Arrival of my new Takahahi Mewlon 300

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi All,

Just taken delivery of my new Takahashi Mewlon 300.

The delivery happened on Wednesday but I was busy with work so the boxes just sat around for a couple of days until I had a chance to start unpacking Friday evening and this weekend.

The first surprise was the size of the delivery itself. The courier called me to advise that I had a pallet for delivery. When it was dropped off all four boxes were on thier own pallet with black shrinkwrap to hold them down/together to minimise any movement.

The second surprise is the size of the components themselves. I was convinced on the quality of the Takahashi and Mewlon in general by being able to use a friends Mewlon 250 on an EM200 mount. These are reasonably solid units but they did not fully prepare me for the in the flesh Mewlon 300 and EM400.

The Mewlon 300 and EM-400 mount are much larger units. The OTA, Mount and Tripod appear significantly larger and heavier than web pictures imply.

The Heavy Duty Metal Tripod is very beefy but surprisingly light. It is probably the best example of a heavy duty metal tripod that I have seen to date. I have seen some good combination Pier/Tripods but the finish and build quality of the takahashi is excellent.

The same goes for every component. The EM-400 Mount, OTA, Tube Rings are all excellent build quality and finish.

I have only personally owned Meade and Celestron SCT's and one Vixen 100mm Refractor (All have been manual or computer guided Alt-Az fork mounts). When comparing the engineering, build quality and finish to other scopes I have owned it is like comparing a 80's model Commodore to recent model top of the range Mercedes.

My total system now comprises:

Tak Mewlon 300 OTA
Tak 11 x 70 Finder with reticle illuminator
Tak EM-400 Mount
Tak Heavy Duty Adjustable Metal Tripod
Tak EOS Adaptors for Canon
Tak Mewlon Collimation Scope
Vixen GA-4 Illuminated Guider
Williams Optics 50mm Prism
Tak 1/15 Wave 50mm Diagonal
Tak Eyepieces: LE-50, LE-30, LE-12.5, LE 7.5, LE-5
Masuyama Eypeices: 20mm
Carina Software SkyFi Controller
Carina Software SkyVoyager for I-Phone
Astronomik Filters: OIII and UHC

As I finalise the build and move into "First Light" I will provide additional updates so others can get an idea of the capability/usability of the system and my experiences with it. I will also try to contrast my experience with the new Tak against that of my prior fork mount Meade and Celestron SCT's.

Cheers

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Excellent Phil Congratulations. You'll love them both.

I'm outside preparing for some lunar imaging with my M210 right now. As a visual scope, make sure you try a 13mm Ethos on yours. You will never forget the first impression.

Have fun

[renormalised (Carl)]

Looks good

Now for the fun part, putting it all together

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Wow Phil congratulations on a marvelous piece of kit. From the reviews I have read on this scope everyone has raved on about it, claiming that it's views are more aesthetically pleasing then their 20"+ dobs.

Looking forward to reading your update

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

Hey Phil...nice..real nice combo . Does your Mewlon 300 include the new Reducer/Corrector in the baffle tube?

I was going to go with the 300 but the weight turned me off...decided on the 250S

[issdaol (Phil)]

Originally Posted by Hans Tucker

Hey Phil...nice..real nice combo . Does your Mewlon 300 include the new Reducer/Corrector in the baffle tube?

I was going to go with the 300 but the weight turned me off...decided on the 250S

Thx Mate:

I was going to go with the Mewlon 300-CR but the time delay for getting it put me off. Plus there was another price hike for the newer unit.

I went with the external mewlon reducer/corrector anyway which saved me some good money to put into the LE-50 eyepeice and the SkyFI unit.

The 250S is a fantastic unit itself. I have used the 250 and the combination of visual quality and portability makes it a winner .

[issdaol (Phil)]

Originally Posted by Omaroo

Excellent Phil Congratulations. You'll love them both.

I'm outside preparing for some lunar imaging with my M210 right now. As a visual scope, make sure you try a 13mm Ethos on yours. You will never forget the first impression.

Have fun

Thanks Chris, I have been looking at a couple of the Ethos' but my budget has obviously taken a hit recently plus I am looking at the new Defender 110 wagon. Which to go for first

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by issdaol

Thanks Chris, I have been looking at a couple of the Ethos' but my budget has obviously taken a hit recently plus I am looking at the new Defender 110 wagon. Which to go for first

The Defender of course!!! Love mine....

[issdaol (Phil)]

Originally Posted by mbaddah

Wow Phil congratulations on a marvelous piece of kit. From the reviews I have read on this scope everyone has raved on about it, claiming that it's views are more aesthetically pleasing then their 20"+ dobs.

Looking forward to reading your update

Hi Mbaddah,

Thanks. That's an interesting comment that you mention about the 20" dob comparison. I have read similar comments from others as well comparing 20" and greater sized dobs.

Takahashi guarantee that the Mewlon 300 mirrors are minimum tested 1/20 wave or better. Pehaps that and better baffling and engineering provide a higher resolution with darker backgrounds?

It would be interesting to try a direct comparison at some stage to see if there is anything to these comments and reviews.

Cheers

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Congratulations on a fantastic scope. The images I have seen taken with the Mewlon show just how fine the quality of these instruments is!

It's very unfair to shoot-out against a scope of uncertain pedigree, and a lot of these reviews do just that - it only proves that someone has a large dob with a dud mirror...

Looking forward to seing the 'final' product.

[bokglob (Darrell)]

WOW! Nice one Phil,congrats. The mewlon is impressive to say the least,but a mewlon on a FULL KIT EM 400 WITH T.H.C AND METAL TRIPOD

[Satchmo]

Originally Posted by mbaddah

From the reviews I have read on this scope everyone has raved on about it, claiming that it's views are more aesthetically pleasing then their 20"+ dobs.

Well, "aesthetically pleasing" and showing heaps of detail in those moments of good seeing are two different things. Large scope with good optics may look superficially softer in a quick comparison, but during the good moments will show far more detail. Its easy to have the small aperture experience by putting an off-axis aperture stop on if you need to compare.

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi All,

My main aim for this thread is to document my personal experience with setting up and using the Mewlon 300 and contrast that with my prior direct experience setting up and using my older Meade's and Celestron SCT's which will hopefully be helpful for others in similar situations or considering doing the same thing.

While I have some limited use of other scopes I personally do not own or have had extensive use of large diameter Dob's or Mak's.

There are many variables that go into using & comparing different types of scopes which can only really be done meaningfully by undertaking extensive side-by-side tests. I think I will leave that to better experts will all the appropriate equipment and scopes

Cheers

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

I just had a look at Carina Software SkyFi Controller website....very interesting telescope control option. Currently I am using a PDA with Pocket Sky via BlueTooth to control my NJP...would be interested to know how well Carina Software SkyFi Controller interfaces with your EM-400.

Did the heavy duty metal tripod come as standard with your Takahashi package?

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Originally Posted by Satchmo

Well, "aesthetically pleasing" and showing heaps of detail in those moments of good seeing are two different things. Large scope with good optics may look superficially softer in a quick comparison, but during the good moments will show far more detail. Its easy to have the small aperture experience by putting an off-axis aperture stop on if you need to compare.

You are correct I should have clarified myself a little better I was re-iterating some comments that were made in the following review:

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=655

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Originally Posted by mbaddah

You are correct I should have clarified myself a little better I was re-iterating some comments that were made in the following review:

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=655

But all that review proved was that this excellent scope outperformed telescopes a third of its cost!

Now it it had outperformed a 20" RC, THAT would be impressive.

Sorry issdaol, lets get back to drooling over that fabulous scope of yours

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi Hans,

I will post on here my experience with the SkyFi once I have had a chance to test it :-)

All components have to be ordered separately. Takahashi don't really have a complete bundled system like the more commercial operators like Meade and Celestron.

They will provide recommendations however the final choice is left to the buyer.

I basically said that was the tripod that I wanted after working out that the others were not really suitable for my combination.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Hans Tucker

I just had a look at Carina Software SkyFi Controller website....very interesting telescope control option. Currently I am using a PDA with Pocket Sky via BlueTooth to control my NJP...would be interested to know how well Carina Software SkyFi Controller interfaces with your EM-400.

Did the heavy duty metal tripod come as standard with your Takahashi package?

[DavidU (Dave)]

Drooooooool !

[gregbradley]

What a wonderful setup. I am sure you will be delighted. I have several Takahashi scopes and they are enormously enjoyable pieces of gear.

The Mewlon 300 has a fantastic reputation. It may also be great for planetary imaging.

The new reducer/corrector is more for imaging I believe. It may be able to be retrofitter anyway.

I am eager to hear your reports.

Greg.

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi All,

Just thought I would post my experience of setup of the Takahashi SR-J heavy duty metal tripod and EM400 mount.

The Tripod is very well constructed, matte black finished aluminium/stainless construction. The feet have good solid rubberised ant vibration tips. Each of the legs has dual height adjustment and locking screws. The head of the tripod has a circular mount adaptor suited to mate with the EM400 head unit and has a inbuilt channel for head unit screws to partially or fully lock into allowing the head unit to rotate of be locked into place without the screws impacting the external tripod mount adaptor surfaces. The legs of the tripod are pulled outwards until each locks firmly into place at the hinge points. Once locked into place and adjusted the tripod feels very solid and stable.

The head unit is then attached by placing the head unit over the mount adaptor and partially screwing in the set screws (4). This allows the head unit to stay in place on top of the tripod and allows you to rotate the head unit to the desired orientation. Once oriented you screw the set screws in fully which locks down the head unit. Again this is a very solid lock down and the head unit and tripod all feel very stable. The head unit itself has both Alt and Az fin adjustment screws in addition to a Alt locking clamp. These allow fine adjustment of the head unit when doing final positioning/alignments. The top of the head unit also has a slot/channel for mounting the EM400 main mount. This slot is open at the "top" end and closed at the bottom end. The bottom end has a guide hole which accepts the guide pin on the main mount. Each side of this channel also has 4 set screws for locking down the main mount when it is in position.

The only thing that the Tripod and Head unit lack is a built in bubble level. My Meade's did not have one on their heavy duty tripods but my Celestron did. However compared to all my prior heavy duty tripods the Takahashi definitely felt much more solid, stable and has much higher build quality.

Shopping list item 1 - bubble level.

Attaching the main mount is a simple matter of lifting a sliding the base of the mount into the mating channel on the head unit. This is relatively easy to achieve as the channel fit and the guide hole helps locate the base of the mount. Once slotted into place the head unit set screws are tightened down to lock the whole main mount solidly down.

The main mount has all of the encoders and electronics built-in and well hidden away so they are well protected. One side of the mount has a power switch, power LED and potentiometer for adjusting the intensity of the built in polar scope reticule illumination. A control panel on the underside has all the ports to connect PC, Auto Guider, Hand Controller, Power Supply. I should note that there is an additional port that is unlabeled and the function is not documented anywhere apart from stating that it is for future use. Most ports are pretty standard with the PC port being a SVHS connector and the Auto Guide port a RJ-14 connector. The control box is a modified SVHS style port. Also the Mount is supplied with a SVHS to DB9 serial cable.

The mount also has both RA and DEC lockdown clamps. These claps are also setup with location pins so that you can easily determine which direction to rotate the clamp to loosen or lockdown either RA or DEC clutches.

The mount also as a very good quality inbuilt polar scope. This is a 11x polar scope and has built in illuminated reticule, offsets and bubble level for polar alignment.

The control box has a number of functions including Dec and RA direction control, Normal and High Speed drive mode switch, DEC and RA correction fine adjustment

As this post is mainly about the physical setup I will leave the actual use and specifications of all these functions to later posts.

The mount also has a screw in counter weight shaft. This is a very solid stainless shaft that is easily screwed and locked into place. Each of the counter weights are very nicely made and finished to match the mount and OTA's. Each counter weight has 2 lock down screws that are nice sized discs rather than wing nut style and hold each weight securely on the shaft. The bottom of the shaft has another disc shaped safety screw as additional protection to keep the weights on the shaft from sliding off.

On top of the mount is the tube holder. This is a matte black surface which accepts the OTA mounting plate and OTA rings. The OTA mounting plate is secured by 4 heavy duty hex nuts. The OTA Mount Plate and OTA rings are again very solid very nicely finished in matching style to both the mount and OTA and the rings are nicely felt lined. I had actually pre-assembled the OTA Rings onto the OTA Mount plate ready to install. The whole arrangement (without the OTA in the rings) was mounted onto the tube holder and secured in-place with the 4 heavy duty hex screws. The whole lash-up does feel extremely solid and stable.

This is a relatively easy task without the OTA as the lash up is easy to hold and not that heavy. However you do need both hands and tools. This is great for smaller OTA's as the top half of the rings can be unscrewed the OTA mounted and the top half of the rings screwed back down.

In my opinion this represents a problem for large heavy OTA's like the Mewlon 300 as the 300 is a relatively heavy OTA and quite long (longer than SCT's) making the whole processed a little unbalanced and risky to the OTA using the standard mounting arrangement. I believe that using the standard mount plate with the Mewlon 300 and Rings is a two person job.

After talking to some other Tak users in WA and other states (who were very helpful and happy to provide advice) I discovered that there is some very well made Saddle Plates and Dovetail plates designed specifically for the Mewlon 300 and EM400/EM500 combination. These allow you to attach the saddle plate permanently to the mount tube holder and the dovetail plate permanently to the OTA rings (with the OTA in the rings). A single person could then lift and lock the dovetail securely in-place with less risk and tool less.

Shopping list item 2 - Saddle and Dovetail plates.

This basically represented the physical setup of the mount and tripod with OTA rings attached.

Compared to my prior Meade and Celestron SCT setups I found:

1. The Tripod setup time is very similar. In my opinion the Takahashi tripod is much better quality and more stable than the others however it does lack a built-in bubble level

2. The Takahashi main mount is definately heavier than the Meade's or Celestron fork mounts but again is also much higher quality in my opinion.

3. Drive motors are much quieter on the Takahashi EM400 than the Meade’s or Celestron’s I have owned.

4 Total setup time for Meade and Celestron mounts and tripods is quicker and easier than my Takahashi as they are lighter.

As a quick preview of future posts I decided to do a quick test of the SkyFi unit and telescope control.

I had already pre-loaded SkyVoyager software onto my I-Phone 3GS which takes only a few minutes to sync install. I found that no additional specially made cables were needed as the supplied cables were all compatible and quickly connected to both the mount and the SkyFi unit. I powered up the SkyFi box (using 4 x AA batteries). The I-Phone easily discovers and connects to default the SkyFi Wireless LAN and a quick setup of the SkyVoyager settings to Temma 2 mode connect and align finalises that side.

Basically within several minutes I had my I-Phone talking to and controlling the EM400 via SkyFi wireless LAN.

Slewing and Goto seemed to work well however I could not verify accuracy of Goto at this stage as the mount had no OTA and was not polar aligned.

Mounting of the OTA and more detailed testing of the SkyFi will be for later posts

Cheers