Thanks to Alan Galitz for submitting this detailed HOWTO.
Source: Cloudy Nights Forum Discussion
For mounts to report their coordinates correctly and in sky with where they are really pointing the sky requires the following conditions to be met:
Depending on whethet the mount is Alt-Az or Equatorial, the starting home position can be different, but in general:
Some mounts require preliminary alignment and settings via the hand-controller first before they can report any valid positions back to StellarMate. Refer to your mount manual for more details.
After initial connection, slew to mount to a nearby star at least 20-30 degrees away from the celestial pole then plate-solve with StellarMate to synchronize the moutn.
Never Synchronize the mount manually near the celestial poles as this would invalidate the mount's internal pointing.
While many telescope mounts have a default home position, some, like iOptron models, allow users to set a custom home position. It's important to remember that home and parking positions are distinct concepts, even though they might seem similar. They serve different purposes in mount operation.
Home Position:
Parking Position:
From StellarMate App, use the Mount Quick Controls (1) to see if you mount support Homing functions (2). If it is supported, slew your mount using the directional control to your intended target and then tap the Home icon and tap Set. This should save the current position as the Home position for your mount.