Review of the Sky-Watcher SupaTrak Auto Tracking Motorised Alt Azimuth Mount

I bought my Sky-Watcher Explorer 130P telescope in March 2009, so I’ve had it for almost two years now (February 2011). One of the reasons I opted for this particular telescope was because it had a motorised mount. I knew nothing about mounts (or telescopes for that matter) at the time so I based my choice on what I had read on the Internet.

I have mixed feelings about the mount. In this article I’ll share my thoughts on what I like, and dislike, about it.

Good Points

1. Physically connecting the mount to the telescope tube and the tripod is very straightforward and can be done within a minute or so.

2. Setting up the software is also fairly easy to do. There is a one-off task to set up the latitude for your location, which only needs to be redone if you use the telescope several miles from where the setup is done.

3. The setup process for each viewing session is simply a case of switching on the power supply while the telescope tube is horizontal and pointing north.

4. Tracking objects works well so long as you have carried out steps 2 and 3 above accurately.

Bad Points

1. The battery pack does not have an on/off switch, meaning that you need to use the thumb screw to connect it to, and disconnect it from, the mount.

2. The mount has two servo motors: one for altitude adjustment and one for azimuth (horizontal) adjustment. I find that the azimuth motor seems to struggle sometimes, even when the batteries in the battery pack are new. The problem seems to be worse in the cold and damp weather.

3. The mount has in fact stopped working on several occasions. If I bring it into the house and leave it for a few weeks until it has completely dried out, it normally starts working again. (I normally keep it in the shed.)

4. My handset broke after I had had the telescope for 11 months.