Vintage Vixen Heads-up.

[Franklin]

If anyone lives near Seven-Oaks, Kent, there is a very nice vintage Perl-Vixen 130 newtonian on an SP mount with drive and accessories for collection only on Fleabay for a bargain buyout of £100. I'd buy it in a heartbeat but I'm miles away!

Telescope Perl Vixen 130x720 with Super Polaris mount | eBay

Edited September 21, 2023 by Franklin

[Mandy D]

Looks nice. But, could that be a crack in the tripod head? See enlarged zoomed in view from my screenshot. It could be welded, though.

[Franklin]

Yes it is and the seller mentions this repair. Only the tripod though, the SP head, OTA and eyepieces look great.

[DaveL59]

Does look nice and I'm the right side of the Thames if a lot further into Kent. Not really looking for another scope tho, too many already, had that come up when I first bought gear I'd have opted for that one rather than the SW130 EQ2 I currently have and rarely use now. Pity, worth the price for just the mount and eyepieces even.

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, DaveL59 said:

worth the price for just the mount and eyepieces even.

Absolutely and the PERL-VIXEN scope is from the French market, quite scarce. The scope is quite unique in that the secondary and focuser assembly move up and down the OTA on a rack in unison to focus. The AL-110 tripod could easily be replaced for not much outlay. I'd love it but am too far away to collect.

[DaveL59]

I had wondered about that arrangement around the focuser, thanks for explaining it 🙂 

[JeremyS]

I had a go at a small  Vixen Newt with one of those unusual focusers once. It might be that example, but it wasn’t very smooth unlike a conventional R&P

Edited September 21, 2023 by JeremyS

[Franklin]

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

but it wasn’t very smooth unlike a conventional R&P

You would think that moving the flat up and down the tube on a single rod with the eyepiece holder may effect collimation and Vixen have not continued with the design which says something.

[JeremyS]

1 minute ago, Franklin said:

You would think that moving the flat up and down the tube on a single rod with the eyepiece holder may effect collimation and Vixen have not continued with the design which says something.

I wondered that, but in fact collimation was fine. It was the (lack of)  smoothness of action that irritated me. But I guess one could get used to it.

[dweller25]

It’s sold, hopefully bought by an SGL member who can tell us all about it ……

Edited September 21, 2023 by dweller25

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, dweller25 said:

It’s sold, hopefully bought by an SGL member who can tell us all about it ……

I'm intrigued with the focusing design and the moving secondary, would be great to hear about it.

[NGC 1502]

I seem to recall that type of focuser as being a very old idea.

A replica of one of William Herschel’s reflectors was on display several years ago when I visited the Herschel Museum at Bath.  The “sliding sledge” focuser was a design feature.

It works as long as it’s well engineered. But I’m thinking that a fixed secondary with conventional focuser is simpler and fully effective.

Anyone know if there’s any advantage with “sliding sledge” focusers?

Ed.

[John]

Many years ago there was a Celestron branded but Vixen made 6 inch F/5 newtonian with that focuser mechanism. I think the model was the SP-C6 - it came on a Vixen made Super Polaris mount. The focuser was .965 / 1.25 inch fitting only as I recall. 

There was also a Celestron model called the Comet Catcher which was a 5.5 inch F/3.7 newtonian with the same focuser. I think that was also made by Vixen.

Here is a thread from the CN forum which shows the SP-C6 in more detail. I suspect the Perl / Vixen 130 newtonian would be similar:

Celestron SP-C6 6"f5 Newtonian - Classic Telescopes - Cloudy Nights

 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by John

[NGC 1502]

Just found a photo of Herschel’s 6.25” 7ft focal length reflector with a brass sliding sledge focuser, but unable to post a link. The tube is mahogany.

[globular]

20 minutes ago, NGC 1502 said:

Just found a photo of Herschel’s 6.25” 7ft focal length reflector with a brass sliding sledge focuser, but unable to post a link. The tube is mahogany.

This...?

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-11122

[NGC 1502]

2 hours ago, globular said:

This...?

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-11122

Thanks, yes that’s very similar to what I found👍

 

[LongJohn54]

I've got a Celestron SP-C6.   It was my first proper scope and I bought it 2nd or 3rd or maybe 4th hand.   Never did get its full history.  The focuser is pretty smooth although quite a short travel.  There's a sliding scale enabling repeat focusing accurate to 0.1 mm.

When I bought it the secondary mirror would not collimate.  This was due to previous owners tightening the screws so much they put dents in the back face of the secondary so no matter what you did these screws always found their way back to the same place.  I put a thin disk inbetween so it could be collimated successfully.

The mount has motors to drive both axis although I do not have the wires or a diagram to create the wiring for them to work.  A divorce and three house moves sealed the fate of that project.  The mount has a built in Vixen plate and the scope rings have corresponding holes to fit.    Scope and mount have been 'resting' in a spare bedroom for 10+ years now.

 

[Franklin]

On 23/09/2023 at 19:03, LongJohn54 said:

The mount has motors to drive both axis although I do not have the wires or a diagram to create the wiring for them to work.

An old Vixen DD-1 or DD-2 dual axis hand controller is what you would need, powered from a 12vDC dry cell battery pack, centre negative.

[LongJohn54]

Thaks @Franklin  I'll keep an lookout and see if one becomes available.