Vixen · Refractor · Up to 4 inches
Vixen began making telescopes in 1966 and built its name on equatorial mounts, from the Super Polaris of 1984 to the Great Polaris of 1992 and the SX line of the 2000s. The 102M is its 4-inch achromatic refractor, a 102 mm two-element lens with a 1,000 mm focal length at f/9.8, and Vixen's own catalog listed it as the A102M on SX, GP-E and GP2 sets from 2003 to 2005, pitched at schools. Sellers name kits after their mount, so you'll also see it called SP102M. We couldn't confirm when it first appeared or whether it came on the Super Polaris, so judge each kit on what's actually in it. Expect the purple fringe around bright planets that any achromat shows, and judge the kit by its mount as much as its lens.
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.
The lens can haze or grow fungus in damp storage. Older Vixen mounts often come without counterweights, slow-motion controls or the right tripod. Kits vary, so check exactly which mount and which version you're getting.
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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