Beginners's problem with new C8 ASGT

I'm calling myself stupid first so I don't need that.

I bought a new C8 Advanced SGT with CG5 EQ mount in Sep 2003. I assembled it and pointed it at Polaris and started the 2 star alignment. It pointed to the ground on the first star (towards the west). I tried a couple of more times and the same thing happened. It has been stored for almost a year. I thought I would figure it out later.

Recently I bought a polar alignment scope for the mount ( it was cheap ). When installing it I saw the mount appeared to be 90 degrees out of alignment based on the positioning of the RA alignment arrows pasted on the mount. Looking through the polar alignment hole (pointing toward Polaris) I have to move the RA position 90 degrees to the east (or west) to get a clear view through the mount hole.

Besides not dealing with this when I bought the scope, am I just an idiot and cannot align my scope or is there something I'm doing wrong. Right now I'm not worried about the polar scope but I want to start using my C8 for observation an I can't get it aligned to start with.

Mike,

I would go over to the Yahoo Celestron AS-GT user's group to get the answers to your questions. There have been many discussions on alignment issues with these mounts. I have one and it works very well. You should be able to solve your problem.

John

You know the old saying--"The only dumb question is the one that isn't asked." Well, maybe the second dumbest is "The one that takes a year to ask."

Smile, though, if you go to the Equipment Forum (where there is lots more traffic) and say "Where can I find an astronomy club near ________?" and fill in the blank with where you live, you will undoubtedly quickly find a club with somebody who will sit with you for an evening or two and show you how to make your scope dance.

You can also go to Sky and Tels website, particularly

http://skyandtelescope.com/resources/organizations/default.asp

to find a club near you.

Alex