GIVE THIS A TRY!!!

 

Place the mirror on a sturdy table then place the scope on top of the mirror with the eyepiece up.  Then look through the eyepiece and observe the image.

You will see the crosshairs and you should also see a reflection of the crosshairs as well.  All you have to do is to turn each of the knobs until they match up perfectly!  It is that simple!  Very effective, fast and easy to explain and to setup etc.

A similar mirror technique is used to align telescopes.

Give it a try!  You can also place 3 washers on the glass to raise the scope up a bit to increase the amplification of the alignment difference.  Just place them so that the end of the scope is firmly on them and is stable.  It won't matter if they protrude into the image.

 

Below are some questions and answers to help you out.

 

Q. Does the power or AO setting matter? 

A.  It  shouldn't really matter what the power setting is, but you do get a better view at the highest setting because then the whole image is a white background instead of just a portion in the center (which works well enough).

 

Q. Why not turn to max both ways, count clicks and turn back half way?

A. The reason you would NOT want to turn each knob to the max each way and then count the clicks and turn back half way is that you may run past the last click point on some scopes and not be able to turn it back!  Probably only on a cheap scope, but why take the chance!  Also, that is a lot of clicks and it takes more time and is not as accurate either. And on some scopes, they will stop moving, but will continue to click, click etc.

 

Q.  What exactly does this accomplish once it has been done?

A1.  This puts the crosshairs back to the center of  the scope.

A2  Provides a starting point for getting a rough zero with an adjustable mount, or for taking the measurements needed for ordering a "drooper" mount with a preset angular correction machined in.