Vixen DX barlow ?

[Totnesdave]

My eBay trigger finger just went off and bought me a Vixen DX triple element barlow from eBay, I'd kinda decided the Celestron Ultima was too pricey for me, so thought I'd take a pot at this and won it for a hair over 51 quid

Anyone know much about them ? Bit concerned because the info I just found at Vixen Optics - Lanthanum Eyepieces says the DX is designed for fast focal ratio scopes (mine is f9) however the DX there does not look quite the same as one I just bought, see attachment.

I'm slightly puzzled help! ... anyone know much stuff about Vixen ? They seem to be rather scarce over here.

Dave

[John]

This is from the old "silvertop" Vixen range which were excellent eyepieces including the barlow. It's probably 10-15 years old now but looks in good nick. I didn't know they were triplets - I thought they were just good doublets. Can't go too far wrong with Japanese optics in my book

[onmehedson]

I made a bid on this myself early in the auction .. I also had trouble in sourcing any info on it so decided not to push to hard .. seems you were right to take the plunge..enjoy your purchase

[Totnesdave]

Interesting thanks Will see what it's like when it reaches me, I don't have a particular appreciation for vintage astro gear as yet I must say (unlike my guitar stuff for which I love obscure bits and bobs !)

If it doesn't suit me I can always sell or swappsy here for an Ultima I guess

cheers !

[PeterM]

Well done, you got that for a good price I reckon. I was watching that too but decided not to bid in the end even though the temptation was almost overwhelming. I'm sure it'll work well in an f9 scope but if not I don't imagine you'll have any difficulty selling it for at least what you paid.

[Totnesdave]

Well, its arrived, looks great as far as I can see, nice and sleek and silver, but I haven't tested it yet, seems to be a fairly long insertion length, i.e. more than the star diagonal can wholly take. One of the reasons I was keen on an Ultima was its compactness I must say ... and I sense myself still leaning that way despite my spontaneous purchase If anyone feels a burning desire to own it send me a pm, in the meantime I'll give it a whirl on my small scope, if the adaptor will take it

Dave

[John]

Well, its arrived, looks great as far as I can see, nice and sleek and silver, but I haven't tested it yet, seems to be a fairly long insertion length, i.e. more than the star diagonal can wholly take. One of the reasons I was keen on an Ultima was its compactness I must say ... and I sense myself still leaning that way despite my spontaneous purchase If anyone feels a burning desire to own it send me a pm, in the meantime I'll give it a whirl on my small scope, if the adaptor will take it

Dave

It's not a "shorty" design and therefore it goes between the diagonal and the scope. The Tele Vue Barlows are the same. I tend to prefer the shorty "in the diagonal" designs like you ie: the Ultima, the Powermates etc,

I'm sure it will be good optically though.

[Totnesdave]

Hello all you wise astronomers... I'm after some friendly advice

I think I've got a bit of a problem with this barlow, which is bothering me more than a bit.

Well …. I was having second thoughts anyway because it's a longer barrel than is maybe ideal for me, I can't really use it at all with my older scope with adaptor diagonal on the 0.965 barrel, though will be OK with the C100 pre-diagonal.

But…. I was peering at it more closely, examining what appeared to be some kind of imperfection in the outermost lens element, on the very edge where it's clamped by the tube, it's not so obvious when you look straight through the barrel but it's evident under light reflection as what appears to be a pressure chip on the edge of the glass. In fact, when you catch the light on it as in the accompanying photo, it sets up a reflection of itself on one of the other elements as you can clearly see. I angled this to catch the room light so it sparkles and highlights the issue. Have no idea if it may be caused by age, transit damage or always have been that way ?

So my question.... is this barlow serviceable or not ?

I've messaged the seller, with the pic and my concerns, but so far got no response.

Being all english and that, I hate making a fuss, but I am a bit miffed if it's messed up

This has kind of put me off buying optics on eBay without knowing exactly what I'm buying, guess we all learn lessons

cheers

Dave

[John]

Unfortunatley, that looks to me like a crack in one of the lens elements. It's the sort of thing that could be caused by overtightening of the lens retaining ring.

While it may not impact observing too much it's certainly the sort of thing that should have been declared at the time of sale IMHO.

[Totnesdave]

Oh dear...doesn't sound good, was afraid of something like that.

The chip on the outer rim edge is the actual thing, what you see further inside is purely a reflection of the same thing, on an inner element ('scuse my awkward nomenclature)

Oh well, hopefully the seller will get back to me, probably been away enjoying the weekend sunshine

*Update: All's well that ends well, panic over, sorted it out with the very helpful seller, seems like the Post Office were short of a football again that morning Thanks for the advice *

cheers

Dave