Mewlon 250 vs C14 XLT (older non EdgeHD)

[chuckscap]

Hi, I own a Mewlon 250 (which I bought used and got a good deal on) but am seriously considering selling it and buying a C14 XLT (older model not the EdgeHD). Astronomics in the U.S. is selling new ones for $3000 U.S. Mounting it is not a problem, my mount is overkill for it. I live in the suburbs of Colorado Springs so I'm limited to mostly lunar, planetary and double star observing unless I lug everything to a dark sky site which will not happen often. The Mewlon is MUCH easier to lift and put on the mount, cools quickly and the back comes off so tube currents are not an issue.

Any advice?

Thanks,

Chuck

[casstony]

Unless your light pollution is horrific, the C14 will show DSO's better from the backyard, especially with a UHC filter. I live in town with two street lights shining into the backyard and there is still a large difference between a C8 and C11; a UHC filter makes a significant difference on the C11 and would work even better on a larger aperture scope. In falling temperatures cooling will be an issue with the C14 - you'll be stuck at lowest magnification for a few hours.

Buy the C14 and sell the one you like least - of course you might end up liking both and be stuck with two scopes :)

[AstroJunk]

Rolls-Royce V Ford Chuck.

I wouldn't be trading a Mewlon 250 for a Meade or Celestron of ANY aperture!

[AstroJunk]

Or should that be Lexus ;)

[issdaol]

Hi Chuck,

I have used the Mewlon 250 and I have just purchased the Mewlon 300.

I have also owned both Meade and Celestron SCT's in the 8" to 11" ranges.

In my opinion the Mewlon 250 is better than the 11" SCT's and if budget allowed and I wanted more aperture the Mewlon 300 speaks for itself :D.

[casstony]

Mewlon 300 ($US17000) or C14 ($US3000)?

The price of the Mewlon makes it a non-starter for most of us. A C14 with cooling holes added is an adequate instrument, and will out-perform the Mewlon 250 in brightness and resolution, and probably equal it in contrast. Perfect optics don't necessarily compete against the brute force of larger aperture.

(I'm sure some logical person will mention a Dob soon :) )

[renormalised]

Yep, forget the Mewlon. Take out a second mortgage and go buy yourself one of these:):P:P

Orion 50 Monster Dob (http://www.telescope.com/control/product/%7Ecategory_id=tbdt/%7Epcategory=telescopes/%7Eproduct_id=09162)

[AstroJunk]

The SCT is a good workhorse, I have a 14" myself, but they are 'only' optically OK. There are plenty of big ordinary mirrors out there that fundamentally under-perform on resolution.

No argument on brightness though, big is better.

[chuckscap]

Thanks all, I had a wonderful Orange C14 5 years ago and have always regretted selling it, but I really couldn't afford the mount it deserved. I think the C14s tend to be better optically than the smaller SCTs, they sell a lot fewer of them. I bought my Mewlon 250 used for $3800 with a BT dovetail included (it has a very small dent in the OTA, but is optically great and cosmetically very good other than that). Otherwise the Mewlon 250 would've been out of my price range too. If I just hadn't bought my used monster mount I wouldn't even be tempted ... That Mewlon just looks so small on it.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg144/chuckscap/HD_150_Mewlon_250_2_Small.jpg

Tough decision to make ... I'm going to give it another week and take my Mewlon 250 out a few more nights, maybe Astronomics will sell out by then ...

Thanks again,

Chuck