EQ6-R Pro polar scope question

[Razz]

Last weekend I spent some time setting up software for this mount. I did it inside so I could work out connection issues that I knew I would have. I set up Stellarium, GSS and NINA. NINA just for possible future use. Anyway, tonight was a clear night so I set up outside for a test run. The first thing I noticed was when I tried to polar align. I moved the Dec axis 90 degrees so I could use the polar scope. When I looked thru the polar scope, the reticule was 90 degrees off to the right. 3 o'clock was the 6 o'clock position and so on. Why is that? Is that normal? Did I do something wrong? It's not a big deal, I can do clock positions, like most people can, without the numbers but will it matter? Do I set Polaris by just the circle or do the 3, 6, 9 really matter. In other words, for example Polaris is at the 5 o'clock position, do I put it at that position where it should go or should I put it where the numbers tell me, in this example the 8 o'clock position? On a side note, Stellarium is messed up on my laptop as well. I'm looking at Jupiter and Stellarium says I'm close to looking at the moon. The moon was nowhere to be seen. I look at Stellarium on my PC and it's accurate. For some reason the laptop is not giving live views. And yes, my settings are correct. I'll just reinstall it to see if that helps.

[KathyNS]

The position of the reticle is totally arbitrary. They don't align it with anything at the factory. It is up to you to rotate the RA axis to put 12 o'clock at the top.

If you want to set the position accurately (for example, if you want to do astrophotography), follow these steps:
1. Adust the elevation and azimuth to place Polaris at the dead-centre.
2. Adjust the elevation only to move Polaris from dead centre to the top of the ring.
3. Rotate the mount in RA until the 12 o'clock mark aligns with Polaris.
The reticle is now aligned. Adjust the elevation and azimuth to place Polaris at the correct clock position. You will need an app that tells you the desired clock position of Polaris for any given date and time. Note that this is not the same as hour angle; don't get them confused.

[Razz]

The position of the reticle is totally arbitrary. They don't align it with anything at the factory. It is up to you to rotate the RA axis to put 12 o'clock at the top.

If you want to set the position accurately (for example, if you want to do astrophotography), follow these steps:
1. Adust the elevation and azimuth to place Polaris at the dead-centre.
2. Adjust the elevation only to move Polaris from dead centre to the top of the ring.
3. Rotate the mount in RA until the 12 o'clock mark aligns with Polaris.
The reticle is now aligned. Adjust the elevation and azimuth to place Polaris at the correct clock position. You will need an app that tells you the desired clock position of Polaris for any given date and time. Note that this is not the same as hour angle; don't get them confused.

Thank you very much for that explanation.