Celestron 93969 SkySync GPS Accessory, Black

There has been mixed reviews of this unit mainly in the US, I hooked it up a few nights ago and it gave me the correct location straight away and made setting up of my telescope much easier and quicker.Can't fault it.

This is a great labour saving device for users of Celestron’s StarSense AutoAlign that prefer to use the hand set rather than the clunky and inconvenient SkyPortal app.One frustrating feature of AutoAlign is that every time you use it with the hand set you have to enter the time, date and location. This might not sound like a big deal but it’s easy to make mistakes in the data entry. It’s also time consuming - yet another step to go through before you can start observing.SkySync is a GPS device that automatically feeds the exact time and precise location of the observer into the scope and the hand set. Not only does this save time it also, in my experience, improves GoTo accuracy. It’s easy to set up - just plug it in to the scope, that’s all. One tip though - sometimes I get an incorrect reading from SkySync. This is usually caused by the device hunting for GPS satellites. When this happens I find that plugging the hand set directly into SkySync (as opposed to the scope) puts it right straight away.

A great asset because it saves you entering a lot of information, location, time etc

This plugs into the scope, then connects to the NexStar handset and finally to computer via USB for better tracking and it means less drift and better photos on longer exposures. My first set of tracking elements led to some nice views of the Orion nebula although there is still a bit of drift from a 45 second exposure but this is probably the mount. I'm experimenting with different exposures and finding that the GPS unit is helping for initial setup. After that it is not really required so quite pricey for the limited functionality.

I initially considered this to be a waste of money since you only need it once at the beginning of each session and you can 'easily' manage to supply the required info manually (using a phone app for location/time)However, the manual method is prone to mistakes (particularly if you are a bit tired at the end of a day and operate from more than one site) not helped by the Americans inexplicable reversed date format (gents, if you are going to reverse a date, do a proper job and make it an ISO format! 'yyyymmdd') ... and after several failed attempts the process gets tedious and eats into your observation time.Cast all that hassle away - plug the SkySync GPS in, wait for the sync (whilst you are fitting your diagonal and choosing your eyepieces) , pick your stars for the alignment and then, if you wish, you can unplug it and put it back in the box - the GOTO will keep the details until you power cycle it.Forget the price, think of the value.

Just make sure the mount is set to pick up date / time from gps! Helps sometimes to move it a bit further down the leg.

Considering the fact that a GPS module can be purchased on Amazon for £13 I have to say that this item is ridiculously over priced. Yes, it does the job, but when you buy a Celestron 8SE telescope at £1500 you should be able to expect it to store the time and date and not need to input this data everytime you turn the scope on!

Works like a dream another superb bit of kit.