Avalon Linear or Mesu 200

[ollypenrice]

On 15/12/2019 at 21:56, Jose Ignacio said:

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

You don't really need any advice from us because your assessment of the choice is perfect. I've used both mounts professionally and consider them both to be outstanding and the pick of the field. Your own analysis is right. If you were not mobile then the Mesu would win. It is certainly more mount for the money and is the better of the two. The 20% price difference makes the Mesu a clear winner on value for money. But is it a mount I'd take put up and strip down on a night by night basis? No. I have a regular guest who sets his up for a week at a time at my place and that makes perfect sense. Night by night? Ouch, maybe not.

The Avalon Linear Fast Reverse is one of the best astronomy products I've ever bought. The two Mesu 200 mounts (both bought second hand) are the best. Given that I have a TEC140 that is saying something, believe me.

Olly

[Jose Ignacio]

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....

[tomato]

Although a permanent pier would simplify set up time, I don’t think you want to be taking a Mesu (even a Mk2) on and off every session, so it is how you feel about leaving it on there with limited weather protection and security.

Could you persuade your wife to accept a small roll off structure over the pier? This would be much smaller than a full blown observatory (more like a narrow garden store), these have been used to good effect by a number of users of this forum. I am sure there are some build threads in the DIY section. That would keep your mount on the pier with decent weather protection and security.

[Jose Ignacio]

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

[sonnymoon]

Theres always the Avalon Uno? Single arm and no meridian flip (more often than not, depending on which part of the sky you are tracking and the length of your scope). Still fairly portable.

I have one and I'm very pleased with it.....

[Jose Ignacio]

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

[sonnymoon]

Hi Jose,

If you have flips sorted then probably no need for the Uno! Like the Linear it is superbly made, no backlash, no maintenance and tracks very well. Stargo works well with SGP. Luciano replies to emails himself (he's the boss at Avalon as far as I know) and there is now a forum on their website.

Although not many people have these mounts I have never read a bad word about them on the net. Best purchase I have made recently aside from my Golf GTI and my North Face parka

[Jose Ignacio]

Hi Sonnymoon,

I´ve been looking at the Uno...I think you have just made my decision more difficult 😱