Tuesday, February 15, 2022

German Made Vixen Plate

 I mentioned a few days ago machining a Vixen dovetail plate.  But I decided to buy one from Agena Astro made by Baader Astronomical in Germany.  Aluminum is less likely to fail than acetal (not that I would worry about the piece that I machined out of acetal).  Unlike my plate and even the Televue Vixen dovetail adapter, this is a true dovetail, intended to fit tightly in a Vixen shoe, and only capable of leaving at the ends not the top.  The slot for 1/4"-20 screws is nearly the entire length so I can pick almost anywhere to install the scope rings.  The plate is not flat on top but two slightly diagonal ramps, so it fits a variety of circular rings.  Even the flat bottomed rings for my baby reflector locked in very tightly.





2 comments:

  1. Clayton,
    I've been experimenting with astrophotography with my Nikon and some lengthy (70-300mm/200-500mm) Nikon F-mount zoom lenses but want to reach out a bit farther. Can you recommend a good tutorial on getting started with reflector telescopes and DSLR/mirrorless cameras? That side of the optics is totally new to me.
    Thanks for all you do!
    Kevin

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  2. I cannot think of one. Tell me what you know and I fill in the gaps.

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