Mesu Mount 200

[ollypenrice]

Mesu, tak and?

...Leica 8x42 binoculars. Mind you, there are some near misses. The TEC140 in visual is pretty damned nice.

Olly

[ncjunk]

A very important point for anyone considering one of these for an automated setup.

Talk to lucas mesu first.

The argonavis servocat setup doesn't do an automatic meridean flip via ascom goto. It stays pointing the same direction and just does a goto with no flip.

So not only is it waiting on park and tracking on/off control on the ascom driver/firmware side (which is coming<)

It can't flip automatically when i want to image on the otherside of the meridean (this is done manually using the handcontroller and when on the otherside you just issue another goto)

But the mount is excellent, so talk to lucas first as he has other controller options.

I'll just have to see if i can create some way of flipping in a custom ascom driver with the new firmware.

[pete_l]

A very important point for anyone considering one of these for an automated setup.

Talk to lucas mesu first.

Does anyone know if Lucas will be in attendance at Astrofest in January. If he will be there - even on someone else's stand, that alone is enough to get me to go.

[ncjunk]

Send him an email and ask! You can ask any other questions as well, very nice chap.

info at mesu-optics.nl

[Laperuz]

Very interresting thread, guys! I ordered my Mesu 200 about a month and a half ago. It is being build. Lucas convinced me to go with the Sitech encoders and controller. The only problem I see with that is that it cannot be used without some sort of planetarium program for GoTo. Otherwise, we'll see how it works. Hopefully I am getting the Mount in January. Ian

[vdb]

To revive this thread, Jeffrey and I did some research on the Sitech controller and it is one hell of a controller!

It can build an automated sky model, but and this is the real kicker, it uses this model to do adjusted tracking in both Ra and Dec,

yes both axis are corrected for any flex, mirror flop, PA, refraction etc ... Making guiding less necessary, you know that when you send a guide correction some kind of error already made it into your picture ... (the tracking model is something like Protrack from Paramount ...)

So we think together with a medium res encoder like the gurley on RA this will be an unbeatable mount presumable even being able to do unguided images at medium pixel scales ...

Price/weight/performance this will be hard to beat. If one is ready to do some DIY Renishaw encoder adaption then I think there is no competition ...

And for those who don't want a PC, it seems the controller can also accept the Argo Navis (you need PC for advanced feature though ...)

Yves

[ncjunk]

Thanks for the update, i checked the info on the sitech and it looks fantastic. It has a proper ascom driver with decent functionality.

Knowing what i now know i wouldn't have touched the servocat navis combination with a barge pole. No meridian flip and no control via pc (ignore the ascom driver it's useless). But then it is a setup for automating dobs and not gems so we shouldn't be too hard on it.

It should never have been used on a gem in its current format.

[ribuck]

Yves, I emailed mesu tonight asking if it's possible to get the mount factory fitted with renishaw encoders & sitech controller. If it is then it will be the ultimate mount in terms of performance/payload/price. The more I look at the mount the more I like it.

[ribuck]

Yves where did you find the information about flex, mirror flop, PA, refraction etc on the mesu 200

[ncjunk]

Yves, I emailed mesu tonight asking if it's possible to get the mount factory fitted with renishaw encoders & sitech controller. If it is then it will be the ultimate mount in terms of performance/payload/price. The more I look at the mount the more I like it.

I am pretty sure he's started doing them. I would have to send mine back to be modded and pay for the sitech stuff, so i'm pretty disappointed with the navis controller option.

[ribuck]

Hi Neil,

I didn't even realise that it had any encoders, but I just got the following email reply tonight, so it looks like you are right.

All you ask is already standard in the Mesu-200.

Every axis has one encoder on the motor and one direct on the axis.

[ncjunk]

Yep,

It's got an encoder on the ra which looks like it maybe a 2500 ppr resolution, i was going to look it up when i had 5 mins spare.

Edit- its a us digital encoder with 2500 cpr by the looks of it.

Works very well with the servocat.

[ribuck]

Neil check out the last few post in my thread about best mount for 5-6k, as I posted emails from Lucas about the encoders. Apparently there are 2 sets of encoders. A Seth on the motors and a set on the axis. The encoders on the motors are 8 million ticks but the axis ones are much lower resolution.

[ncjunk]

Ahh I'll go and look.

That makes sense now you say it, that additional bit on the motors an encoder....I should have picked that up

[ribuck]

Apologies for going slightly off topic here but wondered what the pointing / tracking accuracy of comets is lime. Has anyone tried imaging comets with the Mesu 200.

Thanks,

Rich

[ncjunk]

Sorry rich i've not tried it.