Mesu e200

[tooth_dr]

37 minutes ago, Jonk said:

Never assume anything! Do you have some callipers? A steel rule might work across the diameter wt the end of the shaft.

I do have calipers!  Mounts still in London though

[Xsubmariner]

I received my Mk2 in December and after checking mine was slightly larger at 40.5mm Bernard checked his remaining units and they were all the same size. A quick call to Bernard should clarify your counterweight shaft size.  

[tooth_dr]

I finally collected the mount late last night. Dropped of the CW shaft at a friends to get CWs sorted out.

Solid looking bit of kit 😍

 

 

[tooth_dr]

My friend sent me an image of the nylon bushes he has made for lining the CWs. 

[Jonk]

3 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

I finally collected the mount late last night. Dropped of the CW shaft at a friends to get CWs sorted out.

Solid looking bit of kit 😍

 

 

You didn't go for the losmandy clamp either? What are your plans for mounting equipment on the DEC drive?

[tooth_dr]

11 minutes ago, Jonk said:

You didn't go for the losmandy clamp either? What are your plans for mounting equipment on the DEC drive?

The losmandy clamp is in a bag along with the controller and wires, and the invoice lol

[david_taurus83]

Congrats on the new mount Adam! Should open up a whole new range of focal length should you be tempted!

[tooth_dr]

54 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Congrats on the new mount Adam! Should open up a whole new range of focal length should you be tempted!

Thanks David. I’ll be keen to get my 10” Newt on it, and kinda regret selling a 12” PDS I had.

[Jonk]

2 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Thanks David. I’ll be keen to get my 10” Newt on it, and kinda regret selling a 12” PDS I had.

I’m thinking about how I can adapt my Sumerian 16” to fit on mine 😬

[tooth_dr]

Slow progress, weather and waiting on CWs.

I did do a quick polar alignment tonight to allow me to drill the 2nd and 3rd hole in the pier adapter plate.

The three bolts between the wedge and mount are surprising easy and accurate to use.  The wedge is for 52deg, and works fine at 54deg.

 

 

[Xsubmariner]

Great news Adam. A good idea to PA the base to get it aligned as accurate as possible before bolting down, it certainly eases later PA’s using the 3 mounting bolts. Looking forward to reading about your first guiding experience with the mount.

[Jonk]

I took mine for its first test outdoor test drive today, before I was caught out by the rain!

Here it is looking at Venus. 
 

Nothing really on the top plate, just there for some weight.

The guide scope was plugged in just to get something on screen, and as I started to drift align I was caught out by the rain which I knew was coming, just not yet!

Looking forwards to the next clear eve to carry on setting up and testing!

[tooth_dr]

With a few clear patches being forecast I tried to make some progress.

Last night I had the mount secured by one bolt, and I got a rough polar alignment done. I marked the other two holes in the steel plate.

Today I drilled them out and fitted the 3 x M12 bolts.

I made up a better holder for my guidecamera using some off cut from a dovetail and redid my polar alignment.

It was 2.5 degrees out so took a bit of adjusting but the configuration between the wedge and mount allowed for this, with some to spare.

I got it hooked up to the pc and was able to move it.  Lots of parameters still to setup - looks like a guy called Pat tested it outside Portland, USA.

Unfortunately it wouldn’t track.

A few minutes later I removed the mount limits and the mount started tracking.

PHD2 - it connects but wouldnt move the guide star to calibrate. The mount says - below horizon limits. Before I could do any more it started snowing so I packed up.

Im guessing it needs a plate solve to tell it where it’s at.

Unfortunately I can’t do much more until my CWs get finished, as I don’t fancy hanging too much off my homemade bar 😂

[Jonk]

You don’t need to be too accurate to start with, just manually point it roughly at a known object and sync to it... you may need to enter the coords into sitech.exe.

I had the same issue when bench testing but it’s fine now after the init.

Also, find the horizon file and delete it... mine was preset to a very odd shape!

I did some slewing and testing last night with a rough PA and all appeared well so far.

[tooth_dr]

4 minutes ago, Jonk said:

You don’t need to be too accurate to start with, just manually point it roughly at a known object and sync to it... you may need to enter the coords into sitech.exe.

I had the same issue when bench testing but it’s fine now after the init.

Also, find the horizon file and delete it... mine was preset to a very odd shape!

I did some slewing and testing last night with a rough PA and all appeared well so far.

Thanks Jon. I saved the existing horizon file and then removed it from the settings.  I also updated my coordinates. I’ll try syncing it tonight. I’ll point it at M42 and go from there.  Anything else to update?

Cant add any more equipment until I get the CWs back.  Might try my DSLR tonight as I should get away with that. 
 

Someone said to save the default SiTech settings. How do I do that?

Edited March 3, 2020 by tooth_dr

[Laurin Dave]

6 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Someone said to save the default SiTech settings. How do I do that?

Hi Adam

Assuming you have Steve Richards Mesu set up guide ..how to do it is on pages 10 for Servoconfig  and 12 for Sitechexe..   

Dave

[tooth_dr]

16 minutes ago, Laurin Dave said:

Hi Adam

Assuming you have Steve Richards Mesu set up guide ..how to do it is on pages 10 for Servoconfig  and 12 for Sitechexe..   

Dave

Thanks Dave, I will look now.  I read the instructions a few weeks ago, but didn't recall that.

[gorann]

7 hours ago, Laurin Dave said:

Hi Adam

Assuming you have Steve Richards Mesu set up guide ..how to do it is on pages 10 for Servoconfig  and 12 for Sitechexe..   

Dave

Just wondering if the Steve Richards guide also works identically for the simpler SiTech I provided with the new Mesu 200. The "old" Mesu 200 mounts Dave and I have has the more advanced SiTech II, but maybe the commands are the same.

Edited March 3, 2020 by gorann

[steppenwolf]

1 hour ago, gorann said:

Just wondering if the Steve Richards guide also works identically for the simpler SiTech I provided with the new Mesu 200. The "old" Mesu 200 mounts Dave and I have has the more advanced SiTech II, but maybe the commands are the same.

Lucas (Mesu) recently asked me for my original manuscript so that he could update it for the new version of the mount but I don't know if he has released it yet I'm afraid.

[Jonk]

1 hour ago, steppenwolf said:

I don't know if he has released it yet I'm afraid.

Not as far as I know either - the only document I've seen is yours.

[tooth_dr]

This booklet came with my mount.  It was supposed to be clear this evening but it wasn’t. I followed the setting up as per Steve’s guide for the mk one version and hope to get a clear night soon to test it out. 

[Jonk]

I didn't get that with mine!

[tooth_dr]

17 hours ago, Jonk said:

I didn't get that with mine!

I'll send you a copy via email if you want Jon.  Send me a PM with your email.

 

[tooth_dr]

It's forecasting it to be clear tonight, so I'm hoping to try the mount out with just a DSLR / lens attached and a guidescope.

It currently keeps flashing that it is below horizon limit (or something like that, cant recall exact phrase) in the sitech message box.  I'm not totally sure how to go about addressing that.  How do I force it to update it's position?

[Laurin Dave]

22 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

It's forecasting it to be clear tonight, so I'm hoping to try the mount out with just a DSLR / lens attached and a guidescope.

It currently keeps flashing that it is below horizon limit (or something like that, cant recall exact phrase) in the sitech message box.  I'm not totally sure how to go about addressing that.  How do I force it to update it's position?

What direction does Sitech say its pointing when you do an offset init?..  and is it really pointing that way ? if not check the appropriate "radio" button  ..  Hopefully I remembered this correctly..

Dave