Show us your Vixen Scope or mount

[Franklin]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Maybe having the finder mount integral with the focuser was favoured by Japanese / European customers ?

Finder shoes that are cast into the focuser, usually on the left, can effect the balance on an EQ mount especially when using a larger 50mm finder. In the past I've drilled the tube and fixed a finder shoe centrally which solves this problem by keeping the weight of the finder parallel with the DEC axis rather than offset to the left.

[melsmore]

Upgraded my GPD2 with Skywatcher GOTO. Works well, but the housing cover doesn't fit very well. Thank goodness for American Tape.

Here is first run for it - to see if I RT*M properly. I didn't want to risk my SD115D nor APM140, so the TS80APO it was.

Edited July 9, 2023 by melsmore
Added the telescope info.

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, melsmore said:

I didn't want to risk my SD115D

Your GPD2 should carry the SD115 well, my SD115 is useable on the smaller GP2 but much better on the SXD2.

[melsmore]

6 hours ago, Franklin said:

Your GPD2 should carry the SD115 well, my SD115 is useable on the smaller GP2 but much better on the SXD2.

It does, very well. It just about handles the APM140 (10kg) ok too. I was more worried about not getting the synscan set up properly and crashing it into the tripod 😱

Edited July 9, 2023 by melsmore

[Franklin]

38 minutes ago, melsmore said:

I was more worried about not getting the synscan set up properly and crashing it into the tripod 😱

That's a worry with big refractors but the SXG 1/2 pillar works a treat and doesn't compromise stability either. 

[Franklin]

I've had a few Vixen scopes over the years but since getting a Quark the little FL55SS is my favorite for solar Ha. Full disk showing surface detail and prominences with an NPL25mm in incredible detail.

 

[melsmore]

2 hours ago, Franklin said:

That's a worry with big refractors but the SXG 1/2 pillar works a treat and doesn't compromise stability either. 

Yeah, I think I may have to get one of those. Telescope house have them available. Do you think this one will be tall enough? 

[John]

I used to have a Vixen GP-DX. It was rock solid with my Tak F/9 100mm and my ED120 F/7.5 but my 130mm F/9.2 triplet was just a little too much for it, when high powers were being used. Shame really because the 130 / GP-DX combination really looked nice 🙂

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by John

[melsmore]

2 minutes ago, John said:

I used to have a Vixen GP-DX. It was rock solid with my Tak F/9 100mm and my ED120 F/7.5 but my 130mm F/9.2 triplet was just a little too much for it, when high powers were being used. Shame really because the 130 / GP-DX combination really looked nice 🙂

 

You're probably right, I need to try it a bit more under proper darkness and at higher magnification. Then decide on half-pillar or new mount. I hope it'll just do it, as I really like my GPD2. 🤞But it is at the very top end weight wise and quite long .....

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, melsmore said:

Do you think this one will be tall enough? 

Absolutely, that's the one I have but if your GPD2 is one of the older models with the 60mm snout it will fit the SW 18" pillar. My GP2 is an older one and I have to use the GP60-45 adaptor to fit it to the SXG 1/2 pillar.

[LDW1]

Last nite under a rather poor Bortle 5 sky in my backyard here in the city my Vixen 62ss showed a lot of pinpoint stars in Sagittarius and Scorpious, even though they were very low to my southern horizon, then up to M13 and etc. I was using my 24mm Celestron Ultima Edge and my 12.5 Baader Morpheus eps. Considering the conditions it was quite obvious, for its size of 62mm, f8.4, its a very, very capable scope . If anyone finds one grab it fast !  PS:  I had it mounted on one of my Porta II's.

[Highburymark]

On 24/03/2023 at 16:42, Franklin said:

Been setting up my new SD115s today and all seems well, I'm very pleased with it and can't wait to get it out under the stars. Some pics of it mounted for @F15Rules as requested. Love the way I can balance a 6.5kg rig with a 1.9kg weight using the SXD2, the dual-speed add-on is the MoreBlue offering, I thought the Vixen one made the course focusing a bit too "Gritty", maybe it needs adjusting but I don't really know how.

 

 

Hi Tim - do you know the weight of your basic OTA?  The advertised information on retailers’ websites tends to fall between 4.4kg and 6.2kg, but I’ve seen various other weight claims for the 115. Not specific to Vixen - it’s an industry-wide problem in my experience. Stunning set up by the way. 

[Franklin]

Just with the rings, dovetail and handle (for @JeremyS) the 115 comes in at 5.4kg so I reckon the quoted lower limit, around 4.6kg I think, for the naked ota is about right. Mine weighs around 6.5kg with 2" diagonal and beefy eyepieces, though I can get the working weight down to 6kg with 1.25" gear and 6x30 finder.

 

Edited July 11, 2023 by Franklin

[Highburymark]

32 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Just with the rings, dovetail and handle (for @JeremyS) the 115 comes in at 5.4kg so I reckon the quoted lower limit, around 4.6kg I think, for the naked ota is about right. Mine weighs around 6.5kg with 2" diagonal and beefy eyepieces, though I can get the working weight down to 6kg with 1.25" gear and 6x30 finder.

 

Thanks Tim -that’s impressive. 

Why aren’t telescope manufacturers all over their retailers’ promotional material? I overlooked this scope when I was upgrading last time because I thought it was almost as heavy as a TSA-120 triplet. It’s not just Vixen with this problem. There was also contrasting information about the TSA when I was researching it. It’s not as if manufacturers have a huge dealer network and a sprawling product range. A top class FPL53 115mm apo at well under 5kg is something I’d want to shout about. Who knows, it might be my next scope now I know how light it is.

[Highburymark]

Anyway, rant over.  
Back to the more interesting stuff - have you used your Quark with the 115?

[Franklin]

24 minutes ago, Highburymark said:

Who knows, it might be my next scope now I know how light it is.

Yes Vixen scopes can be quite misleading because they use over sized tubes and look massive but are actually very light weight. The 115 is perfectly useable on the GP2 with a quick dampening down time at higher mags but is rock solid on the SXD2. Regards the Quark, no not as yet, I'm new to H-alpha and I'm still getting used to using it. I've had it in the FL55 which is my favorite because of the full disk view it allows being only 300mm fl, the SD81s and A80M give real closeups but then the seeing starts to play a bigger role, particularly with the achro at F/11.4. I will eventually get it in the 115 and hopefully set up with binoviewers at native focus using the Quarks inner barlow. I've got a pair of NPL30 plossls so the lowest mag will be around 125x so should give quite closeup views of the prominences etc.

[Highburymark]

Think you’re spot on with your solar strategy. Starting small and working up. The 115 will only be usable in excellent seeing. But it will be awesome - particularly on proms - when the time comes. Maybe keep an eye out for a cheap pair of 40mm plossls? 

[Franklin]

33 minutes ago, Highburymark said:

Maybe keep an eye out for a cheap pair of 40mm plossls? 

Lol. I had a pair of NPL40 but sold one earlier in the year! 

[Franklin]

36 minutes ago, Highburymark said:

The 115 will only be usable in excellent seeing

Yes, I think for visual with solar, whether WL or Ha, the seeing plays a big role and I've always preferred a full disk view with the Lunt wedge and it's the same with the Quark. The views maybe smaller but are much more crisp for longer. I observe facing south so tend to do solar when the Sun is high and of course all the thermals are at their worst!

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

Yes, I think for visual with solar, whether WL or Ha, the seeing plays a big role and I've always preferred a full disk view with the Lunt wedge and it's the same with the Quark. The views maybe smaller but are much more crisp for longer. I observe facing south so tend to do solar when the Sun is high and of course all the thermals are at their worst!

I think there are benefits to both hi and low mag viewing. I agree that full disk views are lovely; crisp, sharp and contrasty and obviously you have the overall context of the full disk. On the other hand, when conditions are good, scopes like my 102mm PST mod can give stunning high power views, particularly of prominences. On occasion this can be quite jaw dropping; watching plasma literally raining down into the surface and moving in real time is something that doesn’t happen often, but when it does the hi power views really come into their own. Well worth trying out anyway.

I guess I’m a glutton for punishment on this front as I have a 150mm PST mod ready to pick up from a Mr P Drew as soon as I can get my backside oop North! 👍

[radiofm74]

I am going dizzy with all the great Vixen scopes, mounts and eyepieces on display on this thread ;D

I've started out during COVID on a (much-loved) Celestron OMNI 150 kit (6" Newt on a CG-4), acquired a C6 for an airline-friendly tube, then being a lover of EQ mounts and an urban dweller in need of a lot of portability I got a Vixen Advanced Polaris. It was a real eye-opener. Super-portable, precise… an amazing piece of kit. When I decided I'd do imaging too, I fitted it with motors and a polar scope, and got a used SD81S. A second w<yw-opener: what a wonderful scope! With the spare parts of the Advanced Polaris I made a fully manual APZ. Both mounts are fantastic, both can hold my (recently acquired) C8 if well balanced, not to speak of my other tubes. The SD81S is my favorite imaging scope and to my utter surprise and confusion also my favorite visual scope, especially for doubles, lunar, and clusters, even though it competes with a pair of good SCTs with much more aperture.

I am now hopelessly hooked. I'd like a 4-5" apo and a nice motorised mount to sustain it, especially for doubles and planetary from my balcony, so my first choice are an old GP(D) and 4-5" Vixen ED doublet. I am so taken with my AP that I'd love to get a Sphinx to upgrade my HEQ5 Pro as my "static" imaging base. And if a R200SS passes by I won't let it go. I am even getting a bit of Vixen eyepiece fever. This thread ain't helping ;D

[Deadlake]

15 hours ago, Franklin said:

Just with the rings, dovetail and handle (for @JeremyS) the 115 comes in at 5.4kg so I reckon the quoted lower limit, around 4.6kg I think, for the naked ota is about right. Mine weighs around 6.5kg with 2" diagonal and beefy eyepieces, though I can get the working weight down to 6kg with 1.25" gear and 6x30 finder.

 

Would this work with a VIxen APZ mount at all, given the payload for the mount is 8 kg?

[Franklin]

2 hours ago, Deadlake said:

Would this work with a VIxen APZ mount at all, given the payload for the mount is 8 kg?

It does indeed but I replace the stock APZ conical weight (1.65kg) with the long bar off the AP and a 3.7kg weight. Slo-mo's on the APZ are buttery smooth and the "freestop" design, when the friction levers are set correctly, works very well.

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Franklin

[Franklin]

13 hours ago, radiofm74 said:

I am now hopelessly hooked.

Join the club! I've been suffering from "Vixenitus" for many years and I'm afraid there is no known cure😊.

[Franklin]

14 hours ago, radiofm74 said:

The SD81S is my favorite imaging scope and to my utter surprise and confusion also my favorite visual scope,

The SD81S is my most used scope, on the AP or APZ it's so light, portable and excellent quality.

I see from your picture above that the dovetail bar on your SD81S is right at the limit. I found this too and overcame it by attaching the lower ring one bolt hole up on the bar which allows you to slide the tube further forward and means you can fix the bar to the mount further up, adding stability.