The LCM mount's single fork arm is made of die cast aluminum. It is rigid and damps vibrations quickly. The optical tube mounts onto the fork arm using a no-tool quick-release dovetail bracket for fast set-up, take-down, and balancing. This allows you to use the mount with other lightweight optical tubes that have the appropriate dovetail.
The mount includes pre-installed enclosed dual DC servo motor drives - one for moving the scope in altitude (up/down) and one for azimuth (right/left). The combined motion of the two motors allows the scope to move smoothly in an arc across the sky, following the seemingly curved path taken by the stars and planets. Built-in electronics let you select the appropriate lunar, solar, or sidereal (star) tracking rate to keep each specific kind of object centered in the field of view so that several people can observe at their leisure without having constantly to adjust the position of the scope. The electronics also give you a choice of nine different slewing and centering speeds for locating objects (3°/sec, 2°/sec, 1°/sec, 0.5°/sec, and 32x/16x/8x/4x/2x the sidereal rates).
A compartment in the drive base holds eight user-supplied AA batteries for powering the telescope. All power connections to the motors are internal. This eliminates the cord wrap problems you often find with competitive telescopes powered by an external battery pack that connects to the scope through a dangling power cord.
To conserve battery life when the telescope is being used in the backyard, an optional AC adapter (#2338N) is available to operate the scope from an extension cord connected to a normal household 110 VAC electric outlet. The Celestron Power Tank (#4512V) is also a highly recommended optional accessory if you observe away from home a lot. This is a 7 amp-hour capacity multi-purpose rechargeable 12V DC battery that can provide several nights worth of observing from a single charge when you're in the field away from backyard AC.
The underside of the mount's drive base has three round feet that rest on three flat pads inside the tripod head. The drive base is held in place on the tripod by one large hand-tighten knob in the underside of the tripod. Assembly is fast and foolproof. There is no need to fumble with multiple mounting bolts, or try to align mounting bolts in a tripod with holes you can't see in the base of the mount, as is the case with competitive scopes. The LCM mount's no-tool assembly is foolproof and takes only a few seconds.
The preassembled adjustable-height tripod has aluminum legs that damp vibrations quickly. The center leg brace holds a convenient no-tool quick-release accessory tray to keep your eyepieces and accessories up and out of the dew-soaked grass. The locking levers for the tripod leg height adjustment face are on the sides of the legs, so they won't snag your clothing as you move around the tripod in the dark. A bubble level in the center of the drive base lets you level the tripod for more accurate tracking of celestial objects.