The Super Polaris and Great Polaris
German Equatorial Mounts
The Japanese made Vixen Super Polaris is well designed, high quality, low cost German Equatorial Mount (GEM) for use with telescope Optical Tube Assemblies (OTA) weighing up to 16 pounds. Celestron and other US companies including Astro Physics sold the Super Polaris with their telescopes for over decade. A couple of years ago, Vixen made some minor modifications to the mount and re-named it the Great Polaris. The most significant difference between the two mounts appears in the way the OTA gets mounted. The Super Polaris has a two-holed mounting plate permanently affixed to the head. The Great Polaris uses a dovetail clamp for holding several varieties of mounting plates. All the other differences are cosmetic. The Great Polaris and Super Polaris show equal robustness and stability. All Super Polaris and Great Polaris Mounts accept the SkySensor 2000.
I acquired my Super Polaris used for $400. I have recently seen them sold a low as $350 and as high as $800. The Great Polaris can be purchased new from Orion for $744. The one thing to look for in both of these mounts is the tripod legs.
The overall performance of the mount depends upon it being mounted on sturdy legs. There are wooden legs and there are aluminum legs. The aluminum legs are the worse. They are much more vibration prone. They also show a tendency to twist under torque. There are good wooden legs and there are better wooden legs. The Astro Physics wooden legs are excellent. If you get an aluminum legged version, do not despair. Try filling the legs with sand, not extending leg extensions and keeping you eyes open for a replacement set of good wooden legs. Other excellent but costly tripod alternatives are the very sturdy Tiffen ST600 and the Celestron 93499. In any case, invest in a set of the Celestron anti-vibration pads. They make a huge difference.
The overall design and manufactured quality of these two mounts is outstanding especially when considering the cost. The fit and finish are excellent. The telescope moves very smoothly in the RA and DEC axis movements without a trace of the stickiness that sometimes plagues other GEMs. The worm gears are designed with four way adjustment screws that make it easy to eliminate almost all the worm gear backlash. My particular Super Polaris has a measured periodic error of 5 arc seconds, which is outstanding.
The mount comes with a polar alignment scope that makes the attainment of a near perfect polar alignment a five minute operation. The polar alignment scope sits inside the RA axis. To align the scope, swing the OTA in RA until the current time of day is matched to a date scale. Next, turn on the illuminator and look into the polar alignment scope. Adjust the mount's alt/az controls until Polaris is in the indicated position, lock the screws, turn off the illuminator, replace the caps and you are done.
If you have a Super Polaris mount but are missing the manual, the important pages have been scanned and are available for downloading. Also included is an explaination of how to calculate your time zone offset when setting up the Polar alginment scope. See Super Polaris Manual.
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#1
Posted 30 May 2021 - 04:48 PM
Hi,
The older I get the more I appreciate portable telescopes and mounts. Although Alt-Az are the mounts of choice for grab-n-go Astronomy, there are times when a lightweight, no-frills Equatorial (EQ) mount for visual observing is called for. Last week I was looking for an accessory for my Vixen Great Polaris 2 (GP2) EQ mount and it was sad to find out that there are almost no parts or accessories available for these mounts in the U.S., not even in the used market. The same goes for finding complete Vixen GP mounts. It’s a real shame because my Vixen GP2 has been my most used EQ mount to date, still working fine with its original single-axis drive after 14 years of use.
Although I own other EQ mounts (including some with Goto), I have a hard time visualizing a future where I could do without a lightweight EQ mount with manual slow motion for visual observing. It’s sad to see these classic, reliable, quality EQ mounts go extinct. If you are fortunate to own a Vixen Great Polaris (GP) or Super Polaris (SP) Mount on any of its models, hold onto it. If you are looking for one and just happen to find one for sale in good condition, don’t hesitate and grab it!
Here is a picture of my Vixen GP2 EQ Mount setup with my TV-85 refractor with white light solar filter during the November 2019 Mercury transit. The other is a picture of my GP2 carrying a Meade 8-in LX200 SCT OTA. These are the two scopes that I use the most with this mount.
Note: Title and post edited by the OP to include the Vixen Super Polaris (SP) Mounts that belong in the same family and deserve mention here.
Attached Thumbnails
Edited by Castor, 30 May 2021 - 05:45 PM.
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#2
Posted 30 May 2021 - 05:10 PM
I only have a Vixen Super Polaris, which has a slightly lower payload capacity than a GP, as my lightweight mount. I would definitely have appreciated the somewhat higher payload capacity of the GP compared to the SP.
- Castor likes this
#3
Posted 30 May 2021 - 05:25 PM
Well, you can still get the Sky-Watcher EQ-5, which is a direct clone of the Vixen GP. It's so accurately cloned, that most parts are interchangeable. The basic version is fully manual.
I think, but this is merely speculation on my part, that the reason the Chinese choose to clone the Vixen GP mount (and they've been doing so for more than 25 years now) and not one from some other manufacturer, is that Vixen tried to get them made in China to save costs. The Chinese immediately cloned them and sold them to a wide variety of companies.
But hey, it's the reason we have the standard Vixen dovetail system now, that makes it so easy to swap telescopes on different mounts. It actually didn't exist (or it did, but Vixen only used it on one or two scopes and dovetails weren't widely available), before China cloned the GP mount, as Vixen used a slightly different system, namely with a sort of shoe, that you couldn't slide back and forth to balance the scope, but had to slide the scope in the rings. The finderscope system with a standard shoe also didn't exist before then. Vixen had invented it, and used it as their own standard, but it wasn't widespread. The Chinese also cloned the Vixen focusers, tripods, finderscopes, accessory trays...
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
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#4
Posted 30 May 2021 - 05:52 PM
I only have a Vixen Super Polaris, which has a slightly lower payload capacity than a GP, as my lightweight mount. I would definitely have appreciated the somewhat higher payload capacity of the GP compared to the SP.
Hi,
The Vixen Super Polaris (SP) EQ mounts are in the same quality and versatility league (more so because they can switch to Alt-Az) as the Vixen GPs, so the same sentiment goes for them too! I didn’t include them in my initial post because I was never fortunate to own one, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but they certainly belong in the same family and deserve to be mentioned here, so I edited the title and first post to reflect that. Thanks!
- alphatripleplus likes this
#5
Posted 30 May 2021 - 06:01 PM
My Super Polaris is now my designated grab-and-go mount, and still works well with the old Vixen SkySensor 2000PC GOTO system that I have on it.
- Castor and alnitak22 like this
#6
Posted 30 May 2021 - 06:16 PM
Hi,
The older I get the more I appreciate portable telescopes and mounts. Although Alt-Az are the mounts of choice for grab-n-go Astronomy, there are times when a lightweight, no-frills Equatorial (EQ) mount for visual observing is called for. Last week I was looking for an accessory for my Vixen Great Polaris 2 (GP2) EQ mount and it was sad to find out that there are almost no parts or accessories available for these mounts in the U.S., not even in the used market. The same goes for finding complete Vixen GP mounts. It’s a real shame because my Vixen GP2 has been my most used EQ mount to date, still working fine with its original single-axis drive after 14 years of use.
Although I own other EQ mounts (including some with Goto), I have a hard time visualizing a future where I could do without a lightweight EQ mount with manual slow motion for visual observing. It’s sad to see these classic, reliable, quality EQ mounts go extinct. If you are fortunate to own a Vixen Great Polaris (GP) or Super Polaris (SP) Mount on any of its models, hold onto it. If you are looking for one and just happen to find one for sale in good condition, don’t hesitate and grab it!
Here is a picture of my Vixen GP2 EQ Mount setup with my TV-85 refractor with white light solar filter during the November 2019 Mercury transit. The other is a picture of my GP2 carrying a Meade 8-in LX200 SCT OTA. These are the two scopes that I use the most with this mount.
Note: Title and post edited by the OP to include the Vixen Super Polaris (SP) Mounts that belong in the same family and deserve mention here.
I have twelve Vixen mounts. They are current generation. The current generation of Vixen mounts are superior to the old mounts, which is why the older mounts are no longer made.
- blakestree likes this
#7
Posted 30 May 2021 - 06:19 PM
Well, you can still get the Sky-Watcher EQ-5, which is a direct clone of the Vixen GP. It's so accurately cloned, that most parts are interchangeable. The basic version is fully manual.
I think, but this is merely speculation on my part, that the reason the Chinese choose to clone the Vixen GP mount (and they've been doing so for more than 25 years now) and not one from some other manufacturer, is that Vixen tried to get them made in China to save costs. The Chinese immediately cloned them and sold them to a wide variety of companies.
But hey, it's the reason we have the standard Vixen dovetail system now, that makes it so easy to swap telescopes on different mounts. It actually didn't exist (or it did, but Vixen only used it on one or two scopes and dovetails weren't widely available), before China cloned the GP mount, as Vixen used a slightly different system, namely with a sort of shoe, that you couldn't slide back and forth to balance the scope, but had to slide the scope in the rings. The finderscope system with a standard shoe also didn't exist before then. Vixen had invented it, and used it as their own standard, but it wasn't widespread. The Chinese also cloned the Vixen focusers, tripods, finderscopes, accessory trays...
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
Hi Thomas,
I concur, it’s fortunate that the clones adopted and popularized the Vixen quick-release dovetail mounting system (along with the finder shoe) because like you note, it makes it a breeze to swap scopes between mounts! Had each manufacturer designed its own proprietary mounting system, it would be a nightmare to switch scopes!
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#8
Posted 31 May 2021 - 12:31 AM
Had each manufacturer designed its own proprietary mounting system, it would be a nightmare to switch scopes!
They used to! Just look at some not so old catalogs from, say, around 1990 or so. Everyone had their own systems. If you wanted to mate a different OTA to a different mount, you had to come up with a solution yourself.
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
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#9
Posted 31 May 2021 - 07:55 AM
Well, you can still get the Sky-Watcher EQ-5, which is a direct clone of the Vixen GP. It's so accurately cloned, that most parts are interchangeable. The basic version is fully manual.
I think, but this is merely speculation on my part, that the reason the Chinese choose to clone the Vixen GP mount (and they've been doing so for more than 25 years now) and not one from some other manufacturer, is that Vixen tried to get them made in China to save costs. The Chinese immediately cloned them and sold them to a wide variety of companies.
But hey, it's the reason we have the standard Vixen dovetail system now, that makes it so easy to swap telescopes on different mounts. It actually didn't exist (or it did, but Vixen only used it on one or two scopes and dovetails weren't widely available), before China cloned the GP mount, as Vixen used a slightly different system, namely with a sort of shoe, that you couldn't slide back and forth to balance the scope, but had to slide the scope in the rings. The finderscope system with a standard shoe also didn't exist before then. Vixen had invented it, and used it as their own standard, but it wasn't widespread. The Chinese also cloned the Vixen focusers, tripods, finderscopes, accessory trays...
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
I’m very happy with my dual drive Meade LX70. I’m glad that when HighPoint was fire-saling them a couple of years ago, I jumped on one. It’s a smooth, steady, capable CG-5/GP class mount with ball bearing races, metal gearing, and clutches on both axes.
Attached Thumbnails
Edited by Terra Nova, 31 May 2021 - 07:56 AM.
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#10
Posted 31 May 2021 - 09:48 AM
My old Vixen Super Polaris is still going strong. I did add a new DD3 controller to it a few years back and now use it mostly on a Leofoto carbon fiber tripod with a half bowl adapter. They look like they were made for each other.
Dennis
Attached Thumbnails
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#11
Posted 31 May 2021 - 10:10 AM
I have 4 Vixen SuperPolaris mounts. The first thing I do is set them into alt-azimuth mode so I have an alt-azimuth mount with locks on both axes and slow motion controls. I have three of them on different tripods: 2” steel tripod, original Vixen wooden legs, original Vixen aluminum legs. The 4th is in pristine, unused condition and awaits a future tripod or if one of the others develops a problem. Pictured is the sample I have on the 2” steel tripod. It handles my long 102mm f/11 refractor and SW120ED with no issues.
Attached Thumbnails
Edited by russell23, 31 May 2021 - 10:11 AM.
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#12
Posted 31 May 2021 - 10:42 AM
I know it's not a Polaris or a SuperPolaris, but I've got a lightly used Meade lx70 with the dual motor drives boxed up for if and when.
Edited by Mitchell M., 31 May 2021 - 10:42 AM.
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#13
Posted 31 May 2021 - 12:20 PM
I always felt the LXD75 was a better mount than the CG-5, that is a better copy of the GP-Dlx. Jinghua made these for Meade. The ES EXO2 is basically the same mount. The EQ-5 has improvements that were not included one the version Meade sold as the LX70, but the 70 had the worm ball bearings of the ASCG-5 and this was among the best CG-5s. It's hard to keep them these days seems everybody wants one. I used to have a bin of them. Just sold the last two. But I have to keep one to experiment on!
- Castor and Astrojensen like this
#14
Posted 31 May 2021 - 12:30 PM
Explore Scientific makes the Exos2-GT that uses their PMC-Eight controller. I think it has direct lineage from the GPDX, but it was upgraded with pairs of ball bearings on each axis, bearings on the worm blocks, stepper motors, and belt drives. I was able to put my hands on one at the Orion showroom in Cupertino CA before they closed it. Looked like it could fall into the portable category.
Edited by dcweaver, 31 May 2021 - 05:33 PM.
- Castor likes this
#15
Posted 31 May 2021 - 04:32 PM
I always felt the LXD75 was a better mount than the CG-5, that is a better copy of the GP-Dlx. Jinghua made these for Meade. The ES EXO2 is basically the same mount. The EQ-5 has improvements that were not included one the version Meade sold as the LX70, but the 70 had the worm ball bearings of the ASCG-5 and this was among the best CG-5s. It's hard to keep them these days seems everybody wants one. I used to have a bin of them. Just sold the last two. But I have to keep one to experiment on!
P1016715.jpg
I was not aware that there were so many different versions and clones. Highly interesting and valuable information!
Maybe you should write a little article about it?
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
- Castor likes this
#16
Posted 31 May 2021 - 05:52 PM
Thank you all for your comments and for sharing pictures of
your gear!
Reading your posts has been gratifying because they show the care and appreciation that these lightweight but very capable EQ mounts (within their respective payload capacity) receive from their owners, regardless of their low-tech features or less than perfect tracking performance. In the end it’s all about enjoying our hobby and if they do their role satisfactorily and maybe also look good, then that’s all I can ask of them!
- Terra Nova likes this
#17
Posted 31 May 2021 - 05:59 PM
I’m very happy with my dual drive Meade LX70. I’m glad that when HighPoint was fire-saling them a couple of years ago, I jumped on one. It’s a smooth, steady, capable CG-5/GP class mount with ball bearing races, metal gearing, and clutches on both axes.
Hi Terra,
What a lovely looking mount the Meade LX70, I have never seen one in person. From your comments it certainly seems like a fine mount and the fact that you trust it with your large Vixen refractor shows it, I’m glad that you could catch one at the right moment!
My old Vixen Super Polaris is still going strong. I did add a new DD3 controller to it a few years back and now use it mostly on a Leofoto carbon fiber tripod with a half bowl adapter. They look like they were made for each other.
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
Talk about a super-portable, high-performance observatory with a Mewlon telescope setup on a Vixen SP EQ mount on carbon fiber tripod with drive, really hard to beat and it also looks great! Good for you that you got a Vixen DD3 dual-axis drive before they were discontinued, they are hard to find now!
I know it's not a Polaris or a SuperPolaris, but I've got a lightly used Meade lx70 with the dual motor drives boxed up for if and when.
Hi Mitchell M,
Saving a lightweight EQ mount, complete with drives in storage in anticipation for an unforeseeable future, wise thinking! I have another GP mount (stored in its box) with its dual-axis drive but missed buying the manual clutches, aargh!
I always felt the LXD75 was a better mount than the CG-5, that is a better copy of the GP-Dlx. Jinghua made these for Meade. The ES EXO2 is basically the same mount. The EQ-5 has improvements that were not included one the version Meade sold as the LX70, but the 70 had the worm ball bearings of the ASCG-5 and this was among the best CG-5s. It's hard to keep them these days seems everybody wants one. I used to have a bin of them. Just sold the last two. But I have to keep one to experiment on!
Explore Scientific makes the Exos2-GT that uses their PMC-Eight controller. I think it has direct lineage from the GPDX, but it was upgraded with pairs of ball bearings on each axis, bearings on the worm blocks, stepper motors, and belt drives. I was able to put my hands on one at the Orion showroom in Cupertino CA before they closed it. Looked like it could fall into the portable category.
I was not aware that there were so many different versions and clones. Highly interesting and valuable information!
Maybe you should write a little article about it?
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
Thank you Geo and dcweaver!
I agree with Astrojensen, very interesting and useful information! My first hands on experience with ‘serious’ EQ mounts came
from owning a Meade LXD55 and a LXD75 and they taught me the value of having a lightweight mount that could carry different types of scopes (purchased separately as OTAs) without having to buy ‘whole’ telescope systems every time. It saved me a lot! Well, not exactly because later I spend more money on telescopes OTAs (optical tube assemblies), he, he!
I have 4 Vixen SuperPolaris mounts. The first thing I do is set them into alt-azimuth mode so I have an alt-azimuth mount with locks on both axes and slow motion controls. I have three of them on different tripods: 2” steel tripod, original Vixen wooden legs, original Vixen aluminum legs. The 4th is in pristine, unused condition and awaits a future tripod or if one of the others develops a problem. Pictured is the sample I have on the 2” steel tripod. It handles my long 102mm f/11 refractor and SW120ED with no issues.
Hi Russel23,
You can never have too much of a good thing!
Attached Thumbnails
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#18
Posted 31 May 2021 - 09:23 PM
I have 1 and 3/4 Vixen SP mounts - broken down as follows:
1 - Vixen SP hub on the longer wood refractor legs, for grab and go. This one was a project over the course of a couple years. The mount head itself has the older 5 pin 1/300 steppers, on both RA and DEC, and I had AWR tech in the UK build a Sytem 5 controller for it a few years back. It was a little pricey, but it tracks fantastic. For quick observing, sometimes I'll just run with the manual slow-mo knobs.
That mount head also has a set of NOS optical encoders (from Celestron) that were once packaged as a kit for these. I scored one from a very fine fellow back east some years ago. Coupled with a DSC box, and Sky-Safari when I want to run the full kit. I also contacted Brian @ Vixen and got an updated polar scope reticle. Oh, and an ADM V-series saddle also.
2 - Complete mount head and a spare worm wheel. I don't have a hub or polar scope for this one, though I do have a shorter set of Vixen legs if I ever get bothered to find a hub for it.
Several OEM Vixen counterweights as well. (some that I refinished)
Depending on my mood, I'll either use it on the wood tripod - or drop it onto my backyard pier. It's a very modular and versatile setup, and can be used many ways. I love the mount for most of my scopes, and it works fine up to my C8 in bare bones mode.... once I start hanging more stuff on it, then I switch to the CG-5 ASGT.
It's another fine mount, and each have their place in my kit. I still prefer the SP over the CG-5, as long as it's not overloaded. I've had many a good memories from it, so I'm not planning on getting rid of it, anytime soon.
Big fan of Vixen stuff, especially the classic era - I have a few scopes / eyepieces and stuff from that time frame also, and they still deliver quality views.
Here is a shot of the SP on the yard pier, and the updated polar scope reticle from the GP (fits the SP polar scope housing)
Cheers,
T
- Castor likes this
#19
Posted 01 June 2021 - 12:41 AM
Hi Telesonic,
It’s always
good to hear stories about people who take good care of their telescopes! That seems to be the case with your well-loved Super Polaris mount as pictured in excellent state of preservation and with all the custom upgrades.
- telesonic likes this
#20
Posted 01 June 2021 - 07:19 AM
I have twelve Vixen mounts. They are current generation. The current generation of Vixen mounts are superior to the old mounts, which is why the older mounts are no longer made.
Well hold your horses there. More advanced yes, superior I don't agree. But I do agree that old and new alike share the same high quality. Vixen still makes simple non goto mounts such as the Advanced Polaris either full manual or with single or dual axis drive with Starbook One or a Sphinx SX mount with the Starbook One controller for basic dual axis drive. But both options lack one thing some of the old stargazers like myself think is important on an equatorial mount. Setting circles.
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#21
Posted 01 June 2021 - 07:31 AM
Well, you can still get the Sky-Watcher EQ-5, which is a direct clone of the Vixen GP. It's so accurately cloned, that most parts are interchangeable. The basic version is fully manual.
I think, but this is merely speculation on my part, that the reason the Chinese choose to clone the Vixen GP mount (and they've been doing so for more than 25 years now) and not one from some other manufacturer, is that Vixen tried to get them made in China to save costs. The Chinese immediately cloned them and sold them to a wide variety of companies.
But hey, it's the reason we have the standard Vixen dovetail system now, that makes it so easy to swap telescopes on different mounts. It actually didn't exist (or it did, but Vixen only used it on one or two scopes and dovetails weren't widely available), before China cloned the GP mount, as Vixen used a slightly different system, namely with a sort of shoe, that you couldn't slide back and forth to balance the scope, but had to slide the scope in the rings. The finderscope system with a standard shoe also didn't exist before take a closethen. Vixen had invented it, and used it as their own standard, but it wasn't widespread. The Chinese also cloned the Vixen focusers, tripods, finderscopes, accessory trays...
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
Perhaps Vixen explored shifting manufacturing to China but I think it's more likely they just cloned the Vixen GP because of it's popularity back in the 90s. But they did not stop there. Take a close look at the Skywatcher HEQ5 and HEQ6. They are obvious Takahashi clones
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#22
Posted 01 June 2021 - 07:34 AM
Perhaps Vixen explored shifting manufacturing to China but I think it's more likely they just cloned the Vixen GP because of it's popularity back in the 90s. But they did not stop there. Take a close look at the Skywatcher HEQ5 and HEQ6. They are obvious Takahashi clones
I've not studied the HEQ-5 in detail, but the original EQ-6 is definitely an EM-200 clone.
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
- Castor likes this
#23
Posted 01 June 2021 - 07:38 AM
I've not studied the HEQ-5 in detail, but the original EQ-6 is definitely an EM-200 clone.
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
Yup and with a track record of being a nice mount
- Astrojensen likes this
#24
Posted 01 June 2021 - 07:46 AM
Yup and with a track record of being a nice mount
I have an early one, non-goto version, and once I replaced the original drive motors with a nice system from Boxdörfer, it has been extremely reliable. Lots of my astro aquantances have one, or several, in one of its many variations. My friend Jens Jacobsen has a whole array of them (three, so far) running automatic photometry scopes unattended all night long.
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
#25
Posted 01 June 2021 - 08:05 AM
I have an early one, non-goto version, and once I replaced the original drive motors with a nice system from Boxdörfer, it has been extremely reliable. Lots of my astro aquantances have one, or several, in one of its many variations. My friend Jens Jacobsen has a whole array of them (three, so far) running automatic photometry scopes unattended all night long.
Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark
They showed up in the US branded Orion as the Atlas and Sirius way back in the 90s I think. Perhaps before Skywatcher was marketed here. At every star party I go to I see many of them doing imaging duty.