The HAL 130 tripod slicked right into place at the perfect height and I was totally delighted to see captive screws on both the mount and accessory tray that meant nothing was going to get lost in the dark. You know what? The Vixen PortaMount II is the easiest mount I’ve ever put together. Tape was cut, packing materials carefully removed and restored, optics gently lifted and ready for assembly. Needless to say, the guys were on it the moment the boxes made it to the concrete pad. Can you imagine how I felt when I got that news? My starz… We might even sell enough raffle tickets on that one to be able to afford to have new Styrofoam cups this year! Needless to say, we were incredibly honored and we knew that we’d have to take it out of the box to display it. We would have been thrilled with a plossl eyepiece. of Vixen Optics told us they would donate a Vixen R130Sf Newtonian Reflector Telescope and PortaMount II. That’s why we were completely stunned when Janet D. ![]() In these economic times, it’s not easy for any company to donate anything – much less something valuable. You know, the good stuff like electricity, toilet paper, trash bags and coffee… Those door prizes then go into a raffle where you buy tickets and that’s how we make our operating money. So, when the time comes each year for us to give our Hidden Hollow Star Party, somebody has to approach a whole lot of astronomy equipment manufacturers and humble themselves to try to get door prizes. Astronomy education should be free and we’re gonna’ keep it that way. At WRO, we don’t charge anything for our public programs, educational outreach, planetarium programs, or even visiting schools, libraries, or doing guest speaker shots. Sure, I’d love to be sitting in an air conditioned office in a swivel chair telling my secretary to send out a purchase order for equipment – but that ain’t happening. Quite frankly, folks, as the head of a non-profit organization it’s my job to beg. I can tell you right now that I’ve never laid my hands on a telescope that I was more comfortable with out of the box than this one… But, I guess I really need to start the story from the beginning, don’t I? Then follow me over to the Observatory and I’ll tell you how this charming Vixen stole my heart away. So what’s the latest telescope I’ve been testing? This time it’s a Vixen R130Sf Newtonian Reflector Telescope and PortaMount II.
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