Cleetus

For once I have the funds to enable a purchase right now but a pending house move is holding me back. I sold a 12 inch a few months back and most of the astro gear is packed away with the obsy full of boxes and other stuff. I am tempted though as it can't be too difficult to open a box and remove a Tak equatorial plus tripod. Can it? What I don't want to happen is to wait a few months, order a Mewlon, only to be told there's a year wait. And then we now have shorter days and Jupiter and Saturn becoming favourable. Think I'll have to sleep on it and decide during the next day or so. Is there an emoji for someone in a quandry?

Can't wait to hear your comments about this beauty. My next telescope purchase will be heavily influenced by what you say!! A year? I was expecting about three months.

Yes, sounds about right. In the process of moving house at the moment so have enough boxes with stuff hanging around. As soon as that comes to an end I will make a decision about whether I'll go with D or P.

Was offered approx £800 off an SXP2. That was before the recent price hike. Was planning on using it with a Mewlon 210 but I am now thinking the SXD2 would be sufficient as I'm not interested in imaging. That SXP2 is tempting though and it may be better suited to a larger scope in the future, or dual scope mounting. On the other hand I don't want to pay for features I will not use.

That Vixen mount is a thing of beauty. I have one, or the bigger SXP2, on my radar. Starbook ten easy to use?

Telescopes are not like cars and do not require a "full service" regularly. I bought a reflector many years ago where the manufacturer told me it was guaranteed for life and that if anything ever went wrong I should bring it back and he would sort it out for me, that guarantee also included the equatorial mounting. After almost 40 years of use nothing ever did go wrong. As others have said your maintenance will mostly consist of collimation and, rarely, recoating the mirrors. Any dust on the optics will not pose a problem so best left alone. Don't forget your telescope is just a "tube" whose job is to keep the optics in alignment and, as you can control that with collimating, you should save your money or buy a useful accessory instead.

I do believe it is the same person - just a typo. Anyway, I have no more credits with Audible - my last one went with the book on Mars recently reviewed in the BAA Journal - and will have to wait until September for my new shiny credit. Nice to see astro books getting the Audible treatment.

Assuming the threads are still ok, which seems to be what you are saying as the screws "cannot reach" threads then maybe two longer screws to bring secondary back towards you. Then try the process again.

I am a young man going blind! Not good for this hobby!!

And the title is??

You've done a great job with that Tak tripod. How about applying a wood stain on the Berlebach tray to bring the colour closer to the Tak? Colron wood dye Jacobean Oak is a pretty good match for the Tak wood. While you are at it just a little touching up on the tripod where the colour has worn over the years. Alternatively, rub the wood dye all over the tripod using a soft cloth will help bring the wood back to life too.

Thank you for the replies. I already own a 4 inch Tak refractor so the narrow field of view of the Mewlon is a non-issue as I plan to use it for moon and planets and the refractor for wide-field views of the sky. The telescope/mount will be housed in a dome so the weight and set-up time is not relevant. The SXP2 has had some very good reviews and favourable comments from users on CN. The reason why I was considering this mount was that if I did find the 8 inch telescope lacked aperture then it could easily handle a 10 inch instead - just leaving that option open. Of course for visual an al-taz is a lot simpler and I have been looking at the AZ 100 as an alternative. That would save me some money too but I can get the Vixen for 20% less than advertised price. Also, the AZ 100 does offer the possibility of mounting the two telescopes side by side for the best of both worlds, assuming this can be accommodated by the dome. I don't see myself ever going down the imaging route but, if I did, the equatorial would be ideal. So again, options open.

Tell you what I'll do Mike. I will get the Tak and if I'm not 100% happy with it you can have it for a quarter of what I paid. But I always thought you were a refractor guy so not sure you would be content with the Mewlon.

Having recently sold my 12 inch SCT for reasons of downsizing, I am now looking for a suitable replacement. My plan is to go for one of the Vixen equatorial (SXP2) mounts with Starbook 10 and a Tak Mewlon 210. However, this is not set in stone and I was wondering what others thought about this because I have two slight doubts - one about the mount and the other concerning the telescope. I am not into imaging so not sure if the benefits of the Vixen would be overkill and I would be paying for something I would never use. With the telescope I am a little paranoid that going from a 12-inch to an 8-inch will be a bit of a shock and may result in me being dissatisfied with the Mewlon. Maybe a Celestron Edge 9.25 would alleviate such fears? My preference is to go for a go-to mount unless I could be convinced that a mount fitted with DSC would be equally effective; Rowan AZ100 for example. I have seen one of these connected to a tablet using appropriate software but not sure how it all fits together and how accurate it all is.

I was born in Wexford and I remember my friend and I would lie on our backs in summertime stargazing. Of course back then light pollution was non-existent and in winter the sky was inky black. Not an exaggeration to say if someone was three foot from you then you had difficulty seeing them. The stars were fascinating but it was the famous meteorite in April 1969 that I saw from Wexford which really sowed the seed for me. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/334607-the-fireball-of-april-1969/#comment-3642516 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-48023047

What are your thoughts on star shapes using the Mewlon compared to the DZ? With the Mewlon how near to the edge of the field of view can you get before distortion is noticeable? Is the following quote from a review consistent with your observations? "I am surprised that stars don’t distort that much at the field edge, despite the DK’s reputation for off-axis aberrations. Stars remain points until 70-80% field width and even after that just become mildly comatic".

Totally understand your reasoning. I'm thinking along similar lines. Also, I have owned an MCT, SCT, refractor, and newtonian so the DK design would be a new experience for me and judging by build quality alone the Tak refractor wins easily over the others. Not needing a dew strap for the Mewlon might be a small thing to some but I'm also attracted by one less cable waiting to be snagged or dew shield colliding with obsy roof. Keep it simple is my motto.

Is there any particular reason why you would go for the Tak rather than, say, an 8" Edge HD? More aperture for similar price.

Okay, wasn't sure if there was a long waiting time for these. My plans are on hold at the moment as I will be moving house this year but once that's done I'll make my move. Will be interested in your comments/first light. Have yet to hear a bad thing about these Mewlons, apart from the cool down issues.

Your plans are very similar to mine - already own 4 inch Tak and am seriously thinking about a Mewlon - but I am considering a 210 rather than the 180. I will be downsizing from a 12 inch SCT and going all the way down to the 180 might be a bit of a shock for me. That's my justification for preferring the 210. Was planning on mounting it on a Vixen SXP2 with the option of mounting the two Taks side by side if I ever felt the need. Anyway, have you been given any idea of the delivery time for the Mewlon?

Caloclean optical lens cleaning spray, alcohol free, solvent free, antistatic formula is about £4 for 25ml . Combine with Calocloth microfibre lens cleaning cloth, £4, or use cloth without spray. Both products available from Amazon. I have used this on a Takahashi lens.

I wouldn't spend a lot of money just yet if I were you. Get yourself a pair of binoculars and a decent star atlas and learn your way around the sky. Buy a few books and do some reading. Then, if you are sure you want to proceed, think about a telescope. Remember, any money spent on a pair of binoculars will not be wasted if you decide astronomy is not for you as you can use these for terrestrial observation. Similarly, if you get bitten by the bug then you will use the binos in future. I would guess that over 90% of members on SGL own at least one pair of binoculars. Understand the workings of telescope mountings, the pros and cons of each type, so you know what you want before buying anything. Ditto with telescopes. Spending £500 now on a telescope only to discover this hobby is not for you, or you have not chosen wisely, will mean you will have to sell it on. Why put yourself through that if you can avoid it? There are quite a few telescope retailers in the UK but the advice about not buying from places like Amazon is sound. Go to a proper retailer. Good luck.

Rule no 1: Always over mount your telescope. Rule no 2: Never forget rule no 1.

Mine is green at the moment but I have some blue paint and will have a go at changing the colour some day soon. It is multi-surface paint and I have used it before so should be okay. Was also thinking about fitting a pulley system for the shutter but not sure how this is fitted. Anyone? I see Pulsar have these for sale but would like to have a go myself.

Hi Jeremy, Drive to RA only with built-in drive corrector for AP. About twenty years old now but I haven't had it that long - bought last year. FC 100 DF five years old so everything before new Tak paint colour.