Vixen Porta / Porta II Mounts

[starscy]

Does anyone know the differences between the Vixen Porta Mount [VX-3992] and the Vixen Porta II Mount [VX-5863]?

[lguise]

I have both and the only difference is the head is removable on the Porta II. (There is a smaller version of the Porta Mount for very small telescopes etc not sure of the model number for this)

I have tried several altaz mounts and this is by far the best I have used, The gearing is excellent and the tilted head gives good access to the Zenith.

It was so comforatble to use witha 100mm refractor this summer for Jupiter observation

I only ended up with two as one came with a second hand scope I bought. My original Porta Mount is for sale if anyone is interested £160 cash on collection from Bedford.

Best wishes

Linton

[John]

I'ved owned the Mk 1 Porta Mount and it was an excellent platform for my 4" F/6.5 refractor. When I had it the 2 improvements that I would have liked to see were that ability to put it on a different (taller !) tripod and better quality slow motion control knobs - I believe they have addressed both these issues in the Mk 2

John

[pete_gamby]

Note that the 5863 part number is the US version of the Porta mount. That includes flexible control handles but these are not included in the version currently supplied in the UK (or Japan). The part number for the mount sold here is 39951 and it includes rigid metal control handles although 300mm flexible handles are available as an option.

The smaller version is called the Mini Porta, part number 39922. This is not stocked in the UK but can be brought in on special order. Head is not removable and payload is up to 3.5kg (compared to 5kg on the Porta II).

Cheers, Pete