My telescope mount gave up during a meteor shower viewing party

So last weekend I set up my Celestron on the back deck for the Perseids, got like 6 neighbors and their kids over with snacks and everything. About 20 minutes in, the motorized mount just starts making this grinding noise, then it freezes completely pointing at the ground. I panicked and tried to manually move it, which apparently stripped something inside, because now it only rotates one way and makes a sound like a dying blender. I told everyone it was a 'manual tracking exercise' and we just passed the binoculars around instead. The kids still saw a few meteors with their naked eyes, so it wasn't a total bust, but my $600 mount is now a paperweight. Anyone else had a mount fail at the worst possible moment, or am I just cursed? Is it worth trying to fix these things or should I just go back to a simple alt-az and use my phone apps like I did in college?

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1 Comment

allen.reese17d ago

Honestly that's just how life works, the one night you prep everything is when the gear decides to quit on you.