Vixen ED103S Refractor Telescope with SXW Sphinx Mount

The Vixen ED103S is an apochromatic refractor, with fantastic contrast and 4" aperture, sufficient for viewing most of the planets and many stars.  With its ED glass elements, chromatic aberration has been reduced to nearly undetectable levels, permitting a much more practical use of the higher magnifications quoted in the specifications than when seemingly identical in a normal achromatic refractor.  Vixen’s ED Glass has brought refractors back to the forefront of premium telescope choices, to compete with the 8" and larger ubiquitous Schmidt-Cassegrains that, while bringing in enormous quantities of light, simply cannot compare to the contrast of the apochromatic refractor. The included flip-mirror adapter allows either 90° or straight-through observing.  With an eyepiece upon each end of the flip-mirror, you can quickly switch between the two as the declination of your object of interest changes its location in the sky. Package includes NLV25 eyepiece, flip mirror, 7x50 finder scope with bracket and dual speed focuser.

The SPHINX equatorial mount and STARBOOK controller have been intelligently engineered for high-speed automatic location of celestial objects. It is now possible to explore the beauty of the night sky with greater ease and stability. The SPHINX comes standard with built in motors and the world's first star chart go-to controller, STARBOOK, with a large full color LCD display. The Sphinx’s design is exceptional and the exterior styling is equally attractive.

A retractable counterweight shaft assists in easy storage and transportation. The mount is available on a SX-HAL310 heavy duty aluminum tripod. An optional illuminated polar axis scope can be easily added to the mount body. The mount utilizes the standard Vixen dovetail bracket for attachment of telescopes.

The Vixen STARBOOK Controller - A hand-held personal planetarium

Vixen is known for its amazing quality and high-end performance.  But what Vixen has done with their hand-controller simply makes everyone look inadequate.  If you have never had the pleasure of seeing the STARBOOK controller in action, get ready for something pretty exciting.  There is simply nothing else like it.

Vixen SX Sphinx, Vixen SXD Sphinx and Vixen ATLUX mounts include the powerful STARBOOK hand controller.  At first glance you would think it’s a video game device.  STARBOOK is an actual map of the night sky on a LCD screen.  The Vixen STARBOOK controller features a large 4.7" Color LCD display and is the command center of the Vixen mount.  It features simple navigation buttons on each side of the body and are simple to navigate in the dark.  Its dimensions are approximately 7.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches and weighs approximately 14 oz.  At the bottom of the controller you will find a port for connecting STARBOOK to the Equatorial Mount, a LAN Port for communication with a PC and for firmware updates, and an Autoguider Port.

Setting up the mount with the STARBOOK controller is simple.  A cable connects the mount to STARBOOK and when the mount is powered on, you are greeted with the Vixen logo on the STARBOOK screen.  Simply enter your observing location (longitude, latitude, local date and time) then store the settings for current and future use.  The Mount then needs to be put into the "home" position.  Simply point the mount north and the telescope tube west.  There are also alignment marks on the mounts body to assist you.  From the home position you are now ready to align the telescope with the night sky.

Chart Mode and Scope Mode

Before we begin aligning the mount, its important to know that the STARBOOK controller has two "modes".  CHART Mode (the screen menu will change to Blue in color when in CHART MODE) or SCOPE MODE (the screen will change to Red in color with in SCOPE MODE).  In both modes the STARBOOK will display a map of the night sky with objects named.  A cross hair will show its current pointing location.  The difference between CHART MODE and SCOPE MODE is the movement of the cross-hair.  In CHART MODE, when moving the directional buttons, you will NOT actually move the telescope you will simply move the cross-hair of the chart on the map to a new location.  But when in SCOPE MODE, if you move the cross-hair you actually move the telescope mount to that location. 

Alignment of the Telescope

Now that the telescope is in the HOME position and the basic time/location information is stored into STARBOOK, you are ready to align the telescope with the night sky.  In CHART MODE, simply locate a known star on the map.  You could select Vega for example.  Align the cross hairs to Vega on the map and select "GOTO".  STARBOOK will now automatically switch to SCOPE MODE and begin moving the telescope to where it thinks Vega is.   Simply center Vega in your finderscope, then center in your eyepiece and press "ALIGN". Repeat this process for 2 or more stars.  Now that your mount is aligned with the night sky you can use STARBOOK to navigate through the night sky.

The Vixen STARBOOK controller can also be used without the mount.  For educational learning of the night sky from indoors or on cloudy evenings, STARBOOK can be powered on without the mount.  You can explore the night sky in CHART MODE and begin planning your next observing session.