F15Rules

Stunning, Tim, just stunning. Thanks for sharing, and I hope this scope will stay with you for the long term👍. Dave

Hi John, All good here thanks .apart from no clear nights for over 2 weeks! Here you go.. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescope-bags-cases-storage/oklop-padded-bag-for-150mm-1200mm-refractors.html Seem to be showing in stock👍 Cheers, Dave

Yes, Paul..if they don't tell you, there's probably a reason why..🥴 Dave

Hi Tim, Just came across this thread.. I've had both these prisms, both excellent..the BBHS clear aperture increase is very noticeable when they are shown side by side.. BBHS version on the left. HTH, Dave

Wow!!! Tim, that's made my day, just a beautiful, gorgeous scope, look at it!! Aaw, now you've made me dribble!!😂😂😂. More pics of it mounted asap please! Dave

Having had the scope now for over a week, here is a bit of a "first impressions" update.. Having had a good look at the scope now, in daylight, I'd make the following remarks: Tube Condition: This scope has, in my view, not been cared for as well as it deserved. Based on research I did, it seems that back in 2018 when acquired by the owner before the one I bought the scope from, some improvements had been made, such as internal flocking of the dewshield and the lower part of the tube near the focuser. Also, the scope was described as being "almost like new, with just a few small marks on the tube" . The optics were described as "pristine". As it presents now, the OTA has quite a number of small marks, scratches etc on it..in particular, the dewshield is littered with scratches and marks. The tube is oversized at 90mm versus the 80mm aperture. Optics Condition The optics look good on the outside, but there is definitely dust or something similar on (I think) the air facing surface of the rear lens of the doublet. I am pretty certain that the lens cell on this scope is threaded onto the OTA tube. However, so far I cannot unscrew the lens cell from the tube while it is on the tripod. This in itself suggests that the cell has been overtightened onto the OTA threads, with the possibility of pinching the optics. Also, one of the screws on the lens cell is loose to the touch..I can't yet tell whether this is a collimation screw or a retaining screw. I need to be able to take the lens cell off to properly clean and check the objective from both inside and outside faces, so I need to take the tube off the mount to see if I can get enough torque to get it to unscrew. A short peek at our local church tower with a 10.5 mm Pentax XL giving c114x seemed ok..on a bright morning, a bit of CA was evident, (not a surprise), and the colours of the lichens on the church tower were quite sharp, although the real test will of course be at night. Focuser The worst aspect so far was the focuser. It's a "Kepler" branded dual speed Crayford, made by GSO of Taiwan - a perfectly respectable maker of decent quality Astro eyepieces, scopes and accessories. However, it is clear that this focuser has been either neglected or "fiddled with" by someone who didn't know what they were doing! The focuser was actually loose and could easily be rocked from side to side (2 of the 3 screws which secure the focuser to the OTA at 120 degree spacings were nowhere near tight!🤦). Also, the larger focusing knob on the right hand side (adjacent to the smaller microfocuser knob) was loose and kept slipping. On closer inspection the knob is adjusted via a small Hex screw which is deeply recessed into the body of the knob. In fact, there are at least 6 or 7 such small Hex screws around the focuser, and several of them were loose. After about 20 minutes of fiddling and adjusting the various small Hex screw heads, the whole focuser has tightened up nicely and is moving in and out smoothly and without slop or slackness. I will, though, make some more checks on this before entrusting my new Maxbright II binoviewers in this focuser! The original (I think) Vixen straight through 6x30 finder was included in the sale, (only after I spotted it in a photo I found posted by the previous but one owner and asked for it!). However, the finder stalk wouldn't tighten up into the finder shoe with the supplied retaining screw..I then found out that the screw had a stripped thread! Fortunately I found a suitable spare one in my "bits box", which works fine with the finder shoe on the scopes focuser: however, I don't like straight through finders (or rather, my neck doesn't!😂), so I've fitted a nice Skywatcher 6x30 right angled (not RACI) finder. This mirrors the view in the scope and is very sharp. If the above sounds like a litany of problems, it's not as bad as it sounds. Its just that it distresses me to see a fine telescope which has at best been neglected or at worst abused. I like to look after my equipment and even as it is, this scope is a fine looking instrument, which deserves some TLC. So long as the night performance is decent, I will look on this scope as a keeper, and plan to slowly but surely restore it's cosmetics over time 👍😊. A few more photos.. This image above shows the setup at perfect balance on my Tak Mount. The tube is carrying a 2" Dielectric Diagonal and a Pentax 10.5mm XL eyepiece so the tube needs to be pushed well forward to achieve balance. The scopes optics look quite good but would benefit from a clean on the inside face.No scratches, mould or fungus. My Tak EM2 mount, which normally platforms my FS128, "Trinity", makes short solid work of holding fast the old Vixen! Thanks for reading! Dave

I finally got a chance to put the new to me Vixen 80mm F15 on my Tak Mount this evening.. I'm calling her "Luna" as much of my viewing through her is likely to be the moon.. Rock solid on the Tak equatorial which I know is overkill. You can see Trinity my FS128 sulking in her Oklop case in the background!😁. Hope you like the pics.. Dave

Hi Justin, Sadly not yet..the weather here has been dire at night for the past 2 weeks or so. Also, real life stuff like painting in the house has got in the way. I'll post a few more pics of "Luna" on the thread I started last week on the Scopes and setups forum.. Dave

Oh, you mean this long 3" refractor..? 😁

Nice little Vixen zoom courtesy of Tim @Franklin👍. Will make a nice lightweight multi power ep with my newly acquired Vixen F15 achromat, giving the following powers; 24mm = 50x 16mm = 75x 12mm = 100x 10mm = 120x 8mm = 150x Dave

I didn't see that one Tim, sounds interesting.. Dave

Martin, If you don't want to spend such a large sum, I can recommend the Axiom LX 31mm..it's an excellent eyepiece which some users claim is c 85 degrees versus the stated 82 degrees.. It's even heavier than the Nagler, at 1.4kg..however, I've decloaked mine and it's now a svelte c 1kg..☺️ As John said, the balancing of the scope is crucial on scopes of 3-4", but they can work really well. I'd always recommend a 2" Clicklock to hold the eyepiece with the utmost confidence. The photo below shows the Axiom 31mm decloaked on the right, the Axiom 23mm in the middle and a Nagler T2 12mm on the left. All superb EPs.. Dave

Are you sure you're not Twins, Mike?🤔😁 Uncanny similarities.. Paul, PAS Kettering March 2022 Mike, PAS Kettering 2023

I had one a few years back.. They're a nice eyepiece, seriously heftily built and with good optics. I actually also had the ES16mm, 24mm, 28mm as well as the 34mm. They were all excellent EPs except for the 28mm..I found it mushy towards the edges and less sharp than the others..perhaps I had a lemon 🍋? The 24mm was my favourite, closely followed by the 34mm - superb on clusters, Milky Way etc. A memorable view was of Albireo, pin sharp blue and golden yellow colours against a wide star filled background 👍. Enjoy! Dave

Tut Tut. All this love/hate Paul and Mike banter... Exactly how long have they been married??🤔😁

I took delivery this morning of a rather nice old Vixen achromat.. I've always had a soft spot for long fracs (hence my F15 handle, which refers only to these old long scopes, not to glamorous fast Fighter Jets, as some have supposed in the past😂). Like many, I grew up with F15 scopes as a lad, and I was hooked for life having got my first Prinz 550 (60mm F900mm/F15) in the early 1970s. There is more info on this scope on the "What did the Postman bring" thread..I didn't want to hijack that thread (there seemed to be some interest in the Vixen), so I decided it was best to open a fresh thread here, so I can post updates here as and when I get to know the scope. In the meantime, some photos of the scope, with apologies if you've already seen them on the Postman thread! Dave

Just to say, I'm going to start a thread on the equipment forum about the Vixen F15, as I don't want to hijack this thread☺️. Dave

Thanks Tim.. I've never actually looked through a Vixen F15 before, so I'm intrigued, as I know how good their optics are. The best star images I ever saw, bar none, were in a little Pentax J80 F12 achromat about 12-14years ago, looking at the Mizar system.. tight, perfectly circular Airy disks for both Mizar components and Alcor, with an ever so faint single diffraction ring around each star: and the faint star between Mizar and Alcor (Sidus Ludovicanum) clearly visible with direct vision. It was like a photograph. I did read somewhere that Carton COC Japan made F15 objectives for Vixen around the early-mid 1980s, but I can't substantiate that for this scope. Dave

Thanks Steve, I'm chuffed at first sight..it arrived early this morning.. a large box H knew nothing about!🤦😂.. I'm in the middle of a big painting job in our bedroom so I couldn't look at it until tea time. The first thing will be to test her out optically and see if the Binoviewers will work in it too. I'm not entering her into any beauty contests unless I can find someone to give her a good respray, but the main thing for me with this was always going to be the optics.. The original finder was included (after I asked for it!🥴), but it's a bit beaten up and straight through..also, I think the finder shoe may have a stripped thread as the retaining screws won't tighten up against the finder bracket. In anticipation of this scope coming I bought a mint Skywatcher 6x30 RA (not RACI) finder, so I will use that instead. Of course, our weather forecast is rain, cloud, rain and more cloud for the next week! Sorry, guys!🤦😁. I think the scope was worth the price of a decent premium eyepiece, so long as the optics perform and I've no reason the think they won't.. 👍 Dave

A large box arrived today, inside which was a large Manfrotto Holdall, inside which was a rather long tube of some age.. A vintage 1980s Vixen 80mm F15 achromat to be exact🤦😊.. Having shed all my scopes but my FS128, this came up and I couldn't resist it, especially reading reviews of it on doubles and lunar observing.. It's a long tube (over 42" or 3'6" in old money).It is branded SBS and originated from Japan but via France. Even the dust cap has the V for Vixen moniker on it. The objective looks pristine. The tube has marks of usage here and there but is largely good. A nice GSO made 2" Crayford 2 speed focuser upgrade was done over 5 years ago and the lens is collimateable too. The scope came with tube rings, and specially for Jeremy, a HANDLE!👍 I'm going to upgrade the dovetail with a longer, stronger and more rigid one made from solid aircraft stock aluminium.. The original 6x30 Vixen finder is present, but I have already a lovely Right Angled SW 6x30 which I will use. I have no mount or tripod for it permanently, but for now I will use it on my Tak EM2 mount on which it should be solid as a rock. I can't wait to test drive this old beauty! To quote a phrase.. "F15RULES"!!😂🤩 Dave

Hi Mike, Ref the above post... I've been advised that it's possible that your Taks' focuser may not be threaded with a 72mm thread, so just best check that out before investing in one.. In fact, I've just found this on a CN thread.. I have the Baader Clicklock part #2956264 (M64 for Sky90). That works fine on my FC-100DZ. I got that one as it seemed the shortest light path option to use with a binoviewer. My BV configuration is as follows: M64 Clicklock #2956264 -> Baader #2408191 (2" to 1.25" reducer adapter) -> Takahashi 1.25" prism diagonal -> Denkmeier Standard BV Hope that may help further, and my thanks to Iain @jock1958 for the cautionary advice ☺️👍 Dave

Hi Mike, Take a look at my photo below..you may be able to use the same configuration if you have a standard Tak 72mm thread on the end of your focuser tube.. If you zoom in to the end of my silver focuser tube, I use firstly the Baader M72-M68 slim adapter.. Into that goes the Baader Ultrashort Adapter (the one with three large and strong retaining screws each at 120 degrees spacing. The final part you can see is the knurled threaded connecting ring from the Maxbrights, with which you connect the T2 prism (either with 2" nosepiece, or 1.25" nosepiece into a Baader 2"-1.25" clicklocks, both work well) direct into the above Ultrashort Adapter. The Baader T2 prism has the shortest possible light path. I actually use the T2 Zeiss BBHS prism which has 34mm clear aperture vs the 32mm of the standard T2 prism (the difference is very apparent when comparing them side by side). The Zeiss has a slightly longer light path, but I can still get native focus with no GPC or Barlow. You can probably use other short light path configurations, but the above works well for me in the FS128.. HTH☺️ Dave

Great stuff Steve!👍 A truly enjoyable day at PAS last Saturday was made extra special seeing you and Mike placing orders for this great new product..and finding them actually in stock!!😁 You have some amazing BV eyepiece pairs Steve, and I'm really looking forward to your first light and comparison with your other BVs when time permits..😊 Dave

..and Front Surface 128 & co.. FS60, 76, 102, 128. Referring to the Fluorite element of the doublet sitting at the front of the objective..😊 Dave

Great stuff, Mike! It was good to finally meet you and several other very fine chaps who frequent these forums😊. I'm not sure that you needed much "encouragement" to buy the Maxbright IIs though..as I recall, you left our little huddle group to go and make a purchase..by the time we had tracked you to the Widescreen Centre stand, you were waving your "Drastic Plastic" and then turned to us brandishing a package containing a spanking new pair of Maxbright Binoviewers!😂 I am willing, though, to concede that my taking my MBIIs to the show at the request of Steve @Saganite may have somewhat confirmed your already made decision to buy!😱😁. I've had mine a few weeks now, but only used them properly twice so far..when I think of the amazing sketches that you have made over the years, using your trusty Revelation BVs, the mind boggles at what you might produce with the help of these beauties!👍 A few shots of my own pair.. Dave