Northmere Moraine GoTo EQ mount, head only

Specifications

Description

The Moraine GoTo EQ mount is a German equatorial head for telescopes and camera setups up to 8 kg. It carries a refractor, a compact reflector, or a small Newtonian with enough payload margin to keep the tube steady during focusing and at higher magnifications. The head weighs 6.2 kg, so it is set on a sturdy pier or on a tripod with load-rated legs.

The mount uses a GoTo handset with a catalog of more than 42,000 objects, including stars, double stars, deep-sky objects, and solar system bodies. Enter a target, and the drive slews the tube to it and then tracks it at the sidereal rate. Polar alignment can be done with a built-in polar scope or with a plate-solving routine on a connected laptop. Once aligned, you can center objects with the handset arrows and follow them through an eyepiece or a camera for long exposures.

A 12-volt input powers the drive, and a standard 12 V battery pack runs it for several hours in the field. The handset accepts a serial cable for firmware updates. Balance the tube on both axes before each session, because an unbalanced load raises tracking error and can strain the gears.

The saddle is a dual-bar design with a 60 mm wide dovetail clamp. Slide the bar in from the front, tighten the two clamp screws evenly, and check that the tube sits level before you slew. Keep the total load, including the diagonal, eyepiece, guide scope, and camera, below the rated 8 kg.

For visual work, the mount holds a 150 mm reflector at moderate magnification. For astrophotography, it suits guided exposures with a short refractor or a lens of modest focal length. Sessions with long focal lengths or heavy accessories need an autoguider to hold tracking accuracy over longer exposures.

About this configuration

The Northmere Moraine GoTo EQ mount is sold in several configurations, and the notes below describe what this particular one includes. This configuration is the mount head alone, so you supply a tripod or a pier with a matching top plate. Buying the head only makes sense when you already own a sturdy tripod or a permanent pier in the garden. This configuration ships without extra add-ons, so the box holds only the mount and its support.

A white mount head is easy to see in the dark, which helps you avoid walking into the tripod. This is the 2024 edition, which revised the altitude adjustment and the cable routing of the Moraine line. For steady views, keep the total load of tube, finder, and camera below the rated payload with some margin to spare.

What's in the box

• GoTo equatorial mount head with dual-bar saddle
• Hand controller with GoTo catalog
• Counterweight shaft
• Power cable with 12 V connector
• Serial cable for firmware updates
• Polar scope with illuminated reticle

Compatibility notes

• Accepts dovetail bars up to 60 mm wide.
• Rated for a total payload of 8 kg, including accessories.
• Requires a 12 V DC supply or a compatible battery pack.
• Suits telescopes and camera setups for guided astrophotography and visual observing.