5082 replies to this topic

[pierce]

These scopes are razor sharp. It’s the one scope I have that will never be sold. 

 

if thats the same OTA that was earlier sold as the C80-SP with a SuperPolaris EQ mount, yeah, they are optically excellent.    They were also sold as a C80-Premium with an early Vixen AltAz...  the C80 Premium I saw had a later finder mount that was the oldest example I've seen of the now standard Vixen/Orion finder shoe. 

 

(ignore my Canon 60D on my homemade piggyback mount, hah)

 

 

Edited by pierce, 13 January 2025 - 10:55 PM.

[pierce]

These scopes are razor sharp. It’s the one scope I have that will never be sold. 

 

if thats the same OTA that was earlier sold as the C80-SP with a SuperPolaris EQ mount, yeah, they are optically excellent.    They were also sold as a C80-Premium with an early Vixen AltAz...  the C80 Premium I saw had a later finder mount that was the oldest example I've seen of the now standard Vixen/Orion finder shoe. 

 

(ignore my Canon 60D on my homemade piggyback mount, hah)

 

 

Edited by pierce, 13 January 2025 - 11:01 PM.

[flyboyu777]

Saturday after being gone for a week, I came home to this near disaster:

 

 

This is how it sat for months in the basement, minding it's own business:

 

 

The Berlebach tripod leg decided it had had enough of the weight (yes I checked the clamps ever so often, but apparently not tight enough!), the aluminum spreaders bent at the leg hinges:

 

 

Luckily, the only damage was to one of the finder scope thumbscrews, along with the poor dew shield-the triplet objective is fine:

 

 

I know there are others who've rounded out their dew shields from damage-I have a couple of ideas myself on how to repair it, but I'm open to anyone else's ideas who had a similar situation like mine.

 

Be sure to tighten those leg clamps!!

 

 

 

 

[deSitter]

 

Saturday after being gone for a week, I came home to this near disaster:

 

 

 

This is how it sat for months in the basement, minding it's own business:

 

 

 

The Berlebach tripod leg decided it had had enough of the weight (yes I checked the clamps ever so often, but apparently not tight enough!), the aluminum spreaders bent at the leg hinges:

 

 

 

Luckily, the only damage was to one of the finder scope thumbscrews, along with the poor dew shield-the triplet objective is fine:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know there are others who've rounded out their dew shields from damage-I have a couple of ideas myself on how to repair it, but I'm open to anyone else's ideas who had a similar situation like mine.

 

Be sure to tighten those leg clamps!!

 

 

 

 

 

Argh! Well the slow deformation (on the time scale of cracking glass) absorbed the energy and saved the optics. Whew!

 

-drl

[clamchip]

Argh! Well the slow deformation (on the time scale of cracking glass) absorbed the energy and saved the optics. Whew!

 

-drl

My old Volvo 240 wagon was built that way.

Edmund refractors have a friction fit dew shield that will slide under these conditions saving the glass.

I always liked this feature because I have a clamchip curse.

 

Robert

[John Huntley]

My Vixen ED102SS is 25 years old now. I think that qualifies it as a vintage classic ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Terra Nova]

John, mine has the mint-green and white livery. Is it older or younger? I thought it was ~2000 also? I did have another Vixen scope from 2001 with the same green and white livery. 

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[tim53]

Meade 127ED on manual Super Polaris.  This scope is too much for that mount, especially with legs fully extended.  Stock focuser has a lot of slop in it.  There were teflon strips added to the drawtube to take up some of the slop, but those are long gone.  So far, it appears to have an excellent lens.

 

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[John Huntley]

John, mine has the mint-green and white livery. Is it older or younger? I thought it was ~2000 also? I did have another Vixen scope from 2001 with the same green and white livery. 

Mine looked just like yours when I bought it pre-owned back in 2007 Terra. A few years later I put a Moonlite focuser on the scope and, rather foolishly with hindsight, let the original focuser go to someone who had a Vixen with a broken focuser 

 

The Moonlite later developed problems so I took that off the scope and managed to find a focuser from one of the later ED103S models which fitted just fine. I also found some white Vixen tube rings so at least those matched the focuser again.

 

So the core tube of the scope is I think the same vintage as yours is. The tube rings and focuser a couple of years younger.

 

I have one of the Vixen RDF's for the scope, like the one that you have on yours and somewhere I have a leather handle as well - I made mine from an old leather belt !

 

Mine is a well used Vixen - it has been to many outreach events both night and daytime plus some star camps. 

 

Over here in the UK I have seen very few of these around - maybe just half a dozen in all the years that I've owned mine. 

Edited by John Huntley, 15 January 2025 - 06:28 PM.

[Airship]

My 6” f/15 Jaegers refractor is now complete! I took advantage of our one mild day to do a final check of the weight and balance, practice setting the telescope up using a new brace that helps stabilize the scope as I put it together, run it through its paces on the mount, and take a peek at Venus in daylight and then quick peeks at Saturn and Jupiter before the clouds rolled in.

 

 

All in all, an excellent day!

[Martin]

I sure like that scope John. Your pic does a good job at showing just how big a 6 inch F15 scope is. I bet the views are fantastic. Enjoy. 

 

Martin

[Airship]

Thanks! This example sets a new personal high bar for sharpness, and for the first time I have a refractor that doesn’t run out of light before it runs out of resolution. Venus in daylight is wonderful and I’m going to have to use filters to observe it after dusk. The detail on Jupiter and Mars are the best that I have seen in one of my own scopes. I am sooooo looking forward to spring!

[clamchip]

Not to be outdone this Lil' feller can make a spider too.

From my files vintage 8 inch ATM I purchased 2010 Edmund parts I still own it.

Robert

 

Edited by clamchip, 21 January 2025 - 01:12 AM.

[deSitter]

Not to be outdone this Lil' feller can make a spider too.

From my files vintage 8 inch ATM I purchased 2010 Edmund parts I still own it.

Robert

 

4585074-edmund 8 015.JPG

That is a pathetic looking spider How do you collimate it?? Is that the same on all Edmund scopes?

 

-drl

[Terra Nova]

Not to be outdone this Lil' feller can make a spider too.

From my files vintage 8 inch ATM I purchased 2010 Edmund parts I still own it.

Robert

 

4585074-edmund 8 015.JPG

Looks like the spiders own it!

Edited by Terra Nova, 21 January 2025 - 10:52 AM.

[clamchip]

That is a pathetic looking spider How do you collimate it?? Is that the same on all Edmund scopes?

 

-drl

It's an Edmund catalog item.

You can see by all the holes it is made to fit many tube sizes.

The platform for the diagonal mirror is soldered to a sliding rod with lock screw to center the mirror under the focuser

and to collimate the other directions you tilt the whole assembly at the 4 mounting screws.

A bit fiddly but once done it stays put

 

Robert

Edited by clamchip, 21 January 2025 - 11:14 AM.

[deSitter]

It's an Edmund catalog item.

You can see by all the holes it is made to fit many tube sizes.

The platform for the diagonal mirror is soldered to a sliding rod with lock screw to center the mirror under the focuser

and to collimate the other directions you tilt the whole assembly at the 4 mounting screws.

A bit fiddly but once done it stays put

 

Robert

Yeah I thought - if they are trying to save weight, I can think of better ways

 

-drl

[clamchip]

I guess it is very lightweight, I didn't think of that.

Amateurs were not using silicone back then so you really need to tether the diagonal mirror

if you store the tube vertical, just in case it 'lets go' it will hit the primary. I use a Ziploc bag

over the diagonal and holder as my insurance against a disaster like that, modern scopes included

with glued on diagonal mirrors.

 

Robert 

Edited by clamchip, 22 January 2025 - 01:15 AM.

[The_Vagabond]

Took this pic last night during a discussion. Just ignore my giant head, and over my shoulder you can see my 1947-sh SkyScope. Actually works well. 

[deSitter]

Took this pic last night during a discussion. Just ignore my giant head, and over my shoulder you can see my 1947-sh SkyScope. Actually works well. 

More pics of that!

 

-drl

[clamchip]

My D&G 6 inch and Optic-Craft mount.

I sold it a long time ago and you really don't know what's you got 'till it's gone, something like that.

Robert

 

[clamchip]

More pictures from my dusty files, my first SCT a Meade 2080 I bought around 2008 or so.

And this odd sign I don't remember, cover your head with a newspaper during a meteor shower! 

Robert

 

 

[Airship]

Gorgeous! That looks like a late production 2080 LX, Meade's original SCT. Mine is from the early production LX with the unusual secondary holder with just 2 adjustment screws. Also, all metal construction.

Neat stuff.

[tim53]

I didn't do a selfie here with the Watkins and Smith gregorian, so my other collection will have to suffice.  Rodney!

 

The Rodneys are about a decade old.  I can still sometimes find a NOS edition at one of the local swap meets for a buck or so.  The Watkins and Smith is from the 1760s.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by tim53, 26 January 2025 - 05:18 PM.

[clamchip]

Here's an old photo I remember well because it's one of the few times I mounted my

C8 on my Losmandy tripod and my face was straight across from the top of my scope

and something that was about to happen I won't forget.

The valley in front of our house floods and it's like an inland sea. Seeing is excellent

when this happens. Our inland sea also attracts sea gulls and a flock were over head.

What is that "pitter-patter" I hear? it's getting closer...and closer...splat! it nailed my C8!

It splashed everywhere, all over my scope all over me....OMG, what ! you have got to

be kidding me! Now that was done on purpose!  

Robert