From the manufacturer
Celestron – SkySync Telescope GPS Accessory
Add GPS to your Celestron computerized telescope and get time, date, and location downloads from orbiting Global Positioning Satellites. This 16-channel GPS module plugs into your telescope’s hand control or the auxiliary (AUX) port on your drive base and then mounts to a tripod leg to stay safely out of the way with included straps.
SkySync makes it easier to align your telescope while keeping your date and time updated.
Features
- Upgrade your Celestron computerized telescope to GPS with SkySync
- Improve the speed and accuracy of alignments with 16-channel GPS
- Automatically updates the time and date
- Plugs into the AUX port on the base of the telescope
- Compatible for all non-GPS Celestron computerized telescopes
Specification: Celestron 93969 SkySync GPS Accessory, Black
|
10 reviews for Celestron 93969 SkySync GPS Accessory, Black
Add a review Cancel reply
$194.78
Allan M. –
Ok, I got this because i was tired of entering my location and time EVERY TIME I powered my AVX up. I was used to a Vixen Sky Sensor 2000 which had an internal battery.NeWay, I got this and right away it connected and I was ready to start alignment. Also VERY convenient to be able to plug the hand controller into it and then into the hand controller receptacle on the mount. I’m using up all my available ports already.Having accurate time is handy for planet observing.It’s worth it alone to just fire up the mount and start aligning no matter where you setup, handy if you go to different observing sites.I do think this is on the must have accessory list !
Richard R. Rojas –
This works well because it eliminates you looking up coordinates and typing them in wrong. This unit feeks your on board computer in your telescope.
R. Kosh –
I thought I would never need this. After all, I own a hand-held GPS and my phone has one too, so I know my home coordinates and even wrote them down on the telescope tripod leg. I found that entering the coordinates AND the time/date EVERY time I wanted to align the telescope took too much time, so I would just look around for the objects I wanted to view. I found that I was spending more time trying to find messier objects than it would have taken to enter the coordinates.The solution was to spend the bucks and buy this. It simply works. It does the heavy lifting and lets me spend the time doing what I bought the telescope to do–look at the sky.Yes it is expensive, but a lot less than the smart phone with it’s GPS, or even a good hand-held GPS, and the savings in time make it worth it to me.
Derek –
This GPS paired with the wifi module completes the cipher. Makes it super easy to just use the app to point the telescope to the where you want in the sky. For me it’s definitely worth the cost. U don’t need to program it after every use with the gps paired with wifi… Definitely get both. It’s not heavy. Can’t hold you, I don’t remember if it even take batteries, if they did, they last long. It’s compact as well so it’s not adding any bulk to the telescope.
SuperDave7776 –
Excellent if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of setting your latitude, longitude and time each time you turn on your telescope. It also has an aux female, so you can attach another device without need a splitter. I will say that it takes longer than expected to acquire all of the satellites and set the time. Overall a great addition to any Celestron telescope.
Wild T –
The accuracy of the guidance and tracking improved substantially after the addition of this GPS module. Worth every penny.
Steve –
The sheer fact that I no longer have to manually input my location and current time makes my stargazing sessions even more enjoyable
Robert Alan Koeneke –
I have been trying to get a computer driven telescope to cooperate for months and just could not get a good alignment. Disclosure: Trying to use an 8 inch telescope in the middle of a huge suburban area between too large cities.My time was usually off by a minute or more by the time I scrolled through all the entries. My GPS location was the nearest city. The telescope never pointed at a planet, only in the general direction of the planet. Good news is I have learned how to find a planet without help from the computer.Once I hooked up a GPS to the telescope and figured out how to use it, I was able to get a much better alignment – and for the first time the calibration worked as well. Now the telescope points to the planet and I see it in the eyepiece first try. This is a game changer, as now I can find things like Andromeda which I could not before.People who have access to good external GPS and experts may not need this device, but for a beginner it is a big help.(Hint: The GPS is used once at the start of setting up for the night, and is not needed for the rest of the night unless you move the telescope)
Warren P McMurry –
I’m giving this max stars. It’s an addition I failed to purchase awhile back. But I’ll now say your telescope is going to like it and function even better in alignment procedure. Speeds things up and near automatic to use. Gets its power from the aux port.Mine is the compact 4SE and worked great this evening. Sky’s were more than hazy. Used an extra wide Meade 40MM eyepiece. Easily handles the larger Deep Sky. Sky so hazy even had difficulty centering the brighter stars in the finder!You have to go to the menu and find GPS, then turn it on! I was so slow fumbling in the dark gave enough minutes for the GPS to acquire satellites. This unit also puts in the correct time, easy to make a mistake here on the first outings.Area for Hercules Cluster wouldn’t show due to poor sky’s but area for andromeda our nearest neighbor came right in just off center of the low power eyepiece. Sizeable smudge. Polaris refused to show in finder so elected other bright stars on my auto two star alignment.Some areas of the sky did release some nice compact clusters, obvious in the view. Did after alignment check Polaris and shown well now in the eyepiece, but such poor sky conditions refused to show the dim companion fun to see even in a small scope. My Clave failed tho added contrast.Bad night but thanks to the GPS addition life was much easier and for some reason my Celestron behaves better with its use. I strongly suggest you add this one to speed up the alignment process. Likely find things are now a lot easier.
Lullu –
This is a great piece of equipment. Works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about the location, date, time etc. I got a sense that the tracking was more accurate, but this could have well been a perception caused by the money I spent on this.The only negative with this unit is the velcro belt. The darn thing keeps slipping off. Would have loved to see a plastic holder of sorts like the one that comes with the telescope for holding the hand controller to the tripod legs. Well, minor engineering issue, I guess.Is this worth the price ? I think not. You can get this functionality for free on your mobile phones these days. And it takes some data entry to get things right. But for restless folks like myself, who want to reach a place, fire the scope and get on with observing – this is great.PS: I come from the cell phone design world, I am always amazed to find GPS units the size of Ford Trucks … well, that is beyond the scope of this review.