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Love old refractors.

cotterless45

By cotterless45
in The Astro Lounge

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cotterless45

cotterless45

Posted
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On a recent trip one afternoon, I got out the Vixen 90 and focused on some mountain peaks. I was surprised at the view of a few mountaineers on the summits some 15 miles away. This was impressive for a 30 year old scope . We worked out about 14" of view, which translates to some lovely crisp views at night , if it ever stops raining.

My equally old Vixen 102 has provided clear and stunning planetary and double star views. The contrast is excellent and we had some lovely views of Jupiter and Mars at opposition,

Nick.

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John

John

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I've owned a couple of Vixen's and they are lovely scopes. They are pricey new and don't look as "flashy" as some brands but the quality of engineering and optics are really good. Some of their scopes use optics from other parts of the far east now, as well as Japan. 

There is a very rare Vixen 150mm ED refractor on UK Astro Buy & Sell at the moment which I've been trying very hard to ignore. Only 6 were imported into the UK and they have a great reputation with some notable astronomers including Damian Peach. 

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Special K

Special K

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Sounds like you've got some quality surprises in that 'shed load' that need to get a test drive more often! Shame about the weather but it keeps us keen, doesn't it?!

I've been vaguely considering a second scope......at some far distant point in the future. And I have to say a refractor sounds very tempting indeed. I like planetary work and they excel at this, don't they? APO's look really cool but wonder if that is mainly for the AP crowd.

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Pig

Pig

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I've owned a couple of Vixen's and they are lovely scopes. They are pricey new and don't look as "flashy" as some brands but the quality of engineering and optics are really good. Some of their scopes use optics from other parts of the far east now, as well as Japan. 

There is a very rare Vixen 150mm ED refractor on UK Astro Buy & Sell at the moment which I've been trying very hard to ignore. Only 6 were imported into the UK and they have a great reputation with some notable astronomers including Damian Peach. 

Go for it John, its calling you :smiley:

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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I've owned a couple of Vixen's and they are lovely scopes. They are pricey new and don't look as "flashy" as some brands but the quality of engineering and optics are really good. Some of their scopes use optics from other parts of the far east now, as well as Japan. 

There is a very rare Vixen 150mm ED refractor on UK Astro Buy & Sell at the moment which I've been trying very hard to ignore. Only 6 were imported into the UK and they have a great reputation with some notable astronomers including Damian Peach.

Damian Peach astronomer?! I thought he was an astrophotographer, isn't he?

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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I've owned a couple of Vixen's and they are lovely scopes. They are pricey new and don't look as "flashy" as some brands but the quality of engineering and optics are really good. Some of their scopes use optics from other parts of the far east now, as well as Japan. 

There is a very rare Vixen 150mm ED refractor on UK Astro Buy & Sell at the moment which I've been trying very hard to ignore. Only 6 were imported into the UK and they have a great reputation with some notable astronomers including Damian Peach. 

I saw that. Equally hard to ignore for me, the main thing stopping me is cash..

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John

John

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Hmmm - I don't think the seller is an astronomer - that Vixen is backwards on it's mount !.

It could be OK but you would want to see the state of the objective lens before committing. Also the scope is supplied with .965" accessories so you would want a new diagonal and eyepieces.

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John

John

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I saw that. Equally hard to ignore for me, the main thing stopping me is cash..

For me it's cash (although the price is good for a 6" ED doublet - you would need £3K normally) plus the 6" F/12 refractor already standing in one corner of my dining room. My wife is reasonably understanding but I think two 6" refractors would be pushing things :rolleyes2:

I know the owner of the 6" ED Vixen though - he used to own my Vixen ED102SS and he definitely looks after his scopes :smiley:  

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wb4tjh

wb4tjh

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Earlier this year, I obtained a fine condition white tube Meade Model 300, 80mm f15 achromat OTA. I took the objective apart and cleaned it, and mounted the tube on a new CG-4 equatorial mount. I have always wanted a long focal, 3 inch length refractor and it took a lot of searching to find this one. I have a Unitron 62mm f15, a Celestron 80mm F11, and Meade 102mm f9, but that classic 3incher long tube had eluded me. Well, the scope has become a favorite and gives color free images on the moon and even Sirius. It's really a shame that long focal length, small refractors are rare birds these days, as they are marvelous grab-and-go scopes for lunar, planetary and binary star gazing. I know there are thousands of them out there, but it seems few people are willing to part with theirs. After spending time with my Meade 80mm, I can understand why folks hang on to them. If I had to get rid of all but one scope, this would be the one I would keep.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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The big Vixen does look tempting! I bet it's great on the planets and doubles. There's also a TEC140 on there for anyone wantng a keeper.

Old refractors are great and don't deteriorate. For a long time I had the earliest of the TeleVues, the F5 quadruplet Genesis from the late eighties. Brilliant. It coud go from 220x down to 15x. Quite versatile!!

Olly

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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No doubt Vixen telescopes are a symbol of build and optical quality. I am just having a hard time believing that they would beat their modern equivalents..like the SW Esprit ot ES triplets for example, isn't there this nostalgic element of "old is better"?...I stand corrected.

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John

John

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No doubt Vixen telescopes are a symbol of build and optical quality. I am just having a hard time believing that they would beat their modern equivalents..like the SW Esprit ot ES triplets for example, isn't there this nostalgic element of "old is better"?...I stand corrected.

Modern glass and coatings do bring improvements. You don't always want to own these things because they are "the best" in pure optical terms though, for me there is some emotion involved as well :wink:

Mind you - try and find a 150mm ED doublet, let alone a triplet at the price thats being asked for the Vixen 150mm F/9.

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