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- #1 in Telescope Motor Drives
Add right ascension (RA) tracking capabilities to any Celestron AstroMaster or PowerSeeker equatorial telescope, or any set-up that uses a Celestron CG-2 or CG-3 equatorial mount. This easy-to-install RA motor drive compensates for the Earth’s rotation, so the telescope tracks a star’s movement through the night sky from east to west. When the telescope mount is properly polar aligned and the RA drive is attached and running, the user need only make occasional adjustments in declination (Dec) to keep an object in the eyepiece for long periods of time.
The Celestron single-axis motor drive runs on a 9V battery, so there are no cords to get in the way. The drive can be used in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. To change hemispheres (reverse the motor’s direction), simply flip the North/South (N/S) switch on the face of the motor drive. It is also simple to change the speed of the motor. A “Speed Rate Regulator” knob is located just under the power indicator, and can be turned in either direction to slow down or speed up the motor. Since solar system objects like the Sun and, Moon move through the sky at different rates than deep-sky objects do, this gives you the ability to match the motor’s speed to the particular type of object you are observing.
Met-RX is the original. It!s great!
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2025
Polar axis, right ascension ( hour ) motor a must for astrophotog work. North or South, switch selectable. Plus, makes viewing between observers easier. Adjustable speed. Easy attachment to CG-2 or CG-3 equatorial mounts by Celestron. Battery-driven. Batteries included! Splurge for this $~40 addition. Why not?
Bill
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2025
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.
Achille
Reviewed in France on June 17, 2024
cool
David Bryan
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2024
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.
Richard Shook
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2024
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.
Anon
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2024
Easy to install. Frees up one manual tracking adjustment to spend more time observing.
Gary
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2024
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!
Oleksandr B.
Reviewed in Germany on August 25, 2021
Alles sehr gut
Customer
Reviewed in Australia on December 2, 2020
On time delivery. Easy to install.
Starman
Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2018
The motor is a little noisy; however, this is easily muffled by putting a back between the case and the mounting bracket. The overall design is compact, thoughtful and clean. On a homemade dobsonian platform it will allow you to track the star and can save you hundreds and thousands of dollars over commercial units.
Carlos Inniss
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2018
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.
Marie
Reviewed in Spain on May 11, 2015
Muy bien equipo para los que no nos conformamos con ver sólo la luna. Se ven los anillos de Saturno a la perfección incluso se ven galaxias y nebulosas con una buena óptica. Las lentes que trae son las propias para iniciarse. Le he acoplado el motor de rotación y va genial
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