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PSA: My telescope mount failed during the Orion nebula shot last night
I spent 2 hours setting up my Sky-Watcher mount for a clear sky at midnight and the declination motor just seized up on the first exposure, so now I'm sitting here wondering if I should switch to a manual setup or just get a replacement motor.
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robinj291mo ago
Honestly, I used to be all about motorized mounts and thinking manual was too much hassle. But after my third motor failure in two years, I finally switched to a manual EQ setup and I'm kind of kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Sometimes simple is better when you're out in the cold at 2am.
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dakotawood1mo ago
Been there. That third failure is what finally did me in too.
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dixon.spencer16d ago
My Celestron's motor died right in the middle of a Orion nebula session back in 2018. Just stopped tracking and I was fumbling around in the dark trying to reset it. I switched to a manual Sky-Watcher EQ5 and honestly, I haven't looked back since. That feeling of just twisting a knob and following a star without any electronics is so much more reliable. Plus I don't have to worry about batteries dying or firmware updates when I'm out in the field. The learning curve was maybe two nights of frustration but after that it just clicked and I was tracking stuff like it was nothing. I'd rather deal with a little drift than a dead motor any night of the week.
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