vixen sphinx mount

[david61]

hello can anyone tell me there views on the vixen sphinx mount

I'm thinking of buying one with the Hal tripod

I'm going travelling so its a good weight to put on the planes etc

I'm thinking of putting a W/O 66 guiding and a W/O 80 for imaging

like to know how good the goto is etc

many thanks for your help

[david61]

wow i can only think that know one has a sphinx mount ?????

maybe best not to buy one

[gsjag]

I understood these to be one of the highest regarded mounts. Expensive but very well engineered. If I remember correctly there was a review in Sky at Night magazine about a year or so ago.

[Tiny]

Just back on the internet... I like mine. The starmap works well. The electrics are a bit 'handle with care, cross fingers on starting'. Likewise instead of pointing North this mount uses the Japanese system - meaning you have to point it west to start setting up. Sometimes this also means it performs its own ballet when an object is near the N-S line - while you stand and mutter at it to bbb get on with it.

That said its really nice setup to use and to find stuff with and the works are smooth and quiet if you balance the scope right. The balance weights cost but they are interchangable with Celestron and Meade weights. Likewise the dovetail clamp for vixen fits C,M and Skywatcher dovetails.

The Hal tripod does not allow the whole mount to go up as high as its Celestron equivalent if you plan to stick a reflector on but, as long as said reflector is not over 5kg and everthing is balanced, you can raise the height another foot with the vixen half pillar.

Stick this lot together and top it with a Williams Optics Megrez and you will have something that not only works beautifully but that would also look perfect as an exhibit in an art gallery. But it would be much too pretty and functional to win the Turner prize.

There is yahoo website devoted to the mount if you want to read a lot more about it.

[MartinB]

David, I have a Vixen GPDX on a Berlebache tripod. For the money it is an amazing mount. The tracking is superb and the goto is very accurate. It has the Skysensor 2000 which many people prefer to the Starbook. Certaninly the SS2K is very powerful. From what I have read the innards of the Sphinx are essentially the same as the GPDX. The Sphinx is a bit tidier with it's handling of cables. I am uming and ahing as to whether to sell the GPDX or my NS8 set up at the moment. Don't dismiss a GPDX

[GordonCopestake]

The sphinx is an excellent mount, other than a few complaints about the brightness of the starbook controller people who have them dont tend to moan. I think it's very expensive though for what it is compared to the chinese equivilent (HEQ5/EQ6) and whilst it's acurate, the EQ6 compares well all told. If you got one, i doubt very much you would be disapointed, but dont rule out the HEQ5 for travel too

[Milamber]

... but it is nothing like the inside of the GP/DX Martin - there's only mechanicals inside that, the Sphinx has *everything* inside!

Arthur

[MartinB]

Yes it's much neater.

[Milamber]

Still not worth all that extra though IMO, although the StarBook is excellent.

Arthur