Vixen Equatorial Mounts

More Information  · Recommended Accessories Price $569.00 $629.00 SAVE: $60.00 (9%) Shipping $39.95 List Price $910.00 Warranty 3 years

A review in Sky & Telescope magazine said, “I measured the tracking error from gear inaccuracies to be approximately 20 arc seconds, and most of that was a gentle drift during 3 minutes of the 10-minute rotation of the worm gear. Mounts costing double the price of the GP do well if they match that figure, let alone beat it . . . perhaps the best mount on the market for under $1,000" Another review, in The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide, Revised Edition, didn’t mince words and say “perhaps the best mount;" they said bluntly “The Great Polaris is the best mount for under $1000."

• Payload capacity: The Great Polaris 2 has a payload capacity of 15.4 pounds (7kg). This allows the use of most catadioptric and smaller reflector optical tubes, along with refractors up to about 4" in aperture.

• Drive system details: The Great Polaris 2 has 144-tooth aluminum main drive gears in both right ascension and declination. To keep the periodic error that affects tracking accuracy in astrophotography to a minimum, the brass right ascension worm gear and the declination worm gear are precision machined to two micron (2/1000ths of a millimeter) tolerances for precise tracking of celestial motion. All right ascension and declination gears are individually inspected before assembly. Optional single and dual axis motor drives are available for no-hands tracking and guided astrophotography. Standard equipment covers for the optional motor drives keep dust and debris out of the motors for more trouble-free operation in dusty environments.

• Mount weight: The Great Polaris 2 has an aluminum die-cast body that’s built to be strong, yet light, to satisfy both stability and ease of portability needs. The complete mount, including standard equipment 8.2 pound counterweight and aluminum tripod, weighs only 28 pounds, making transportation and setup easy. Additional counterweights are recommended to balance payloads over 9 pounds.

• Setting circles and slow motion controls: Right ascension and declination setting circles, used to help point the telescope at a celestial object by dialing in its coordinates, are optional with the Great Polaris E. Many observers prefer to star hop from object to object in any case, rather than use setting circles, so their absence may not be missed. Engraved metal circles can be added at any time. A manual slow motion control knob in right ascension and a rigid control shaft in declination are supplied for manual tracking and centering of objects. 12.5" flexible slow motion cables are available as an option should a very long focal length optical tube make the standard knob and shaft a little short for convenient use.

• Polar finder and polar alignment: An optical polar finder is optional. A built-in latitude scale and single altitude adjustment handle allows the mount to be roughly aligned vertically on the celestial pole for casual observing. Standard twin adjustment knobs let you fine-tune the azimuth alignment on the pole over a +/-5° arc. The mount is designed to operate in both northern and southern hemispheres at latitudes from 0° (the equator) to 62° (Central Canada, Northern Europe, and all of South America).

• Tripod: The mount’s adjustable-height #HAL110WT 11 pound aluminum tripod is stable and rigid. The tripod legs adjust in length to put the top of the tripod between 25.25" and 38.75" above ground level, to allow the observer to place the focuser at a convenient observing height for most optical tube lengths or optical tube types. Should the tripod legs not have enough extension, however, an optional half pillar is available to fit between mount head and tripod to raise the telescope an additional 9 inches. An optional accessory tray is available to keep eyepieces and other accessories close to hand and out of the dew-laden grass. A built-in bubble level in the mount allows the mount to be quickly leveled for more accurate tracking by adjusting the length of the tripod legs independently.

• Optical tube mounting method: The mount is equipped with a dovetail groove for installing telescope optical tubes. No dovetail plate is supplied to hold the optical tube, as the choice of dovetail plates is dependent on the optical tube to be installed. A variety of optional dovetail plates are available. Setup and takedown times are exceptionally fast, as a single large hand-tighten knob holds the optical tube and dovetail plate in place and adjusts the balance.

If you’re looking for a precision mount at a price that won’t wreck your budget, take a careful look at the Vixen Great Polaris 2 mount on the #HAL110WT aluminum tripod. It is an economy mount in price only, not in performance.