Pegasus Astro NYX Hand Controller

Product Overview

This is the Pegasus Astro NYX Hand Controller — a wired keypad that drives a NYX mount without a computer, phone or tablet in the loop. It connects with a single spiral cable and gives you slew rates, both axes, alignment routines, tracking modes, park and unpark, and the object catalogues for goto.

The display uses a red film and the buttons are red-illuminated, fading out on their own after a period of inactivity.

Who It's For

This is a good match if you:

• Observe visually and would rather not run a laptop or keep a phone screen alive all night to move the mount.
• Want a physical control for centring and framing at the telescope.
• Set up in the cold, where a touchscreen and gloves are a poor combination and buttons are not.
• Run public sessions or outreach and want something you can hand to someone.
• Want a fallback for the nights the WiFi link is being difficult.

Key Features & Design

• One-cable operation: a single spiral cable to the mount, with nothing else to connect.
• Slew rate selection and direct axis control: pick a rate, then move RA and DEC from the keypad.
• Alignment routines built in: star alignment and polar alignment run from the controller.
• Object catalogues with goto: browse and slew to targets without a planetarium app.
• Home, park and unpark from the keypad.
• Switches between equatorial and alt-azimuth working.
• Red film display and red illuminated buttons that fade automatically during inactivity — designed around dark adaptation rather than retro-fitted to it.

Recommended Uses

• Visual observing sessions with a NYX mount and no computer.
• Centring and framing a target at the telescope during setup.
• Star and polar alignment at the start of the night.
• Outreach and star parties, where a keypad is easier to pass around than a tablet.

Compatibility and Accessory Notes

• Pegasus Astro's product page describes it as an add-on for the NYX-101. Their catalogue lists it more broadly as the hand controller for NYX mounts. If you are running an NYX-88, get in touch before ordering and we will confirm the fit with Pegasus directly rather than have you guess.
• Connection: a single spiral cable to the mount.
• It does not replace the WiFi or USB control — the mount still works over both, and the hand controller is an additional way in rather than a substitute.
• Not the EZY Focus controller. That one drives focusers on the powerboxes and FocusCube 3; this one drives the mount.

Good to Know Before You Order

• Pegasus Astro publishes no dimensions, weight, cable length or power detail for this controller. Those rows are left out rather than filled with figures we cannot source from the manufacturer, and it is why the listing is not yet available to order — we would rather quote your shipping correctly.
• Want it sooner? Get in touch and we will weigh one off the shelf and get the listing live for you.
• It is a wired controller. The spiral cable sets how far you can walk from the mount with it.
• The mount works without it. The NYX platform is controlled over its own WiFi from a phone or tablet as standard; this adds a physical alternative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it difficult to set up?

No. One cable into the mount and it works. There is no pairing, no driver and no app.

Do I need it if I already control the mount from my phone?

No — it is an alternative rather than a requirement. Its value is on visual nights, in the cold, and when you would rather not depend on a wireless link.

Can I do a polar alignment with it?

Yes. Star alignment and polar alignment both run from the controller.

Does it have a goto catalogue?

Yes — object catalogues are built in, so you can browse and slew from the keypad.

Will it ruin my dark adaptation?

The display carries a red film and the button illumination is red and fades out during inactivity, both chosen for that reason.

Bottom Line

In short: a one-cable red-lit keypad that gives a NYX mount full slew, alignment, tracking and goto control with no computer involved — the way to run the mount on a visual night.