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Rare Celestron/Vixen 90mm F14.4 new life and new looks.


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There is something in these long focal length refractors what appeals to me and i will be not wrong by saying, to many other astronomers too.My ideal for this is a F15 scope in 102mm dia(Vixen),but i have not been lucky to get one,however,a fellow stargazer had this scope in his possession imported form US and to my luck he decided to sell it,and i bought it.  

I did a research on this scope and according to my findings these where produced only for Japanese market under Vixen brand and was sold as Vixen 90L model from 1980`s.However,there is a strange thing with this scope what i presume will be left unsolved mystery.this scope has NO vixen decals on it and also the small aluminium factory tab states that this is Celestron.There is no factory number on it either.Mystery.... there is very little about this model on internet,to my understanding there are no other owners of this scope in UK (correct me if i am wrong),there are 3 scopes in Germany and 1 in Italy,again,if the owners have not parted with them.

optics seem to be from Vixen and are truly SUPERB.Previous owner did a first light report here on stargazers lounge and I can confirm it too based on my 1 brief observation session i had with the scope in its original estate.Views of the moon where much,much better in this as they where in my 14" dob! Crisp,clear,very little to non CA.Truly astounding views.

Promise was made to previous owner that if i do decide to sell it,then he is the one who will have first hand option,however,i honestly cant see this happening,not for a long time :)

now to the scope and what i have done.

original paint wasnt in bad estate but required re-fresh or complete re-painting.

Optics where clean and colimated,nothing was required to do with them.(forgot to mention,that optics have colimatable cell)

finder:well,its mounted on focusers body and it is a pain to use.

focuser:original is 1.25" nice and smooth,but i dont have any 1.25" Ep`s as i had to sell my set of BGO`s (i do regret that every single day since i done it) to raise funds for this scope.

Here is a pic of the scope in its original:

ojginm.jpg

So options for tube refresh: complete re-paint,take only lens and cell and send off to Moonraker telescopes and build new scope based on original optics.(Yes i do love the looks of Monnraker refractors) and then suddenly i had a thought of keeping the original tube and optics but use vinyl and wrap the tube! As finances where tight at that moment,i went for the last option and after long debate what color or what wrap to use,i settled for 3D carbon fibre.

Stripped the OTA,wrapped and by doing this,i am keeping the 30 years old tube,optics as they where as i couldnt get over the idea of stripping this old beautiful scope to parts.I just couldnt do it.Where now the old boy has its second life in new suit.

finder+focuser. original set up is that finder attaches to the focuser`s bracket and it is so badly placed that on my first observation i almost knocked it off and obviously destroyed the alignment. Has to be changed.Again after a few month search,i located a lovely finder with bracked from an old TAL 6" reflector.A small refresh of it and its on my OTA now.

Focuser.I am a great fan of Moonlite focusers,i had it on my 10" dob,have it on my 14" dob and i had to have it on this frac too.thanks to Mark from Moonraker,i had a new shiny focuser with custom made flange on its way to me.No new holes where required to be drilled,was a stright swap.I can now use my 2" Ep`s on this lovely scope.

Also as i mentioned earlier,i was complitely against the idea of taking only optics of this scope,so by vinyl wrapping i preserved this fantastic scope and it can be turned back to its original estate within few hours time if required.

new mount has been aquired for the scope and only thing left for now is to have a clear skies and give the scope a new run and new life under the dark skies.this scope clearly deserves it.

Feel free to comment your thoughts and suggestions,i perfectly understand the views of some astronomers who like to keep everything "as is" from 1960`s or 1980`s and i have no problems if you will explode in your opinions that i have ruined a classic scope,as such,if you think that i have done so,feel free to post it.i will take that on board ;)

here are the pics of how the scope looks now,and wishing all fellow astronomers clear skies and happy hunting.

scope on EQ5 synscan Pro mount

v6rdxe.jpg

business end:

2la98hu.jpg

and one more:

2cfqpdv.jpg

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That is one beautiful looking scope and must be a pleasure to use. I don't have any problems with moving classic gear into the 21st century and using equipment that far surpasses the original focuser for instance. It is a great pity that few today make 1200mm and longer ota's,

Nick.

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Cool looking scope  :smiley:

Vixen made refractors for Celestron, Orion (USA) and Bresser (Germany) during the late 1980's / early 1990's which might explain the factory tab. 

The 90mm F/14.4 is quite an unusual scope - the only one I've seen was, I think, yours when it was with it's previous owner.

There was a Vixen 102 F/15 on UK Astro Buy & Sell and then e.Bay last year. There is a Vixen 102mm F/13 on the former site now I believe.

My personal preference would be to keep the scope in it's original form, as I have with my 1999 Vixen ED102SS but it's entirely up to you what you do with yours of course  :smiley:

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thanks for all the info John,that does explain the Celestron name on the factory tab,the only one thing remains to clarify is why there are no factory numbers on it as i think every unit was numbered or this relates only to higher class telescopes what used higher class glass like ED range??

And i did read your first light report on your Vixen,but despite me fancying having one ED or fluorite in my arsenal,they are a bit out of range for time being, i presume you are talking about that overpriced Ens optical F15 ota on fleebay,but i have not seen any on ABS for a long while yet and yeah i have seen that Vixen 102mm f13 on sale,but this will be difficult to explain to the wife why i need another F13 scope :),i am actually surprised that no one has taken it so far as the price is so right for that superb outfit. If i do get my bonus paid early and the scope will be still up for sale,i will be hard pushed not to take it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi, that's a really interesting modification program you have done there:-)..I can really see the influence of Moonraker scopes in what you have done with your Vixen.

The F13 you mention was mine and it is now sold..someone came to collect a smaller scope I had sold and saw the F13 and bought that as well! It was a lovely scope but had to go to help fund my new D&G F15.

The optics on your 90mm sound excellent and it would be great to see a detailed first light report on the scope.

Cheers

Dave

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Wow! It's really great to see that it has gone to a home where it is being appreciated, both as a closet-classic and as a usable scope under modern skies!

I too can't wait for the (new) First Light report...  ;)

Ant

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this scope is not going to be a closet-classic.i intend to use it as often as i possibly can and this scope will be going into motor home when i will be travelling this summer with family too.managed to have 20 mins sun observation today despite poop weather,hoped for clear skies in the evening.... not going to happen.. ohh well.other day better luck.

got 2 wonderful eye pieces hopefully arriving tomorrow purchased just for this scope and cant wait to try them out.

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you are right Anthony,in this focal length anything will perform nice,but my plan is to have nice orthos on high powers and i will utilize my 100 deg range on low power as such i am on the market for 5;6;7 and 9mm orthos. So far i have gotten 5 and 7 (Pentax XO 5mm and 7mm Meade research grade) and now i am hunting down the 2 other focal lenght`s. i would love to have my set of BGO`s back,but it seems that it is proving to be mission impossible so far. I will give a bit of a time and if nothing found,i will just settle for Hutech or Fujiyamas.

I see Ep`s as investment and intend to keep them,same goes for both my telescopes.

And Anthony,i am planning a weekend trip up to either Burghead or Banff on 10th of may,obviously weather permitted,frac will be coming with me so if you fancy seeing it in flesh,we can arrange for it :),but i will reconfirm this closer to date. 

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you are right Anthony,in this focal length anything will perform nice,but my plan is to have nice orthos on high powers and i will utilize my 100 deg range on low power as such i am on the market for 5;6;7 and 9mm orthos. So far i have gotten 5 and 7 (Pentax XO 5mm and 7mm Meade research grade) and now i am hunting down the 2 other focal lenght`s. i would love to have my set of BGO`s back,but it seems that it is proving to be mission impossible so far. I will give a bit of a time and if nothing found,i will just settle for Hutech or Fujiyamas.

I see Ep`s as investment and intend to keep them,same goes for both my telescopes.

And Anthony,i am planning a weekend trip up to either Burghead or Banff on 10th of may,obviously weather permitted,frac will be coming with me so if you fancy seeing it in flesh,we can arrange for it :),but i will reconfirm this closer to date. 

Pentax XO 5mm and Meade RG 7mm? Very nice! I take it you do realise that they are among the top tier planetary eyepieces out there at "relatively" affordable prices? I used to own the RG 7mm but for some reason I no longer have it and can't even remember why I let it go. As for the Pentax, I've never seen one, but have heard lots of good stuff about it. Hope you get some clear skies and time to appreciate them.

Ant

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i am very well aware of quality of these Ep`s and i cant wait to get clear skies to get out and have the long awaited first light,but at the moment weather it totally against me :( every evening fog rolls in at 18:00 like someone asked for it,but i will keep you posted if suddenly weather improves and i do manage to get it done.i cant wait for it myself to happen,specially with these superb Ep`s sitting here in front of me :D

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  • 2 years later...

«… there are no other owners of this scope in UK (correct me if i am wrong),there are 3 scopes in Germany and 1 in Italy,again,if the owners have not parted with them. …» - And there is at least one in Switzerland: Vixen 90/1300 mm (on a modified SuperPolaris mount and a special tripod); serial number 506A 137. Superb optics and a very smooth focuser.

Greetings from Switzerland, Roman

 

 

Vixen_90L.jpg

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