Skipper Billy

This is just lovely. It's a new one on me. Well done - beautiful image.

2 hours ago, Brian28 said:

22 hours ago, Jonk said:

He may have balanced with the motors coupled which will make a noticeable noise like a dynamo.

Ok .

 But this doesn't sound like a dynamo ..  

I always balance with the motors coupled (but depowered) - I didn't know they could be decoupled - how do you do that ??

1 hour ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

I may be wrong, but it seems to sit more comfortably in the equipment section about mounts. I was a beginner two years ago and most of this thread I do not understand now. Heaven only knows what a beginner/new member of this forum must think.

I am sure the mods will move it if they deem it necessary. To me I see someone struggling with equipment, equipment that I am reasonably familiar with and I am trying to help him. Surely that would be an encouragement to a new member?? 

PS - I would happily send you copies of my settings ie the two backup files but I think they are custom written per mount - but I am happy to pop them in a Dropbox file for you if you want to try them - but make sure you back up your own settings first!!!!!  

Good luck - I feel your frustration. 😉 

1 hour ago, dan_adi said:

Thank you for replying. I did follow the setup pdf a year ago when I set up the mount.I use prism v10 for controlling  the mount. The problem is ,I think, a disagreement between scope encoders and shaft encoders, the mount thinks it is pointing somewhere and after the platesolve ends and it syncs, it realises that it is pointing in a totally different place and tries to realign properly (and in that process it sends the telescope on a collision path wih the pier so I have to power off without parking and I am back to square one- a positive feedback loop). The problem is almost every time I move the mount after power off,  I have to go through this trouble and it s getting on my nerves. The scope encoders are on ignore and the supervisory threshold is set at 10 degrees. Also usually after rebooting i get the bellow horizon limit error although the scope is pointing well above the horizon. When the mount works, it guides very well, but for me the problem is to get it to work in a few minutes not 2 hours... 

tomorrow night I will try again 

OK - well I am not familiar with Prism V10 so I cant comment on that.

Reinstalling the default settings should clear up and disagreement within SiTech.

Failing that its worth emailing Lucas at Mesu - he is very obliging, helpful and knowledgeable and he speaks good English - 

MESU-OPTICS
Lucas Mesu
Jasmijnstraat 14
5492 JT Sint-Oedenrode
Tel: +31 (0) 413-479981
E-mail: info@mesu-optics.nl

He will want to resolve this with you - people struggling with a Mesu is rare and he will want to keep it that way!

Its probably a small mistake in the settings somewhere.

Just a thought - what programme are you using to control the mount??

It plays nicely with Carte du Ciel and Stellarium for slewing around and it also works properly with Sequence Generator Pro - I have never tried entering RA and DEC into the Sitech software - in fact I have never touched the SiTech programmes since it was set up.

Hi - its not trying to do a Meridian flip is it ???

Its hard to diagnose with knowing what settings you have put into the two pieces of software.

Have you still got the USB stick with the base settings on it that comes with the mount??

It might be worth going back to basics and fresh settings. Then make sure you have the latest software/firmware. Then follow the attached guide to the letter!!!!  (You can tell if you have the latest software when you right click on the park button you will have three park positions to choose from).

The only part of setting it up that caused any issue was setting up the Meridian flip - it needed a bit of messing about between the Mesu settings and the SGP settings but apart from that it was very straightforward.

Now I go out - power up - slew to clear sky and plate solve or slew to known star - sync - up and away.......

Good luck!!!

mesuquickguide.2087302805.pdf

Sorry for the lack of niceties - just trying to get you up and running quickly!

Power down the mount - power on the mount - click unpark - use the handset to slew to a known star - perform basic init - it should stay tracking that star. Then any issued slew should take you to your target. NB - when you do the init make sure the message at the bottom of the page about scope facing East/West is correct before clicking OK!!

First one for me. Second has lots of pop but its a bit OTT for me. Maybe somewhere between the two?? Great images BTW.

2 hours ago, Hallingskies said:

I have Skipper Billy’s old Avalon

Glad to hear she is behaving herself!

At the OP - if portability is a deal breaker then unless you are big strapping Viking build than I think the Linear would be most suitable. If/when you build an observatory you could pop a Mesu in and have the Linear as a mobile rig!

10 hours ago, Jose Ignacio said:

The thing about the Linear that set off the alarms was some comment on tracking under windy conditions. Where I live we have a lot of wind and not a lot of clear nights, so I want to maximize the opportunities for imaging. It is not that I image with a lot of wind, but it is normal to have 6-7 miles per hour winds on clear nights. Would that be a problem? I read on Avalon´s website that the toothed belts have steel strands in them to avoid deformation and elongation. Should this address the problem?

You will see the gusts of wind on the guiding trace but the images produced are always a lot better than the guide graph would suggest they might be.  There is very little give in the belts - you really have to tug hard to feel any give.  They are very similar to cam belts in a car engine - they are tough!!!

I too am in a windy spot and it really wasn't an issue for the linear. Not an issue for the Mesu either. I am not helping am I !!

Another method is to glue your allen key into the screw with good quality slow setting epoxy (Araldite standard) - then do not touch it for 24 hours. Then unscrew it - chuck it away and replace it.

Hello Jose.

I have owned both mounts and you wouldn't be disappointed with either of them - they are both superb.

Aesthetically they are very different - the Linear is beautiful Italian styling - the Mesu is agricultural brutalism - think Miss World v Mr Universe 😉 

Performance wise - not much to choose between them - in decent seeing both will easily guide at well below 0.5" RMS

Weight - lets call it transportability as weight is only one issue - the Linear is very portable - easy to carry and light. The Mesu I would say is not really portable - partly because of its weight but also its a very awkward shape to carry safely.

The big differentiator is carrying capacity.

If you will NEVER need the Mesus carrying capacity I would choose the Linear.  I only upgraded to a Mesu as I built an observatory.

Both are great mounts. There are some photos of both mounts here. In fact you can see my mount history - HEQ5, AZ-EQ6-GT, Linear, Mesu. I would have saved a lot of money and suffered less pain by getting either the Linear or Mesu to start with! 

I would suggest that before you go any further I would have a long hard think about this.

I dont want to seem negative but a 200mm scope on an EQ5 is going to wobble like a jelly and the merest breeze will wreck any subs.

I would suggest a much smaller scope and a bigger mount before going any further - something like an ED80 on a HEQ5 seems to be a good starting point. Maybe with a DSLR to start with.

I would also suggest reading this book.

To answer your question - you can see how something will appear using any scope camera combo by using this calculator.

Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear but I am genuinely trying to point you in the right direction.

+1 - just unscrew the knob and replace it one hole to the left. Keep going until you can lock the clutch. Then leave it alone !! The movement between the arms should be enough to lock and unlock the clutch.

You can download a full set of lights, darks, bias and flats from here - scroll down to the bottom of the page to mono imaging. https://www.easypixinsight.com/?fbclid=IwAR3kZB6yzmDCAQsH0RPQG0jIaA18XH0Cy4r2dd3FrVMvedpeJ7scyCZy5-M

If for some reason you cant do that then PM me and I will stick  slew of darks in a dropbox folder and email you the link - it will be a big download !

The best start in astroimaging is this by a country mile!!

I get that message when the seeing is poor. I never get it when the seeing is average or better.

I am running the very latest beta version of SGP and Windows 10 in completely up to date.

I usually just tell it to return to the previous focus point and accept that its not perfect focus but its slightly irrelevant as the seeing is so poor.

Just get rid of the cables - with a bit of effort you only need one cable.

6 hours ago, jjosefsen said:

Just stumbled upon this thread while researching small observatories, exactly the design i had in mind. I was wondering if you could give a little update on how it is working now, is this kind of roof design still good?

@Skipper Billy

Hej

Its still working perfectly!!

We have just put our business up for sale and will eventually move house and a colleague asked what would happen to my observatory. It set me thinking about what, if anything, I would change.

The honest answer is absolutely nothing!

It has never let a drop of water in - it has withstood biblical rainfall, winds well in excess of 100 knots, temperatures as low as -24º and as high as +24º (its Scotland ! 😉 ).

The only maintenance is an occasional coat of paint.

To use it, it goes from fully secure to ready to image in less than 60 seconds. If it rains I hit park and by the time I have run outside the scope is parked and the roof is closed in under 30 seconds.

When we move it will be coming with me - just a new concrete pad and a trench for the cabling and I will be back in business.

There are some more photos here if it helps.

3 hours ago, GordonH said:

I got mine from the States through a company called Dynamic Perceptions when I bought my motorised camera slider. You're right in that there are no UK suppliers but you can buy direct from the company that makes them

Best wishes

Gordon

Thanks Gordon. 

Even the light from the cameras screen can get in the viewfinder - a bit of silver foil will do the job.

Did you cover the viewfinder? That camera is apparently quite susceptible to light leaks so lens mount and or viewfinder would be worth investigating.

Ice on objective or sensor?

Variable thickness of the cloth?

I don't know - just chucking these ideas up in the air.

I hope you find the answer - that would drive me nuts!