102FL rear fluorite lens

I recently acquired a mint condition Vixen 102FL. I love this thing! IIRC, these scopes have a rear mounted uncoated fluorite lens. My perhaps naive question is, how long should I expect a non-coated fluorite lens to last? Is it particularly sensitive to humidity, coastal air, etc.?? Or should I not sweat it? I do have a PWT 2" plug I have in the back, but the scope is so long, I'm not sure if that matters one way or the other...

Thanks in advance for your expertise!

John

I've had a Vixen FL80S for about 7 years and it has handled the humid climate here in South Carolina just fine. The main thing to avoid with these (or any other refractor) is complete dewing over. In the field a dew heater helps and using a somewhat insulated case when bring a cold scope indoors helps a lot. The dessicant plug should help a lot with keeping the inside of the scope dry. Fluorite does not handle high temperatures well so I would avoid leaving the scope in a hot car in the summer. I'd be interested to hear how this scope compares to the ED103S you owned.

Joplin

John Powers said:

I recently acquired a mint condition Vixen 102FL. I love this thing!

These telescopes have been imported into the United States at least since the mid 1980's. I have owned four samples of the Vixen Fluorite two branded by Orion and two of them were the Celestron version. Late last year I fully restored a C102F originally manufactured in 1990. The OTA was in very poor cosmetic shape and the lens was dirty. I cleaned the rear, uncoated, Fluorite element. Using common sense techniques and advice from Rolando, the lens turned out perfect.

I think the Vixen Fluorites are remarkable visual telescopes and are amazing bargains on today's used market.

Attached Image:

I have owned a SP-FL80S for 8 years plus. I am the 2nd owner. The scope was originally purchased new in 1985. The lens shows no affect inside and out. Living in MI, I deal with extreme temp changes and humidity and nothing seems to be really affecting this little gem.
Jason