Orion · Mount · By 2006 until Orion closed in 2024
The Atlas EQ-G is Orion's version of the Synta EQ6 Pro, the computerized German equatorial mount that a generation of backyard astrophotographers learned on. The EQMOD project, whose software drives these mounts from a PC, lists them as the same mount, and the Atlas manual's gear figures match. Orion rated it for about 40 lb of telescope, shipped it with two 11 lb counterweights and a steel tripod, and built in an illuminated polar scope. It needs 12 volts at 2 amps or more, tip positive. Early kits came with either a dual-axis controller or the full GoTo hand controller, whose firmware updates over RS-232. Orion closed in 2024, but Sky-Watcher's EQ6 parts and software knowledge carry over.
The full kit
Check the listing photos against this list, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. Plenty of listings are the tube alone or the mount alone, and a missing hand controller, power supply or counterweight should come off the price.
The hand controller, power cable and counterweights are the parts that go missing. Some kits came with the simpler dual-axis controller instead of GoTo. The drives and gears need testing under load, since this mount usually carried heavy gear.
New to used telescopes? How to check a used telescope covers optics, mounts, power and shipping, and what a complete kit looks like helps with tube-only and mount-only listings.
We haven’t been through this model’s listings yet. Search eBay and run every listing through the checklist above. Ask for a photo looking into the optics with a flashlight and one of everything included, and pass on any seller who won’t send them.
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