HEQ5 or alternative

[MarkH]

This business really is the limit, total info overload. Right, now I have investigated I find that I mistook pec for drift   (shows how green I am  ) so I think that investing in your suggestion Duncan is the way forward. I know £122 but money well spent. I bet you lot all read this and think..."yeah I've been there" 

[MarkS]

I thought it had to be within a few arc minutes to get half decent results. 

In most cases, if you are aligned to within a degree of the celestial pole then that will be fine for a 5 minute exposure, as long as the guide star is within the Field Of View that you are imaging.  If you are doing longer exposures or your guide star is outside the FOV then greater accuracy is required.

I once did some maths to prove it - I must dig it out.