p099gll not to M42 but to a position exactly 180 degrees off in declination
If it is a 180 degree difference, my guess is that the OTA side of the pier is wrong.
I am not familiar with the HEQ5 to know what side of the pier the mount expects the OTA to be initially positioned. My mount's home position assumes the OTA to be on the East of the pier, pointed at the West horizon, for example. But every mount is different, and you need to check your mount's documentation re which side of the pier the OTA should initially be located at.
When the pier side is wrong, a declination movement towards the pole will move the mount away from the pole, much like what you have described. Also like what happens after the mount executes a Meridian flip.
You could also try to reset the mount after the Polar Alignment -- if you are careful, you will not need to redo the Polar Alignment, since that only has to do with the altitude and azimuth corrections. Just remove the mount from ASIAIR, move the mount to the starting position that the manufacturer recommends, reset power to the mount, and reconnect to ASIAIR. It is possible that ASIAIR did not send the correct pier side to the mount after the 60º polar alignment slew -- a novice bug, if that is so -- and resetting the mounts location after polar alignment may correct it. Then slew the mount so that it points away from the pole, and do a plate solve.
Chen
