Vixen R200SS

I was searching for old messages regarding this scope, and
saw that Bill Byrd purchased one (I think in September), and
was going to give an update on visual performance. Bill,
are you there? Anyone else use this reflector?

Also, Bill referes to his as an Orion/Vixen- and yet I don't
see an Orion with the same specs (in the same price range)...

thanks,
bill

Hi Bill! Yes, that was me. Got the OTA last month and have had it out under the stars several nights, including 3 glorious nights last weekend at the inaugural Eldorado Star Party here in TX. At this point. let's just say that the jury is still out. I'm not very satified with the views using the dedicated coma corrector. I've been told that spacing from the CC to the EP focal plane is very critical so it may be that the EPs I use do not place right in relation to the CC. Soooo....I've been using the TeleVue Paracorr with Nagler EPs. That works pretty well, although not "pin point to the edge" by any means. I need to experiment some more. Having said the above, the wide field views are very nice. The Pleiades, M42, M31, M33....very nice with a very wide FOV. Physically the OTA is built like a tank and is very compact for an 8" scope. Also, the collimation needs to be right on target for best views. I'll try to get some more nights with the scope when I'm not distracted by larger scopes in the area.

Oh, I call it an Orion/Vixen since this OTA was sold by Orion, with an Orion sticker on it, but it was made by Vixen.

The scope was really made for imaging so visual use is a compromise at best. I do plan to try some digicam pics using the OTA. I'll post any successes, if there are any.
Bill in SA