Vixen GP2 upgrades

[cs1cjc]

I am not sure whether this should should go here in the Mounts section or in the DIY section, however I have put it here because it is about a mount and the amount of work was minimal.

I wanted to try an RA motor for better planetary viewing, but did not really want to spend too much money. The Vixen parts are expensive as are AWR:

AWR Technology (Astronomy - Electronics, Motors, GOTO drives ...

whose products are geared to precision drives for astro-photography, rather than for a visual observer who just wants to keep planets in view. It appears that the EQ5 is a clone of the GP2 and that a single axis EQ5 motor:

http://www.firstligh...ve-for-eq5.html

might fit, so I decided to try, but I was expecting that it might not be straight forward. In fact the motor fits very simply. The position of the motor had to be just right so the gears engaged and did not foul the motor cover but other than this, and a slight adjustment of the socket to let the plug go through the hole, it was very easy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a clutch is included. I have not tried it in the field yet, but I left it running for one hour and it drove the RA axis on exactly one hour, which seems fine to me.

At the same time and at considerably more cost, I installed the Vixen polar axis telescope and scales

http://www.firstligh...gpe-mounts.html

which took slightly longer, while I sorted out exactly which nylon washers went where and which pieces of plastic had to be removed. However it all went together perfectly in the end and I look forward to trying it in the field, later in the year when we must surely eventually get a clear night.

[fredster]

Its great that all the cheaper Synta bits fit the Vixen GP mounts. Saves a fortune. And if all you want is some basic tracking the Synta drive is perfect. Roll on those clear dark nights. And also a return of Jupiter.

[E621Keith]

Synta parts fits the GP. In fact a lot of third party EQ5 upgrades will also work on the GP.

I used my Vixen SBS on my EQ4 for half a year before I got my first GPDX, and I'm now using a TS starway photoguider on my GP2.