celestron ra drive

[james99099]

Hello, 

First post as a new member. I recently have started doing imaging with a 90 gt alt AZ mount scope.  I get about 30 secs worth of exposure. I have a fitted a celestron ra drive to a powerseeker 114 German equatorial  mount. Anyone have experience  with these I'm not too impressed unless it's me lol

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. Sorry I have no experience with these mounts.

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome. Can't help on that, sorry.

Peter

[brantuk]

Welcome to SGL James.

The best chance of good results will come from getting the polar alignment as near as you can. Then the RA drive will be more accurate in countering movement of the Earth and field rotation. But it's a big ask on the cheaper mounts which leave you battling vibrations, temperature changes, and flexure. The RA motors are really just for tracking when observing.

If you want to go into into AP a bit more seriously then a sturdier, more accurate mount, with a polar scope like an EQ5 Goto - or better still HEQ5 - and a guiding solution are the order of the day here. Imho you're doing well getting 30secs subs out of your current rig.