Robindonne

Oke although this mount is around quite some time now, unfortunately i’m not. At least not in this hobby. I just received my vixen porta ii today, after giving away my porta 1.  

I assumed the only difference was the removable head but the bigger difference is the lesser quality tripod.   My previous porta had the standard tripod.  And this porta ii also has the standard tripod.

 What i noticed is the thinner aluminium legs but also the plastic connection.   Is that the new standard or is it possible to upgrade to a little more sturdy “standard” tripod?  
 

Even the connection of the legs is made from plastic instead of the metal thats used with the porta 1.  
 

1 hour ago, Alfian said:

With a short focal length like that, as things stand,  it's going to need a small focal length eyepiece to keep track of the silver/black machines.

And barlowed to see the the redbull

I also have a barlow that doesn’t work.  At least not on all setups.  Some do some dont.  That’s  to keep this hobby a bit exiting 

Nice to read a review.  Is that paintjob so bad out of the box? On the blue clamp. 
 

And what parts would break if I mount a 10” newtonian on it?😅

48 minutes ago, johninderby said:

We could end up with the Formula 1 scope. Collimating an F1 could be a bit tricky though.. 😁😁😁

For some strange reason they don’t perform well lately🤔

Yes i will do that.   I did benefit from the first opinions here in this section.  But of course, ill make a new post in the classifieds section!

1 minute ago, John said:

I've already owned one a while back  17mm is now covered in my collection by these two

 

 

Oh wow.  That orion cant be called an upgrade then

Oh and that certain person’s name starts with an F.🤔.  
 

They are of course not top items but im willing to sell some if someone is really after a particular model.  I promised that certain person to contact him about the orion.  I’m not sure about the costs for sending from the Netherlands to the Uk. But maybe when 3 or 4 items must be shipped, its better to ship it to one adress of a trusted sgl member (i know, we all are🙂) to keep shippingcosts low.   I guess national shipping is cheaper then overseas.  

I received a dm immediately after posting that photo. That certain person/member told me, no matter how much John wants to pay for it, he pays more.  
 

5 hours ago, Solar B said:

I was gonna say that the Halloween plossl's do have a bit of a cult following 

and I've not seen a 32mm before in the flesh.

Brian 

Yes thats what i thought.   A fellow Dutchman bought my old scope with some old ultimas.  I offered him this one.  And i think 50/50 he wants it.  
 

50 minutes ago, markse68 said:

What’s the advantage of the underneath mounting bracket over the side mount? is it just that it raises the scope a bit?

Hmm also a nice benefit.  But besides the maybe easier mounting in the dark, more safe mounting, it was because i could barely fit a mak127 to it.  I wanted to make it possible to mount a c8.   

Strange thing though is that while waiting for the porta to arrive, i start to see more and more pics of c8’s directly mounted to the Porta.  I thought i tried it without getting even near.  

16 hours ago, John said:

That handle (the one in the top photo) was actually designed for another mount - the T-Rex alt-azimuth that Kokusai Kohki used to market.

As it happens, it does fit a number of other mounts that use the 35mm spaced clamp fastening holes.

 

Euh John....what happened to your long term memory?😅

I found what i was looking for.  Thx to forum back in 2008😅

I

What happened to the colorful clouds?

58 minutes ago, ALZASCOPE said:

Ive got one of those there brilliant

Although i was a bit sceptic at first, i have to admit, after seeing it in action, that it gives really wonderful results.  Im only wondering why they never made a widefield version of it.   

16 hours ago, John said:

That handle (the one in the top photo) was actually designed for another mount - the T-Rex alt-azimuth that Kokusai Kohki used to market.

As it happens, it does fit a number of other mounts that use the 35mm spaced clamp fastening holes.

 

Oh didnt know that.  What i do know is that that guy must be genius.  Why did i always grab that clamp to put the scope in roughly the right direction🙄.   
 

Using this handle with any type of Manny Myles-like plate, will probably only need some longer bolts/screws i guess.   But are there any alternative mounting plates?   

Ok although half the school season was deleted, my daughter did graduate and i planned to give here a better telescope than the heavy meade lxd75.   So i gave her my mak and vixen porta, but at the moment of handing it to her i knew im gonna miss that mount.  (It was also a bit to justify buying a porta ii).  I bought it with a Kokusai handle and being a bit surprised about the third party accesoires for this mount, i found something else.  It was a bracket to mount the scope in a resting position instead of hanging.   I added a picture, the only picture i could find.   And although this bracket seems like a big improvement for the porta mount (and maybe others models) i might prefer the bracket in a “upsidedown” version.  Dont know if it cost me stability, but if i can use a c8 now and then with this mount, idd be very happy.   I just dont know what to look for.   The pictured one is a Manny Myles plate and cant be used upsidedown.  Any help Is welcome.   
 

added is a picture of the handle.  But also two pictures with the manny myles plate.  You can see it cant be used upsidedown 

4 minutes ago, Telescope40 said:

Cloud.  July has been poor for sure for me. 2/3 nights of partial sessions.  Ho hum 

Every cloudy night i tell myself the cloudy ones make the clear nights even better.(I’m a bit schizophranic)

Yes?  The orion is a 16.8.   Dont know yet how they’re gonna perform, i’m to short in this hobby.   The only one i recognized was the halloween plössl.   I know the guy, who bought the c5+ from me, was after these old celestrons.  The rest are all eyepieces i have to rate based on ratings from more experienced users.  So at least 4 are good, plus the celestron who gets a new owner immediately after i receive them.  
Thx for the first look at it!

Didn’t know if i had to post in beginners or here.   But this case with some eyepieces is almost part of a deal (something i bought).  Im only searching for an opinion, are most good or just a single one?   The second from topleft is unbranded.  

The eternal hunger for better and more equipment.   

Hmm im not really an expert.  But i think the black skywatcher eq6 is non goto, and the black orion atlas (Eq6) is goto.  Same mount Different names

I’m also really curious about the amount of members clicking the post, thinking its available!;)

Was seriously in doubt when reading that text😅.   Sorry this post was just out of frustration, and sadness😓

Does anyone know where to buy these?

I have to answer this one and give you all the advices I got.  I asked the same about a month ago.  And most of the members here pushed me to Meanwell powerbricks.  Can’t say it was a wrong choice.  Affordable and solid.   Look in the 12v 6-8 A range.