magore Wow. You are so much more careful than me! I use a handheld compass with the appropriate magnetic correction applied to point the mount North since my house blocks North completely. We only have six degrees of adjustment on these mounts so I want to get it at least somewhat North pointing. I have a digital level that I use to level my tripod, then I point the telescope randomly and begin the PA. Obviously, I point the telescope in a direction that will allow it to move as it needs to for the alignment. This is just a simplified description. The whole alignment usually takes me about 5 minutes and it works great!
I'm using an all aluminum LW tripod from Losmandy from a GM8, so I can put the compass right on it, which makes things a lot easier to point N.
But I digress from the problem and discussion of this thread, which is bugs!
