Sky-Watcher SynScan Pro GoTo Upgrade Kit for EQ5
What is the SynScan GoTo upgrade kit for the EQ5?
The SynScan Pro GoTo upgrade kit is the motor and handset system from the Sky-Watcher EQ5 Pro, sold separately so you can fit it to a manual EQ5 you already own. It is not a new mount. It bolts two stepper motors onto the existing worm drives, adds a control box, and gives you the SynScan hand controller with its 13,740-object database. Once it is on, your manual EQ5 slews to a target, tracks it, and accepts an autoguider, exactly as an EQ5 Pro does.
It fits the Sky-Watcher EQ5 and the mounts built on the same casting: Vixen GP, Meade LXD55 and LX70, and Bresser Mon 2. That matters because a lot of UK observers own a manual EQ5 without having chosen it. It is the mount bundled with the Explorer 200P EQ5 and the Evostar 120 packages, and plenty of second-hand 150mm and 200mm Newtonians come sitting on one. If that is you, this kit is the cheapest route to GoTo by some distance.
| Key Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Type | Dual-axis stepper motor GoTo conversion kit |
| Fits | Sky-Watcher EQ5; Vixen GP; Meade LXD55/LX70; Bresser Mon 2 |
| Hand controller | SynScan Pro, 13,740 objects, internet-updateable firmware |
| Alignment | 1-, 2- or 3-star; Pointing Accuracy Enhancement |
| Slew speed | Up to 800x sidereal (about 3.4° per second) |
| Tracking rates | Sidereal, lunar, solar; periodic error correction |
| Resolution | 0.288 arcseconds per microstep |
| Autoguiding | ST-4 port on the control box |
| Computer control | ASCOM via handset serial port; NexStar-5i protocol |
| Payload after fitting | About 9kg (the EQ5 head's own limit) |
| Power | 11 to 15V DC, 2A; supply not included |
| Best for | Owners of a manual EQ5 who want GoTo and guided tracking |
Who is this for?
The kit is for one person: someone who already has a manual EQ5 or a compatible clone and wants it to find and track objects on its own. If that is you, read on. If you are shopping for your first equatorial mount, stop here and go to our telescope mounts guide, because a new EQ5 Pro is cheaper than a manual EQ5 plus this kit, and it comes with a tripod.
- Explorer 200P EQ5 owners who have outgrown star-hopping and want the mount to do the finding
- Visual observers who want to spend the session looking rather than nudging slow-motion knobs
- Beginning imagers who need proper sidereal tracking and a guide port for exposures longer than 30 seconds
- Second-hand buyers who picked up a Vixen GP, Meade LXD or Bresser mount cheaply and want to modernise it
It is not for anyone whose real problem is payload. If your scope is already making an EQ5 wobble, motors will not help. Look at the HEQ5 Pro instead.
What you get, and what you don't
In the box: two stepper motors with brackets and gears, the motor control box, the SynScan Pro handset and its coiled cable, and the bolts. The handset is the same unit that ships on the EQ5 Pro and HEQ5 Pro, so the menus and alignment routine are identical, and firmware updates come from Sky-Watcher's website over a serial cable.
Not in the box: power. The kit wants 11 to 15V DC at up to 2A. At home a regulated 12V mains adapter is the tidy answer. At a dark sky site a 12V lithium power bank with a cigarette-lighter socket will run it all night. Skip cheap unregulated adapters; the handset resets mid-slew when the voltage sags.
Also not in the box: a polar scope. If your EQ5 did not come with one, you can still align by drift or with a phone app, but a polar scope makes the three-star alignment far more forgiving. Our guide to how to polar align covers both routes.
How hard is it to fit?
Plan for an evening. You remove the slow-motion cables and the worm gear covers, bolt the motor brackets to the mount body using the existing threaded holes, slide the drive gears onto the worm shafts, and set the gear mesh. Then the control box screws to the side of the mount and everything plugs in. No drilling, no permanent changes, and the mount can be returned to manual in twenty minutes if you ever sell it.
The only step that needs care is the gear mesh. Too tight and the motors stall or grind; too loose and you get backlash the handset then has to compensate for. The trick is to snug the gears together, back off a hair, and turn the worm by hand until it feels smooth all the way round. Get that right on both axes and GoTo accuracy is the same as a factory EQ5 Pro.
Once fitted, the first-night routine is the same as any SynScan mount: level the tripod, polar align, power up, enter your location and time, do a two- or three-star alignment, and start slewing. Check what you can see in the sky tonight before you go out so you have bright alignment stars in mind.
Kit or new EQ5 Pro?
This is the question most people arrive with, and the maths is simple. The kit costs around £373. A new EQ5 Pro SynScan costs around £699 and includes a tripod. If you already own a manual EQ5, buying the kit saves you the difference and leaves you with the same mount. If you own nothing, the Pro is the better buy: a manual EQ5 plus the kit costs more than the Pro and involves an evening with an Allen key.
The one scenario where the kit loses even for existing owners is if your EQ5 is tired: worn worm gears, a bent shaft, a wobbly tripod. Motors amplify mechanical faults rather than hide them. Give the mount a turn by hand on both axes first; if it is notchy anywhere, put the money towards a new mount instead.
What scopes work well on a motorised EQ5?
150mm to 200mm Newtonians
The classic pairing. An Explorer 200P tube at close to 9kg is at the top of the range, so balance carefully and keep the tripod legs short.
80mm to 120mm refractors
Well within payload with room for a camera and guide scope. This is the combination that gets people into deep-sky imaging on an EQ5.
Planetary imaging
Tracking at 800x slew and sidereal rate makes keeping Jupiter centred at high magnification trivial. A small planetary camera on a 150mm or 200mm Newtonian is a strong setup.
DSLR wide-field
A DSLR and lens on the EQ5's dovetail, tracked and guided, gives exposures of several minutes. See our DSLR astrophotography guide for the workflow.
Known limitations and trade-offs
- Payload is unchanged. Fitting motors does not make an EQ5 an HEQ5. Keep imaging loads to 5 to 8kg for reliable tracking.
- You need a power supply. Budget for a regulated 12V 2A supply or a 12V power bank. Running it from a small USB bank through a step-up cable is asking for resets.
- Version 3 handset database is smaller than the newer ones. 13,740 objects covers every Messier, NGC, IC and Caldwell target plus named stars, which is more than an EQ5 will ever show you, but the newer handsets hold more. It makes no practical difference at this aperture.
- No built-in WiFi. The kit is handset-driven. If you want to control it from a phone you need Sky-Watcher's separate WiFi adapter or a laptop over ASCOM.
- Fitting takes an evening. It is not hard, but it is not plug-and-play either. If the thought of setting gear mesh puts you off, buy the EQ5 Pro pre-fitted.
- Old or worn mounts do not benefit. Backlash and rough worms show up more, not less, once motors are driving them.
What the community says
Same result as an EQ5 Pro. Owners on Stargazers Lounge who have fitted the kit report GoTo accuracy and tracking indistinguishable from the factory version once the gear mesh is set properly.
Fitting is easier than it looks. The common thread in FLO's reviews is that the instructions undersell how simple the job is: most people are done in one to two hours.
Set the mesh carefully. The one recurring complaint is motor stalls, and in almost every case it comes back to gears meshed too tightly on the first attempt.
Power is the usual gotcha. Handset resets and erratic slews are nearly always a weak or unregulated supply, not the kit.
The kit, and the two mounts it sits between
Kit we've tested and reviewed in full
The upgrade kit only makes sense if you already own a manual EQ5 or one of the clones it fits. If you are buying a mount from scratch, compare it against the EQ5 Pro (the same GoTo system pre-fitted) and the HEQ5 Pro (the next payload class up).
Sky-Watcher SynScan Pro GoTo Upgrade Kit for EQ5
Two stepper motors, the SynScan handset and the cabling. Fits the EQ5 and its Vixen GP, Meade LXD55/LX70 and Bresser Mon 2 cousins. Bring your own 12V 2A supply.
Sky-Watcher EQ5 Pro SynScan
The same SynScan GoTo system factory-fitted to a new EQ5 head and tripod. If you do not own a mount yet, this is cheaper than a manual EQ5 plus the kit.
Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan
If the real problem is that your scope is too heavy for an EQ5, no upgrade kit fixes that. The HEQ5 Pro carries about 14kg and is the mount most UK imagers end up on.
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Verdict
If you already own a manual EQ5, this kit is one of the best-value upgrades in amateur astronomy: for around half the price of a new EQ5 Pro you get the whole GoTo system, guided tracking and computer control, on a mount you already know. Spend an evening fitting it, set the gear mesh with care, buy a decent 12V supply, and the mount will feel new. If you do not own an EQ5 yet, skip the kit and buy the Pro. Either way, the next step is a scope that suits it, and our guide to the best beginner telescopes UK buyers actually use has the pairings.