Xsubmariner

One of my lightpads is an artist pad used for tracing, coupled with some paper sheets then balanced on the scope it works well.

It has already started to take a hold.😛

Spider-Man, you could take your analogy with modern cameras and apply some of it to the modern telescope world. Lighting the fuse, might I suggest that optically the modern (Chinese) triplets are much the same. Where I see differences is in the mechanical aspects, tube construction, baffles, and focusers. Not to forget finishes and appeal, I have a soft spot for the WO finish which some describe as beautiful.

Hi and welcome, you can’t go wrong with an APO as Mikednight has already stated.  As a starter I would recommend buying second hand as you are likely to change equipment early on as your hobby develops.  The mount is a critical factor if the imaging bug bites. Your question is very broad, might I suggest you provide some specific information to get more beneficial answers.

Is it mainly for mobile or fixed use, is it visual and imaging and what sort of initial investment are you planning. This hobby can get very expensive, ask my wife.

I have TS, Altair and WO triplets which are all very good. There is so much choice today which is daunting at first but great as none of them are bad. Enjoy the journey.

Hi Dean welcome to SGL, beware the dark force of imaging.

Hi and welcome.

Hi and welcome peter, I agree with Aramcheck get the best EQ mount you can.

I received my Mk2 in December and after checking mine was slightly larger at 40.5mm Bernard checked his remaining units and they were all the same size. A quick call to Bernard should clarify your counterweight shaft size.  

You may want to check your counterweight shaft diameter before you bore out your weights. I believe the ones Bernard currently has are up to 40.5mm same as the one I received. My Geoptik weights had to be drilled out to make them fit.

Hi Steve,

When I started I found SkyView on my iPad a great help when I got lost. Enjoy your equipment.

Martin

I balance my NEQ6 to a point whereby both clutches are released and I can slowly move either axis to any normal operating position without affecting the other axis. Then I make the mount very slightly east heavy. I do the same with my Cem Mount.

I have found the main hurdle to achieving an excellent balance is cable drag from the; camera, focuser heaters, signal & power cabling. Especially wher there is no through mount cabling. Patience and trial and error usually triumphs.

I believe it was beneficial to align the wedge accurately with NCP first, using the Polemaster. Then when it came to aligning the mount (PA) it was surprisingly easy with the 3 x 12mm bolts.

Thanks Freff,

It’s official, I can’t read a text message properly, and there I was about to blame Craig. Age and reading glasses are the pits.

You might want to consider some power and USB connectivity to your pier. Here are some images of one of my piers with 12v power and Extended active USB cabling. 

This system enabled me to fit the scope setup with fixed cabling to the pier services and I was ready to image. You could also run your system from a warm room in winter or locally with a laptop using just the 12v service.

I hope this helps in your considerations.

  I have built a couple of piers and found them to be very beneficial. I used 6” brown underground drain pipe sunk in a 1x1 M concrete base. In the tube I used rebar and filled it with concrete. I made a wooden forma which held long threaded bar for bolting the top plate. The lower half of the bar was pushed into the wet pipe concrete until the forma was flat on the tube top. 

I would suggest a good waterproof/breathable cover for your mount once fitted would also be important.

I use a couple of HP laptops with my systems and have found them to be very reliable and resilient. Using them at -8/9 during winter nights they operated without a hitch unlike my NEQ6 which needed a grease change.

There are many available second hand at a great price.

Hi All,

I have just booked a pitch (2). This will be my first SWAG star party and I hope to have the opportunity of meeting many of you during the event. Can someone advise me what a new attendee can expect at a SWAG star party?

thanks Martin

Hi Patrick,

If your roof hinges open about 90 degrees I would consider a gate motor control system. There are relatively cheap gate control systems that provide all the kit in a package (inc remote controllers). For example I used a roller gate system for my ROR observatory (cost £150) complete. 

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the welcome, one day I aspire to have an image worthy of praise. 

Martin

Hi,

During Mesu 200 Mk2  initial commissioning the mount failed to slew with the SiTech Scope Encoder Tab settings to Polite Mode and supervisory threshold at 10 degrees. These were set in accordance with Steve Richards’s Mesu 200 (Mk1) Guide.  

After reconfiguring the Scope encoder settings back to their default (Ignore and 00:00:26) the mount slewed correctly without any further problems.

Having sought advice from Lucas Mesu, here is his reply:

“OK, that is something to correct in the manual indeed. The old Mesu-200 has 10.000 ticks scope encoders on the axel.

Most didn't use them anymore because they didn't help anything in the performance in most situations and plate solve was doing a much better job than these encoders. Further there was a growing demand for cable management trough the axes and then the axis encoders where in the way. Therefore I made the design you have now with hollow axis and removed the axis encoders.

Your mount has to be used in the ignore mode. In that modus the threshold setting does nothing anymore because it measures the difference between the scope and the motor encoder.

In the ignore mode it uses the motor encoders only. They have steps of 0.08 arc sec and therefore a very high resolution. I'm glad you like the mount!”

So it’s official, if you have the Mesu 200 Mk2 the scope encoder settings within the “SiTech - Scope Encoder Tab” should be left in their default setting.

I am blown away with Lucas’s Service, a response to an email query in less than 30 minutes. Wow.

Hi tooth-dr,

It comes with the new Mesu 200 Mk2, it just wasn’t finished production before I acquired the mount, hence Lucas sent direct. Excellent service.

Tomato,

A lot of very useful information in the link thanks.  

Fellside & Jonk, 

I have been and intend to continue using SGP.  Did wonder if the sky model was worth pursuing but definitely fall on the side of preferring to image given the limited number of clear skies we get here.

Have existing users experience a preference for Image update rate when guiding using PHD2.

Hi,

New to SiTech controllers, I have just installed and commissioned my Mesu E200 Mount. Now that I have my system working with a bare bones default configuration setting, please can someone advise the best sequence to follow to refine the mounts performance for imagery. 

For example;

Is there a good tutorial for setting the mounts environmental parameters? Eg mount limits, horizon, meridian flip settings.

Is it worth setting PEC, T Point ect.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi WanderingEye,

I understand you confusion and I was thinking similarly. But I can say from my experience that the system just works and I had absolutely no problem with achieving a good PA using the Polemaster. I haven’t tried Sharpcap yet it’s on my list of things to do. Unless you are a PA perfectionist, you should Have no problem with this arrangement. 

I believe a major benefit is the removing of the fine adjustment couplings in the mount structure which makes for a much more rigid mount, time will tell.