New Mesu being commissioned

[Zakalwe]

A damn fine weekend!

A run down the motorway to visit Bletchley Park and to pay homage to one of England's heros:

What a damn shame the way that he was treated.

The next morning saw us back on the road, heading for Bern and Jacqueline at Modern Astronomy to pick up the new Mesu mount.

300 miles later and it's sitting on my desk, looking rather ominous:

And here it is being fitted onto the pier:

You can really tell that this was designed by an engineer without it ever seeing the light of day in any marketing department. No fancy anodizing, bog standard hex-head bolts everywhere, exposed motors and wiring. Function over form everywhere (no complaints from me).

A couple of initial thoughts- the Sitec system looks powerful but horribly un-user friendly. Moving from EQMOD just underlines how easy EQMOD is to use. I'm sure that the Sitech is a lot more powerful, and I'll just have to learn the system.

I'm a bit stunned that the whole thing relies on a single M12 bolt to hold it down- any imperfection in the pier top plate will cause it to rock. It does show how daft a lot of our obsession is with using huge constructions to hold telescope mounts. The Mesu can carry 100Kg plus weights, yet a single bolt holds the whole shebang to the pier.

I'm also a surprised at how long it takes vibration to damp down.The massive counterweight bar is held in with a single clamping screw which doesn't help- I can't help but feel that a thread on the end of the bar would have been better. If you tap the end of the bar then the whole thing vibrates and takes a while to settle. Twisting the pressure tuner on my solarscope (which is piggy-backed on the 'frac) makes the whole thing jiggle about.

It's looking clear tonight, so I'm hoping to get it properly polar-aligned and drift aligned.

[fondofchips]

Check that the pier isn't vibrating too, I had that problem with my steel pier, cured by filling it with kiln dried sand.  If it is the mount that is vibrating then a thin gasket made of hard rubber between the mount and the pier might do it, just a thought.

Nice looking mount, proper engineering.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[Tinker1947]

It might not have the smooth lines of  a E-Type, but it will do a good job with the DSO's.......

[JeremyS]

Keep us posted on how you get on.

Jeremy

[triton1]

As an ex Toolmaker I can certainly see the craftsmanship that goes into these mounts they just ooze engineering excellence shame I'll never own one.Good luck and keep us posted.

[Astroscot2]

Congrats on the new mount and clear skies!

[SnakeyJ]

Having met up with Bern at our local star party and seen the Mesu in the flesh, there's no doubting the quality. High praise also from Olly is a great recommendation.

Look forward to your first light reports, once you've battled through the Sitech manual ;-)

[ChrisLX200]

They have a reputation for excellent performance so I doubt you'll be disappointed! To my eyes a little more streamlining might be in order though - it not exactly aerodynamic is it :-) More seriously, there are lots of bits sticking out so careful cable routing will be necessary to avoid snags. I'm curious what those notches [8?] are for in the black disk - it also has a metal detent?

ChrisH

[r3i]

Congratulations on the new toy - I always think they look a bit steampunk: so stick a couple of gauges on it for cosmetic effect

With it relying on a single bolt to fix down onto the pier, is there any danger of the whole thing rotating and thus mucking up the PA or is there sufficient friction against the pier top to make this scenario unlikely? (i.e. another case of an SGL member overthinking things )

[Zakalwe]

Congratulations on the new toy - I always think they look a bit steampunk: so stick a couple of gauges on it for cosmetic effect

With it relying on a single bolt to fix down onto the pier, is there any danger of the whole thing rotating and thus mucking up the PA or is there sufficient friction against the pier top to make this scenario unlikely? (i.e. another case of an SGL member overthinking things )

No. There's an azimuth adjuster at the rear which locks the rotation of the mount

[ollypenrice]

Oh no, where's the pretty red anodizing? I mean, we need the pretty red anodizing because it gives us a chance to replace the mount when the pretty red anodizing turns a queazy pink! This is no good! You might have to keep the Mesu for ages and for the stupid and unfashionable reason that it works perfectly well... without changing colour.

What does my Mesu look like? Can't remember. I never look at it. If ever it drops a sub to guiding error I guess I'll have to remember where it is... Don't hold your breath.

Olly

[swag72]

Oh no, where's the pretty red anodizing? I mean, we need the pretty red anodizing because it gives us a chance to replace the mount when the pretty red anodizing turns a queazy pink! This is no good! 

Has your pretty red anodized Avalon turned pink Olly?   :d

[ollypenrice]

Has your pretty red anodized Avalon turned pink Olly?   :D

Not yet, but it will! I like the Avalon because it's carved out of chunks of solid metal. Besides, I'm so macho that I can own a faded pink mount without worrying about my image.  And if you'll believe that you'll believe anything....

Olly

[swag72]

Not yet, but it will! I like the Avalon because it's carved out of chunks of solid metal. Besides, I'm so macho that I can own a faded pink mount without worrying about my image.  And if you'll believe that you'll believe anything....

Olly

Well you do drive an MX5 .................. :d

[steppenwolf]

I'm curious what those notches [8?] are for in the black disk - it also has a metal detent?

Aha, the 'hooks'! I love these hooks - lock them into position while you load up the mount prior to balancing to keep both RA and DEC axes in a safe fixed position with no risk of gravity run-away. Remember, (hoorah!) no gears or clutches in this mount.

[ChrisLX200]

Aha, the 'hooks'! I love these hooks - lock them into position while you load up the mount prior to balancing to keep both RA and DEC axes in a safe fixed position with no risk of gravity run-away. Remember, (hoorah!) no gears or clutches in this mount.

Ah, cool! :-) Good idea

ChrisH

[Astrobug]

maybe we can powder coat it in a few years.

[Astroscot2]

How is the installation comming along Stephen?  First light yet?  honestly no rush. ;-)

[Zakalwe]

I wish....work pressures have meant limited time to play. I did get a chance to run an initial polar alignment using PHD Drift Align. It's not perfect yet...needs more dialling in.

I did struggle with the PHD calibration repeatedly failing.....ot kept throwing up an error saying "calibration failed mount slewing" when no slew was issued. Not too sure what thats all about....but it kept happening. Perhaps the balance was off?

I have a LOT to learn about the Site ch system....I have no idea what "Load inits" or indeed any "inits" means!

Hopefully first light won't be far away.

[derrickf]

It's worth it when you finally get it all set up properly. I was getting quite frustrated with mine which seemed to be pointing, tracking and guiding badly after I mounted my 12" RC on it. I rechecked PA and that seemed to make no difference, I played around with the guide settings in MaxIm all to no avail. I agree that Sitech can be a little daunting but if you follow the guidelines in Steppenwolf's (Steve Richards) Quick Guide it will get you up and running.

I then did a new automated  PointXp run to build a new model and hey presto - 10 minute images with stars at less than 2 arcseconds FWHM and RMS guiding errors at just over 0.1 arcseconds at 2400mm focal length.

Sorry I can't offer much help with your PHD issue - I use MaxIm for camera and mount control but a couple of things spring to mind: did you temporarily select "Freeze Dec" in the config while doing PA,  and secondly there is a page in the config dialog that sets various Ascom parameters - there is one that enables you to set Ascom to always report "IsGuiding" as false - that might help.

Regards

Derrick

[ChrisLX200]

I wish....work pressures have meant limited time to play. I did get a chance to run an initial polar alignment using PHD Drift Align. It's not perfect yet...needs more dialling in.

I did struggle with the PHD calibration repeatedly failing.....ot kept throwing up an error saying "calibration failed mount slewing" when no slew was issued. Not too sure what thats all about....but it kept happening. Perhaps the balance was off?

I have a LOT to learn about the Site ch system....I have no idea what "Load inits" or indeed any "inits" means!

Hopefully first light won't be far away.

Ah yes I used to get that, but in the most recent versions you can turn off the slew detection feature via a checkbox. I can't remember exactly where it is though!

ChrisH

[bilgebay]

Congrats on your new mount! I got mine in July. Of course, the bad weather came with it as expected

Unchecking the marked option should help with your problem... been there, done that

Are you pulse guiding or through the ST-4 port ?

Cheers

Sedat

[bilgebay]

Congrats on your new mount! I got mine in July. Of course, the bad weather came with it as expected

Unchecking the marked option should help with your problem... been there, done that

Are you pulse guiding or through the ST-4 port ?

Cheers

Sedat

[Zakalwe]

Screen Shot 2015-09-09 at 4.50.33 PM.pngCongrats on your new mount! I got mine in July. Of course, the bad weather came with it as expected

Unchecking the marked option should help with your problem... been there, done that

Are you pulse guiding or through the ST-4 port ?

Cheers

Sedat

Cheers for that Sedat- Ive been following your progress on Cloudy Nights.

I'm pulse guiding, or rather I will be once I work out the polar alignment and how to drive Sitech!

It's worth it when you finally get it all set up properly. I was getting quite frustrated with mine which seemed to be pointing, tracking and guiding badly after I mounted my 12" RC on it. I rechecked PA and that seemed to make no difference, I played around with the guide settings in MaxIm all to no avail. I agree that Sitech can be a little daunting but if you follow the guidelines in Steppenwolf's (Steve Richards) Quick Guide it will get you up and running.

I then did a new automated  PointXp run to build a new model and hey presto - 10 minute images with stars at less than 2 arcseconds FWHM and RMS guiding errors at just over 0.1 arcseconds at 2400mm focal length.

Sorry I can't offer much help with your PHD issue - I use MaxIm for camera and mount control but a couple of things spring to mind: did you temporarily select "Freeze Dec" in the config while doing PA,  and secondly there is a page in the config dialog that sets various Ascom parameters - there is one that enables you to set Ascom to always report "IsGuiding" as false - that might help.

Regards

Derrick

Cheers Derrick,

I'll have a dig around for that.

[ollypenrice]

maybe we can powder coat it in a few years.

Why would you melt plastic onto stainless steel?

Olly