Mesu mount (all versions) owner's thread

[astronomer2002]

7 hours ago, dan_adi said:

Have you tried asking mr. Mesu if he has your dat file? 

I have been emailing Lucas for 3 months now - I don't think he has kept the dat files from the Servocat/ArgoNavis versions of the mount. This is why I am asking elsewhere as there are many enthusiastic users out there and I don't think a 10 year old high value mount is that old yet.  I have a 20 year old AP1200 and any requests to AP for help get answered immediately. Try getting any support for a 5 year old Chinese made mount - it puts issues with other mounts into perspective.

 

Ian B

[dan_adi]

5 hours ago, astronomer2002 said:

I have been emailing Lucas for 3 months now - I don't think he has kept the dat files from the Servocat/ArgoNavis versions of the mount. This is why I am asking elsewhere as there are many enthusiastic users out there and I don't think a 10 year old high value mount is that old yet.  I have a 20 year old AP1200 and any requests to AP for help get answered immediately. Try getting any support for a 5 year old Chinese made mount - it puts issues with other mounts into perspective.

 

Ian B

I see from your signature that you use a MI250 mount with Sitech controller? I thought it was a Mesu mount ... my mistake. Did mr.Mesu fit the controller to the mount? Otherwise I don't see how he should have a dat file for that mount. Did you contact Mathis Instruments? Maybe they can help

[astronomer2002]

On 26/06/2022 at 21:05, dan_adi said:

I see from your signature that you use a MI250 mount with Sitech controller? I thought it was a Mesu mount ... my mistake. Did mr.Mesu fit the controller to the mount? Otherwise I don't see how he should have a dat file for that mount. Did you contact Mathis Instruments? Maybe they can help

Dan,

I have a mi250 with original Gemini 1 controller and motors. Never had any trouble with it. I also have a 2002 AP1200, no unsolved issues and excellent support from AP even though this is also a s/h mount.

 

I do also have a Mesu 200 which I am struggling with.

 

I purchased a second hand Mesu 200 after hearing all the good reports about the mount and support for it. I contacted Lucas before the purchase and he assured me he was happy to support the mount. It's carrying capacity is supposed to be higher than the Mi250 and as I wanted to put multiple scopes on the mount I decided to try a Mesu.

A previous owner of the Mesu seems to have changed the configuration of the Servocat and so I am trying to correct it. I lost the ArgoNavis setup during a software upgrade, but that seems to work fine now.

I am now suspicious that the axes are slipping or snagging during goto operations as they always come up short. If I use the hand controller from the Servocat to move the mount until the ArgoNavis display suggests the object is close I invariably see it in the field of view. The ArgoNavis uses its own shaft encoders, of course, so as long as the mount is roughly polar aligned any object can be found in this way.

I have run tests for Gary Myers, the builder of Servocat and the conclusion he has come to is that the rollers are slipping or binding during goto's. This is based on the 2-3 step goto code he wrote for Servocat. Given a goto instruction by the ArgoNavis he says the first course step should drive the mount to within 2-3 degrees of the target. The slew speed is then reduced to run a residual move and if necessary a final step to centre the object. On the test I ran I used the hand controller to move the mount to the object position to prove polar alignment. Then I drove the mount 55 degrees from the object in RA only. Now I issued a goto which should have driven the mount back to the object. Whilst it did alsmost achieve this the first stage only achieved 50% of the move (it stops between stages for a second or two) and according to Gary Myers even on the   worst Dobsonians the first stage move goes at least 90% of the way. I believe there is handshaking at the end of each of these move steps between the AN and the Servocat, though I may be wrong.

This may be the issue I am seeing as it explains why after a supposedly successful goto the ArgoNavis suggests the object is still some degrees away. Repeatedly pressing 'goto' does get the object in the field so I am minded to blame the odd performance on the rollers slipping or maybe binding.

There is no sound change during a goto or slew so I have been progressing with setup of the Servocat.  The way I understand goto's working is that the AN tells the Servocat how many ticks to drive each axis by. If it is always short then maybe the parameters are wrong. I am now not sure this is the issue but until I have the correct gear ratio and motor encoder resolution in the Servocat I am not 100% sure.

I have been unable to get the original Servocat parameters from Lucas, though he has offered to check out and fix the mount if I take it to him. If he was in this country I would take the mount to him now. Taking it to the Netherlands is a long and expensive commute, which I would have to do twice.

Mesu mounts may be excellent, but a small niggle in one can be extremely difficult to solve, as I am finding out.

 

Ian B

 

[dan_adi]

7 hours ago, astronomer2002 said:

Dan,

I have a mi250 with original Gemini 1 controller and motors. Never had any trouble with it. I also have a 2002 AP1200, no unsolved issues and excellent support from AP even though this is also a s/h mount.

 

I do also have a Mesu 200 which I am struggling with.

 

I purchased a second hand Mesu 200 after hearing all the good reports about the mount and support for it. I contacted Lucas before the purchase and he assured me he was happy to support the mount. It's carrying capacity is supposed to be higher than the Mi250 and as I wanted to put multiple scopes on the mount I decided to try a Mesu.

A previous owner of the Mesu seems to have changed the configuration of the Servocat and so I am trying to correct it. I lost the ArgoNavis setup during a software upgrade, but that seems to work fine now.

I am now suspicious that the axes are slipping or snagging during goto operations as they always come up short. If I use the hand controller from the Servocat to move the mount until the ArgoNavis display suggests the object is close I invariably see it in the field of view. The ArgoNavis uses its own shaft encoders, of course, so as long as the mount is roughly polar aligned any object can be found in this way.

I have run tests for Gary Myers, the builder of Servocat and the conclusion he has come to is that the rollers are slipping or binding during goto's. This is based on the 2-3 step goto code he wrote for Servocat. Given a goto instruction by the ArgoNavis he says the first course step should drive the mount to within 2-3 degrees of the target. The slew speed is then reduced to run a residual move and if necessary a final step to centre the object. On the test I ran I used the hand controller to move the mount to the object position to prove polar alignment. Then I drove the mount 55 degrees from the object in RA only. Now I issued a goto which should have driven the mount back to the object. Whilst it did alsmost achieve this the first stage only achieved 50% of the move (it stops between stages for a second or two) and according to Gary Myers even on the   worst Dobsonians the first stage move goes at least 90% of the way. I believe there is handshaking at the end of each of these move steps between the AN and the Servocat, though I may be wrong.

This may be the issue I am seeing as it explains why after a supposedly successful goto the ArgoNavis suggests the object is still some degrees away. Repeatedly pressing 'goto' does get the object in the field so I am minded to blame the odd performance on the rollers slipping or maybe binding.

There is no sound change during a goto or slew so I have been progressing with setup of the Servocat.  The way I understand goto's working is that the AN tells the Servocat how many ticks to drive each axis by. If it is always short then maybe the parameters are wrong. I am now not sure this is the issue but until I have the correct gear ratio and motor encoder resolution in the Servocat I am not 100% sure.

I have been unable to get the original Servocat parameters from Lucas, though he has offered to check out and fix the mount if I take it to him. If he was in this country I would take the mount to him now. Taking it to the Netherlands is a long and expensive commute, which I would have to do twice.

Mesu mounts may be excellent, but a small niggle in one can be extremely difficult to solve, as I am finding out.

 

Ian B

 

Friction drive mounts do slip, you can not eliminate it. Well u can but with Renishaw absoulte encoders on RA and DEC...

I usually run my mesu mount with the acceleration and speed at the lowest setting to reduce the slip possibility.

Overall, my guiding RMS is between 0.15" and 0.3" in seeing conditions of about 1.8-3 ".

For gotos I use platesolving.

Did you do your tests with a ccd/cmos camera attached to the scope?

Do you initialize the mount before gotos?

Edited June 28, 2022 by dan_adi

[astronomer2002]

On 29/06/2022 at 00:46, dan_adi said:

Friction drive mounts do slip, you can not eliminate it. Well u can but with Renishaw absoulte encoders on RA and DEC...

I usually run my mesu mount with the acceleration and speed at the lowest setting to reduce the slip possibility.

Overall, my guiding RMS is between 0.15" and 0.3" in seeing conditions of about 1.8-3 ".

For gotos I use platesolving.

Did you do your tests with a ccd/cmos camera attached to the scope?

Do you initialize the mount before gotos?

Dan,

Thankyou for the information on how you use your mount. I have left the default slew speed at 4 degrees per second, which might be higher than yours. What ramp up/down rate are you using? In the Servocat I have set 3 seconds. I assume you have a Sitech Controller rather than a Servocat, but the parameters ought to be similar. Your guiding figures are the best I have ever heard of.

I have run a number of tests with Gary Myers that indicates there is a varying amount of slippage in both axes during goto's.  It isn't predictable, except that the mount always comes up a bit short. This is why I thought the 2000:1 gear ratio may be wrong.

I hear what you say about friction drives, but if goto's cannot get you even close to where you want them to then it would make it frustrating to try and run the mount entirely remotely. Plate solving returned images may help to determine where the mount is pointing, but it does seem a retrograde step to have to do this every time.

Having now spoken to Lucas he tells me that every mount is configured with slightly different gear ratio's which he calculates whilst the mount is on his test rig. This probably explains why he couldn't provide a generic Dat file but general advice that the ratio is around 2000:1

Unfortunately it appears previous owners have not only messed with the software loaded on the mount but also the friction adjustment. After talking to Lucas I agree with him that the best course of action is to get the mount to him to apply any mechanical corrections needed. At the same time he will change the ArgoNavis/Servocat system for a Sitech controller. I had planned to do this myself, but it would be prudent to get him to do it. After it returns, which could be months away due to supply issues, it will be fully operational for the way I (and most other people) want to use it, be fully serviced by Lucas, and so be functionally as good as any Mesu mount out there.  I shall then have to consider whether to keep it or move it on.  The after affects of Covid have left both my wife and myself with long term issues so plans made when Covid was just getting started are having to change.

Having said the mount potentially may need some mechanical adjustments I have to add that with ArgoNavis and Servocat in unison I always know where the mount is pointing and have been able to use Stellarium to drive it through the ArgoNavis serial interface as well, so not a disastrous situation at all. I guess I was expecting a mount that was over £4K new back in the day, and now running at £6.3K new, to be perfect from day one and exhibit better goto performance than lower cost mounts. One thing that must be said in favour of the Mesu is that the electrical and electronic parts are readily available and that they are supported by the manufacturer who you can talk to. Neither of these points is true for most 10 year old budget mounts.

 

Ian B

 

 

[whipdry]

On 25/06/2022 at 13:19, astronomer2002 said:

Olly,

I connected the Servocat to my PC via a standard USB cable (the Servocat has a USB port on the front)

If you had a copy of the original dat file that Lucas should have included with the mount that would be a good starting point for me.

Here's a screenshot of what I have set up

 

Have you tried using the setting in the quoted post above? 

Peter

[dan_adi]

On 01/07/2022 at 20:20, astronomer2002 said:

Dan,

Thankyou for the information on how you use your mount. I have left the default slew speed at 4 degrees per second, which might be higher than yours. What ramp up/down rate are you using? In the Servocat I have set 3 seconds. I assume you have a Sitech Controller rather than a Servocat, but the parameters ought to be similar. Your guiding figures are the best I have ever heard of.

I have run a number of tests with Gary Myers that indicates there is a varying amount of slippage in both axes during goto's.  It isn't predictable, except that the mount always comes up a bit short. This is why I thought the 2000:1 gear ratio may be wrong.

I hear what you say about friction drives, but if goto's cannot get you even close to where you want them to then it would make it frustrating to try and run the mount entirely remotely. Plate solving returned images may help to determine where the mount is pointing, but it does seem a retrograde step to have to do this every time.

Having now spoken to Lucas he tells me that every mount is configured with slightly different gear ratio's which he calculates whilst the mount is on his test rig. This probably explains why he couldn't provide a generic Dat file but general advice that the ratio is around 2000:1

Unfortunately it appears previous owners have not only messed with the software loaded on the mount but also the friction adjustment. After talking to Lucas I agree with him that the best course of action is to get the mount to him to apply any mechanical corrections needed. At the same time he will change the ArgoNavis/Servocat system for a Sitech controller. I had planned to do this myself, but it would be prudent to get him to do it. After it returns, which could be months away due to supply issues, it will be fully operational for the way I (and most other people) want to use it, be fully serviced by Lucas, and so be functionally as good as any Mesu mount out there.  I shall then have to consider whether to keep it or move it on.  The after affects of Covid have left both my wife and myself with long term issues so plans made when Covid was just getting started are having to change.

Having said the mount potentially may need some mechanical adjustments I have to add that with ArgoNavis and Servocat in unison I always know where the mount is pointing and have been able to use Stellarium to drive it through the ArgoNavis serial interface as well, so not a disastrous situation at all. I guess I was expecting a mount that was over £4K new back in the day, and now running at £6.3K new, to be perfect from day one and exhibit better goto performance than lower cost mounts. One thing that must be said in favour of the Mesu is that the electrical and electronic parts are readily available and that they are supported by the manufacturer who you can talk to. Neither of these points is true for most 10 year old budget mounts.

 

Ian B

 

 

Sorry for the delayed response, haven't checked in for a while.

It's good that mr. Mesu will take the mount and service it. No doubt someone messed with it. 

The mount autoguides very well, as well as more expensive mounts, but they are small cut-corners if you will, in order to make the mount more accessible-price wise. For example I didn't like the wire connections and the servos exposed to the elements, a nice aluminium case to cover them would be nice and also protect the sensitive electronics.

Other than that the mount is really good for the high payload. 

The only time I see the autoguiding deteriorate to 0.5 " RMS or 0.7" is in windy conditions. But in windy conditions I also have worse seeing, so I don't image anyway in such a night.

In my routine I unpark the mount, so it starts tracking, I focus, then do a platesolve - offset init, then a goto to my target. The target is usually less than 1 arcminute away. I do another platesolve-offset init, goto target, and start autoguiding - imaging. So it would not take more than 2-3 platesolves to get things going. 

With regard to remote use, I wrote a little tutorial you can find here on the forum, in order to control the mount through a local area network. It is not hard but it takes a little DIY to make a serial cable and a small investment in a serial server dongle. This is how I control my mount now, and it works reliably, something I cannot say about using USB cables in general .. 

I am confident mr. Mesu will get your mount in order.

[gorann]

Monday this week I visited Lucas Mesu's workshop to pick up a refurbished mount that I bought from @ollypenrice this spring. Here is a post I made about the visit:

 

[tomato]

Yes it is a concern. However, the scarcity of clear nights in the UK probably means I will need a service before the mount does.

[tomato]

Sorry about the previous random post, saved to the wrong thread…🥴

[tomato]

Just in case anybody wants some real world experience on the Mesu 200 Mk 1 load carrying capacity, I have recently mounted a RASA8/QHY268c, Esprit 150/IMX571c and Altair 102 APO/ASI178 and FW for imaging and achieved consistent 0.45” total RMS guiding with PHD2 and an OAG. The Altair was mounted piggy back on the Esprit atop of an ADM adjustable saddle so there was quite a mass some distance from the mount. There were 30 kg of CWs on an extended shaft, as well as other strategically mounted weights to achieve a balanced rig.

[tomato]

You can balance a Mesu 200 MK 1 by feel, but when the mount load goes up I have found balance to be more critical for good guiding.

To that end @Tomatobro built a sensitive hand held strain gauge which outputs a signal which can then be displayed on plotting software. The wand is applied to the required axis with sufficient force to get the mount moving smoothly. The exercise is repeated in the opposite direction, remembering  to apply it in precisely the same position, then compare the plots on the screen and make adjustments.

You can get it pretty close with the one finger approach, but it is reassuring to see some quantitative output.

[Skipper Billy]

2 hours ago, tomato said:

You can balance a Mesu 200 MK 1 by feel, but when the mount load goes up I have found balance to be more critical for good guiding.

I have also found that when it is well balanced it guides more smoothly.

I use one of these and it makes balancing an absolute breeze. 

https://www.prologik-astro.com/product-page/ioptron-gem-series-prologik-balance-meter

 

[gorann]

12 hours ago, tomato said:

You can balance a Mesu 200 MK 1 by feel, but when the mount load goes up I have found balance to be more critical for good guiding.

To that end @Tomatobro built a sensitive hand held strain gauge which outputs a signal which can then be displayed on plotting software. The wand is applied to the required axis with sufficient force to get the mount moving smoothly. The exercise is repeated in the opposite direction, remembering  to apply it in precisely the same position, then compare the plots on the screen and make adjustments.

You can get it pretty close with the one finger approach, but it is reassuring to see some quantitative output.

Interesting solution and it got me thinking, maybe one could just use a digital kitchen scale to press up on the scope on each side, one like this (so no need for a computer). Or if it is too heavy for it, then one of those used by sports fishermen with some sling attached.

Cheers, Göran

Edited September 8, 2022 by gorann

[tomato]

These might work Goran, my only reservation would be their sensitivity. The transducer Tomatobro used is so sensitive, just turning the wand over shows up on the plot screen.

[gorann]

3 minutes ago, tomato said:

These might work Goran, my only reservation would be their sensitivity. The transducer Tomatobro used is so sensitive, just turning the wand over shows up on the plot screen.

Maybe it could be the next best if you do not have a Tomatobro😉

[tomato]

Yes, I’m very fortunate to have a retired engineer brother who shares my interest in AP. Now if only I could persuade all us to move to your dark skies…☺️

[astronomer2002]

Been a while since I posted asking for help with my Mesu 1 so I thought I'd put an update on here.

Due to a change of plans caused by Covid I have not used the Mesu 1  I acquired and have struggled to pass it on. Without a pillar to mount it on it is sitting on an old tripod (precariously) whilst I try to come to grips with it. I have been able to get it to work pretty well with Servocat and ArgoNavis but have as yet not overcome the apparent slippage during goto's, which result in having to press the goto button on the Servocat hand box once, or twice, more.  It always works, thanks to ArgoNavis shaft encoders.

Balancing is tricky, as everyone finds out, but not that hard. The scope array (if that's what you put on) can be balanced off the scope, which will at least bring  the Dec axis within Lucas's 10nm range with no requirement to do anything more. I found the RA axis, with the motor unpowered, is actually quite free and easy to balance. This may well point to the RA needing adjustment to increase stiffness. When power is turned on it becomes harder to balance.

I wanted to make sure the mount was OK  so contacted Lucas for advice. His suggestion was to send it to him for a 'service', and to that end I acquired a bespoke travel box.

In the meantime I have tried advertising the mount at a low price to see if there were any takers out there. Every reply I have had, and some led to weeks of email conversations, made me aware that people expect these mounts to have Sitech controllers and be run from exotic (in my opinion) software combinations purely from a PC. To that end I was persuaded to delve into that (brave new) world to see what could be done with the Servocat controller. Installing Ascom for the first time I have got  Nina to control the Mesu through it's USB socket (though the ArgoNavis needs to be turned on as well as the Servocat). I have got Stellarium to drive the mount through Nina, and this is a big improvement over connecting Stellarium directly to the ArgoNavis (as you don't have to press the goto button on the  servocat handbox to initiate a move). I have loaded PHD 2 and got it talking to the Servocat via NINA as well, so pulse guiding works too. I can get NINA to directly send the mount to RA and Dec locations as well. What I have yet to do is get a camera on a telescope to allow plate solving to correct any slippage in goto's . I wonder if slippage is common in the MESU but not noticed as plate solving camera controlled moves will completely hide this. After all, these are friction driven mounts.

I am therefore sure that the old MESU 1 mount can be controlled from the NINA et al combination that people seem to want to do via it's existing Servocat/ArgoNavis hardware.

I had pretty much decided the Sitech 1 upgrade was essential to sell the mount so held off sending it to Lucas whilst I experimented. Now I am not sure it's much of an upgrade, which leads to a real dilemma as to the next step. If there was an easy (cheap!) way to get this mount to Lucas for a service then that is where it would be now. If it absolutely needed a Sitech 1 controller installed that is the time to do it then biting the bullet and sending it for the full works would be the right thing.

I am still pondering this so am going to set the MESU up on the tripod less precariously in order to progress with better (and safer) tests, and allow proper polar alignment rather than the 'anywhere close will do' I have used for the testing to date. I am beginning to see the potential this mount possesses, but it's a world away from what I am used to.

As I cannot build another new observatory to take the extra mount, which I also considered, I have to face the fact the MESU is too heavy for me to use as a portable (30 years ago it would have been a no brainer, but tempus fugit and long covid have taken their toll).

Posts on this thread suggest there are a lot of happy MESU users out there, and a number have more than one mount. However, the small production runs and difficult times we live in, have rather stalled large scale take up of the design, and Brexit has made returning mounts to the supplier for maintenance/upgrades  much more awkward and expensive for UK owners. It's a shame, that at the moment, there's nobody in the UK willing to take on engineering support for this mount.

 

Ian B

 

 

 

[gorann]

41 minutes ago, astronomer2002 said:

Been a while since I posted asking for help with my Mesu 1 so I thought I'd put an update on here.

Due to a change of plans caused by Covid I have not used the Mesu 1  I acquired and have struggled to pass it on. Without a pillar to mount it on it is sitting on an old tripod (precariously) whilst I try to come to grips with it. I have been able to get it to work pretty well with Servocat and ArgoNavis but have as yet not overcome the apparent slippage during goto's, which result in having to press the goto button on the Servocat hand box once, or twice, more.  It always works, thanks to ArgoNavis shaft encoders.

Balancing is tricky, as everyone finds out, but not that hard. The scope array (if that's what you put on) can be balanced off the scope, which will at least bring  the Dec axis within Lucas's 10nm range with no requirement to do anything more. I found the RA axis, with the motor unpowered, is actually quite free and easy to balance. This may well point to the RA needing adjustment to increase stiffness. When power is turned on it becomes harder to balance.

I wanted to make sure the mount was OK  so contacted Lucas for advice. His suggestion was to send it to him for a 'service', and to that end I acquired a bespoke travel box.

In the meantime I have tried advertising the mount at a low price to see if there were any takers out there. Every reply I have had, and some led to weeks of email conversations, made me aware that people expect these mounts to have Sitech controllers and be run from exotic (in my opinion) software combinations purely from a PC. To that end I was persuaded to delve into that (brave new) world to see what could be done with the Servocat controller. Installing Ascom for the first time I have got  Nina to control the Mesu through it's USB socket (though the ArgoNavis needs to be turned on as well as the Servocat). I have got Stellarium to drive the mount through Nina, and this is a big improvement over connecting Stellarium directly to the ArgoNavis (as you don't have to press the goto button on the  servocat handbox to initiate a move). I have loaded PHD 2 and got it talking to the Servocat via NINA as well, so pulse guiding works too. I can get NINA to directly send the mount to RA and Dec locations as well. What I have yet to do is get a camera on a telescope to allow plate solving to correct any slippage in goto's . I wonder if slippage is common in the MESU but not noticed as plate solving camera controlled moves will completely hide this. After all, these are friction driven mounts.

I am therefore sure that the old MESU 1 mount can be controlled from the NINA et al combination that people seem to want to do via it's existing Servocat/ArgoNavis hardware.

I had pretty much decided the Sitech 1 upgrade was essential to sell the mount so held off sending it to Lucas whilst I experimented. Now I am not sure it's much of an upgrade, which leads to a real dilemma as to the next step. If there was an easy (cheap!) way to get this mount to Lucas for a service then that is where it would be now. If it absolutely needed a Sitech 1 controller installed that is the time to do it then biting the bullet and sending it for the full works would be the right thing.

I am still pondering this so am going to set the MESU up on the tripod less precariously in order to progress with better (and safer) tests, and allow proper polar alignment rather than the 'anywhere close will do' I have used for the testing to date. I am beginning to see the potential this mount possesses, but it's a world away from what I am used to.

As I cannot build another new observatory to take the extra mount, which I also considered, I have to face the fact the MESU is too heavy for me to use as a portable (30 years ago it would have been a no brainer, but tempus fugit and long covid have taken their toll).

Posts on this thread suggest there are a lot of happy MESU users out there, and a number have more than one mount. However, the small production runs and difficult times we live in, have rather stalled large scale take up of the design, and Brexit has made returning mounts to the supplier for maintenance/upgrades  much more awkward and expensive for UK owners. It's a shame, that at the moment, there's nobody in the UK willing to take on engineering support for this mount.

 

Ian B

 

 

 

On Google Maps it is just a 6 hours drive for you to get to Mesu's workshop with the mount in your trunk. I had a two days drive from Sweden to pick up my second Mesu, and me and my wife had some nice days in both Denmark and Germany on the way up and down. Not sure how long Lucas would need to upgrade it but maybe you could combine it with some local sightseeing and dining. Just a thought....

Edited October 3, 2022 by gorann

[astronomer2002]

44 minutes ago, gorann said:

On Google Maps it is just a 6 hours drive for you to get to Mesu's workshop with the mount in your trunk. I had a two days drive from Sweden to pick up my second Mesu, and me and my wife had some nice days in both Denmark and Germany on the way up and down. Not sure how long Lucas would need to upgrade it but maybe you could combine it with some local sightseeing and dining. Just a thought....

Goran,

 

Thankyou for the swift reply - good to know there are MESU users out there.

I looked into doing that after talking to Bernard at Modern Astronomy, but there are some issues. In reality it would cost at least 6-700 euro for the trip and the export/import paperwork is horrendous (If I got caught). Have never driven in Europe and, when I was working for Mars, I used to fly into Belgium and Paris, and the taxi trips to/from the airports convinced me to never try it! It also takes 6 hours (Real time) to get to the ferry port from where I live in UK (which is the cheapest crossing).

When I first started talking to Lucas it looked like the carriage would be under 300 euro, plus parts and VAT. That appears to have sky-rocketed since then.

Ian B

 

[tomato]

Hi Ian,

Why would you have to fill in import/export paperwork on a personal possession that you are taking with you on a tourist trip to Europe? Folks who take expensive cameras etc with them on holiday don’t have to do this, do they?
 

With regard to the slippage you report on your mount, I have never seen this on my mount, even with a heavy load on board. When the drives are powered up, there is no way I can move them manually, so it sounds like the friction drives need adjustment.

[gorann]

10 hours ago, astronomer2002 said:

Goran,

 

Thankyou for the swift reply - good to know there are MESU users out there.

I looked into doing that after talking to Bernard at Modern Astronomy, but there are some issues. In reality it would cost at least 6-700 euro for the trip and the export/import paperwork is horrendous (If I got caught). Have never driven in Europe and, when I was working for Mars, I used to fly into Belgium and Paris, and the taxi trips to/from the airports convinced me to never try it! It also takes 6 hours (Real time) to get to the ferry port from where I live in UK (which is the cheapest crossing).

When I first started talking to Lucas it looked like the carriage would be under 300 euro, plus parts and VAT. That appears to have sky-rocketed since then.

Ian B

 

I assume that in theory you should not have to pay any duties for sending and receiving an item for repair. I expect that Bernard could tell you what kind of papers you need to fill out.

If you decide to ship or transport your mount just make sure that nothing can hit or put pressure on the two servo motors - they are quite unprotected and can according to Lucas easily be damaged or even broken off. I think the rest of the mount is quite sturdy. Best is to use the wooden crate that Lucas made for it, or make a wooden crate yourself.

[whipdry]

To all Mesu e200 (Mk2) mount owners... speciations below are from MA website. 

Motor encoders now have 16.000.000 ticks/rev. instead of 8.000.000

Looking in Sidereal Technology Configuration Utility Motor Encoder Ticks setup page mine is set at under 12.000.000 

I'm curious to know if this is just an error... when I questioned Bernard he told me the info came from Lucas! 

Does anyone with the Mk2 have the 16.000.000 tick version of the Mesu mount? 

I'm guessing this is just an error where a 2 looked like a 6 when hand written... can you confirm your tick count with a screen shot? 

 

Peter

 

[tooth_dr]

On 27/10/2022 at 16:16, whipdry said:

To all Mesu e200 (Mk2) mount owners... speciations below are from MA website. 

Motor encoders now have 16.000.000 ticks/rev. instead of 8.000.000

Looking in Sidereal Technology Configuration Utility Motor Encoder Ticks setup page mine is set at under 12.000.000 

I'm curious to know if this is just an error... when I questioned Bernard he told me the info came from Lucas! 

Does anyone with the Mk2 have the 16.000.000 tick version of the Mesu mount? 

I'm guessing this is just an error where a 2 looked like a 6 when hand written... can you confirm your tick count with a screen shot? 

 

Peter

 

Peter,

Found it, this is mine

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by tooth_dr

[whipdry]

8 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Peter,

Found it, this is mine

 

Thanks for posting... if anyone else has looked please would you also post a screenshot. 

 

Peter