Vixen AXD2-VMC260L-P Telescope & Mount Package With Observatory Column

Telescope set with the legendary Vixen AXD2 mount, STAR BOOK TEN control with 270,000 objects, metal column and the VMC260L Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope.

AXD2 GoTo mount with VMC260L telescope
Mount with 30 kg load capacity (photographic)
Modern STARBOOK TEN controller with autoguider input
More than 270,000 pre-installed celestial objects
Illuminated polar finder with direct star alignment
Professional Maksutov-Cassegrain with 260 mm aperture
Accuracy of +/- 2.8 arc seconds
Very stable metal observatory column
Total weight: 70.1 kg

AXD2 GoTo mount with VMC260L telescope set
The AXD2 mount comes with the new STARBOOK TEN controller and the PFL polar viewfinder, which allows you to configure the mount quickly and easily via reference stars.
This telescope set has everything that you need for hobby astronomy.
The set includes a telescope, a mount with automatic tracking and a stable tripod.
Featuring the STARBOOK TEN controller, the telescope locates celestial objects automatically so that you don’t need to search for them manually.
Even if you’re not an expert, you can still give your friends an exciting tour through the night sky!

The AXD 2 mount in detail:

Robust construction and lightweight housing with 30 kg load capacity (photographic)
The RA and DEC axes are made using the A7075 superalloy, one the strongest aluminium alloys. The stability of the A7075 superalloy is stronger than titanium, which is known for its strength as a lightweight material. Its thickness is 38% less than titanium. Using the A7075 superalloy for the axes ensures that the AXD mount is both lightweight and stable.

21 bearings
The rotating parts of the AXD mount have a total of 21 bearings. These ensure uniform motion in order to swivel the telescope and track objects.

Stepper motors
Vixen uses precise stepper motors for the mount in order to ensure optimal performance. The motors are controlled via a micro-step motion control system, which eliminates the disadvantage of stepper motors with large steps. The system generates 400 impulses per second at a high speed. This results in very quiet scanning with no vibrations. The stepper motors on the AXD mount have sufficient torques. This is most significant when working at high magnifications and photographing with a CCD camera with small pixel sizes.

Worm gears
The sizes of the worm gears were increased in the latest Atlux version. The AXD mount has 270 teeth in the RA axis and 216 teeth in the DC axis. Both axes are 50 mm in diameter. This ensures that the mount operates with precision and stability.

Low backlash
The Vixen micro-step motion control system ensures that the stepper motors run uniformly at low and high speeds. This eliminates the need for reduction gears in the motor and therefore reduces the backlash in the gears.

Elegant design
The flat sides of the mount were designed based on previous generations of the New Atlux range. The white and silver housing provides a modern and elegant exterior with high functionality. The AXD is the flagship model in the Vixen mount range.

Original motor layout
The solid RA and DEC motor units are arranged in the lower part of the mount. This means that they automatically act as a counterweight. As a result, you require far fewer weights on the counterweight bar. On small devices, no counterweight is required. The counterweight bar can be slid fully into the housing.

Polar finder scope
The AXD mount is equipped with a 6x20 polar finder as standard. The polar finder features an integrated scale, which provides a quick and easy way to polar align the telescope in the northern hemisphere.
For observations in southern latitudes, the polar finder features an image of the Octans constellation, which can be aligned with the night sky.

VPEC periodic error correction
Periodic errors on mounts are usually measured and corrected by the user. Unlike the old StarBook controller, the STAR BOOK TEN controller saves these errors permanently. The periodic error of the mount is measured in the factory and corrected before delivery. This is known as VPEC and functions automatically as soon as you use the mount. It delivers an accuracy of +/- 2.8 arc seconds. You can increase the tracking accuracy further by saving your own recorded periodic errors.

The VMC 260 in detail
The optics of the VMC260L are significantly better than the traditional Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Despite its high 3000 mm focal length, it is just 650 mm long.
Featuring a large 260 mm aperture, the telescope collects large amounts of light for serious professional observations and photography of the planets and countless deep-sky objects.
Thanks to the dielectric mirrors, the VMV260L guarantees razor-sharp images and maximum brightness. The open lens barrels cool the telescope quicker than conventional closed Cassegrain systems.
The telescope can be used with an optional 0.62x focal reducer to reduce the aperture ratio to 1:7.1. This shortens the exposure times and allows you to photograph large objects. The telescope comes with a standard dovetail bar and a carry handle that doubles up as a camera holder for night sky photography.

FEATURES
AXD2 GoTo mount with VMC260L telescope
Professional telescope kit with TR102 tripod
Mount with 30 kg load capacity (photographic)
Modern STARBOOK TEN controller with autoguider input
More than 270,000 pre-installed celestial objects
Illuminated polar finder with direct star alignment
Professional Maksutov-Cassegrain with 260 mm aperture
Very stable metal observatory column
Total weight: 70.1 kg

WHAT’S INCLUDED
P85 observatory column
2 counterweights (1.5 kg and 7.0 kg)
7x50 finder scope
Folding mirror
Carry handle

Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.

The delivery costs for courier next day are for mainland UK only. If you live in the Scottish Highlands/Islands, Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, then a shipping surchage will apply. please contact us for prices. Smaller items can still go 1st class via Royal Mail.

Please note that if you are wanting to take advantage of our Saturday and Sunday timed services or next day pre 12 or pre 10:30 services, you MUST check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. Also, orders using the Saturday and Sunday services must be placed before 1pm the previous working day. Also, please remember to check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. If the stock is not at the shop, we won't be able to ship on any of the timed services. 

Please note International customers will need to contact us for a shipping price prior to ordering via the website. We don't ship all items internationally. It is at our discretion what we ship outside of the UK. This all depends on the size and weight of the items. Please get in touch with us for any postage costs. Please note we do NOT ship telescopes or heavy items outside of the UK. This is due to massive postage costs and problems regarding returns.

If you have any questions regarding stock levels or delivery, please get in touch.

Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!

We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.

The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs. 

We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this. 

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope.  We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. 

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. 

You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is. 

Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us. 

All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html

Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.

For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

Are you interested in this product but would like to speak to someone with some more information? Simply fill in the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

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