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docs: fold field feedback into the Polar Alignment guide#518

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docs: fold field feedback into the Polar Alignment guide#518
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docs/polar-align-field-feedback

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Summary

Early users of the Polar Alignment tool reported back with the technique that actually works in the field, plus the failure mode that most often ruins a session. This PR folds that feedback into the user guide's Polar Alignment section.

  • New "Getting a good measurement" sub-section with per-mount advice:
    • EQ mount: point the Dec axis ~7–10° off the mount's polar axis (wherever it points now), sweep 30–45° in RA with the middle capture screen-vertical and the ends 15–22° either side, and use Roll Off.
    • Platform: aim within ~5° of Polaris, keep Roll On, and set the screen vertical at mid-travel so the alt/az arrows match real directions.
    • Realistic accuracy expectations: 20–30 arcmin typical, down to ~10 with a very rigid PiFinder-to-scope connection — not a polar-scope replacement, but plenty when the pole is hidden or to get Polaris into a polar scope's reticle.
  • New note at the adjustment stage: lock both mount axes before touching the adjusters — a slipping RA clutch (unlocked moments earlier to rotate between captures) was the most common field failure — and on a platform, adjust only the platform, never the scope.
  • Prerequisites: turn off sidereal tracking before starting.
  • Reversed one piece of existing advice: step 1 used to say to aim well away from the pole. Field experience contradicts this — flexure (felt mostly in roll) grows with how much the PiFinder's attitude changes between captures, so moderate near-pole sweeps beat wide ones. Step 1 now points at the new tips sub-section.

Not included (possible follow-up)

The same discussion suggested putting a short version of the lock-your-clutches / tracking-off reminder on the ADJUST screen itself, varying by EQ/Alt-Az mode. That's a code change to ui/polar_align.py, left out of this docs-only PR.

Testing

  • sphinx-build -b html -n (nitpicky mode) runs clean — no warnings, both new :ref: targets resolve.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Users testing the Polar Alignment tool reported the technique that
actually works in the field, and the failure mode that most often
ruins a session. Fold both into the user guide:

- New 'Getting a good measurement' sub-section: per-mount aim/sweep/
  roll-fit advice (EQ mount: 7-10 deg off the polar axis, 30-45 deg
  sweep, Roll Off; platform: within 5 deg of Polaris, Roll On) and
  realistic accuracy expectations (20-30 arcmin, ~10 with a rigid
  connection).
- Warn at the adjustment stage to lock both mount axes first - a
  slipping RA clutch was the most common field failure - and on a
  platform to adjust only the platform.
- Add 'turn off sidereal tracking' to the prerequisites.
- Replace the 'aim well away from the pole' advice, which field
  experience contradicted: flexure (mostly in roll) grows with
  attitude change, so near-pole moderate sweeps beat wide ones.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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