This battery operated LED illuminator easily attaches to the exit hole of the polar axis bore of Sky-Watcher EQ3-2 and EQ5 and Celestron CG-5 and AVX and CGEM Equatorial Mounts.
Provides illumination to the polarscope reticule. A useful aid to the polar alignment procedure.
Adjustable light intensity.
Average Rating (13 Reviews): | |
Celestron polar Illuminator 16 December 2024 | Andrew
Fitted OK to my eqm35pro. Easy to just pop in & out. Is designed to fit different sizes with an extra ring. At £27 decent price for a basic illuminator that worked well.
Essential if you have a Sky-watcher EQM-35 Pro mount 08 August 2024 | Nigel
I recently acquired an EQM-35 Pro mount, which is a serious piece of kit, but is tricky to do polar alignment on because the polar-scope graticule is not illuminated and I don't have enough hands to hold a red light over the opening and adjust two screws at the same time whilst kneeling down with a hyper-flexed neck! This illuminator made all the difference - polar alignment is now a doddle!
Pros
1. It makes polar alignment much easier because you can see the graticule in your polar-scope.
2. It comes with an adapter for different-sized holes in mounts (I guess). I didn't need it for mine.
3. Its intensity can be varied.
4. It's powered by a readily-available button battery (supplied).
Cons
1. The fit to the hole is not brilliant but I didn't need an elastic band like another reviewer did - it was good enough.
2. The only reliable way to switch it off is to remove the battery when you've finished. There is no switch built in and I couldn't turn it off just by loosening the battery compartment lid.
3. It's perhaps a bit overpriced in terms of its construction (but then it's worth every penny for the difference it makes).
All-in-all, I'm glad I bought it, but I wish the EQM-35 Pro had illumination built in...
P.S. Great service from FLO.
08 July 2024 | Cristian
El iluminador llegó en perfecto estado. Solo debo probar para saber si todo funciona bien. Al encender la luz a plena luz del día funcionó bien
It's a piece of junk, but it still works well. 23 May 2024 | Nate
Very cheap plastic feel, doesn't fit snugly in my EQM35 Pro, but it gets the job done.
12 September 2022 | Paul
Works brilliantly, a dull red glow which can be dimmed.. Only reason I gave it four stars, the cap which holds in the button battery is the on off switch, unscrewing it enough to turn it off only leaves about an eight of a turn before it falls off. I have been taking the cover off completely and putting a bit of paper between the contacts when not in use.
Sky-Watcher Polar Illuminator 29 August 2022 | Graham
I have considered and in fact made Polar illuminators for my previous setups, but in the end this one beats what I've come up with in every respect.
Why this manufacturer of Telescope Mounts does not include a built-in Polar Illuminator when it's needed is a mystery; until they do, This is the perfect solution at a good price.
05 May 2022 | Jim
I bought this anyway, in full awareness of the gripes others have mentioned. This solves a problem. It fits very nicely onto my EQ-5, and illuminates the reticle so I can see it and Polaris at the same time. When allied with the PS Align app, it helps make alignment so easy! Constructive criticism: it could do with a switch as screwing and unscrewing the lid before and after use is a bit of a pain, but other then that, fine. Recommended!
Does the job but a bit fiddly to work with. 17 January 2022 | Stephen
It achieves what it's meant to do, and that's not really asking a lot, a feint but adjustable bit of illumination for a polarscope. But I do think someone could have given it a bit more TLC in the design department. For a start it does slot in to my EQ35 easily enough but the tension in the plastic clips that keeps it on is a bit hit and miss if you're not careful it will pop off, infact fly off with vigour! I fixed this by just putting an elastic band around the declanation axis that keeps it in place. The other slightly annoying thing is there's no real on or off switch, there is a Min/Max adjuster but no real on or off so you have to carefully unscrew the button cell battery cap till it no longer makes contact, again it's just a bit poorly thought out. But it does what it does and I'm glad I bought it. Again the same usual efficient service from FLO.
21 April 2020 | Graeme
I got one of these with my Star Adventurer Pro and it works a treat on that (5 stars), but is very dim on my EQ3-2 mount, I can barely see the red light even with a new battery. Bit of a shame because having the reticle illuminated (and without having to hold a torch over the hole) makes like *so* much easier.
Note that there isn't an off switch, even turned to min brightness it still glows very slightly, so to save battery unscrew the cap between use.
Does the job but flimsy and poorly made 27 September 2018 | Mike
Functions ok but the quality of production is very poor.
Cheap and nasty feel and function. Poor switches BUT it does illuminate the polariscope well enough.
Read all 13 customer reviews...