Vote for the best visual planetry scope from the following three!

[Heavens Above]

Hi

What would be the best scope for visual planetary viewing from the following three:

1. Tec 140 Apo

2. Orion OMC 200

3. Tak Mewlon 210

Personal experiences would be gratefully received.

Thanks

[alfi]

hi

i would go for the Tec 140 Apo for planetary use, but then again, i love refractors.

alfi

[Doc]

I've heard the Tak Mewlon is awesome but if I had a choice The TEC140.

With all three you are going to need a good mount.

[mike bacanin]

mewlon is collimation critical, i've owned one.

TEC 140 for sure.

Mike

[moocher]

Sorry i`m going to have to disagree here. I`d say the OMC200. I have to say the best ever view i`ve ever had of Saturn was with this scope. Jaw dropping doesn`t come close....... its a pity Jupiter wasn`t around at the time. Just my 2p.

Alan:)

[KaStern_Former_Member]

Hi Tim,

I never could compare all three scopes you mention.

A friend of mine owned the TEC 140 Apo and the 180mm Mewlon.

I could compare them during an evening with fairly good seeing

conditions observing Saturn. Magnifications were up to 200x.

They were more or less on par. Both showed banding on Saturns disc,

rings with shadow of the planet on the ring and the florring nicely.

Both showed several moons, a faint one near the ring`s edge was

invisible in the TEC 140 but sometimes visible in the 180mm Mewlon.

From this comparison I suspect the 210mm Mewlon to be visibly better

than the 140mm TEC. Of corse the Mewlons have to be collimated precisely

because off-acis they show coma and the MTF.curve drops fast.

The 200mm OMC has better off-axis performance than a Mewlon.

With it closed tube I suspect it to need far longer cool down times.

Once cooled down, well collimated, good optics, it should give very

good planetary views.

Cheers, Karsten

[skye at night]

Not quite a vote as I have experience of only one of the three...

The omc200 is absolutely excellent for planetary use..

It has a 4000mm fl and has very small central obstruction, very sharp views....

I however had to sell mine as I do not have an observatory and this thing needs such a long cool down time that the only sensible way to get best use is to have it permanently mounted or at very least kept close to outside temperature....

Leaving it setup outside to cool down (even with fans running) took time and is too risky for our fickle climate unless you want to wait around for 90 mins making sure it doesn't get rained on.

I am now wishing that when we designed our house we had left a small pantry type area off the utility room without underfloor heating as we have nowhere cool..

This would have helped with storing the fresh veg and red wine as well as the scope...

But of course there are compromises with every scope type...

If you do go for it I would recommend a losmandy dovetail and saddle as it is a hefty brute that needs a good solid and stable anchorage...

Thanks

Steve

[Heavens Above]

Thanks for your feedback, greatly appreciated. I am hoping to try out an OMC 200 soon, I think I will pass on the Mewlon as I don't like the idea of diffraction spikes on the planets, particularly on Jupiter.

I know I would love the TEC but spending over £4,000 on a scope makes me go gulp . If the exchange rate goes back to 2 to 1 then maybe.

If I do get the OMC200 I am going to have to think about cool down issues. I have a wood shed I could build a box into to put the scope into on nights of potential observing to help with cool down issues. By the way did running the fans on the scope draw any moisture or dust into it?

Tim

[dweller25]

I have a reflector, a refractor and a mak and in my opinion you cannot beat the purity of views that a refractor gives.

Think of it this way - if you spent £4500 on a car it would be a cheapish car that may last 10 years, but the same money will buy a world class 140mm APO that will last you the rest of your life.

But the TEC and don't look back.

HTH.

[Heavens Above]

Hi HTH

Thanks for the encouragement to get the TEC. I notice that you have a Tak 102 and 128. I already have a TMB 115 and am proposing a jump to a Tec 140, the same increase in aperture as between your scopes.

Do you mind letting me know how much more detail you get in your 128 compared to your 102? Is it much of an improvement, particularly on planets?

Thanks

Tim

[mike bacanin]

I am the former owner of David's FS 128, and to me the 128 showed significantly more detail over my earlier FS 102

See this sketch i made a few months ago with the 128

There was more fine detail, but due to vibration in the drive, it was difficult to hold long enough to draw with certainty.

Mike

[Solar B]

My vote goes to the TEC to (quelle surprise) i saw a 140 at Kielder

and they are not that big,HEQ5/6 would easily cope.

Stay away from mirrors as in Einsteins last equation

Mirror = Weakness

Im pretty sure the TEC would hold its value very well to.

Oh....really nice drawing Mike.

Brian