vixen vc200L on vixen sxd mount....

[Gaze Away]

Hi all,

I know I have been buggin but I am ready to spend a fair bit on a scope and I am just exploring ALL avenues to get it right as It has got to last me a good few years.

Anyone know how good these scopes are (vixen vc 200L on the sxd mount) and are they poor for visual? looked on line but cant find too much from users about them.

This starbook as well whats all this about,

My last scope review Im going to ask for, I am basically now set on celestron C11.......ota.

Thanks very much.

[Cornelius Varley]

I would be interested too. The Vixen is on my list of anything except the usual 8" suspects.

Peter

[pete_gamby]

Hi there - we have three reviews posted here:

Vixen - Reviews and Ads

John Slinn and Ritchie Jarvis (both of this manor) each purchased their demo units after the reviews if that helps :-)

Regarding the SXD mount, you could browse the posts on the Vixen Sphinx Yahoo group - there is quite a mixture of opinion on there!

Vixen_Sphinx : Vixen Sphinx Mount & Star Book

Cheers, Pete - Opticron Sales & Marketing Manager

[Gaze Away]

I would be interested too. The Vixen is on my list of anything except the usual 8" suspects.

Peter

Hi,

Here is a link to one selling on ebay.......eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

regards

Andy

[Gaze Away]

Thanks Pete, very helpful links,

Regards.

Andy

[AndyH]

If I remember correctly the vMc's are more suited for visual than the vc?

I researched this range quite extensively before a Tal 200K came up, many moons ago.

Andy.

[Gaze Away]

Yes, I seem to be getting that impression. You also have the diffraction to cope with too. Hmmmmm!!!!

[umadog]

Yes there are diffraction spikes on those Vixens, but the tubes are open so the cool much faster than regular SCTs. They have a reputation for having better optics than Meade and Celestron. They have a 5 year warranty. They make good mounts. When I've phoned them, I've quickly gotten through a very knowledgeable tech guy. I was most impressed. You should call them if you have questions.

The VC200L is the imaging scope. The VMC200L is the visual scope. IIRC the imaging scope is better corrected, has a flatter focal plane, and a larger secondary for a larger fully illuminated field. It's the presence of the larger secondary that would make the scope less suited for visual use. Again, call Vixen and ask.

[ollypenrice]

I know three Vixen Sphinx owners and none of them rates the mount. The general feeling is, good hardware, bad software. They have all moved on to other mounts.

The diffraction from the thick spider would put me off this scope. Some people do get them ground down and that improves the images but presumably Vixen felt the thick vanes were needed.

Olly

[umadog]

Probably thick vanes are needed because there's a lot of glass in the secondary holder. It contains a corrector as well as the secondary.

[Gaze Away]

Yes, shame about those thick veins. Diffraction can look really good on some images but not ALL of them lol............

Im ordering Celestron C11 XLT Optical Tube Assembly on the Skywatcher NEQ6 PRO Synscan....My mind is made up.

Thanks to all for your help.

Next help thread from Gaze Away will no doubt be polar alignment.........lol

[E621Keith]

I heard the VC200L is really hard to knock out of collimation thanks to those thick vanes. I guess that's a good thing because collimating that scope involve the primary, secondary and the focuser. Plenty of things places to go wrong there.