Moonraker'ed Vixen Atlux

[Stu]

Just popped around to see Mark for him to turn down the weights for my counter balance system as they did not quite clear the tube rings. Don't blame him for the rough finish on them, I was too tight to pay for new shiny ones . I can now push the tube further forward which makes zenith viewing easier.

The wide ring at the back supports the two finder shoes which used to be standard shape but have also had the treatment! My brief for the whole lot was 'no holes or fancy bits!' The profile of the rings basically matches the current tube rings.

The old Vixen is showing her age a bit in terms of paintwork. At some point I may get the tube stripped and powder coated although I do love the original look and the Vixen Atlux sticker. Could possibly get some reprinted?

Anyway, lovely job as always, here are some pics.

[David Smith]

What a beaut Stu. You must be very proud

[alan potts]

Stu,

Looks wonderful, did you do it yourself or was it don't by Moonraker. I really like the counterweights on the side of the scope.

[damnut]

That looks jolly nice Stu. Congrats.

[Telescope40]

Nicey Nicey  !!!!!  

Regards    John

[Stu]

Stu,

Looks wonderful, did you do it yourself or was it don't by Moonraker. I really like the counterweights on the side of the scope.

I wish Alan, no, all done by Moonraker.

I originally specced it when I was planning on using a manual AltAz, but it's still very handy for the AZEQ6

[nightfisher]

really nice Stu, i hope to get a look through this one day, how many 150 vixens in this country?

[John]

Great looking scope Stu

Marks work always reminds me of 1950's US auto engineering for some reason !

[spaceboy]

Looking good Stu. I keep meaning to make myself something similar. Wouldn't be as smart as your Moonraker though. Have you noticed it reduce focusing vibrations in any way? I'm wondering if the ability to offset the normal balance point of the scope and so enabling a more central point of mounting if this may take some of the "twang" out of the OTA if that makes any sense ?? Larger refractors and a big old lump of glass up one end often sees the rings all the way up one end of the scope so a great deal of the OTA is often unsupported.

[Stu]

Looking good Stu. I keep meaning to make myself something similar. Wouldn't be as smart as your Moonraker though. Have you noticed it reduce focusing vibrations in any way? I'm wondering if the ability to offset the normal balance point of the scope and so enabling a more central point of mounting if this may take some of the "twang" out of the OTA if that makes any sense ?? Larger refractors and a big old lump of glass up one end often sees the rings all the way up one end of the scope so a great deal of the OTA is often unsupported.

I've not had a chance to test it properly Nick, but looking at it, the balance point is pretty central now (ignoring the dewshield length). The balance weights allows me to have the scope further forward in the rings which helps the observing position.

I do have some height available in the legs, but this makes observing Saturn a challenging job, either involving a step ladder or balancing precariously on the top rung of the Catsperch. I know it is well made, but I feel a little uneasy up there!!

The most important things I've done to reduce vibrations however are the heavy duty tripod and pier extension, the tracking mount and powered focuser. Now I don't need to touch the scope, it does not suffer from vibrations except in high winds. Fine focusing for planetary use is a breeze now, far easier than before when you had to wait for vibrations to damp to check the focus after each adjustment.

[spaceboy]

Thanks Stu. I'm thinking I should have held on to my stepper focuser now. Live and learn

[Stu]

Thanks Stu. I'm thinking I should have held on to my stepper focuser now. Live and learn

It's a bit strange. When I'm using a manual mount, I seem less bothered about the settling time because I'm constantly moving the scope. When it is rock steady on the AZEQ6 it seems a shame to jiggle it by focusing so the motor makes a lot of sense

[Stu]

Looking good Stu. I keep meaning to make myself something similar. Wouldn't be as smart as your Moonraker though. Have you noticed it reduce focusing vibrations in any way? I'm wondering if the ability to offset the normal balance point of the scope and so enabling a more central point of mounting if this may take some of the "twang" out of the OTA if that makes any sense ?? Larger refractors and a big old lump of glass up one end often sees the rings all the way up one end of the scope so a great deal of the OTA is often unsupported.

Nick, I started off experimenting by buying two of these....

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer/skywatcher-star-adventurer-counterweight-kit.html

If you cut a bolt down of the correct thread size, then you can fix them together, leaving the threads at either end. It's then just a simple matter of fixing the bar to the scope with some brackets or whatever you can find!!

The weights I'm using now are still the original SW ones, just machined down a little

This was one of my prototypes

[Chris]

Such a fantastic setup Stu, and the rough finish on the counterweights looks nice and industrial.

One thing though, do you find some of the edges on the counter weight system a bit sharp? Looking at the pics I can't see any chamfers on the left side of the counter weight or the knurled thumb screws for finder shoe. Looks a bit sharp on the front edge if so it might need a touch of the old emery cloth.  

I do admire both Mark and Richards work, some of the stuff they do gives me goosebumps!

[Stu]

Thanks Chris. I think you are right about the counterweights, they are not sharp enough to cut but probably do need a little rounding off. I need to treat them in some way too to prevent them rusting, that would be a bit too industrial . The thumbscrews are fine though.

I love Mark's work, although I'm more a 'white and black' man myself rather than too much bling . The polished Ali rings look great though.

At some point (when I have the funds!!), I may ask him to make another tube for me. I want to keep the original as it is, but it would be great to be able to transfer the objective to a nice new tube with an ability to collimate the lens cell with a three point push-pull adjustment and some better baffling etc.

The Vixen cell just has the ability to adjust the lens elements by shifting them either together or with respect to each other. Mark tweaked it the other day and it is far better, but probably needs another little tweak.

[spaceboy]

Take them down your local powder coaters Stu. I'd like to bet they would only want a drink for doing them and the finish will be durable and look loads better.

[Stu]

Take them down your local powder coaters Stu. I'd like to bet they would only want a drink for doing them and the finish will be durable and look loads better.

Thanks Nick, I might look into that

[Chris]

Anything you do might be better than the Synta Skywatcher counter weights. I think with your already keyed roughly turned surface, just spraying it with Hammerite would be just as good if not better than the Synta ones perhaps?