Mesu 200 mount has arrived...

[tocster]

My Mesu 200 order has finally arrived in Australia!  Very much looking forward to getting it all setup.  That counter weight bar could kill someone with one blow - quite a weapon!

 

[IanC11]

Nice...lucky you

[steppenwolf]

Good choice, you'll love it!

[sloz1664]

I invested a lot of time and effort into choosing a new mount as an upgrade from my NEQ6. The Mesu 200 was top of the list, until I saw a Avalon Linear mount for sale at "the right price." I cannot fault the Avalon and it has never failed me, although I have failed 'arry Avalon on many occasion. Unless I require a heavier payload the Mesu is on the back burner and "old 'arry" will keep plodding on.

Good luck with your Mesu 200 and keep us posted.

Steve

[tocster]

56 minutes ago, sloz1664 said:

I invested a lot of time and effort into choosing a new mount as an upgrade from my NEQ6. The Mesu 200 was top of the list, until I saw a Avalon Linear mount for sale at "the right price." I cannot fault the Avalon and it has never failed me, although I have failed 'arry Avalon on many occasion. Unless I require a heavier payload the Mesu is on the back burner and "old 'arry" will keep plodding on.

Good luck with your Mesu 200 and keep us posted.

Steve

Avalon linear was also on my short list. (I really wanted a 10micron, but the are double the price of the mesu 200 here, so it was out)

[tomato]

Congratulations, I remember the buzz I had when I first laid eyes on this mount!

I take your point about the counter weight, Thor's hammer comes to mind.

 

[steppenwolf]

4 hours ago, tocster said:

That counter weight bar could kill someone with one blow - quite a weapon!

It won't flex though will it?

[Dinglem]

4 hours ago, tocster said:

My Mesu 200 order has finally arrived in Australia!

Congrats is it possible to mount it upside down

[tocster]

4 hours ago, Dinglem said:

Congrats is it possible to mount it upside down

Southern Hemisphere is where it's at baby!  

[gazza]

Welcome to the club!

I think that makes yours the fourth in Australia - mine was the second, another one arrived in Melbourne about 3 weeks ago, and there is another in Queensland.

Enjoy it, the single best astro purchase I ever made.

cheers

Gary

[tocster]

Actually it is probably the fifth - I shared shipping with another Local Melbournite - his is still sitting in its wooden crate when he gets back from holidays

[tocster]

One question - My Saddle came with simple hex bolts to tighten it down to the dovetail.  This is going to be a pain in the butt :|  I guess I could use a simple hex tool to tighten it everytime, but it seems like a minor design fail.  

[RayD]

8 minutes ago, tocster said:

One question - My Saddle came with simple hex bolts to tighten it down to the dovetail.  This is going to be a pain in the butt :|  I guess I could use a simple hex tool to tighten it everytime, but it seems like a minor design fail.  

When you say "hex bolts" do you mean socket head (Allen key) type?  If so then this is correct as it makes sure you can tighten the dovetail sufficiently for the high loads it is designed to take.  Normal thumb screw type ones would be hard to get to, and would be difficult to tighten hard enough.

My Geoptic one came with both, but I immediately replaced the thumb screws with the socket heads.

It is a lovely mount BTW, hope you enjoy it.

[RayD]

This is my Mesu with the dual plate on it and, as you can see, the main dovetail has the socket headed screws.  Is this what you mean?  

As you can see, if these were thumbscrew type they would be quite hard to get to.

[steppenwolf]

3 hours ago, tocster said:

One question - My Saddle came with simple hex bolts to tighten it down to the dovetail.  This is going to be a pain in the butt :|  I guess I could use a simple hex tool to tighten it everytime, but it seems like a minor design fail.  

As the others have said, this is quite correct but in my view, it is an excellent engineering solution that ensures an solid fit with easy access despite the presence of the flat mounting table. You'll soon get used to it.

[tocster]

This is what I mean by the saddle - just a hex bolt.

I was told in a thread on iceinspace that this was done because there was an issue with larger ones hitting the mount somehow.

In the end it is not a massive issue for me - I was able to manage,  but I might see if I can give myself something to grip when trying to tighten them.

[RayD]

13 minutes ago, tocster said:

This is what I mean by the saddle - just a hex bolt.

I was told in a thread on iceinspace that this was done because there was an issue with larger ones hitting the mount somehow.

In the end it is not a massive issue for me - I was able to manage,  but I might see if I can give myself something to grip when trying to tighten them.

Yes that is the right way. Get yourself a T bar type Allen key and doing it up is easy.

[tocster]

Doing it tight with a tool is no problem, but managing a 12inch SCT in one hand and trying to finger tighten a small hex bolt initially it not that nice.  Just needs a little more surface area or grip.

[RayD]

13 minutes ago, tocster said:

Doing it tight with a tool is no problem, but managing a 12inch SCT in one hand and trying to finger tighten a small hex bolt initially it not that nice.  Just needs a little more surface area or grip.

I managed it with the below lot, so it is definitely doable.  I'd recommend something like this which I use, and it isn't too bad.  You can of course always change them for thumbscrews if you think they are a better solution.

[astrocatinfo]

13 hours ago, RayD said:

This is my Mesu with the dual plate on it and, as you can see, the main dovetail has the socket headed screws.  Is this what you mean?  

As you can see, if these were thumbscrew type they would be quite hard to get to.

 

Where did you get the saddle plates from? I also run a Mesu and I am planning a dual setup with FSQ85 and TS130.

[swag72]

26 minutes ago, astrocatinfo said:

 

Where did you get the saddle plates from? I also run a Mesu and I am planning a dual setup with FSQ85 and TS130.

here?  

[kirkster501]

I run side by side with a FSQ85 and a TEC140 on my MESU.

The whole thing works superbly.