Optical Supports Mirror Cells for Newtonian telescopes

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Our Price:  £155.00(Inc. 20% VAT) Aperture:    6" Mirror Cell:  £155.00  8" Mirror Cell:  £175.00  10" Mirror Cell:  £195.00  12"/12.5" Mirror Cell:  £215.00 Model:  os-6-vmc Tweet

If you have a Newtonian telescope that cannot be easily collimated or has difficulty retaining precise collimation, this is the solution.

The new Optical Supports Versatile Mirror Cell (VMC) has been designed and manufactured by Curt Walker in the US to be compatible with virtually any Newtonian telescope tube currently on the market including Skywatcher, Celestron, Orion US, Orion Optics and GSO (Altair, Astro-Tech, Revelation, TS, etc). Indeed anyone wishing to retrofit a commercially-made telescope with a new mirror cell will find the VMC is easily configured for a secure fit.

The VMC can also be easily adjusted to fit sonotubes, Hastings tubes, Protostar’s Blacklite tubes and most carbon fiber tubes.

Construction & Materials:

Features include 6061-T6 aluminum construction, stainless steel mounting and collimation hardware, locking bolts to assist in retaining collimation, adjustable mounting brackets, black anodized finish, and threaded mounting holes for an optional cooling fan. The upper plate features a hole pattern designed to facilitate air flow while reducing weight.

Notes for Conical Primary Users:

The upper plate features a central footprint area that is slightly larger than the flat-back diameter of a Royce conical mirror (respective to the individual specs of each aperture). Similarly the central mounting hole also matches that required by each of the three supported conical apertures (i.e. 3/8-16 bolt for 8” conicals and ½-13 bolt for 10” and 12.5” conicals).

Notes for Standard (i.e. Flat) Primary Users:

A clipless mirror mounting method is employed via three vertical brackets spaced equally around the upper plate. The primary mirror is secured with three discrete applications of silicon adhesive at the midpoint of the mirror’s thickness. The upper plate also features an array of support points appropriate for the corresponding aperture. This avoids the use of adhesives beneath the mirror and the associated higher risk of astigmatism.

Mounting & Installation:

Adjustable mounting brackets provide a rigid and secure fit into your telescope tube. They can adjust to accommodate virtually any telescope tube respective to each aperture. This table lists the functional range of inner diameter for each conical mirror cell. A pair of bolts secures each bracket to the lower plate, ensuring a perfectly straight track of adjustment.

A second benefit of adjustable mounting hardware is the auto-centering of the mirror cell. Each pair of bracket bolts, and subsequently the adjustment slots, is exactly centered on 120 degree radii from the primary mirror’s central mounting hole. If the user has accurately drilled mounting holes in the optical tube that are exactly 120 degrees apart, then he/she need only install the cell with bracket bolts loose in their sockets and slide the brackets as necessary to reach each hole in the tube wall. When all three holes are aligned to the brackets and fasteners inserted, each bracket will automatically be adjusted by an equal amount. The result is a perfectly centered mirror cell.

Fan Compatibility:

All models feature threaded holes for installing a cooling fan of your choosing, as well as a mounting hole for installing an RCA jack to power the fan. The 6VMC and 8VMC both support the use of a 60mm fan and the 10VMC and 12VMC support 80mm fans. Fans and RCA ports are not included with any mirror cell. They may be installed at the owner's discretion.