Fantastic video. I am new to astronomy and bought an Equatorial mount but was basically using as an alt-az. Soooo helpful!!

Wow, really fantastic! I just got my first reflector telescope with an equatorial mount and was totally baffled. The manufacturer's instructions were incomprehensible, but your live demo, and showing how to just release the clutches to swivel things around, made everything so clear! I thought everything had to be locked in place, but now I know you can just unlock things, get the tube pointed in the right general direction, then lock it down. Thank you so much!

This is exactly what I was looking for. I jumped in at the deep end with an EQ and only knew how to align as opposed to everything else. Great job! Had to sub.

This video is a great help thank you. I bought a second hand (probably 3rd or 4th hand) refractor yesterday for my first scope. It came with an EQ3 mount which the seller took the time to show me how to set up and use. By the time I got it home and set it up last night, I'd forgot a lot of what he showed me! LOL 🤣 I watched a couple of videos, including this one, and I think I have it all figured out now. If I get stuck, I'll come back to your video to remind me. :)

Can see well for the first time in my life , finally had eye surgery...am 69 years old ...learning my first telescope, 120mm,..and in this video, you explained and answered every question I had ...WOW, ...is so much to see in this world, Thank you young man...Good Job Thanks from Howard.

Thanks so much for watching, and I'm glad the video helped. Clear and dark skies to you!

Finally I understand how to set up an equatorial mount. Many thanks David.

I have to say I LOVE what you do. Your sense of humor, clear explanations---everything! I'm hooked! However, one thing I didn't hear mentioned in this video is how to use the setting circles on your mount, given a set of celestial coordinates, to locate objects---if that is even how it works. So my question is: (assuming your mount is properly aligned) can you use the setting circles, given a set of coordinates, to go directly to an object? For example, you determine Mars is at a certain RA and Dec: assuming proper alignment and accurate coordinates, can you set your setting circles to those coordinates and be near (if not directly on) the object?

This is the simplest and most straightforward video about eq mount I've seen. All other videos I have seen only talk about polar alignment bit never how to use the mount. Thank you very much :)

Yes, thanks, so much for this! It all comes together now! Not explained in my manual, at all clearly, so this is perfect!

Thank you Jim! I will do one on setting circles, most definitely. But these last 8 or so 'extra' videos I've done took a lot of time. Gotta work on a few things around the house now! I have quite a few "next step" video ideas to make for future videos, and setting circles is one of them.

Thank you, I've been struggling with this for ages and finally I know how to use my EQ mount properly. Good stuff!

I think I can say your setting up the mount and this video have helped loads. I had absolutely no clue about how they work but now I understand how to get the most out of my new toy. Now I just need a clear sky at the weekend so I can set it up.

Thank you so much for the compliment, and you're welcome - I'm glad to help others learn to use their astro-equipment so they can "see what's up" in the night sky more easily.

Thank you for the kind words; you're most welcome.

Thanks again for a how-to video. You look a lot more relax now than your previous equatorial mount set up video!

This is a critical how to for the use of these mounts. Everything else I find just shows you polar alignment. We all need to know just how to actually use the mounts with our scopes for use after polar alignment for objects in various orientations in the sky. Your video does this very well. Sub'd, liked & saved!

You just confirmed that I am not CRAZY and relieved a lot of frustration for me! I have the same EQ mount as in your video and ran into the motor bumping problem! Have been "fighting" my EQ mount for a while now! Thank you for doing this video!

I've been looking for a video like this for AGES! Thank you so much for making this, I finally know how to properly use my EQ3 mount!

Awesome!! Exactly what I needed!! I have to watch a video of someone explaining /showing it, to fully comprehend. Thank you sooooooo much!

Another truly fantastic tutorial!, many thanks David. the information I have gained from these and from your site has allowed me to get a bit closer to checking out more of the sky above, I watch the sky pretty much every night, seeing anything from multiple meteors to some of the comets that have been gracing us lately! I think I now understand how use the mount a lot better. many thanks for all of your efforts from Aus!. Cheers Paul.

Thank you so much. I just bought a telescope with an Equatorial mount. I knew right off the bat I was gonna need some help. Your First video on set up helped with that, and the second one was the finisher. Gonna have some fun with my daughter now.

You're welcome, and thank you for the excellent question. That is one of my frustrations with that particular mount/motor drive, is the inability to use the RA slow motion while the drive is connected. Some mounts allow you to easily disconnnect - or move the motor away from - the mount itself, allowing for fine RA adjustment before engaging the motor. I have not found a way to do that reliably and with good results on this one, unfortunately.

Thank you so much David for all the video's. I recently bought the Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ and I was very intimidated by it but your video's turned that around. Once again thank you and keep those video's coming.

Great video! All the talk about the Saturn/Jupiter conjunction got me itching to get a telescope. Bought an inexpensive starter scope, and the manual left me with many questions. This video, and the one about alignment, got me in the right direction! You have a nice approachable style, and take time to demo each step. Thanks!

Just needed this video, helping me get around my new telescope. Thank you.

I want to thank you i recently perchased a celestron 127eq and ur vids are easy to follow and understand for a newbie as myself

These are wonderful videos. I don't have an equatorial mount but I have posted your set-up and your how to use video on forums to help new owners of this type of mount. Great job!

Thanks for your brilliant tutorial.This was something I could never understand from textbooks.It came over so easy the way you explained it.Thanks again!

Thank you for making this video. It really explains things in a clear fashion that is easily understood.

Thanks. Both your videos have helped us balance our new Celestron 130 that we got for Xmas. Hopefully we can now use it more effectively. I'll be back with questions!

just bought a scope with an EQ mount and thanks to both your videos, i feel i understand the concept quite clearly. can't wait to field test it. thanks a lot, good sir!

The best video yet on aiming an eq mounted telescope ..thanks!

Mate thanks for teaching me how to use an EQ mount i am new Astronomer and it really helped me! Thank you so much! Clear Skies everyone!

Thanks David this answers a lot of questions.

Great vid; when I owned a 10" Schmidt-Newtonian I marked off the center-of-gravity in the standard configuration on the tube and with the counterweights so I could skip the step of balancing during setup in the field, worked great.

Fantastic mate. Watched your video on how to align it and after I had no idea how to use the scope. After watching this video I now know how to use it, thank you so much!

This is really helpful. Great video.

Absolutely needed this video. I think this is the only video that covers this. Thank you!

Wonderful...inarguably the best video on Equatorial mounts Thanks. Helped me a lot

Awesome video, tnx. Now all I need is an easier way to wrap my mind around what I see in my refractor & reflector and what I see in my star atlas.

Great video I have a Celestron power seeker 114eq and covers pretty much every situation I ran into. I'm so much better at my stargazing! Thanks

Thanks for these videos! Not much out there and these are very informative, just got my first scope for my birthday. Cannot wait to bring it out on a clear night :)

Thank you for doing this video. I was thinking about getting an equatorial mount but wasn't sure if I could manage it with only one hand...lost use of left arm after a stroke. Now, I know for sure that alt/az is my only option. You saved me a lot of money and frustration by doing this video!

I recently transitioned from Alt/AZ to an equatorial mount and watching this video was a revelation!

Another outstanding video! Thank you again!

David..you are a sanity saver! Thank you so much for the effort in both of the videos that I've used, as a new (but eager) starter to telescopes this has been invaluable with my basic Skywatcher P1145 (EQ1) Christmas pressie..I wil be tracking Santa next Christmas.

fantastic video, really helpful and explains how I can use my scope properly, thank you!

Thanks for the info. Helps allot.

My Telescope just turned up after ordering a few days ago.....just set it up, thanks for the video, well explained, hope the sky is clear tonight. All the best.

Thanks. Some useful hints there.

great videos!!! thanks for the tips mate!

Many thanks for an easy to understand explanation for us beginners.

Very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to go though this with us. :)

Great job, thanks for posting these videos...

If there's such thing as the perfect You Tube tutorial, this is it. Answered every question I had before watching this.

Excellent vid, answered sooo many questions!!

David, I like to review your vids and keep a file with the ones I like. Hvn't been out with my GEM for a while. You are the best at your tutoring. Everyone else shows how to align. You show how to use. Thanks !!!!

Thank you ever so much, I've found your videos amazing. You've literally opened up the skies. I was just pointing and shooting and i knew there had to be more to it. Keep the good work up and thank you so much again :-)

thanks for your video's. they help alot in grasping the fundamentals of using a telescope.

Great video, very enjoyable.

This has been very helpful, thanks a lot!

Just wanted to say thanks a ton, because this helped so much.

I've been leveling my tripod with a torpedo level. Nice tip with the plumb line. I'm going to rig one up now. I'm beginning to watch your videos. Nice job.

Muchas gracias por el tutorial!!!!!! muy claro y bien explicado.

Thanks for point me to this video David. I now see that I didn't mess up setting up the telescope, just that I wasn't using it correctly. I haven't tried the polar alignment yet, since I just got the scope last night. I got a fuzzy shot of the moon this afternoon, with a few light clouds in the way. Now it is buried. Couldn't quite get Jupiter and Saturn focused, but I'm betting that has something to do with all the moisture in the air right now. Had some good rain earlier. Thanks again!

Your videos are so clear and helpful! Thanks!

That was really helpful - thank you !

The best video I've found to explain this complicated piece of equipment. I've forwarded it to several people when my explantion just wasn't getting through. Great stuff. Great job 'Eyes on the Sky guy'. :o)

You're welcome! I got a lot of requests for a video like this after I did the one on how to align - hopefully a lot more people are seeing things in the sky as a result. :-)

this video cleared up so much for me thank you! i had been trying to use my new eq mounted scope like my old az lol

Thanks for the info David

Thank you , great information, I am very new at this but with this video I get a better understanding .

Thanks for showing this so clearly, even a newbie like me can follow.

Thanks so much for the compliment - my pleasure to help! Let me know if/when you have more questions.

I noticed that you didn't mess with the latitude position when getting to the target. Great job of explaining and thank you.

You're welcome! I hope you will check out my weekly videos along with the Telescope Basics series I have here on KZfaq and on my website.

Thanks astroguyz, and that's a great idea to pre-mark the tube and counterweights.

There's nothing wrong with learning about how to use setting circles, of course. But it does require the extra set up time, and the setting circles need to be large enough that they can be used with sufficient accuracy to find objects. Many smaller scopes have setting circles that are more decoration than useful. Thanks so much for the nice compliment; I'm glad to help!

I'm glad to see that there are a few tricky areas to get to in the sky with a simple set up, and that I'm not crazy. These videos are great, and are helping me make the most out of my scope. Do you ever attempt taking simple photos with those scopes used in the video? Thanks again for taking the time to put these videos together.

You're welcome; glad it answered some questions for you. The video idea you describe is part of what I'd like to do for a future video, indeed. I do need to take a little time off from the "extra" ones; I've spent a lot of time getting this one and the 6 "Telescope Basics" ones put together. I need a break from that much editing for several weeks, at minimum. But I'll get to some advanced topics. :-)

OMG just great, you make it so easy now! thanks a lot!

Well, this is what I was looking for! Thanks a million David ! 👍🏻 👍🏻

Thanks for submitting these videos. I'm just getting started and these are really helpful.

Very well done, very high quality, and excellent presentation. Had an Alt Azimuth when I was a kid, and now many years later decided to get back into astronomy, and wanted an equatorial mount... but was intimidated by the complexity... this video walks you through the steps. Personal thanks for producing and sharing...

You the real MVP! ... Saw Saturn for the first time ... And in the first attempt after watching the Video ... Thank you Sir !

thanks Pal, great help!!

No problem - I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss something. EQ mounts can be confusing initially, but that's why I made the videos to help them be more understandable, because once they are "figured out," it makes it a whole lot easier to track things in the sky and follow them at the eyepiece. Glad you got it all squared away! :-)

Real good one 👍 thx a lot

Thx. Great vid!

Thank you! a video that makes sense

I got them Chris. The last one looked like you almost had the whole Moon trying to get in focus. Try and use the longest focal length eyepiece you have, and hold the camera above the lens about 10-20mm or so, using your finger as a brace between them to keep the camera in place. Keep at it!

Perfect, thanks for sharing.

Thanks again, you explain this very well! much appreciated!

Fantastic video! Thank you so much for making it.The last time I went out I felt like an idiot with my EQ2 mount.I can promise you that the next time will be much better.

You're welcome - thanks for watching, and please feel free to share with others who are learning how to use an eq mount.

Thanks for the nice comment, and yes, I do use both of these scopes for some simple astrophotography. This latest week's video (May 14-20) has a couple shots of some sunspots, which I took through.... ummm... I think the 90mm refractor (I'd have to check my notes to be sure).

Great video, I watch the sky for some time now (and don't consider myself a rookie anymore), but still I've found out sth really useful - the explanation of proper position of a telescope in relation to the counterweight (as balance is one of critical points during astrophotography). Clear skies!

Thank you so much! My pleasure to share the knowledge - the more people we have looking up, the more we have who are conscious about light pollution. Just please return the favor and adjust your outdoor lighting accordingly, and we'll call it even. :-)

Something like this is best demonstrated via video, hard to explain through the written word. I've been relying on alt-azimuth mounts to find and sketch deep-sky objects for the past 3 years. Now I need to start using my EQ mounts to become more efficient in tracking and sketching objects. It's a pain to lose objects at high powers in the middle of a sketch using an alt-azimuth mount and then having to star-hop all over again (using lower powers) to find the object. This is the first time I've seen a demonstration on how an EQ mount is used, so many thanks!!