Celestron R/A Single Axis Motor Drive for the AstroMaster Telescope

I have purchased two of these, one for use on a Tasco 60mm telescope that I bought three decades ago, and one for use on a much sturdier Celestron - PowerSeeker 80EQ that I bought from Amazon about a year ago. Both of these scopes have equatorial mounts, which are necessary for a motor drive like this. This motor drive fits very well on both of them, since they are very similar. The motor drive comes with two brackets, to fit two different spacings of equatorial mount, and one might be able to make a special bracket if their equatorial mount is a little different. This motor drive takes away the very tedious need to hand turn the adjustment for the right ascension (“time”) axis in order to keep a celestial object in the center of the view as the earth rotates. The drive uses a clock motor, adjustable in its turning speed and strong in its torque, to subtly synchronize the movement of the scope to the movement of the earth. This enables a person to put a camera on a telescope and follow an object smoothly, without the jerking and center fixing that is inevitable when one follows an object using hand adjustments. While I do have a small computerized telescope, adding this motor drive to a manual telescope is simpler, lighter, more compact, and quite similarly satisfying. It isn't that difficult to find an object and focus in on it, if one uses a star chart or program as a guide, but with this drive it is also not difficult to keep the object centered in the scope as the earth continuously turns. What a relief.

Works very well on my 70mm Orion refractor EQ mount. Fits perfectly. I set the RA against a wall clock for 20 minutes and adjusted the drive for fast or slow.

Product works well and is inexpensive. Simple to mount. At lower speeds you can barely hear it. The only problem is that adjusting the speed perfectly is almost impossible with the tiny knob it comes with because it’s so small and sensitive. Since I bought this for recording time lapse videos I’ll have to modify it to be able to accurately set it for longer periods of time. I plan to attach a larger diameter knob/wheel to it so I can set the speed much more precisely. Overall definitely recommend!

Bought for son. He used it immediately. Took really nice pic with the little thing.

I recently bought a Celestron 127eq. So I purchased this with the hope that it would assist me in tracking objects through the night sky as I venture into the realm of astronomy/astrophotography. Here's what I found out.The Good:Cheap - It's definitely cheap compared to your $500-$1000+ motorized equitorial mounts.Lightweight - As far as extra equipment goes, this is a small add-on to improve your telescope without adding a lot of weight.Battery operated - 9 volt batteries are easy and small to carry.Tracking - Well... it tracks. Point your scope at Saturn, or Jupiter, adjust the speed and you're good to go. It will keep your scope pointed at them.The Bad:Construction - It's made from plastic so you get what you pay for. It's going off of a 9 volt battery so you really can't expect too much.Tracking - Yes... I said it tracks but if you're under the impression that this will accurately track for you to be able to take long exposure shots with a dslr attached, it won't. Trying to fine tune the speed to exactly match the rotation of the earth is next to impossible.Strength - Adding the weight of any camera equipment slows the motor down and makes it struggle throwing off your previously set speed. The battery draining also has an effect on it.Conclusion:This is great if you're just wanting to observe things. It does excellent for that. But if you plan on any kind of photography, you would be better off saving up and getting a better tripod and mount. If it seems like everyone says that, it's because they are right. I didn't listen to them and opted for cheaper with this. Well, I came back to say that they were right and I was wrong(I can't believe I just publicly admitted that). You don't wanna be stuck with this. Just get the better mount unless accurate tracking isn't too important for you.

I used this on a very old (non-super) Polaris (Vixen) mount from the 80s. It was easy to install, and did exactly what I needed -- keep the scope more or less centered for a bunch of viewers at a star party. You won't be doing astrophotography with this, but it kept things in view for :30, making life much easier for me.One thing to note is there is no "disengage" for the motor, so you can't really use slow motion controls on that axis if the clutch is locked (you will be turning against the motor). No big deal for my use as I had a wide field scope on the mount, but could be for your particular scenario.

Im giving this 5 stars for now, might change later.Boy, where to start with this.. I tried multiple viewings without a motor. It is much easier. What you find out, is if you use a high power eyepiece on planets or whatever, for a fact, itll fly off your FOV (field of view) rather quickly. I barlowed a 4mm eyepiece x3, and 10 seconds is all you have with Saturn.This is where this comes into play.These motors are true god-sends. Properly adjust its speed, polar-alignt your telescope (search on youtube, great tutorials there) and you can track planets or other celestial object for 20 minutes+ quite easily. Trust me, it is REALLY bad without a motor. You cannot change eyepieces, you cannot call your friends to watch, you cannot photograph anything.I have 2 beefs with it tho:1. When viewing south and polar aligning, you basically turn your scope upside-down (facing 180 degrees south while main alignment is north). During this position, counterweight might get stuck on the motor.2. Its rather expensive and this can be imitated by an arduino with some dumb code. That being said, its not SO easy, and imo not worth the effort.Get a motor, take the time to learn to align your scope properly and you will wonder why in the world you didnt do it sooner.