DIY: Homebuilt Substitute for Vixen Mount

The Vixen Company, Ltd., of Saitama, Japan, (founded 1949) got the brilliant idea to make all of their telescopes compatible with all of their mounts. Today, the Vixen mount is a standard offered by most other makers. However, a new Vixen mount bar at $79.95 plus tax and shipping was wholly disproportionate to my needs. 

https://global.vixen.co.jp/en/

Four years ago, I bought a National Geographic 70-mm refractor used and abused from some kids down the street. Between Christmas and August they lost the eyepieces, center tray, guide handle, and cellphone attachment, and the dew shield was on backwards. (They said that they never had it outside.) I tested it with a 1.25-inch eyepiece against a traffic sign down the road and it was OK. So, I gave them $35 for it. 

For four years, I did what I could with the mount, taking it apart and putting it back together but degreasers and lubricants, rubber bands and hose clamps never solved anything. 

All-in-all it has been a good little viewer and given the 70-mm limit not half bad for backyard stargazing. At that time, I also owned a Celestron EQ-130 Newtonian which I donated to the Goodwill earlier this year. 

Meanwhile, in October 2020, I bought myself an Explore Scientific 102-mm refractor. It comes on a First Light mount to keep the price down and I was never happy with the mount. It is difficult to control and somewhat underweight even for the 102. I was able to afford a Twilight I mount from ES, used and reconditioned with warranty. That has gone well for me. Now, I wanted to put the National Geographic on the First Light mount.

The easiest solution would have been to buy a Vixen mount, $79.95 plus tax and shipping, which was wholly disproportionate to my needs. 

I am not a fabricator. I have very few tools here. So, I went to Home Depot and searched for wood. I bought a 24-inch slat of quarter-inch poplar. 

With the saw blade on my Gerber pocket tool, I cut it in thirds and glued two pieces together. (I learned about Elmer's in junior high wood shop class.) 

The attachment screws on the telescope are mounted from the inside and I did not want to take those screws out. So, I used them to attach the new plate. Lacking drill bits, I used wood screws to make the holes. (We have an electric hand drill that my wife got as a door prize at a computer user meeting.) I ran a thin one in first, then widened it. 

Even though I measured more than twice, I was off by an inch the first time. I also split the wood once with a screw too large. After gluing (and curing) that, I wided the holes with my Swiss Army Knife. 

I secured the slat to the telescope with Gorilla glue. 

The best telescope is the one that gets used. 

I recently bought entry-level Celestron "First Scope" oculars ("eyepieces") to go with this so-called "hobby killer" that my astronomy colleagues denigrate for being a "department store telescope." OK: it is not an apochromatic rare earth triplet; the aperture (diameter) is not four inches or eight or ten. Nonetheless, I have seen the Messier 22 globular cluster, the Messier 44 "Beehive" open cluster, the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31), and, of course, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Now, the telescope has a mount worthy of its optics.

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACTS

(Mostly, the addenda links can be complementary or contrasting or off-topic. These are about observing with the National Geographic 70-mm refractor.)

Viewing Mars

M44 Beehive Cluster First Sighting

Astrophotography and Me

Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction 2020

(See also Defending the Hobby-Killer Telescope and In Support of the Entry-Level Telescope.)