William optics Megrez 72 and the Vixen Porta Mount. A marriage made in heaven….

[Lee]

I recently picked up a WO Megrez 72 and a Vixen Porta mount to provide me with a portable set up for quick grab ‘n’ go viewing.

There have been some reviews of the Megrez recently on the forum so I won’t go into too much detail. I will however concur all of the positive comments about this great little scope.

This has to be one of the best made refractors I have seen, William optics really do deserve their reputation for quality. One of the greatest parts of the scope has to be the all metal, quality focuser. The 1:10 is a dream to use and objects just snap into focus with little effort. The only thing it lacks is the usual Alu case that normally accompanies the WO scopes. The white plastic rucksack was not to my taste.

(click to enlarge)

I managed to break the customary cloudy skies and got to use the Megrez on the first night. The early evening moon was the most obvious target. The views did not disappoint. With the Meade 5000 32mm plossl the FOV was… well massive.

As the evening darkened I moved to M45 Pleiades, how refreshing to see the whole of the cluster in the eyepiece it looked fantastic.

The vixen Porta mount is very straightforward in design, a simple alt azimuth mount on a very stable tripod. No polar alignment, no levelling. Just plonk it down and start viewing. I had the scope and mount out of the boxes and was outside viewing in less than 10mins.

Some of the more clever design features include hidden storage for the Allen keys under the rubber mat on the mount.

(click to enlarge)

It was easy to get the scope on the mount with diagonal and eyepiece fitted inside the house and carry the whole setup outside.

The slow motion controls feel a little light weight but offer very smooth action. The Megrez is well suited to the Porta and the white mottled finish on the Megrez almost perfectly matches the finish on the Porta mount.

In conclusion it has rekindled my love affair with refractors. I also own a CPC1100 which is a great scope but can be a pain to setup. You really do have to “get yourself in the zone” when preparing a nights viewing. It can be very frustrating moving the heavy CPC outside, letting it cool down etc only to find the clouds role over an hour later. The Vixen Porta and Megrez 72 offer an alternative solution. I think over time this set up will get a lot of use.

The William optics Megrez 72 and the Vixen Porta Mount are, without a doubt a marriage made in heaven.

[russ]

Thanks for the review Lee. I think this has to be 'THE' portable setup right now and the Megrez 72 is certainly THE most talked about scope in 2008. As you say a marriage made in heaven.

If only i had £500....

Russ

[jgs001]

Lee, Thanks for the review, interesting stuff. Looks great, sounds great, want one. I can't scrape that much together at the moment either Russ.

[russ]

depressing isn't it :?

[Lee]

There are deals to be had.

Try tipping the sofa upside-down...

[colonel cluster]

Got the same set up as you Lee, truly wicked

[MortonH]

So, the 'foot' of the L-bracket fits directly into the dovetail slot on the mount, is that right?

Morton

[Lee]

Thats right. fits very well too.. Not a tube ring in site.

[John]

Thats right. fits very well too.. Not a tube ring in site.

The Megrez 72 L-bracket must be a different shape to the one on the Megrez 90 - I found that on the 90 the L-brackets sides sloped the wrong way so I could not use it to fit into a dovetail mount

I had to get some tube rings and a dovetail bar. Maybe the 90's design has changed - I had one of the early ones.

John

[tom3949]

John,

I have both the Megrez 72 and 90 and use a Tele Optics Giro Mini mount. The show of the 72 fits the Giro mini fine - but that of the 90 is too big. Steve at FLO reckons it will have to be used with Tube rings.

[Darren B]

Great set-up. I have the WO ZS80FD on the Porta Mount, works great though I do need to use vibration supression pads at high power. I also recomend one of these bags to carry it around in http://www.barringtonsports.com/hockey/Product_Malik_Jumbo_Deluxe_Bag_2007.htm . They're tough with large pockets to carry flasks, lunch box, star atlas etc.

[FLO]

Steve at FLO reckons it will have to be used with Tube rings.

The shoe on the Zenithstar 66 and Megrez 72 is shaped the same as a vixen-type dovetail but the Megrez 90 is not.

My Megrez 90 is sat on a Wiliam Optics Vixen type dovetail attached using its shoe and just one of it's two rings.

HTH

[Lee]

Steve,

That's exactly what I have just done with the WO Vixen type plate I have just got from you.

I have mounted the Megrez 90 on the Vixen porta, and it seems to take it well. I will post some pics when the weather gets better.