One axis against the turning sky — once it is aligned · review
A complete 114/900 Newtonian on an EQ-1 equatorial mount with two-axis slow motion, supplied with two eyepieces, a 6x30 finder and a 2x Barlow.
The bottom line A soundly proportioned beginner’s Newtonian on the lightest mount that will carry it.
One hundred and fourteen millimetres at nine hundred, which is f/7.9. That ratio is the reason this telescope is easy to live with: simple eyepieces work well, the field edge stays reasonable, and collimation errors are less punishing than on a fast mirror.
An EQ-1 with slow motion on both axes and a height-adjustable aluminium tripod. Aligned on the pole it follows the sky with one cable; unaligned it is an awkward alt-azimuth. Learning that routine is the price, and it takes one evening.
Nine hundred divided by twenty-five is thirty-six. Divided by ten it is ninety. Both figures the maker quotes are correct, which is worth saying on a shelf where they frequently are not.
The mount’s payload capacity. That figure would say how much more this mount could carry — a camera, a heavier eyepiece, a guide scope — and it is absent.
German, French, Italian and Spanish Amazon stores ran from 239 € to 255 € on the day of the survey.
American Amazon store lists it in local currency, which the euro range above sets aside.
British Amazon catalogue holds a record for it that nobody is selling.
Figures as Keepa reported them on the day this page was last updated. Stock and pricing shift without warning.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 17 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
| Payload rating | Absent from this listing |
|---|---|
| Periodic error | Not published by the maker. |
| Drive | Not published by the maker. |
| Control | Not published by the maker. |
| Polar alignment provision | Not published by the maker. |
| Counterweight supply | Not published by the maker. |
| Tripod | EQ-1 equatorial with two-axis slow motion, on a height-adjustable aluminium tripod |
| Heaviest single piece | Not published by the maker. |
| Supplied optics | Newtonian reflector, metal tube per the maker · 114 mm (maker’s bullet) · 900 mm (maker’s bullet) · f/7.9, the quotient of the two figures above · 25 mm and 10 mm, quoted by the maker at 36x and 90x · 6x30 optical |
| Amazon reference | B0017GXJE0 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces) |
| EAN | 4049467112662 |
It carries the tube and it will transmit vibration from every touch. Damping time is what decides usable magnification, and no figure for it is published — which makes a firm surface and patient hands part of the technique.
Fine control on both right ascension and declination, by cable rather than by pushing the tube. At 90x that is the difference between centring an object and chasing it.
102 mm · 460 mm focal length · EQ-3 mount · objective solar filter supplied
A 102/460 telescope on an EQ-3 equatorial mount, supplied with an objective solar filter for white-light observation, a 2 in focuser with a 1.25 in reducer and a smartphone adapter.
Best for: Wide-field night use with a daytime solar option, on a mount that can carry both
≈ £255 / €249
114 mm mirror · 1000 mm focal length · EQ-3 mount · 1.25 in focuser
A 114/1000 Newtonian on an EQ-3 equatorial mount with a rack-and-pinion 1.25 in focuser, sold with an accessory pack and described by the maker as motor-upgradable.
Best for: A first equatorial set with room to add a drive motor later
≈ €150
Open-source tracker · ESP32-S dual core · 1/4 in output shaft
A small equatorial tracking head built on an open-source design and an ESP32-S dual-core controller, offering sidereal, lunar and custom rates from a USB-C power bank.
Best for: Wide-field camera tracking by somebody comfortable assembling their own chain of adapters
≈ €109
