Vixen Sphinx Professional SXP2 Equatorial GoTo German Equatorial Mount

The Vixen Sphinx Professional SXP2 GoTo German equatorial mount is a great mount for visual or imaging and can carry up to ~17kg payload. It features larger bearings (in order to increase the accuracy and load capacity) and its mounting housing is made from a stronger material than the previous models. The equatorial head is clamped into a fork in order to increase the stability of the polar alignment wedge.

The mount has the following features:

Precise tracking with P-PEC function
The SXP2 mount comes with the modern STARBOOK TEN control system. This includes a P-PEC function for precise tracking. PEC stands for “Periodic Error Corrections” and corrects errors in the mechanics which lead to periodic errors in the gear systems. The P-PEC function, which is based on the PEC function, is designed for the SXP2 equatorial mount. The P-PEC function saves the records of corrections, even after the power supply to the mount has been switched off. It is not necessary to re-enter the data each time, which enables a quicker setup and more precise tracking.

The belt drive system minimizes backlash and noise
Conventional motor-driven systems on equatorial mounts use gear wheels, which are driven by the motor. However, this design generates backlash under the gear wheels, which can lead to inaccuracies. To avoid these errors, the drive was converted to a belt drive system. This drastically reduces the backlash of the gear unit, as well as the noise generated by the drive system. It also ensures a quicker reaction when corrections are required.

16 bearings
The mechanical parts contain a total of 16 bearings. The SXP2 mount uses a set of tapered roller bearings for the RA axis in order to provide additional stability for more precise tracking.

Stable polar alignment wedge
The SXP2 mount uses the same fork as the heavy AXJ mount. This new construction enables a quick and stable configuration of the latitude setting.

Simple and precise polar alignment via reference star
The 6x20 polar finder scope is pre-installed. This allows the user to configure the polar alignment (for both the northern and southern hemispheres). The polar finder scope has a variable illuminated reticle with an automatic power-off function. The brightness can be adjusted in 8 levels so that the user can configure the desired brightness. The polar finder scope can be configured directly via three reference stars and can reach an accuracy of up to 3 arc minutes.

Variable mount head
The mount head has a diameter of 35 mm and features 8 threaded holes for M8 screws spaced at 45 degrees. An optional accessory tray can be attached to the mount head directly or in combination with an optional mounting wedge for dovetail plates. The threaded holes on the mounting head can also be used to mount rails from other manufacturers.

Modern STAR BOOK TEN controller with high-resolution colour display and built-in star chart
The STAR BOOK TEN controller is a modern control system with a high-resolution colour monitor. The STAR BOOK TEN system contains more than 272,000 celestial objects, including 260,000 stars from the SAO catalogue, 109 Messier objects, 7840 NGC objects and 5380 IC objects, as well the soon, moon and planets. Objects can be accessed by name, and information such as images and data can be defined separately.

A combination of innovative, elegant design and user-friendly features
The improved design of the stable and rigid mount body, which features precise tracking with a P-PEC function and the STAR BOOK TEN controller, offers a highly precise, easy to use mount that is guaranteed to please astrophotographers and observers.

Special motor mount for lighter counterweight
The heavy RA and DEC motor units are built into the bottom of the declination axis to ensure that the centre of gravity of the equatorial head is below the RA and DEC axis. This enables the declination body to function as a counterweight. Thanks to the flat mounting head, the mount can be balanced with a significantly lighter counterweight.

Retractable counterweight bar
The counterweight bar is made from solid stainless steel with a thickness of 20 mm, and enables the use of all counterweights from the SX and GP mount series. The counterweight bar is housed in the declination body.

Accessory shoe
The #35511 polar meter can be placed onto the accessory shoe for quick and easy polar alignment.