Am I the only one who wasted $50 on a star tracker that barely worked?

I bought that popular entry level star tracker off Amazon six months ago thinking it would help me get sharp Milky Way shots. Set it up in my backyard in Tucson on a clear night and spent three hours fighting with the alignment. The thing kept drifting off target after just five minutes even though I followed every tutorial I could find. I tried balancing it different ways and tightening everything but it just wouldn't hold a steady lock. Finally gave up and returned it but had to pay return shipping so I still lost about $15 total. Has anyone else had bad luck with those cheap trackers or did I just get a lemon?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_paul14d ago

The cheap stuff always has a hidden tax somewhere. Those entry level trackers are basically gambling with your time and patience. Reminds me of buying a bargainbin telescope that showed more chromatic aberration than stars. You end up spending more money fixing the problems than you saved upfront.

sanchez.mary14d ago

My uncle bought a cheap drone and it flew straight into his neighbor's prize rose bushes.

jessica70714d ago

I mean, your uncle probably skipped the manual and tried flying it in a wind gust bigger than a cheeseburger. Those cheap drones work fine if you treat them like a toy, not a camera, and keep it low to the ground.

mianelson14d ago

Hold up, is it really that deep though? I mean yeah it sucks you lost $15 but that's basically two burritos. You spent three hours fighting with a $50 tracker in your backyard and got frustrated, okay. But a lot of people get decent results with those things if they have a little patience and a perfectly clear sky. Maybe yours was a lemon, but also maybe the alignment just needs to be dead on and Tucson has a lot of heat shimmer that messes with cheap lenses and trackers alike.