly "deeper" star chart and looking directly through the main scope, however that's rarely necessary, and maneuvering the scope near the pole can be frustrating (analogous to using an alt-az mount near the zenith).  Even without this refinement, this method is more than sufficient for astrophotography (see my astrophotography samples), and far faster and less tedious than the "drift" method.  The only times I've used the advanced version is 1) mounting a 12" LX200 on a permanent mount at a new local public observatory, and 2) correcting the fork arm/optical tube alignment.