Why does this have to be so complicated and confusing?
What is complicated and confusing?
When you use the 'traditional' setup angles, you'll need time-consuming finetuning afterwards, and hopefully you'll end near perfect. So the first setup is just "quick and dirty". That is because the used rotation axis of that setup is not matched to following the 'ellips' of the clarke belt.
Use the 'modified' setup angles, and you'll end near perfect immediately, because with that angles you do in fact follow the clarke belt 'ellips'. The theory behind it is sound.
(The clarke belt, of course, is a circle. But seen from
any location on earth, not coinciding with the polar axis, it forms an ellips.)
What is in fact confusing, is that not many people understand this method, or believe it can be calculated, as they are used to the finetuning afterwards.
I myself would invest in the setting up along the modified angles. The exact measuring costs a little time, but saves a lot of time afterwards.
If you like reading, see e.g.:
Traditional vs Modified Elevation/Declination Angles
and the link to this forum
USALS Notebook is also very informative.
greetz,
A33