Vixen · Mount · 1990s (Great Polaris line from 1992)
Vixen launched its Great Polaris mounts in 1992 as successors to the Super Polaris, and the GP-DX was the biggest of the three, above the GP-E and GP. It's a German equatorial rated for 10 kg (22 lb), with 144-tooth worm wheels on both axes, a quick-release dovetail saddle and a 6x20 polar finder with an illuminated reticle. It's manual as standard. Add Vixen's MT-1 stepper motors and a controller and it tracks, but plenty of used ones come without them. That simplicity is its appeal. There's very little to fail, it's easy to adjust, and it carries a 4-inch refractor or a small SCT steadily. Check what's included, because the counterweight, polar finder and motors are easy to lose.
The full kit
Check the listing photos against this list, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. Plenty of listings are the tube alone or the mount alone, and a missing hand controller, power supply or counterweight should come off the price.
Used GP-DX mounts often come without the counterweight, the polar finder or the optional motors. The worm gears should turn smoothly, and a mount that's been overloaded or dropped may have slack or a bent shaft.
New to used telescopes? How to check a used telescope covers optics, mounts, power and shipping, and what a complete kit looks like helps with tube-only and mount-only listings.
We haven’t been through this model’s listings yet. Search eBay and run every listing through the checklist above. Ask for a photo looking into the optics with a flashlight and one of everything included, and pass on any seller who won’t send them.
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