ZS1RA

Hi. 
I’m sorry to admit that misery enjoys company. I cannot believe that I made this mistake too. 
Would you please let me know where you ordered your boards from. I don’t have the wherewithal to fault find at the moment but I will keep the old boards and fix it sometime. Hopefully to give it to some poor soul who makes the same mistake. 
Thanks

Shaun

I had exactly the same. I purchased from telescopes.net, they arranged with Celestron and sent me a new prism. It took long though.

On 05/09/2021 at 22:00, Cosmic Geoff said:

I have been going through my collection of Plantary Nebula images, taken as the opportunities arose with two telescopes, a CPC800 8" f10 SCT and a 102mm f5 achronat, and a ASI224MC planetary camera.   I wondered which was in fact the best tool for the job, as some planetary nebulae are very small.  

In general the SCT images have blurred stars (if they have any stars at all) while the 102mm images have a wider field, generally include some stars which look sharper, and since there are stars in the image I can usually attempt a live-stack.  I have not checked exhaustively, but the exposures should be shorter with the f5.

In short it looks like the 102mm f5 is the better tool for the job, and a better match of seconds of arc vs pixels.

I intend to continue the Planetary Nebula imaging, concentrating on the use of the small refractor.

I wonder if the OP bought the big Meade?

Hi,

Thanks for your response. I eventually decided to put the purchase on hold. I will continue using my 8” EdgeHD for now and at a later stage buy a 14” EdgeHD.

On 27/08/2021 at 21:37, garryblueboy said:

Will it permanently be set up as it’s a very heavy set up to put up and down every night 

Will be semi permanent, taken down in the rainy season.

A Meade LX200 14" SCT has become available on the used market near me. I am considering the purchase but have a question that I am hoping to get answered here.

My main area of interest is imaging Planetary Nebula and Galaxies, would this setup be any good for it?

TIA for any input and advice

This is an interesting wedge. Lucas made my wedge midway between the Southern most and Northern most latitudes that I normally travel in. I may ask him to make one of these adjustable wedges for me.

He had to move my telescope back from the centre of the tripod as I live at 33 deg S so my setup is really close to vertical. This move of the centre of gravity has made the whole setup more stable.

This is a Facebook page for Mesu owners.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/220611292974183

Cheers Shaun

4 hours ago, gorann said:

It could also be seeing. My Mesu can give me 0.3 - 0.4" RMS on good nights but other nights I get 0.8". Both are usually ok for the pixel scale I work at. However, it is evident that I get better guiding when I use OAGs instead of a guide scope, but when I have a RASA on the mount OAG is not an option and then guiding is rarely better than 0.7".

Hi,

that’s good to know. I’m just so envious of all these flat graphs with a 2” scale and I have to resort to 8” scale 🤣😂😂

There’s is a Facebook group for Mesu owners.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/220611292974183

Cheers

On 24/07/2021 at 11:54, dan_adi said:

Mesu 200 autoguiding very well last night. The total RMS varied between 0.14-0.25 ". I find that amazing!

Software: Prism v.10: the autoguiding tab has both centroid and full frame guiding, I used full frame guiding

Parameters: Aggression RA+DEC: 0.6, Minimum move: 0.2 pixel

Guider image scale: 1.27 "/pixel

Image scale: 0.92"/pixel

In the Calculations Tab look at "Both Error (current exposure:)" 

In the Distribution Tab, the white square is 1x1 pixel !

Wow, that’s really amazing. I’m just getting started and still getting to grips with Scitech. I’ve achieved Polar Alignment of 3 arc minutes. With a Esprit 100 refractor and a 50mm Orion guidescope with Starshoot Autoguide camera I’m at double your guiding resolution. I think that PA is playing a part in this but I’m also of the opinion that the Orion guidescope isn’t rigid enough in the mount ring as it has 2 screws to adjust the guide to main scope alignment and a third spring loaded floating pin. I suspect that this is introducing flexure into the system as I get unexpected blips in my guiding every few samples.

19 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I had to change my settings to ignore, rather than polite, or it kept doing the above.

That didn’t work for me but I now have a new message, Not Initialised. So I have something to work with now. Thanks Shaun

12 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I had to change my settings to ignore, rather than polite, or it kept doing the above.

Thanks will be trying that right now.

On 20/10/2020 at 00:24, astrophoto_canada said:

Hello Everyone, 

This is my first post on this forum (although I've lurked in the shadows for a while). So I thought I'd share some of the modifications that I've had done to the new Mesu MkII I received last week in case someone can benefit. Sadly I haven't tried it imaging yet only balanced, slewed it around and read the Sitech documentation to make sure everything is functioning.  The day it arrived we plunged into sub-zero temps and snow 😫. 

The mods include an extended wedge for some limited imaging past the meridian, and an angled counterweight bar for clearance in the tight space.  Some have commented in other posts on the long Mesu CW bar but its necessary to balance the weight of the head (unloaded) and to accommodate counterweights for the significant payload. Once tested I'll be loading this bad-boy with a number of different focal length scopes as changing equipment at 25C below is not fun. I lasted one winter doing this and the automated ESO (Exceedingly Small Observatory) was born.

Has anybody with this mount installed homing switches? The Sitech1 controller has an aux port for this purpose. For me this would be for integration into the ROR control system to prevent an expensive mistake.  Eventually the goal will be to monitor for inclement weather and shut down the system safely or automate parking and calibration frames at the end of a normal session. This is a work in progress as I only completed the ROR roof upgrades this summer. 

Thanks

Gary.

PS That flats panel needs moving. It was ok with the old mount but every inch counts now! 

 

Looking great. Where did you source those black counterweights from?

On 05/03/2019 at 12:09, Mcrogers1 said:

Hello,

I get a below horizon limits message in the Sitech window no matter where my scope is pointed. This prevents the scope from being able to initialize and start tracking and I have disabled using the horizon file under mount parameters. Tried blind tracking and no change.  I can't figure out why I'm getting this error. I used Steve Richard's guide for setup. 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Mike   

 

Hi Mike,

Did you get this resolved, if so would you mind sharing what fixed it? I just fired up my new Mesu and having the exact same problem. I’m in the Southern Hemisphere for what it’s worth.

Thanks 

shaun

On 14/12/2020 at 16:25, 8472 said:

I have an i7 laptop now and so, far it breezes through everything a throw at it - including my camera's 47mp mode.

Thanks for your help.

I’m about to buy this camera so doing some research. Are you happy with the QHY294M and were your initial problems due to lack of computer power?
 

Thanks Shaun

My mount has finally arrived. I have assembled it now for the software setup. I travel for the holiday from tomorrow so with only be able to set up in the new year. In the meantime I am asking around to do setup as I have zero experience with SciTech and it does look a little daunting.

After what felt like a decade my Mesu e200 was finally delivered. It is such a beautiful piece of machinery, no frills just pure functionality.

I had the counter weights manufactured locally and completed the mechanical assembly, pretty straight forward. Thanks to @Jonk, https://stargazerslounge.com/profile/37161-jonk/ for providing me with the dimensions for a 16,5kg counterweight in stainless steel. I downloaded and installed SciTech.exe plus the other bits of software to make it work. The only thing I’m still uncertain about is Carte du Ciel. I’m used to Stallerium for my Skywatcher and Celestron PWI, which I love. I guess I’ll just have to get used to CDC.

I need some assistance and would appreciate help. My mount is not going to have the luxury of a permanent pier, I have to move it off the balcony every time I’ve finished my session. I have a very limited view of the South (I’m in South Africa) and no view of the SCP. Despite this I can polar align to a high degree of accuracy with the Synscan routine embedded in the SkyWatcher EQ6R Pro hand controller. Having had a cursory glance at the help menu in the SciTech Polar Alignment tab and it appears that I will need to have a view of the Celestial Pole. Does anyone have advice please? 

Thanks Shaun

On 26/02/2020 at 15:39, Xsubmariner said:

Hi Adam,

Yes it is higher than I would hope with average seeing.   Last night the passing clouds were not helpful and I was experiencing “star lost” a lot of the time.  The backlash results were nice to see and I am confident the mount will meet my needs once commissioning is complete.  Once I get PHD and PA refined I am sure the figures will better reflect this mounts true performance.

I dream of this level of guiding, it’s superb. I’d like to see more detailed pics of your side by side configuration if you ever find the time. Well done on your installation.

On 22/01/2020 at 11:50, WanderingEye said:

Yes it does intrigue me that such a high end mount with superb engineering, uses such a simple and “old fashioned” for want of a better expression, way of adjusting PA... but if it works....... 😀

I was wondering about this very issue, once I made a rough model by holding a batinov mask at an angle and rotating it, it made perfect sense to me. I think it’s wonderfully simplistic and will ensure rigidity. I plan to use mine for semi portable use on a tripod as I don’t have an observatory. I would move my setup when there’s inclement weather so I would have to setup at least a few times a year. I’m thinking I’m going to need knurled nuts so I can turn it by hand instead of fiddling with spanners to do this task repeatedly.

On 22/01/2020 at 12:02, tooth_dr said:

I know that you asked the same questions on this thread, and got the same answers.  It might be better dropping Lucas Mesu an email directly if you need more info?

 

 

I actually emailed him this morning to ask this very question. I feel foolish now that I found this thread.

On 09/07/2020 at 12:49, Jonk said:

The last conversation I had with the UK reseller was the motors availability was holding back the next batch, and they were due in August. Not that I'm going to buy a 2nd mount!

I used 150mm diameter stainless steel 316 billet (marine grade) at 125mm length, with a bronze insert pressed in and polyacetal tipped thumbscrew.

Thanks, very useful information. I also just noticed that there is a big difference on the pier attachment. I am puzzled by the Azimuth adjustment. Do you know how fine adjustments to the Azimuth is done,?

@Xsubmariner  I love your mount and thanks for sharing this. I hit the BUY button today and ordered my Mesu e200. I am reading up and checking out the mout to work out how Lucas saved all the weight and it obviously comes from the pier attachment arrangement. I understand how one does the Lat adjustments by adjusting the bolts but I would like to know how do you fine adjust the Azimuth. I cannot see any way to adjust the Az. I ordered the tripod as I need to move my setup occasionally so easy fuss free adjustments are important for me.

On 30/01/2020 at 12:23, Jonk said:

I received this photo today...

16.5kg each. This weekend I’ll put one on and get the mount slewing and under control hopefully.

What are the dimensions to give you 16kg

On 09/10/2019 at 21:47, Jonk said:

After all this time, reading, learning and having a word with myself on more than 1 occasion, I've just placed an order for a new Mesu 200 Mk2 mount.

It's being referred to as a Mesu e200 (e for enhanced).

I'm now skint, but hey ho it was a long time coming!

It will be delivered in the next week or so but I can't install it yet as there are a number of things I need to do.

1. Make an adaptor plate to fit my pier.

2. Collect my pier from the powder coaters (very shortly).

3. Purchase some 316 stainless steel billet to make some counterweights. These will easily be less than half the cost of the commercial ones available.

4. Dig a hole and pour the concrete.

5. Locate the mount.

6. Build the observatory around the mount.

7. Hopefully start enjoying it and really getting some good imaging / observing done!

Thanks to @carballada for his enthusiam and updates / videos, it has certainly helped me to push the button.

I'll try and keep this thread updated with progress, but not for a while yet so watch this space if you're interested!

Ciao for now.

Jon

I’m about to order but was told that there’s a 10 week lead time. I don’t know how I’m going to contain myself once I hit the BUY button

On 14/03/2020 at 10:13, gazza said:

Thanks, but the driver is loaded. All other functions work via pc as they should, guiding doesn't though..

Gary

Hi Gary,

I realise this is very old but I’m having exactly the same problem with my Star Sense for SkyWatcher. Did you resolve the issue or have you abandoned it?

Thanks Shaun