Mesu 200 MkII as a Portable Mount.

[lrsibb]

I didn't want to hijack any previous mount discussion threads so I am creating a new one.  

We have been doing astrophotography for a couple of years with mostly mass market equipment.  Wanting to take things to the next level we purchased a Sharpstar 140 PH refractor (TEC 140 out of reach .. ), and needed a more robust mount than the hyper-tuned CGEM II we had been using - it did work, but required much patience and attention... 

After much investigation like many on here have done, I decided to contact Lucas Mesu about a Mesu 200 MkII.  I really wanted a variable latitude solution since we live at 51 deg North in Alberta, but like to travel south (when it is possible) as far as the US/Mexican border. Options were to buy different fixed wedges, but Lucas also offered to build a variable latitude wedge of minimalist design.  We took him up on it and now have tested the equipment at home here in Calgary.

The pictures show the wedge newly installed on an Ioptron Tri-Pier.  It was not final configuration as the pier is not extended as was done for imaging test, which allowed the legs to be extended outward for more stability. Lucas included holes in the wedge base plate to allow attachment to an Ioptron adapter plate (https://www.ioptron.com/product-p/8036.htm) that fit perfectly.  I chose the Ioptron Tri-pier as it is a partial pier design, has good weight capacity and packs up into a compact travel case.  The Mesu is easier to move and install than my CGEM II.

Getting familiar with the Sitech Controller system was not too bad an experience, but I think the documentation could be better. Everything did work well from the start, once the required knowledge was assembled from various sources including this site (thanks to all who posted). The Sharpstar 140 is not crazy heavy but the entire optical assembly has a decently high moment arm including flattener, filter wheel, OAG/guide camera(290MM mini) and imaging camera (1600MM Pro). Initial testing using the motor and clutch releases for balancing were good.  It is a high capacity mount, but with the large moment arm, care had to be taken to ensure balance and therefore no tracking slippage. Once this was figured out, all was great. 

Much is opined here and elsewhere about the apparently rudimentary polar alignment system but I loved it from the start.  I used Sharpcap Pro's polar alignment utility that uses the imaging camera and gives instant plate-solved feedback for adjustment. Two 19mm wrenches and a happy engineer made very fine adjustments that stayed locked in. It was almost as fun as getting the first images in. 

The Sitech interface is less than user friendly, but not intractable by any means.  I took the advice on here that polar aligning, and initial offset pointing was all that is required to get going and it worked (due to restricted skies in my back yard I did not attempt sky modeling) . Using APT and Stellarium, everything functioned well.  Initial offset pointing allowed moving to a target with reasonable accuracy - using ASTAP plate solving in APT as I have done with other set ups worked incredibly well - with final targeting within a handful of pixels due to the mount. Tracking and guiding (with a well balanced assembly!) was wonderfully boring..... 

We have just done some initial imaging with the mount and are happy with the results. I include a screen grab of an early guiding example - sub 0.4 arc-second rms out of the gate with oblong stars (patience to get first image was being exceeded) without tweaking - ho hum.  

First Light Image is NGC 281 from Bortle 8 backyard - is also here - https://www.astrobin.com/8m30fu/?nc=user. Credit goes to my wife and buddy Kimberly Sibbald for processing. 

 

Lucas Mesu could not have been more helpful in allowing us to get to this set-up.  We are looking forward to some travel with it, and, when circumstances allow, maybe a small observatory in the future.....

 

A final thought here is that it would have been a pity to have started out with a premium mount like this - Although many hours of frustration were experienced with other, cheaper equipment, that created much learning.  It also made using a premium mount for the first time extremely gratifying. 

 

[Jonk]

Congratulations, welcome to the Mesu MK2 owner's club - hopefully the results speak for themselves!

I'd love to take mine to Arizona or somewere similar, maybe in the future.

[lrsibb]

Hello and Thank You .

Hopefully we can all travel to warmer climates soon - It is -30 C here in Alberta currently......

[Jonk]

Cold here too, but not as bad!

[ZS1RA]

This is an interesting wedge. Lucas made my wedge midway between the Southern most and Northern most latitudes that I normally travel in. I may ask him to make one of these adjustable wedges for me.

He had to move my telescope back from the centre of the tripod as I live at 33 deg S so my setup is really close to vertical. This move of the centre of gravity has made the whole setup more stable.

This is a Facebook page for Mesu owners.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/220611292974183

Cheers Shaun

[tomato]

Great rig, nice to see someone making a Mesu portable. That drilled semi-circular plate on the adjustable wedge looks suspiciously like the ones installed on the Mk I Mesu.😊

[old_eyes]

Remembering what it felt like to put my Mesu on my pier, and then load an Esprit 120 on top, I can only say how impressed I am with your dedication to a mobile rig 😲👏!

[AKB]

15 hours ago, old_eyes said:

Remembering what it felt like to put my Mesu on my pier, and then load an Esprit 120 on top

I'm in training, and slowly building up to that...

[tomato]

I remember that…