Takahashi Mewlon 210: Any opinions ?

[John]

I'm mulling over getting a scope that fits in aperture between my 130mm triplet refractor and the 12" dob. Around 8 / 20cm seems about right but I'd like compactness, portability and quality. There are a couple of the Tak Mewlon 210's available currently so I wondered what these are like. I've read that collimation can be a little tricky but once set it holds well. Any other quirks / vices / strengths that I ought to be aware of ?

It will be used for visual observing only.

Thanks

[iPeace]

Just voicing my interest in the 'aperture gap' as you perceive it, whilst not wishing to divert or derail matters.

[kerrylewis]

@John - I could almost have written your post myself ? Having reduced my scopes to two: the Tak 4" and the 14" Dob, I am also conscious of the 'aperture gap', and as a Tak aficionado I am intrigued by the Mewlon 210 which would fill the gap nicely. I think I've seen the two for sale that you mention but they are obviously uncommon and you don't see much info about them. However, what is said is predominately positive. 

They look to be a good design and, above all for me, very manageable. I've seen comments about collimation but also it seems that if they are set up correctly then they hold the settings well.

I will follow any responses with interest 

Kerry 

[dweller25]

@John

I had a M210 and directly compared it with my FS128 - on the planets the views were identical. The Mewlon was VERY seeing sensitive and needed precise collimation for best results and took a long time to truly cool down.

[Stargazer McCabe]

@John, I know you frequent CN and may have seen this, so apologies for duplication if so. But this, although old, is very useful in places about the Mewlon... https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/263977-mewlon-210-ota-vs-c8-xlt-ota-vs-edgehd-8-ota/
 

Our "aperture bridge" between the 5" and 14" is an EdgeHD 8. If you want any views on that do yell, but I won't divert this thread. 

[John]

If the Mewlon 210 will do no better than my TMB/LZOS 130mm triplet on the planets then an 8" SCT might be a better bet - cheaper too !

 

[iPeace]

20 minutes ago, John said:

If the Mewlon 210 will do no better than my TMB/LZOS 130mm triplet on the planets then an 8" SCT might be a better bet - cheaper too !

 

So that's you're main intended application, planets? Just thinking - you'd then use the Big Frac mainly for doubles?

[John]

18 minutes ago, iPeace said:

So that's you're main intended application, planets? Just thinking - you'd then use the Big Frac mainly for doubles?

Not really Mike - I'd like a decent "all rounder" if possible.

I'm just mulling things over at the moment - a couple of Mewlon 210's came up and it piqued my interest

Besides, my better half does not think that I need any more scopes

 

[Stu]

I’ve been very similarly tempted by those Mewlons John. Something has made me hold off on it though, and I don’t know what. The optics are supposed to be top notch, and there is no risk of getting a duffer, they will be consistently high quality as you well know.

Diffraction spikes and cooldown time are the only two negatives I can think of, collimation is very stable once set, and you could always get someone to do it highly accurately for you if need be.

I ended up with the Intes-Micro 715 Deluxe as my ‘gap filler’, possibly for reasons of compactness, not sure what else other than always wanting to try one.

[John]

Thanks for all the responses - much appreciated

I do of course have other "gaps" in my scope collection - at 16 and 20 inches aperture of course !

 

[nightfisher]

Is it worth getting the mewlon to scratch the itch, if it did not live up to your expectations resell it for about what you paid

[Stargazer McCabe]

If it’s as an all rounder with a bit more Light gathering @John, our 8” EdgeHD is very good with a lovely flat field. We only use it visually. And from time to time we use it’s dedicated 0.7x reducer too...

[Rainmaker]

The Mewlon 210 is an excellent scope and whilst planetary performance is not very different from a very good 5" apochromatic refractor, on DSOs the Mewlon 210 will leave the 5" well behind.

Yes, it does need to be allowed to cool to ambient, but what doesn't, it certainly takes no longer than an 8" SCT. As for the collimation, the worst thing you can do is replace the collimation screws with Bob's Knobs etc, the standard screws will hold collimation without any issues.

Collimation is best tweaked with an actual star if it is necessary, though the Tak collimation scope gets things close.  There is another procedure outlined by Fred G. at Tak America that worked for me.  Once set, I never needed to adjust it.

I too have a gap in that range that I will soon try to address  (60mm - 102mmBino -   X?   - 457mm)

 

[Guest]

I have a Mewlon 210 and the contrast is outstanding. The views of DSO's are much better than I had expected for a 8.1" scope. It does have cool down issues but the  planet views are much better than my TMB LZOS 130 F6 if the seeing will allow. Everything to do with planets is seeing dependent.  It has a long f-ratio at 11.5 so I needed a long focal length eyepiece for it and the TV 24mm Pan was ideal for low power views. I am not sure I liked the finder position so I did put a TelRad on it which works well.They are quite long scopes so the balance on the mount is quite critical. They are very portable. Obviously as a Dall-Kirkham design they are better on axis than off so for visual use outsanding, photographic use not so much.

 

The Tak coollimation scope will not work well on it as the secondary is not centre dotted like the 250 and 300.

 

The price is only going to go up after Brexit so if you see a good second hand one i would go for it.

 

Owen