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Show us your Vixen Scope or mount


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9 hours ago, osbourne one-nil said:

CA was there on the NA140, but I only ever found it a problem on planets where I couldn't see past it; of course, it was never intended to be a planetary scope anyway. It was fine on any star other than the very brightest (and why would you want to look at Sirius with it anyway?!). I think it was actually an f10 or something with a lens towards the focuser end? It showed really lovely colours on faint doubles and had a huge field of view. Maybe it was just a bit too niche though - neither a really big aperture like a Newt nor really really clean images like a good Apo. Then there's the price....it's a lot!

I did get the SD103, yeah. It came with all that included, but also only a single speed focuser. I can't see that being a problem though. I'll let you know if I ever get a chance to look through it. Seems to suit the Porta II perfectly!

I really like my na140. It's a real delight on the planets and has a low degree of colour and quite a large flat field. It's my goto scope unless I wheel the 12" Newt out.

Edited by skybadger
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22 minutes ago, skybadger said:

I really like my na140. It's a real delight on the planets and has a low degree of colour and quite a large flat field. It's my goto scope unless I wheel the 12" Newt out.

Do you use a filter? I know Russell on CN advocates a yellow Wratten filter... Or something like that. 

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Wow, amazing looking scopes! Especially those big refractors look incredible!

Below my humble 30year old C8 on my trusty old Super Polaris DX. I have also attached a Vixen 7x50 finder and my original early 80s SP 60l achromat as guidescope. Mount is driven by a Boxdoerfer MTS3 controller.

This has been with me for a looong time. I have had the mount regreased a couple of years ago and it still works well!

I am starting to wonder what a nice big refractor would look like on my sp-dx though...

show us more photos!

6165C343-D1D2-4F17-9931-FFBFC447044D.jpeg

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Here's my Vixen R150S on its SP mount which I've had since about 1983. Piggybacking is a Vixen 60mm guide scope. The only mod I've made since is to add a helical focuser to the sled focuser and build a controller for autoguiding.

 

5a5f0bc99aece_VixenSP.thumb.jpg.fd843d1c585ef0a401ef25ca520ac1f3.jpg

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2 hours ago, kens said:

Here's my Vixen R150S on its SP mount which I've had since about 1983. Piggybacking is a Vixen 60mm guide scope. The only mod I've made since is to add a helical focuser to the sled focuser and build a controller for autoguiding.

 

5a5f0bc99aece_VixenSP.thumb.jpg.fd843d1c585ef0a401ef25ca520ac1f3.jpg

That's a nice reflector, and non too common now I imagine? How are the views through it?

Dave

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2 hours ago, kens said:

Here's my Vixen R150S on its SP mount which I've had since about 1983.

Such stuff as dreams were made on in the 80's! I drooled over this type of Vixen set-up, Ken. Thanks for sharing.

Jeremy

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20 hours ago, osbourne one-nil said:

Do you use a filter? I know Russell on CN advocates a yellow Wratten filter... Or something like that. 

I always tend to have a baader uv/ir cut filter in place but that's about it. It gives great detailed views of Jupiter. 

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5 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Great observatory, great setup!

Must be great to have a nice calm dome around you at this time of year..

Dave

It is. I love being able to open up and image or view  in minutes. There's even pieces of your kit in there ...I'm trying to rename what though.

 

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I agree that vixen is a underrated brand. But I am unashamed to acknowledge myself a vixen fan, especially of its mounts (and Starbook TEN) and eps. :happy7:

5a60715a42fb4_IMG_0827.jpg.4900d92dff0c2ee60a5f40f315ababf7.jpg5a607162616c0_IMG_2356.jpg.5bdd6a10769516f65d94d3c475c8c02b.jpgIMG_5210_thumb_JPG_cd4f527fa55cfd0b082747b6f7885f6c.jpg.7e7ca3a8097542da5ceafa8f4e7d1017.jpg5a60715e51487_IMG_1027.jpg.bf83db369788821c939cd059793f6121.jpg

Edited by Zhao
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On 15/01/2018 at 15:19, John said:

Can't see the pics of yours Dave :icon_scratch: (edit: oh yes I can now - very nice ! :icon_biggrin:)

Here are pics of my old (I owned this around 1990) Bresser Uranus which was really a Vixen SP102M in a black colour scheme (complete with early Skysensor GOTO) and a couple of my current Vixen ED102SS toting it's Vixen handle and rings, care of your good self Dave plus Moonlite focuser. I've owned the ED102 for over a decade now :icon_biggrin:

 

 

bresseruranus.jpg

vix102ota01.JPG

vix102ota02.JPG

So, both being Japanese, how do the 100mm Vixens compare with Tak doublet rivals from your experience John?

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Here is my SP102 being used by a friend while we wait for darkness; I've had it about 10 years and have loved owning it.  Only an achromat but I can't say colour fringing has ever bothered me much.  I stripped it down 6 years ago as the axes had become a bit stiff and there was a lengthy discussion on SGL about the type of grease to use with lots of interesting stuff I didn't understand about 'high pressure' for the worms.  I wouldn't say it was 'heated' but there were many different opinions...all very interesting.  Well I used white lithium for everything and now I need to do it again...which seems quite soon to me(?)  It's still quite usable, I just notice it getting harder to balance properly. Anyway, lovely scope that I can't see myself ever selling.

5a6081922f9fe_VixenSp102LOWRES.JPG.6460d495ed058c9bb645c6afbd56a811.JPG

Edited by runoffshed
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22 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Maybe worth an upgrade to Moonlite or similar?

Dave

It wouldn't be easy to fit around the rectangular hole where the sled focuser fits. I've decided to try to keep ithe whole rig in original condition as much as possible. I was able to fit a helical focuser that scews into the sled focuser. So I can lock the sled and fine focus with the helical

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10 minutes ago, runoffshed said:

Here is my SP102 being used by a friend while we wait for darkness; I've had it about 10 years and have loved owning it.  Only an achromat but I can't say colour fringing has ever bothered me much.  I stripped it down 6 years ago as the axis had become a bit stiff and there was a lengthy discussion on SGL about the type of grease to use with lots of interesting stuff I didn't understand about 'high pressure' for the worms.  I wouldn't say it was 'heated' but there were many different opinions...all very interesting.  Well I used white lithium for everything and now I need to do it again...which seems quite soon to me(?)  It's still quite usable, I just notice it getting harder to balance properly. Anyway, lovely scope that I can't see myself ever selling.

5a6081922f9fe_VixenSp102LOWRES.JPG.6460d495ed058c9bb645c6afbd56a811.JPG

Hi John,

You added the picture quickly enough !

As I said, I have never owned a Vixen scope, but I am well aware of their pedigree, maybe one day.

Lovely set up. :happy11:

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35 minutes ago, runoffshed said:

Here is my SP102 being used by a friend while we wait for darkness; I've had it about 10 years and have loved owning it.  Only an achromat but I can't say colour fringing has ever bothered me much.  I stripped it down 6 years ago as the axes had become a bit stiff and there was a lengthy discussion on SGL about the type of grease to use with lots of interesting stuff I didn't understand about 'high pressure' for the worms.  I wouldn't say it was 'heated' but there were many different opinions...all very interesting.  Well I used white lithium for everything and now I need to do it again...which seems quite soon to me(?)  It's still quite usable, I just notice it getting harder to balance properly. Anyway, lovely scope that I can't see myself ever selling.

5a6081922f9fe_VixenSp102LOWRES.JPG.6460d495ed058c9bb645c6afbd56a811.JPG

That's a cracking all Vixen setup, and looks to be in excellent condition. I remember drooling over that setup around the early 1980s, when a young man, and Orion Optics were the UK Vixen dealer. If I'm not mistaken, the scope and mount had an RRP of around £795, maybe more - a lot of cash in those pre- mainstream ED apo days.

Thanks for posting☺.

Dave

Edited by F15Rules
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3 hours ago, Zhao said:

I agree that vixen is a underrated brand. But I am unashamed to acknowledge myself a vixen fan, especially of its mounts (and Starbook TEN) and eps. :happy7:

It doesn't make financial sense, there are probably better mounts and the software probably isn't the best, but.....I so want a Vixen mount with Starbook 10!

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4 hours ago, Zhao said:

I agree that vixen is a underrated brand. But I am unashamed to acknowledge myself a vixen fan, especially of its mounts (and Starbook TEN) and eps. :happy7:

5a60715a42fb4_IMG_0827.jpg.4900d92dff0c2ee60a5f40f315ababf7.jpg5a607162616c0_IMG_2356.jpg.5bdd6a10769516f65d94d3c475c8c02b.jpgIMG_5210_thumb_JPG_cd4f527fa55cfd0b082747b6f7885f6c.jpg.7e7ca3a8097542da5ceafa8f4e7d1017.jpg5a60715e51487_IMG_1027.jpg.bf83db369788821c939cd059793f6121.jpg

I love that SXP! I never used one but If I ever retire my old SP-DX, this will be high on my wishlist. The finish is excellent, the starbook seems outstanding and I am convinced the mechanics must be worth every penny. I also like your neat yellow case for it....

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"Here is a short post I made on the CN forum comparing the two:"

I saw that thread John, interesting read. I think any F9 scope will give sharper and better star tests than  an F6.5, (given equal quality glass etc) if only because the elements have gentler curves which are easier to polish and figure?

At any rate, there are very few Tak vs Vixen direct comparisons around. Perhaps the "fairest" might be the Tak FS102 F8 (or your FC100DL F9?) versus the legendary Vixen FL102 F9?

I'm sure I've read somewhere that the FL102 was replaced with the  ED102s/1033s scopes on cost grounds, but I don't think I've seen a direct comparison of them in print. If there was such a comparison, I'd also expect the longer FL102 fluorite to edge the non fluorite and shorter ED103s.

That's why I'd love to see a premium F11-F13 ED or Fluorite doublet offered. It would sit well on an EQ6 class mount and would genuinely be a double star killer I reckon.

But I know it will never happen, not enough demand for a long, expensive modest aperture apo, so the economics probably wouldn't add up. And it's much easier to stack F7 or 8 100mm tubes on a pallet!

Dave

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1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

"Here is a short post I made on the CN forum comparing the two:"

I saw that thread John, interesting read. I think any F9 scope will give sharper and better star tests than  an F6.5, (given equal quality glass etc) if only because the elements have gentler curves which are easier to polish and figure?......

 

......That's why I'd love to see a premium F11-F13 ED or Fluorite doublet offered. It would sit well on an EQ6 class mount and would genuinely be a double star killer I reckon.

But I know it will never happen, not enough demand for a long, expensive modest aperture apo, so the economics probably wouldn't add up. And it's much easier to stack F7 or 8 100mm tubes on a pallet!

Dave

My ED102SS replaced a Skywatcher ED100. I was expecting a slight drop in CA control and possibly sharpness but I didn't see it to be honest. The lens is well figured in the F/6.5 Vixen but the Tak is even better.

FrT Telescopes do an F/12.5 120mm ED doublet refractor. Quite expensive though:

http://www.frtelescopes.com/frt120ded.html

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3 hours ago, John said:

Here is a short post I made on the CN forum comparing the two:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/541112-vixen-ed102ss-and-takahashi-fc100dl-brief-comparison/

Thank you John, interesting comparison. I thought the Vixen had a flourite lens!

As SW ED PRO models do, perhaps your 120 is a smidgeon closer to your Tak for that reason.

Tak F7.5 seem to be ideal travel/grab scopes, while F9 is perhaps the "Home Not Away" one to own.

All that remains is to compare a SW 100 ED PRO F9 doublet against a DL.

 

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