Vixen Custom 90M refractor

[Tony.S]

Hi.

This is my first telescope a Vixen Custom 90M refractor D= 90mm f= 1000mm.

Its a lovley (hopefully classic) 20 year old+ telescope,on a wooden tripod.

The main problem is,that I cant find out virtually anything about it because almost all the searches I do,just bring up Japanese websites.

I would be grateful if anyone has any info on these scopes.

Thanks.

PS:

There is a label on the tube that has Astro Systems & Celestron on it.

[dweller25]

Tony,

I have the original Astro Systems brochure with the v3a as it was called at the time data. It cost £340 in 1986.

PM me your email addr and I will send you a copy.

[Tony.S]

Wow..Thats great,thanks very much

It'll make interesting reading

[Towa]

I had the 102M version, and that was a very nice telescope, my biggest mistake was the day that I sold it, I still wish I had it.

Those Astro System catalogues were great fun. The Aussie themes, Koala bears, American football players and

housemaids dusting the scopes all reminded me of the old Vixen catalogues.

[Tony.S]

It certainly seems to be well made & from what I can gleen from the internet (that is in English) it looks to be quite a respectable telescope.

Now I know to take both parts of the lens cap off I cant wait to give it another try..Clouds permitting & if only I knew what part of the sky to look at

[dweller25]

Download Stellarium - it's free and very good.

Try to get a look at Jupiter asap as it will soon be out of view.

Mars and Saturn will be back over Christmas though :-)

Oh and welcome to SGL

[Tony.S]

Thanks Dweller.

I have downloaded Stellarium & it looks great,just what I needed to give me a clue where to look.

As soon as the clouds clear I will be out there trying to find everything.

[dweller25]

Here you go ...

[Tony.S]

Thats brilliant,thanks very much

[John]

I've had a Vixen SP102M and I now own a Vixen ED102SS both were / are lovely scopes and I've no reason to suspect that the Custom 90M won't be as well.

The Custom D alt-az mount if considered a bit of a classic - Synta cloned it with the AZ-3 but the Vixen version is better engineered.

The only drawback with these older Vixen scopes is that some came with .96" accessories rather than the 1.25" ones and it can be a little difficult getting the necessary 1.25" adapter for the end of the drawtube.

John

[Tony.S]

The only drawback with these older Vixen scopes is that some came with .96" accessories rather than the 1.25" ones and it can be a little difficult getting the necessary 1.25" adapter for the end of the drawtube.

John

Funny you should say that..I was toying with the idea about getting a Barlow for it a couple of hours ago. On looking a bit closer at the eyepieces I thought that they looked a bit smaller than 1.25"..Right enough,they are just under 1"

Oh [removed word], here starts the fun & games

[John]

Funny you should say that..I was toying with the idea about getting a Barlow for it a couple of hours ago. On looking a bit closer at the eyepieces I thought that they looked a bit smaller than 1.25"..Right enough,they are just under 1"

Oh [removed word], here starts the fun & games

If you can't find a vixen thread - 1.25" adaptor (try a wanted ad here and on Astro Buy & Sell to start off) you can get hybrid .96" to 1.25" diagonals which might suffice:

Antares 1.25" to 0.965" hybrid diagonal

When placing your wanted ad you need to be specific about the diameter of your drawtube - Vixen refractors came with at least 2 sizes of drawtubes - mine is 63mm in diameter but I suspect yours is more like 48mm or 52mm - measure to be sure.

This place might also be able to help - he specialises in vintage gear and often has older Vixen's for sale:

Skylight Telescopes — Welcome

John

PS: The Vixen .96" eyepieces etc are pretty good quality if you have some but you won't have access to a large range of alternatives if you stay with the smaller format.

[Tony.S]

Thanks for your help & advice John.

At the moment I have 3 of the original Vixen eyepieces (20mm, 12.5mm, & 4mm I think the sizes are without going to check)

The diagonal looks like a good option & a new set of 1.25 eyepieces...I'll wait a few days until we get a few clear nights to see what results I can get with the originals.

[Dangerous-Dave]

Tony,

I have the original Astro Systems brochure with the v3a as it was called at the time data. It cost £340 in 1986.

PM me your email addr and I will send you a copy.

Good old Astro Systems, I got my first "proper" scope from them - a 10" f5 Newtonian on a Vixen Superpolaris mount. It was my 18th birthday present IIRC - I remember being like a kid in a sweetshop at their showroom. I heard the lads who ran it moved to the States and work for Astrophysics now...?

(apologies for the derailment)

[inspectapart]

I have a vixen 102m which also came with 1" eps. I got my 11/4" adapter from Telescope Service....click here!.......Vixen Accessories

You can drop them an email to check and descibe what you need.

Bob