INSTRUCTIONS

[seer]

I obviously haven't seen the instructions for everything. In fact probably compared to a lot of you I have seen very little instructions for astronomy stuff never the less, a lot of what I see I think is terrible like for setting up and polar alinement. Things are not broken down and organized right and the flow is way off. I know that there are reasons why roadblocks are put into instructions. Could that possibly be what is happening here? Some people should try to correct this by presenting it correctly. Last night I was even thinking about taking a shot at it.

[Shabadoo]

:thumb:
I too struggled with polar alignment. My confusion was based on different wording in the telescope instruction manual vs the Synscan instruction manual.
I got help from fellow astronomers on another forum that I shall not be name.

[Shabadoo]

Have you overcome difficulties with polar alignment?
Do you need advice?

[bobharmony]

Instruction/product documentation is a weakness in a bunch of the astro gear I have purchased. From the GSO coma corrector that came with no documentation at all, to the Celestron polar scope that had very little useful information, it seems to be the norm.

Luckily we have this community of supportive individuals to help us over the rough parts, and it seems there is always someone who has already walked down the road you are trying to navigate.

Bob

[KathyNS]

Yes, documentation is a pet peeve of mine. Most product documentation is either written by the techie who designed the product and who has no concept of the mental process of the poor customer trying to use it, or else it is written by someone whose first language isn't English, and who has never actually seen the product but rather just relies on notes from the aforementioned techie.

The Skywatcher description of how to polar align an HEQ5 mount was literally impossible to follow. I had to study AstroBaby's and other polar alignment guides for a couple of days before I figured out how it was really done. I ended up writing my own documentation for the process. (Here, if you are interested)

There is a huge career opportunity for good technical writers. Convincing the manufacturers to hire them would be a problem, however. I learned technical documentation writing in the IT biz, and I offered my services to several manufacturers with atrocious manuals, but none were interested.

[Don Quixote]

Yes, documentation is a pet peeve of mine. Most product documentation is either written by the techie who designed the product and who has no concept of the mental process of the poor customer trying to use it, or else it is written by someone whose first language isn't English, and who has never actually seen the product but rather just relies on notes from the aforementioned techie.

The Skywatcher description of how to polar align an HEQ5 mount was literally impossible to follow. I had to study AstroBaby's and other polar alignment guides for a couple of days before I figured out how it was really done. I ended up writing my own documentation for the process. (Here, if you are interested)

There is a huge career opportunity for good technical writers. Convincing the manufacturers to hire them would be a problem, however. I learned technical documentation writing in the IT biz, and I offered my services to several manufacturers with atrocious manuals, but none were interested.

:thumb:
Thank you Kathy for this INSTRUCTION set.
I have added your link to my homepage. :-)
This is wonderful !