Vixen Polarie with K-Astec XY-50D mount and Polarie cradle

[AnakChan]

I shared this on CN and thought I'd share it here too. I picked up the K-Astec XY-50D mount for the my Polarie along with a cradle for it too. I had problems with my Polarie moving especially when I was switching back 'n forth between the Polar Guide scope & the camera mounting block and microadjustment wasn't easy. The XY-50D provides the microadjustment and locking to the Polarie, whilst the cradle prevents the Polarie from lateral twists :-

Polarie & XY-50D (no cradle)

Polarie with cradle on the XY-50D

Microadjustment on the XY-50D

Polarie Cradle

Sample Setup

[Steve Paterson]

Hi,

I'm a big Polarie fan and this looks a very nice and stable set up.  

Do you have a link for where you got the Polarie cradle from please?  Also, did you buy the XY-50D from K-Astec in Japan directly (http://homepage2.nifty.com/astec/XY.html)?

Thanks,

Steve

[AnakChan]

Hi,

I'm a big Polarie fan and this looks a very nice and stable set up.  

Do you have a link for where you got the Polarie cradle from please?  Also, did you buy the XY-50D from K-Astec in Japan directly (http://homepage2.nifty.com/astec/XY.html)?

Thanks,

Steve

Yes I live in Japan. I picked up my XY-50D from Kyoei Tokyo. At least two weeks back when I picked up the XY-50D from the shop, it was the last one they had in store. I don't know if they're restocked since. As for the cradle I picked it up from Yahoo Auction. The cradle isn't a perfect fit, I had to "hammer" it into the XY-50D. There are 4 tabs that fit into the base of the XY-50D however the size of the tabs a a little large so the fit is tight. As the cradle's made from polymer, the imperfect size of the tabs aren't a big issue, once it's in I doubt if I'd take it out.

My Polarie upgrade isn't done yet. I'm waiting for T-Factory to start stocking in their PCB-EQ2. It'll hopefully end up looking something similar to this :-

I'm trying to push my Polarie to the max before considering other options like the Swat-200 or Toast Pro.

[Steve Paterson]

Great reply and many thanks for the links

Thanks,

Steve

[Steve Paterson]

I must admit, I'm pushing the weight limit on my Polarie so I'm very interested in the SWAT-350 and Toast Pro links.  These are new to me so lots of research needed.  Have you looked into either of these options in any detail and is one more favourable to the other?

Thanks,

Steve

[AnakChan]

I've been looking at the SWAT and Toast Pro myself. They're much more capable than the Polarie however they're also bigger & heavier. Having said that, I think  the PCB-EQ2 + Polarie would probably equal or heavier than the weight of the SWAT or Toast Pro (I ordered the PCB-EQ2 BTW, should be ready for delivery end of the month).

Both SWAT & Toast Pro are much more sophisticated than the Polarie. The SWAT especially is extremely configurable...lots of accessories & options - even a handheld remote control (but no GOTO). These two brands don't just hold heavy cameras but can also hold mini scopes (up to 70/80mm mini refractors?).

I'll try my Polarie with PCB-EQ2 when they arrive. If that's not enough to hold my camera setup, then I may consider the SWAT-200 at least...the SWAT-350 is probably an overkill unless I start expanding to mini refractors, etc.

[AnakChan]

I saw this. I find it very hard to believe that the Polarie can hold a EOS-1Dx with 300/2.8 without issues. The "stars must have been aligned" that night, no wind, perfect stability... :-

https://ryanwatamura.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/year-of-the-comet/

[Psychobilly]

I saw this. I find it very hard to believe that the Polarie can hold a EOS-1Dx with 300/2.8 without issues. The "stars must have been aligned" that night, no wind, perfect stability... :-

https://ryanwatamura.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/year-of-the-comet/

It is pretty amazing - But I guess If it's properly balanced it's surprising what you can do...

The  larger Canon L Series lenses  and Pro bodies tend to be pretty well balanced when mounted using the tripod collars...

Peter...

[AnakChan]

I received my T-Factory PCB-EQ2 kit. 

[Steve Paterson]

Great photos. My T-Factory PCB-EQ2 kit arrived this week so I'm looking forward to trying it out.

[AnakChan]

Great photos. My T-Factory PCB-EQ2 kit arrived this week so I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Oh how did you order it? They were willing to ship internationally?

[Steve Paterson]

I bought mine from Optcorp in the US and got it shipped to the UK.  I contacted T-Factory but they didn't have any and put me in touch with Optcorp.

[hardyspicer]

Hi guys,

....sorry if this is a old post but this is just the ticket for my vixen Polarie, I have searched Optcorp's site but nothing ? Do any of you have a item code and a price including shipping to U.K.

Your help with this would be much appreciated, would be ideal for my upcoming trip to the canaries in January.

Mikey.

 

[AnakChan]

Mikey,

Sorry for the late response...too late for your canaries trip. Did you try reaching out to T-Factory directly to see if you could pick up  their updated PCB-EQ3?

[hardyspicer]

Hi Sean

thanks for the reply and no problem, it can happen on old posts. Regarding the T-Factory mount, I tried to email the US supplier without success, but I did receive a reply from Tommy Cheng in Taiwan who sent a similar mount but not quit the same as the T-Factory but a better quality product in my opinion, reserved I might add as I would love to have both mounts and maybe purchase a second Polarie too. The trip to the Canary Islands was a bit disappointing as after checking on PhotoPills the brightest part of the milky way would not be visible, I had a great holiday and nice to have the winter warmth..........I'm getting the call from Africa again so Botswanna maybe on the cards for 2018, wife permitting lol.

[AnakChan]

Gotcha. Anyhow if you decide to look back into the T-Factory product again, there's been a few changes/options available now that makes it a little more versatile to take drink bottles as counterweights which makes it great for travel. However I think I could do with a shorter counterweight shaft and an additional counterweight as the longer counterweight shaft is more susceptible to vibrations. 

[kentnek]

Hi AnakChan, I've been looking at your marvelous Polarie setup here and CN for some time, and I just had to register an account here to ask a few questions 🤣

With the help of the info in your posts, I'm able to find the wedge (K-ASTEC XY60 - the recent newer version of the XY60D) and Telesco Factory's PCB-EQ3 counter weight kit. 

While patiently waiting for Kyoei and Telesco Factory to reply my order emails, I do realize that these accessories are not cheap - with the same amount of money I can buy another tracker like the SA 2i Pro, which already comes with a latitude mount and counterweights. Nevertheless, I still love the portability of the Vixen, and equally the XY60, which is much smaller (and probably more reliable) than the plasticky mount bundled with the SA. 

So the question is, do you still think I should continue maxing out the capabilities of the Vixen Polarie with these accessories, or should I get the SA 2i Pro instead?

Also, you mentioned the cradle. How does that attach to the XY50D? From the picture I see a screw but I'm not sure how you turn it to fix the Polarie on top.

Thanks!

[AnakChan]

Hi @kentnek Are you planning on using the new K-Astec XY60 with the original Vixen Polarie or the new Polarie U? The cradle I have is specifically for the old Polarie & the older XY-50D. You can see from the above pix it's curved to fit the base of the Polarie, and channel grooved at the bottom to fit into the XY-50D. That way the Polarie can't pivot/twist on the base. A bolt passes through from under the XY50D through it base and the cradle into the Polarie's base.

I don't know if there's a newer cradle for the Polarie U & XY-60, however with modern 3D printing these days, you'd probably can find someone who can design and print it.

About the performance comparison between the Vixen & the SA 2i Pro, just to clarify you're comparing the Polarie or the newer Polarie-U? The Polarie as you can guess is a very old design, but it works well enough for my purposes of up to 200mm FL but there is no autoguiding, etc. I think the Polarie-U OTOH is probably more on par with the SA 2i Pro and you'd probably find more support for SA than for Vixen globally. Unfortunately I'm still on my old Polarie and don't own the U nor the 2i Pro so I don't have any hands-on practical thoughts to share about the two.

[kentnek]

Hi @AnakChan, really appreciate your response!

6 hours ago, AnakChan said:

A bolt passes through from under the XY50D through it base and the cradle into the Polarie's base.

Yes this is what I wanted to know. I saw the bolt in your picture but I wasn't sure how it was inserted. I guess if I get the XY60, I should get the Arca-Swiss clamp (also from K-Astec) to make it easier to mount my Polarie.

6 hours ago, AnakChan said:

however with modern 3D printing these days, you'd probably can find someone who can design and print it.

Yep this is what I intended to do, as I have a 3D printer.

6 hours ago, AnakChan said:

just to clarify you're comparing the Polarie or the newer Polarie-U

The original Polarie. The U is too new and the price is kinda crazy, if I were to get one I'd chooses the SA 2i Pro over the Polarie U. 

Looking at this thread on the SA pro, I know the SA 2i Pro is a very capable tracker, but its hefty size is putting me off a little bit. Its other plus point is autoguiding support, but I don't think I'll need super long exposures with an unmodified camera under my Bortle 8 sky, at least at the moment.

That's why I'm leaning towards your Polarie setup with the compact XY50D mount + the PCB-EQ2 counterweight kit. Do you have any DSO photos taken with this kit?

So far, I think my next step is to get the XY60 wedge. I can even use this wedge with the SA if I'm to get this in the future, as the stock wedge isn't that good anyway.

How smooth do you find your XY50D while doing micro-adjustments? I tried the Vixen Fine Adjusment Unit in person but wasn't happy with it due to its limited panning movement and inaccuracy while operating.

Thanks again!

[AnakChan]

9 hours ago, kentnek said:

That's why I'm leaning towards your Polarie setup with the compact XY50D mount + the PCB-EQ2 counterweight kit. Do you have any DSO photos taken with this kit?

How smooth do you find your XY50D while doing micro-adjustments? I tried the Vixen Fine Adjusment Unit in person but wasn't happy with it due to its limited panning movement and inaccuracy while operating.

Thanks again!

I actually don't have many other pictures taken with that setup. I do have some other older pix taken with the Polarie but without the PCB-EQ2 counterweights.

The adjustment of the XY50D to me would probably be similar to the Vixen Fine Adjustment but note I've not looked at the Vixen one too closely - only from pix. I think what the XY50D lacks is some kinda spring which would help make the adjustments smoother.

[kentnek]

These are great photos! Thank you for sharing. This makes me even more convinced that Vixen's engineering is superb, even for a small tracker like the Polarie.

I also realize that I'm leaning towards the functionalities of the SA pro but really concerned about its weight and size. So, I feel I'd prefer to spend a bit more for a tracker as compact as the Polarie-U, than to kill my back with the SA 2i pro. After reading the review here, I've decided to get the Polarie U + the XY60. It's so small, but still supports autoguiding if I wish to up my game in the future:

Thank you for helping me make my mind!

 

 

[kentnek]

Just a quick update, I've received my Polarie U and the XY60. A small but definitely capable setup:

I'm waiting for T-Factory to restock the counterweight kit, and then it'll be complete!