Vixen ED103SWT

[Saganite]

Very recently acquired, in absolutely lovely condition, in answer to my advert. It transpires that this telescope, just like Andromeda my 5" f15, was previously owned by my friend Dave, ( f15 Rules  ).  With assurances from Joe the previous owner and from Dave it was a very easy decision to make though I was a bit concerned about it being sent by post from Northern Ireland. It arrived safely having been triple boxed , within 24 hours of being posted , and I am  delighted with it.  On the AZ100 it is, predictably, rock solid.  It feels good to have a high quality 4" frac again.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Saganite

[John]

Lovely scope Steve

A longer version of my Vixen ED102SS.

 

[Saganite]

Thanks John, this my first ever Vixen !

First light with this scope is showing glorious views of the Moon, very sharp and steady at 159X.  The sky looks very promising for tonight. Hope it is the same where you are.

[John]

19 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Thanks John, this my first ever Vixen !

First light with this scope is showing glorious views of the Moon, very sharp and steady at 159X.  The sky looks very promising for tonight. Hope it is the same where you are.

Not so good here Steve but it's been a bit like that lately

Vixen do know how to make a good objective lens I reckon. Not just the glass types used but the figuring and polishing as well

 

[Ships and Stars]

A beauty of a scope, I bet the views are razor sharp with the binoviewers and TV eyepieces. Panoptics? I've learned to live with a bit of coma and miscollimation from time to time in my dobs, but looking through binoculars makes me wonder about the sharp views through a nice refractor. Someday perhaps!

[dweller25]

Nice scope - i would suggest getting it on Mars but right now the seeing is very poor - in Lancashire

[Saganite]

27 minutes ago, John said:

Not so good here Steve but it's been a bit like that lately

Vixen do know how to make a good objective lens I reckon. Not just the glass types used but the figuring and polishing as well

 

Just did a star test on Vega.  I am no expert but the diffraction patterns inside and outside of focus were good and the star focuses down to a neat 'bull's eye '

[Saganite]

11 minutes ago, Ships and Stars said:

A beauty of a scope, I bet the views are razor sharp with the binoviewers and TV eyepieces. Panoptics? I've learned to live with a bit of coma and miscollimation from time to time in my dobs, but looking through binoculars makes me wonder about the sharp views through a nice refractor. Someday perhaps!

Thanks.

That is what I am using, 19mm Pans and 12.5mm Celestron Ultimas.

[Saganite]

5 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Nice scope - i would suggest getting it on Mars but right now the seeing is very poor - in Lancashire

Thanks David.

I have just spent 20 minutes on Mars. Not as good as I had hoped considering  its  altitude in the sky now, but maybe later.

[Sunshine]

Looks like a wonderful scope, I would love to have a closer look at Vixen fracs, I hear their older fluorite models are somewhat legendary.

[Saganite]

36 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Looks like a wonderful scope, I would love to have a closer look at Vixen fracs, I hear their older fluorite models are somewhat legendary.

Thanks.

It is a wonderful scope and the sky for my first light with it tonight has been so kind !

The Vixen Flourite scopes are superb I believe, but I have not had the pleasure.

[Highburymark]

Congratulations - looks like a superb scope Steve. 

[Saganite]

Thanks Mark.  I think it is.

[F15Rules]

Hi Steve,

Many congratulations on your Vixen, one which I know to be a top notch refractor. 

As you know I have owned two of these, and, while one of them was newer, with a dual speed focuser, I've always felt that the one you now have definitely had the better focuser, just silky smooth. The optics on both were wonderful, and identical in performance to my eyes..that was no surprise to me, as I've owned probably 6 or 7 Vixen fracs over the years, and virtually all of them had first class optics. As John says, Vixen do know how to design and build/commission a great performing objective.

Steve, your ED103s looks superb on the AZ100. If you can tonight, check out the Pleiades and Double Cluster in Perseus with one of your low power wide angle EPs - just stunning!

Enjoy your new toy!!😁👍

Dave

[Saganite]

Hi Dave,

An amazing night so far for 'first light'. Lunar binoviewing has been  just incredible , 198x is as far as I can go,  with a pair of 10mm Pseudo Masuyamas and is steady and fantastic, but I just popped in the Tele Vue zoom on 3mm = 253x and it is still steady though I cannot see any more detail, can't expect to really. The Moon is getting low over the damn bungalow now, so I think I will put in a bit of wide field sweeping, and include the two that you mention. 

Just a glorious 3 hours so far and the seeing is good, though the transparency I feel is deteriorating a bit. Mars was pretty good, again quite high mag usable.

I will have to ask for vouchers this Xmas so that I can get another Rowan clamp for the mount.  I really fancy Andromeda and the Vixen side by side...

[John]

Great stuff Steve

I got about 15 minutes cloud free here - just enough for a quick look and Mars and the moon, then that was it.

Just as well there was the SGL zoom cast to watch !

[Saganite]

6 minutes ago, John said:

Great stuff Steve

I got about 15 minutes cloud free here - just enough for a quick look and Mars and the moon, then that was it.

Just as well there was the SGL zoom cast to watch !

Glad you got something John.  I cannot believe my luck tonight it just goes on and on. I now have a glorious view of Orion , rising in the east so am hopeful that  I will get a crack at the Trapezium tonight, maybe even Sirius.

[Saganite]

Just spent 30 minutes trying without success on the Trapezium and then found that the objective had completely misted over.  I should have thought of that and put a dew heater on it, however I have brought the scope in to warm up while I do the same and have a cuppa.  I still have a few hours for another go and the sky shows no sign of worsening. Another star test, this time on Capella ,high in the sky showed almost perfect diffraction patterns, so plenty still to look forward to.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Saganite

[F15Rules]

Go for it Steve!👍.

Am off to bed now. Lovely night here too, very cold, but couldn't get out this time. Good to hear you're pleased with the scope, get that Double Cluster in if you can😁.

Dave

[Saganite]

So close to getting E&F with the bino, but I think it is going to need better seeing than I have at the moment. Definitely think it is doable.

[John]

29 minutes ago, Saganite said:

So close to getting E&F with the bino, but I think it is going to need better seeing than I have at the moment. Definitely think it is doable.

I've found that they are within the grasp of a 4 inch but conditions are key with that aperture. 4.7 inches makes them more routine.

E is seen more readily than F.

 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2020 by John

[Saganite]

2 minutes ago, John said:

I've found that they are within the grasp of a 4 inch but conditions are key with that aperture. 4.7 inches makes them more routine.

E is seen more readily than F.

 

 

 

I agree John. I certainly did it with FC100 and single eyepiece, but not with a binoviewer. Now that Orion is high, there is a lot of wispy cloud and moisture so I think I will call it a night.

 

[F15Rules]

7 hours ago, John said:

I've found that they are within the grasp of a 4 inch but conditions are key with that aperture. 4.7 inches makes them more routine.

E is seen more readily than F.

 

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Saganite said:

I agree John. I certainly did it with FC100 and single eyepiece, but not with a binoviewer. Now that Orion is high, there is a lot of wispy cloud and moisture so I think I will call it a night.

 

Yes, agree with both the above. I think in the case of binoviewers, due to the split light beam and loss of light, this is what makes resolving and seeing E&F so difficult - they show such tiny point sources of light that the limitations of binoviewers in this area are exposed.

On the plus side though, the sheer comfort of viewing through well collimated binoviewers and the combined workings of both eyes together (which I can't explain other than to say that viewing with both eyes is our "natural state") mean that targets such as lunar, planets and clusters really can deliver an almost 3D effect, and fine details can jump out and become very obvious as compared to Cyclops viewing.

Steve, thanks for sharing and I'm glad you had a wonderful nights' observing.. here's hoping we might get more chances coming later this week!

Dave

[Saganite]

Cheers Dave,

It was a very enjoyable session, and I am delighted with this Vixen telescope.

 

I will send a pm later with a query or two.

Edited November 23, 2020 by Saganite

[Fozzie]

1 hour ago, Saganite said:

Cheers Dave,

It was a very enjoyable session, and I am delighted with this Vixen telescope.

Ooooooo that looks a beauty, many congrats, lovely vintage vixen..