Vixen R200SS Secondary mirror question

[neilallison (Neil)]

Hi

Does anybody know how the secondary mirror is fastened to the "stalk" on the Vixen R200SS?
I want to fit a secondary heater and have purchased a Kendrick wrap-around type heater but it's going to be useless if the mirror is attached with double-sided sticky foam.

Thanks
Neil

[TR (Terry)]

Neil,

Attached with double-sided tape. That metal clip you see in there is just to hold the mirror from falling out in the event the mirror some how came loose. It doesn't hold the mirror - more a safety clip that is just off the surface from the mirror. I have the Kendrick wrap around secondary heater and it works. You really don't need much heat to keep the secondary clear.

Terry

[neilallison (Neil)]

Thanks Terry

I presume i need to remove the secondary stalk completely to fit the heater?
Would you recommend glueing the heater onto the stalk or securing it some other way?

[TR (Terry)]

Neil,

The Vixen secondary assembly is one piece. It is held in there with a central screw. Back off all three collimating screws half a turn, the grab the secondary with your hand and remove the central screw to remove the stalk. Make note of any washers in there. Attach your heater on the back of the flange opposite the secondary as per instructions. I used a parafin silicon for this, just a little goes a long way. Let it dry for a day. Put the whole thing together and remember the half turns on the collimation screws.

Or, remove the six screws on the optical tube and pull the whole thing out as one piece. (This is what I did) Attach your heater as per instructions. Re-install the whole assembly. Collimate the secondary first. Get this wrong and you will have interesting effects, tilt, triangle stars, or a rip in the space time continuum. Your corrector doesn’t tolerate a misaligned secondary. Primary collimation will be a walk in the park.

Terry

[neilallison (Neil)]

Thanks Terrry