progress

I received the AutoCAL cable in the mail today and was able, after a couple of tries, to successfully do the program.  I failed the azimuth but after straightening the encoder arm with some washers it passed.  There has been some very bad wildfires so I haven't used the scope for a number of days.  Tonight I could just barely make our Daneb and Fomalhaut for a 2-star alignment.  It was good enough as I could go-to Mars pretty well.  I then slewed over to the moon; seeing was pretty good and I spent most time at 333x.  Plato revealed four craters, and the craters seemed more detailed than I recall.  The 20-inch really resolves well.

I plan to redo my wheelbarrow handles tomorrow and may have to move the scope back inside as there is some rain coming.  I think I need a fine-focus knob--I can snap to focus but with seeing I feel I could use some critical focus.  It started to dew up pretty good which is a good sign -- the wind is more on shore, and the air wetter, which means the smoke should start to be pushing to the east.  Hope there is another night or two for me to confirm the tracking is as improved as I think it is.