The Vixen Optics Polarie Heavy Loading Kit has everything you need to start imaging with heavier DSLR cameras or small telescope OTAs. When used all together this kit allows you to equatorially mount and align the Polarie tracking head, plus mount, and properly balance loads up to 14-pounds — essentially doubling the standard payload capacity of the basic Polarie unit. It is compromised of the Polar Fine Adjustment Unit, a Polarie Multi Mounting Block for the tracking unit, the Polarie Dovetail Slide Bar, Polarie Quick Release Panorama Clamp and Angle Plate, Supplementary Counterweight Bar and Counterweight, and the PF-L Polarie Polar Scope.
Building on the success of the original iteration of their polar scope, Vixen Optics' PF-L Polarie Polar Scope is a simplified iteration to make polar alignment faster and easier. An illuminated star field reticle clearly shows the Northern hemisphere star pattern around the pole; and to polar align your scope, simply lineup the three stars on the reticle with the three corresponding stars in the sky. Vixen eliminated the hour angle and instead utilizes a companion Android or iOS smartphone app for a streamlined experience. Features such as red illumination to preserve night adjusted vision, eight selectable brightness levels, and auto-off after two minutes make this an essential accessory to your compatible Vixen equatorial mount.
- 6x magnification
- 20mm aperture
- 8° field of view
- Installing Accuracy: Within ±3 arc min
- Red illumination preserves night-adjusted vision
- In the northern hemisphere, the polar axis is aligned by placing 3 bright stars in the specified positions
- No need to set the hour angle
- Free companion smartphone app aids in alignment, available for Android and iOS
- Dioptric adjustment to focus reticle
- Adjustable brightness with 8 selectable levels
- Runs on one included CR2032 battery
- Auto-off helps conserve the battery's charge
This Advanced Polaris Alt-Az 3.6 lb Counterweight from Vixen Optics is used to balance the mount and OTA which reduces stress on the mount and allows for easier movement while aligning, finding, or tracking an object. This counterweight is identical to the one that originally ships with the mount.
Designed to fit their Polarie Quick Release Panorama Clamp, the Vixen Optics Polarie Quick Release Angle Plate provides an easy and stable way to attach your camera or smaller OTA onto the tracking system counterbalance rig. Using this clamp-plate combination brings the camera body closer to the center of gravity while adding much more strength and stability versus conventional ball heads.
The plate has a standard 1/4"-20 mount for cameras and other optics with a clearance of 0.4-3.5" (1-9cm) from the mount to the angle. Both parts of the plate, the long main side and shorter perpendicular piece, have a dovetail to enable the camera to be mounted vertically or horizontally as the situation or user's preference requires.