Looking for a star tracking mount

I have no idea what to get, or how much it would cost, or even where to look. Could someone point me in the right direction?

Look at telescope online stores etc to get an idea.

They're not cheap, especially if you want to track precisely (i.e. long focal length), What is your goal? You can rig up cheap DIY ones though for shorter FLs, or even longer if you go all-out.

If you can give us your budget that will help us direct you with more realistic suggestions. Glad to help but there's a HUGE product market out there.

Shorter focal lengths will allow a bit more flex in mechanical quality. It's also a good way to get started and learn the basics without breaking the bank. Using a your existing glass with your MK II would be great. A mount for that focal range could start at around 1K and go as far as triple that if(important "if") you plan to stay at this. It would be wise to get a weight total together on what you plan to use so we can keep that in mind as well when making suggestions. If you know that you'll be making this a long term hobby it might be wise to get a higher quality mount now and add more optics later on. In that case you'd want to think about weight capacity and how much telescope(size/weight/​focal length) you pan to use down the road. Anyway, we can go into more specifics when we know more about your budget and aspirations.

Oh, and when you decide on budget, keep in mind there will be accessories including power supply, dew/frost control, adapters and more, so allow for these expenses too.

Hmm, maybe I should wait on this until I have some more money. Unless there's anything I could get for $100-$200...

A basic EQ1 secondhand, with power-drive, would be around $100 I guess. (My first was one of these, and it worked and helped me learn about polar alignment and drift aligning, and stuff like that.) But they are pretty small and won't take a big telescope. Fine for a camera and wide-angle shooting though.

Google "Barn Door Tracker" if you want to make one for a few bucks, if you're good with your hands.

I'll have to look for one of those. I really wish I had the money for a decent telescope, but I don't I've always wanted a good one. The one I have isn't too good. I'll just be shooting with the camera for the foreseeable future.

Would this be what I'm looking for? http://www.amazon.com …orial-Mount/dp/B0000XMX7K

GuitarFreak wrote in post #10476902
I'll have to look for one of those. I really wish I had the money for a decent telescope, but I don't I've always wanted a good one. The one I have isn't too good. I'll just be shooting with the camera for the foreseeable future.

Would this be what I'm looking for? http://www.amazon.com …orial-Mount/dp/B0000XMX7K

It certainly can be an expensive hobby.

That mount, with the extra bits as detailed a bit lower down, will be a good start for wide-angle shooting. It's the one I started with and at times I was able to take shots at 300mm for a minute or so, with only minor star trailing, but at much lower focal lengths the errors almost disappeared. You can get table-top EQ1 mounts, which are far easier to transport.

http://www.amazon.com …=470938631&pf_r​d_i=507846

So this is the drive I need too I suppose? http://www.amazon.com …/B0000XMWBW/ref​=pd_cp_p_2

Looks like it should be fun if I can get the money for it

Hey there,

I've started with the EQ-1 as well, nice little mount that does the job well and teaches you alot. You will want to upgrade at a certain point (when you want to use anything above 300mm for more than 20s), although I've managed *allright* shots up until 30s @400mm.

Do bear in mind when upgrading that your're most likely to be limited by the quality of your sky - if light pollution becomes a problem after 2 minutes of exposure, what's the use in having bought a monster that can track 10 minutes.

i suggest the eq 3-2 with the new autoguiding, you should be set for a few good years.