Vixen VMC200L Brochure

Vixen VMC200L
Mak-Cass and
SXD Sphinx
Deluxe
Equatorial
Mount
By Erik Wilcox
Vixen VMC200L
Mak-Cass
When it comes to buying new gear, ama-
teur astronomers are usually a very analytical
group. We research options, compare specs and
reviews, and try and make an informed deci-
sion. In the end, we consider all the tradeoffs,
and choose the gear that best fits our needs.
That doesn't necessarily mean "the perfect
scope," just the best one available given our in-
dividual set of parameters. Some of the clichéd
sayings, such as "There's no free lunch," and
"You can't have your cake and eat it too," come
to mind here.
With telescopes, aperture and portability
are often strong considerations. For that reason,
many choose 8- to 10-inch Schmidt Cassegrain
(SCT) designs. However, the long delays SCTs
often require to reach thermal equilibrium
(particularly when going from a warm house
to a cold backyard) partially negates their porta-
bility advantage for "quick looks." But what if
there were an equally compact and lightweight
scope that cooled down quickly and offered 8
inches of aperture? Additionally, what if this
scope didn't use the front-mounted corrector
plate that is so famously susceptible to dewing
and didn't suffer from image shift during focus
as many SCTs often do? Well, if that sounds
appealing, the Vixen VMC200L may be the
scope for you.
First, the specs: the VMC200L is a 200-
mm aperture Meniscus Catadioptric System, a
Mak-Newt. It employs an interesting design,
using an f/2.5 spherical primary mirror and a
meniscus corrector element located between
the secondary and primary mirrors. This gives
the scope a working focal ratio of f/9.75. In-
stead of a front-mounted corrector plate, the
secondary mirror and corrector element are
The VMC200L and Vixen SXD mount are shown assembled at
Yosemite National Park ready for a night of viewing.
held securely in place by a sturdy 4-vane spider.
A smooth rack and pinion focuser moves a
focus drawtube, not the mirror, so there is no
image shift during focus. And, the whole opti-
cal tube assembly (OTA) weighs only 13
pounds!
I received the OTA in a well-packed box
and the scope arrived in perfect collimation.
How often does that happen? In the event the
scope had needed to be collimated, there are
adjustments for both the primary and second-
ary, but because the optics didn't need realign-
ing, I resisted experimenting with any
adjustments.
One of the first things that caught my eye
was the sturdy metal handle positioned on top
of the OTA. This makes moving and trans-
porting the OTA so much easier and makes me
wonder why we don't see similar handles on tel-
escopes from other manufacturers. The handle
is equipped with a standard 1/4-20 mounting
Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY
29