Show us your Vixen Scope or mount

[Franklin]

After my recent Vixen cull I'm left with just this one setup for now, SD81S atop the manual APZ on APP-TL130 tripod with 1/2 pillar and a set of SSW's, not too shabby😁.

Can't remember the last time I only had one scope to choose from, but it does make life a lot simpler, I like it!

 

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, Franklin said:

After my recent Vixen cull I'm left with just this one setup for now, SD81S atop the manual APZ on APP-TL130 tripod with 1/2 pillar and a set of SSW's, not too shabby😁.

Can't remember the last time I only had one scope to choose from, but it does make life a lot simpler, I like it!

 

Looks lovely Tim, there are worse setups to be stuck with.

Any hints on what comes next? 😊

[Franklin]

30 minutes ago, Stu said:

Any hints on what comes next? 😊

Nothing for a while I expect, but I'm always on the prowl for a great condition FL102S F9.

[Stu]

4 hours ago, Franklin said:

Nothing for a while I expect, but I'm always on the prowl for a great condition FL102S F9.

Without wishing to rub it in, I really must use mine more often! 😬

[John]

I'm going to feed my Vixen ED102SS some starlight this evening, I hope 😀

[radiofm74]

7 hours ago, Franklin said:

Nothing for a while I expect, but I'm always on the prowl for a great condition FL102S F9.

A few have come up in Italy recently but they go very quickly. As soon as I spot one I’ll PM you!

Edited March 6 by radiofm74

[F15Rules]

1 hour ago, John said:

I'm going to feed my Vixen ED102SS some starlight this evening, I hope 😀

Will you be pointing your Vixen at a Mount Palomar photographic star atlas then, John?.. 🤔🤭😅

Dave

[Ianfuk]

11 hours ago, Franklin said:

I bet that's a cracking scope for visual, it bests the FL102S according to Vixen's catalogue specs. Must be a bit heavier than the SD103S though, does the APZ cope ok?

It’s really great for visual  , first night I used the 32mm masuyama and 16mm 85 degree eyepieces  the view was excellent looking at the moon and the crater Aristarchus the detail was jumping out.

the APZ mount and the AX both work fine , I did find this picture below of the setup and asked the shop in Japan I got the ax from and they said , it will be fine and no extra weights needed😬

[Franklin]

I used the SD103S, which is a bit lighter than the AX103S, on the APZ and it worked well, with the SD115S it still worked ok but was better with the extended AP counterweight shaft and a 2.8kg weight.

Lovely setup btw.

[Ianfuk]

9 hours ago, Franklin said:

I used the SD103S, which is a bit lighter than the AX103S, on the APZ and it worked well, with the SD115S it still worked ok but was better with the extended AP counterweight shaft and a 2.8kg weight.

Lovely setup btw.

Thanks .  The AX weight wise is about 6.5 kg , I’ve used the Baader BHSS diagonal and Pentax 40XW eyepieces mount has been great , I wouldn’t mind seeing the SD 115 on the mount🤔

[Franklin]

3 hours ago, Ianfuk said:

I wouldn’t mind seeing the SD 115 on the mount🤔

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.

Sadly this lovely scope is no longer with me but has gone to a very good home with a fellow SGL'r.

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Franklin

Edited March 7 by Franklin

[Ianfuk]

10 hours ago, Franklin said:

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.

Sadly this lovely scope is no longer with me but has gone to a very good home with a fellow SGL'r.

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Franklin

Looks good on the APZ , 2nd photo have you got the blue micro focus fitted 

[Franklin]

12 minutes ago, Ianfuk said:

2nd photo have you got the blue micro focus fitted 

Yeah, I thought the More Blue micro was a touch better than the Vixen one, being 1:12 v 1:7 and a bit cheaper as well.

[Franklin]

@F15Rules, I see from this pic above, that you're not the only one with the idea of using focuser knobs to hold the rings.

 

[Ianfuk]

7 hours ago, Franklin said:

@F15Rules, I see from this pic above, that you're not the only one with the idea of using focuser knobs to hold the rings.

 

That’s what the tube rings came fitted with , I thought that was normal but just looked at the SD 103 rings  🤔

[Ianfuk]

8 hours ago, Franklin said:

Yeah, I thought the More Blue micro was a touch better than the Vixen one, being 1:12 v 1:7 and a bit cheaper as well.

I’m still looking for one , hopefully FLP will get one

[radiofm74]

My Vixen family has just admitted a new member. For dark(er) skies I have to drive to the countryside (and walk a nice bit to the car sharing parking with all my gear), so I am the greatest fan of "portable" stuff, and constantly taxing/testing the limits of my Advanced Polaris and APZ. I had eyed a R200SS for the longest time: nothing else has the same combination of lightness, light-gathering capabilities and rich field. A very old, battered one has come up at the irresistible price of 400 CHF .- and, in November, I pounced. Then spent extra money to have it revised. Then spent extra money to get the original coma corrector (used, of course). Then spent extra money cause the eyepiece holder was not the kind that admits the R200SS coma corrector… then thought, for a few months, I should sell the thing but couldn't because something fundamental was wrong with it: the views were HORRIBLE, my first attempt at collimation had been a disaster, and now it had been collimated by expert hands…

As a last-ditch attempt, and with advice from forum members, I attempted a collimation with an artificial star. BANG! It's everything I ever could hope it would be!

I had a first very promising first night in the courtyard here below (Algieba in bad seeing and Leo triplet under Bortle 6… not too shabby!). Yesterday I took it to the fields. It was freezing cold, damp, windy, and again with very bad seeing. But ahhh the sky above. It was pretty memorable. I had the R200 on the Advanced Polaris, with dual motors – super comfortable, a bit shaky in the wind but absolutely doable. After a dazzling view of the Orion Nebula, with a lovely trapezium, I went to my old enemy Alnitak to see if this mirror would at last give me my first view of the Flame Nebula. And there it was: with the 10mm Ortho, and Alnitak just outside of the FoV, an eyeful of mottled nebulosity with dark lanes and spots running everywhere from the center. Not by any means a "photographic", detailed image, but seeing the nebula in its general outline and regions was actually easy and achievable with direct vision. Sigma Orionis, observed by the way, was a real pleasure (and let me appreciate how much care I must put in focusing…). So was M78. I then moved to Monoceros and to my delight – despite very, very bad seeing – the scope could split delightful Beta Mon. Not my best view ever, but that was entirely due to seeing. The object I had my best view ever, though, was only a few degrees away: I've never seen the Rosette Nebula so well. With my 32 Plössl and UHC it was a fat, evident ring of nebulosity around the Satellite cluster. The NW section was so dense it gave almost a tridimensional, "fluffy" impression. The section opposite to it was also evident, if thinner and wispier. Awe-inspiring. With better seeing, I might have seen some of the famous dark lanes. The Christmas Tree cluster nearby was also very nice. No cone nebula, but I could see some of the nebulosity embedding the cluster, especially around bright 15 Monoceros. That was a first, too. To close I went down South to Canis Major. Despite even worse seeing, the Little Beehive, Tau Cma, the Winter Albireo and one of my faves NGC2360 were all very nice. I would have gone on and probably lost a couple fingers in the process… luckily I found myself suddenly embedded in mist and frost-covered and I was forced to withdraw.

It's clear that the R200SS will now take its rightful place in my stable. I am now very much looking forward to Galaxy season!

I've discovered a couple things in the process:

- Yesterday I did not have the R200SS coma corrector with me (needs cleaning), but I did have the MPCC it came with, and I found that it degraded the image on-axis. This one will go to a new owner for sure;

- The reason why it was so hard to collimate is in part, I think, that the center spot is quite a way off. I'll go on collimating with a star and cross-hair eyepiece for now. I might have the mirror washed sometime later, and on that occasion I'll have the center spot removed and replaced, or I'll do it myself. For now, I'll just ignore it. 
 

Ok, sorry for the long post. Here's the old boy ;D

[osbourne one-nil]

Oh that's lovely! It's one of Ed Ting's "collectable" scopes. Any idea on age? 

I think mine is about 15yrs old but the coatings look to have lasted well and I keep being thrilled with the images I get through it (I've never actually "looked" through it....yet). Now you're happy with collimation, it really shouldn't need much tweaking providing you've tightened things down really well. My initial frustrations came from the previous owner fitting Bob's Knobs which, while easy to adjust, mean more adjustment is necessary as you can't tighten things down enough by hand. A pair of pliers later, and I can go out night after night and everything stays bob-on (no pun intended). 

 

Edited March 8 by osbourne one-nil

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, Ianfuk said:

I’m still looking for one , hopefully FLP will get one

"Buyee" Japanese auctions have them from time to time, that's where I got it and for under £100.

[Ianfuk]

10 minutes ago, Franklin said:

"Buyee" Japanese auctions have them from time to time, that's where I got it and for under £100.

Thats a good saving , I’ll have a look 😬

[Alan White]

9 hours ago, Franklin said:

@F15Rules, I see from this pic above, that you're not the only one with the idea of using focuser knobs to hold the rings.

 

 

1 hour ago, Ianfuk said:

That’s what the tube rings came fitted with , I thought that was normal but just looked at the SD 103 rings  🤔

The scopes I have came with flatter plastic knob bolts for the rings, but they can foul a Vixen shoe if a longer one is in use.
They also supply a pair of dome headed screws to replace the knobs with if desired.

This is all set out in the ED/SD Instructions.

Edited March 8 by Alan White

[radiofm74]

1 hour ago, osbourne one-nil said:

Oh that's lovely! It's one of Ed Ting's "collectable" scopes. Any idea on age? 

I think mine is about 15yrs old but the coatings look to have lasted well and I keep being thrilled with the images I get through it (I've never actually "looked" through it....yet). Now you're happy with collimation, it really shouldn't need much tweaking providing you've tightened things down really well. My initial frustrations came from the previous owner fitting Bob's Knobs which, while easy to adjust, mean more adjustment is necessary as you can't tighten things down enough by hand. A pair of pliers later, and I can go out night after night and everything stays bob-on (no pun intended). 

 

That's exactly what I intend to do! And you remind me, the R200 could also turn out to be an extremely valuable addition to my imaging gear!

As to age… hmmm… it's an old warrior: if I read correctly the catalogues it, the rings, trimmings and logo date it back to 1993-2003. So it's 20-30 years old. Except for the wrong center spot placement, the mirror is in very good shape. Yesterday when I came home it was covered in frost and dew. After a moment of concern, I kept the scope mounted "mouth down" overnight and this morning everything looked fine. 

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

The scopes I have came with flatter plastic knob bolts for the rings, but they can foul a Vixen shoe if a longer one is in use.
They also supply a pair of dome headed screws to replace the knobs with if desired.

Yes that's right, most Vixen refractors have that style but the SD115S comes with different knobs and they fit to the shaft via a grubscrew. The bolts are 6mm and have a flat-edge tip, the same as the Vixen focuser pinion shaft, so @F15Rules has fitted these instead because they're easier to grip, being larger. The AX103S, being the Vixen premium scope, may well come with this style off the shelf.

[F15Rules]

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

Yes that's right, most Vixen refractors have that style but the SD115S comes with different knobs and they fit to the shaft via a grubscrew. The bolts are 6mm and have a flat-edge tip, the same as the Vixen focuser pinion shaft, so @F15Rules has fitted these instead because they're easier to grip, being larger. The AX103S, being the Vixen premium scope, may well come with this style off the shelf.

Hi Alan, Tim is correct, the knobs shown on your ED103S manual are different (and I think, better), than the round ones which seem to come as standard on the newer SD range.

I've been in touch with Bresser UK asking about availability of the focuser knobs from the SD, for the benefit of other SD owners, as I found that they are much more solid and easier to use in the dark when rotating the tube in it's rings..

Bresser's representative firstly disputed that the focuser knobs are metal (! - said "as far as she was concerned, they are made of ABS!), so then took 2 days to confirm with Vixen that they are in fact metal (specifically, aluminium!).

I then had to chase her and she did confirm that it is possible to buy a set of knobs (which has to include the pinion) at a cost of £51plus £5.95.UK delivery..so, not cheap!

If I wasn't already sorted with a pair, thanks to Tim's (@Franklin) help, I think I'd be inclined to go for the set referenced above by @The60mmKid.. here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325409930148

Finally..quote by Tim above..

The AX103S, being the Vixen premium scope

Er, that's not a scope, it's an Astrograph!! 

Now THIS is Vixen's Premium refractor...

(IMHO, of course!! 😁🤪😂🤣)..

Dave

[Alan White]

Interesting about the pinion as my ED103 Lazarus will benefit from a new one.