Show us your Vixen Scope or mount

[John]

When I was looking for a top class refractor back in 2016 a Vixen Fluorite 102 was top of my shortlist. Didn't find one then but the last UK example of the 1st run Tak FC-100DL's was available so I decided to go for that.

Both use Canon Optron objectives at F/9 so very much equal in terms of performance I would think

 

[LDW1]

On 24/08/2019 at 06:10, Peter_D said:

I currently have two Vixen scopes: a R114m on a GPE mount and a Tasco 9VR.

 

I just bought a 9 vr from a guy in Texas, I will get it next week. It will be a good partner to test against my Celestron C-62 Cometron from that same era. How do you like your 9 vr, any operational problem wth it ?

[Peter_D]

11 hours ago, LDW1 said:

I just bought a 9 vr from a guy in Texas, I will get it next week. It will be a good partner to test against my Celestron C-62 Cometron from that same era. How do you like your 9 vr, any operational problem wth it ?

Hi, no problems with it. Optically very good, lovely focuser, super compact (especially if you remove the finder). It takes the standard Vixen back-end adapter to allow you to use 1.25 inch accessories.  

Are you getting the accessories with it? The slo-mo head is excellent - I have used it with other small aperture scopes  also.

The small table top tripod didn't come with my 9vr - I think it only came with the later non-Vixen made models.

 

[LDW1]

4 hours ago, Peter_D said:

Hi, no problems with it. Optically very good, lovely focuser, super compact (especially if you remove the finder). It takes the standard Vixen back-end adapter to allow you to use 1.25 inch accessories.  

Are you getting the accessories with it? The slo-mo head is excellent - I have used it with other small aperture scopes  also.

The small table top tripod didn't come with my 9vr - I think it only came with the later non-Vixen made models.

 

I only wanted the scope and diagonal, I told him to keep everything else, with 9 scopes of various sizes I sure don’ t need anything else lying around ! I will use it on a lite but quality mount with a ball head like my CO-62 Cometron. I never use a finder, on any scope, so he is keeping it as well, lol !

[UKRoman]

Hi All.

This is my first post on the forums, and what better place to start. After nearly a 20 year absence from practical Astronomy I thought I'd dip my toe back in to see what's changed. So in early December I purchased a Celestron Nextstar Evolution 9.25. As luck would have it it's been pretty cloudy on every occasion I've had the opportunity to get out, so I've only used it once. That got me thinking about my first and only other scope, which I bought in 1992 and I seem to recall having to wait 6 weeks for clear skies before I could use that for the first time. I remember having great fun with it all those years ago. Anyway after some rummaging through cupboards and under beds I finally tracked down all the parts; a Vixen FL102S on a Super Polaris mount. On reassembling it I was quite surprised that it seems to be in very good condition. However compared to modern telescopes with Go To capabilities, the motor drives on the SP mount are very antiquated and slow. Although they do seem to be working. That said, I decided that whilst I wait for clear skies I'd rejuvenate the old girl with a new mount and focuser. 

 

 

The new mount is Skywatcher AZ-EQ6. I've also fitted a Moonlite focuser to replace the original, which seemed to wobble and grind slightly when moving. The Baadar Sky Surfer V RDF is a new addition to replace the original 6x30 finder, which I never liked. The additional white tube rings serve dual purpose; the rear one now provides a carry handle and the front one is covering up a few small marks on the OTA. The final accessory is a 2 inch diagonal.  The wooden box in the picture background is a wonderful storage box for the OTA that my Dad made for me as a birthday present when I first got the scope. All-in-all I'm quite excited at the prospect of trying the old Vixen alongside the new Celestron. All I need now is clear skies :-).

[Stu]

Wow, lovely scope. Quite jealous 😁😁👍👍

Welcome to the forum

[Fozzie]

45 minutes ago, UKRoman said:

Hi All.

This is my first post on the forums, and what better place to start. After nearly a 20 year absence from practical Astronomy I thought I'd dip my toe back in to see what's changed. So in early December I purchased a Celestron Nextstar Evolution 9.25. As luck would have it it's been pretty cloudy on every occasion I've had the opportunity to get out, so I've only used it once. That got me thinking about my first and only other scope, which I bought in 1992 and I seem to recall having to wait 6 weeks for clear skies before I could use that for the first time. I remember having great fun with it all those years ago. Anyway after some rummaging through cupboards and under beds I finally tracked down all the parts; a Vixen FL102S on a Super Polaris mount. On reassembling it I was quite surprised that it seems to be in very good condition. However compared to modern telescopes with Go To capabilities, the motor drives on the SP mount are very antiquated and slow. Although they do seem to be working. That said, I decided that whilst I wait for clear skies I'd rejuvenate the old girl with a new mount and focuser. 

 

 

The new mount is Skywatcher AZ-EQ6. I've also fitted a Moonlite focuser to replace the original, which seemed to wobble and grind slightly when moving. The Baadar Sky Surfer V RDF is a new addition to replace the original 6x30 finder, which I never liked. The additional white tube rings serve dual purpose; the rear one now provides a carry handle and the front one is covering up a few small marks on the OTA. The final accessory is a 2 inch diagonal.  The wooden box in the picture background is a wonderful storage box for the OTA that my Dad made for me as a birthday present when I first got the scope. All-in-all I'm quite excited at the prospect of trying the old Vixen alongside the new Celestron. All I need now is clear skies :-).

that's my kind of scope, f9 too... yeah noting but loveliness here!!

Im currently drawn to the 115ed that GM has in the classifieds, would have that in a heart beat if I didn't have, mortgage, kids, school fees, nursery fees, child benefit repayments... blah blah blah...  im down on kidneys too....   one day I will have a vixen Scope atop my GP... one day!

[AdeKing]

3 hours ago, Fozzie said:

Anyway after some rummaging through cupboards and under beds I finally tracked down all the parts; a Vixen FL102S on a Super Polaris mount.

What a lovely thing to find under the bed or in a cupboard.  Search as I might I can't find one of those under my bed or in one of my cupboards 🤣.

Very jealous.  However, I hope that you get to enjoy it soon.

Ade

[AdeKing]

Here is my new to me and first Vixen mount, a Vixen GP fitted here to an old TAL wooden tripod which has been modified with an EQ5 top plate.

 

[F15Rules]

22 minutes ago, AdeKing said:

Here is my new to me and first Vixen mount, a Vixen GP fitted here to an old TAL wooden tripod which has been modified with an EQ5 top plate.

 

A great mount Ade..often copied, but never bettered for what it is IMHO. And available used for the price of a single decent modern eyepiece!👍

Dave

Edited March 5, 2020 by F15Rules

[AdeKing]

1 minute ago, F15Rules said:

A great mount Ade..often copies but never bettered for what it is IMHO. And available used for the price of a single decent modern eyepiece!👍

Dave

I haven't used it in anger yet thanks to the cloud gods, but from the little playing around with it I have done, there seems to be virtually no backlash in either axis, something that can't be said of the EQ5 that I'm intending for the GP to replace.

I can certainly see why these mounts have such a loyal following, it just seems so much better put together than the EQ5.

[Alan White]

Nice mount Ade, very nice, looks good on those legs.

[Alan White]

I had to post a Happy Picture, me the ED103s and WL action today.
Some happiness in a time of worry, which was much needed.
And oh me oh my, balder than I thought, but I have clipped the hair today, honest.
 

That image is like looking at my dear Dad, even how the hair is missing.

 

[AdeKing]

57 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Nice mount Ade, very nice, looks good on those legs.

Thanks Alan, I'm very pleased with it and am using it to make me learn star hopping as well as making me learn to appreciate and like an EQ mount.

Over the last 10 days it's been set up permanently and the Lunt has been on it every day so I can get my fix when I take a break from work.

I have a SS2K that I'm troubleshooting, but at the moment it's just fitted with MT-1 motors and a DD-1 controller.

I'm having to be careful though as the DD-1 controller needs the voltage regulator mod doing so the motor drivers on the circuit board don't get burnt out when slewing at 32x using 12v as it's and early controller.

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

I had to post a Happy Picture, me the ED103s and WL action today.
Some happiness in a time of worry, which was much needed.
And oh me oh my, balder than I thought, but I have clipped the hair today, honest.
 

That image is like looking at my dear Dad, even how the hair is missing.

You are looking very happy there Alan, it's amazing what a bit of sunshine dies for the mood.........well unless I'm being asked to go shopping when it's lovely outside.

[Alan White]

@AdeKing that tripod needs a green centre, if the Vixen one I have will fit, let me know.....
Happy to send it to you (Free) when things settle down as a donation to the Vixen cause.
Let me know, overcome with lockdown kindness.
 

[John]

This is my Celestron / Vixen GP on an Oberwerk hardwood tripod with the Takahashi FC-100DL on board. The long slow motion cables give it quite a classic look I think

 

 

[FaDG]

Just went through this thread and noticed that, despite the 9 pages of great equipment, something is missing. 

So here my small contribution. 

 

That's my Polarie sitting on the Star Adventurer wedge on an ancient EQ1 wooden tripod, carrying a Canon 600d and a Sigma 105 f2.8. 

A great tracker, not my only one but the best and beloved! No guiding capability, but that's exactly the right concept to travel light, and with its 15 arcsec peak to peak it manages three minutes subs without issues.

The polarscope is super, but the only design limit is that it can't stay in place with the default mount for the ball head. So I 3d printed an adapter to keep it in place and use the Star Adventurer counterweight. 

So, kinda Frankenmount, but I'm in love with it. 

Fabio 

 

Edited April 4, 2020 by FaDG

[AdeKing]

46 minutes ago, John said:

This is my Celestron / Vixen GP on an Oberwerk hardwood tripod with the Takahashi FC-100DL on board. The long slow motion cables give it quite a classic look I think

 

 

@John could I ask where you managed to source the Oberwerk tripod from?

I was after one before I got my Berlebach and they seemed impossible to get on this side of the pond as it seemed that none of the US suppliers that carried it would ship overseas at the time.

[AdeKing]

56 minutes ago, Alan White said:

@AdeKing that tripod needs a green centre, if the Vixen one I have will fit, let me know.....
Happy to send it to you (Free) when things settle down as a donation to the Vixen cause.
Let me know, overcome with lockdown kindness.

@Alan White I have been thinking the same and was going to paint it with Smoothrite Wild Thyme, but........

PM incoming.

Edited April 4, 2020 by AdeKing

[John]

I got it some time ago on the Astroboot site. I've had to create my own DIY mount attachment system because this one was fitted with the mount that large binoculars use. I use a large 8mm thick steel washer under the tripod hub with an M10 bolt through it into the mount base. A large diameter M10 knob bears against the bottom of the plate to hold everything in place. It works well for my Skytee II and Ercole mounts as well.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, John said:

This is my Celestron / Vixen GP on an Oberwerk hardwood tripod with the Takahashi FC-100DL on board. The long slow motion cables give it quite a classic look I think

 

 

Looks great John, have you recently got the Vixen Mount?

[John]

Thanks Stu.

I've had the GP a while but I have not used it much. The slow motion cables are from the T-Rex but suit the GP very well I think.

I put a Skywatcher motor drive set on the mount which works fine but I thought I'd try it with the long slo mo cables tonight, for a change.

 

[Stu]

29 minutes ago, John said:

Thanks Stu.

I've had the GP a while but I have not used it much. The slow motion cables are from the T-Rex but suit the GP very well I think.

I put a Skywatcher motor drive set on the mount which works fine but I thought I'd try it with the long slo mo cables tonight, for a change.

 

Nice. I do enjoy EQ mounts for tracking at high power. My GP has been seeing a lot of use this last week on both Moon and Sun. Have been tracking the sun all day pretty much, I just have dual axis motors on mine but also with clutches so I can easily use slo mo cables if I want. The T Rex ones are excellent! Wish you could buy them.

[F15Rules]

Yep, loving those Uber long slo mo's too!

They remind me of the ones that came with the old Towa Topic (Circle T Japan) F15 80mm achromats from the 70s/80s..😊

They made a great old scope much more usable!

Dave

 

[Deadlake]

Lack of posts, so here is a new Vixen SD103S. Have been enjoying it this summer. 

Thinking of getting a Vixen Mount either an SXD2 or SXP2, anyone got one?