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Jose Ignacio

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Posts posted by Jose Ignacio

  1. Hello sonymoon,

    I´ve seen the M-Uno and it certainly is a very nice machine. I was looking at the Linear because it is cheaper and as far as I know it shares the mechanics with the M-Uno. Not having to perform a meridian flip is not very important for me. I use automatic meridian flip with SGPro and so far it has performed fast and flawless. The only time I saw the flip was on a first test and it went very fast, so no time lost. It might take longer some times, I wouldn`t know, I am normally sleeping while it happens. And Star Aligment with Pixinsight really makes stacking seamless. 

    As nights get shorter and shorter during spring here, it might be interesting to use as much dark time as possible in imaging. Do you think the savings are important? What is your experience?

    Thanks a lot,

    Jose

  2. Hello tomato,

    Security is not a concern and I can always uninstall the mount if we leave on holidays. So it would only imply setting up the mount and aligning it a couple of times per year.

    About a roll-off structure, it would take a slightly less convincing effort than a small observatory in the form of a shed. She is not as worried about the footprint of the observatory as of it looking odd in the garden. 

    So I´ll think about it, probably start doing some field testing with my current mount and tripod, leaving them out for long periods of time with the cover, hygrometer and dehumidifier/dew heater. Then I will have better idea about the limitations of this kind of setup and hopefully reduce my wife´s psycological barrier towards a full blown observatory. Who knows?

    Thanks again for your help

    • Like 1
  3. Hello Olly,

    Thanks a lot for your answer. It is nice to get first hand experience from people that had both mounts. I have learnt from reading some SGL´s posts that you love the Mesu so, when you advice against using it as a portable mount, I know it is sound advice. The balance of all the great responses clearly is on the side of Linear for portable setup and Mesu for permanent setup.

    So, I´ve been thinking about tomato´s suggestion of a permanent pier (yes, I´m kind of stubborn 😀).

    I would obviously have to use some kind of cover (I am thinking about Telegizmos 365 ) and I can monitor the humidity with a wireless sensor. I also found some wireless dehumidifiers. I´ll try to estimate which capacity would I need so it won´t be like looking after a baby that just stopped using diapers. There are always accidents. So I think I got myself a new project....

  4. Hello Hallingskies,

    The Avalon Linear is surely a beauty. I also have primalucelab rings and dovetail bars, so it would look perfect with my rigs. 

    I think the new one don´t come with EQMOD any more. But I´m not currently using EQMOD, so I would not miss anything, although I might not be having access to something very good.

    It is good to hear that it performs so well. It surely is a great mount. the only reason I am considering the Mesu is that I believe you get so much more for the extra money. But it clearly is not meant to be portable. So it all boils down to a compromise between portability and tracking/load capacity. It would not make sense to have a great piece of equipment that you don´t use because it is not practical.

    So I´ll give it some more thought before I decide either way.

    Thanks a lot for your help.

  5. Hello,

    Thanks tomato for your input. It is precisely the Alt/Az adjustments that worry me. A pier could be a possibility, but I don´t know how would I feel about leaving the mount outside -even with a cover- for long periods of time.

    Yes Steve, I use the Polemaster today and I like it very much, but it is rather the manipulation of the Alt/Az screws that worries me.

    Skipper Billy, I am more of the short spanish kind of complexion 😂. The 17 kgs don´t scare me, but fighting in the cold night with Alt/Az adjustments that are only meant to be manipulated every now and then...I´d rather not do that.

    I think I´m going to try to contact some of the few MKII users out there to learn about their first hand experience with the new mount and make it a 2020 project rather than a 2019 one.

    It is great to get all your input and I thank you a lot for that.

  6. I like your perspective R26 oldtimer 😀

    11 hours ago, R26 oldtimer said:

    No, no, no. You are not thinking right. You should get the Mesu, so you'll have to get an obsy, and then there is no reason not to make it a triple rig by getting a couple of more scopes. 😋

    Joking aside, if you're at the point of comparing those two mounts, then go for the best, or you will always wonder

     

    Skipper Billy and sloz1664, thanks a lot for your first hand experience with the Linear. I called Avalon Instruments yesterday and they said they haven´t had complains about how the mount behaves in moderare wind conditions, but it is always reassuring to learn from experienced users.

    I exchanged some emails with Lucas Mesu and he brought up that the new Mesu 200 MKII´s head is 10 kg lighter than the MKI. A 17 kg mount head with 100 kg load capacity. If you compare it price-wise with equivalent capacity premium mounts, it seems like a bargain to me.

    My only concern with the new version of the Mesu would be ease of polar alignment. If I have to set up every night then I need to be able to get a good Polar Alignment in a reasonable amount of time. So, if there are any early adopters of the new mount with a non permanent setup it would be great to hear their perspective on this.

    Difficult decision indeed....

  7. Skipper Billy, vlaiv, Steve,

    Thankyou for your comments! 

    I cannot say that I will never ever need the carrying capacity of the Mesu. But I am pretty sure I won´t go bigger than the Esprit 120 on a refractor and even if I decide to get an 11 inch SCT I´d still be below ther Linear´s capacity. So the only way I would need (vs want) the Mesu is if I want to mount a couple of OTA´s together, and that will only happen if I get an observatory. And as I cannot hide the observatory from my wife, it is a no go 😀

    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?

    Thanks again for your help,

    Jose

     

  8. Hello,

    I finally decided that I need a better mount. I think that the first advice I got when starting astrophotography was that the mount was the most important part of the equipment, but I somehow had to learn it the hard way.

    I use three different rigs: 85 mm triplet, 120 mm triplet and 8 inches SCT. So, with cameras, filterwheels and Moonlite focusers and other accesories each rig is well bellow the 15 kg.

    I don’t have an observatory, so I started looking for a portable premium mount. I decided not to go for American brands because they are much more expensive than the European ones. And living in Europe I prefer being close to the manufacturer, just in case.

    The linear seemed to be a winner, it’s light, it has a great reputation and it is beautifull. I was ready to pull the trigger and... I read a thread comparing it to the Mesu 200.

    It is clear to me that the Mesu is the better one.But I don’t need the payload capacity of the Mesu and  I’d rather get a light mount to set up quickly when suddenly the skies clear.

    Then again, it just doesn’t make sense to me that a mount like the Mesu is just 20% more expensive than the Linear. It really seems a fantastic deal to me.

    So now I’m in the situation where I’ve convinced myself that it is better to be overmounted for a few years and get the mount I will probably keep for life. Does it make sense?

    Thanks in advance for your opinions,

     

    Jose

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