Vixen Telescope AP-AE81M・WL

AP-WL Equatorial Mount, Suitable for Everyone from Beginners to Experienced Users

The AP-WL is a lightweight equatorial mount equipped with dual-axis motors, offering an excellent balance of strength and payload capacity. Despite belonging to a compact class, the AP-WL is proud of exceptional stability rarely found in conventional small equatorial mounts, making it suitable for serious astronomical observation. The torque (clamping force) of the friction stop control can be adjusted, allowing beginners to operate the mount intuitively by hand. As soon as a celestial object is centered in the field of view, the mount automatically tracks it using the equipped R.A. motor.

Sleek and Modern Appearance

Featuring a smooth, streamlined design with minimal protrusions, it dispels the difficult-to-handle image often associated with telescopes. Combined with its lightweight body of just 4.2 kg (counterweight not included), it allows a full-fledged astronomical telescope to be handled with ease.

The internal contacts eliminate the need for external wiring, reducing the number of cords that would otherwise be exposed. This helps prevent accidents such as tripping over cords during observation.

Equipped with the Wireless Unit to control the Telescope via your Smartphone

The AP-WL mount comes with a Wireless Unit for remote control as standard. By installing the free dedicated smartphone app STAR BOOK Wireless on your device, you can use it as a controller. Tapping a celestial object on the star chart displayed on the screen will allow you to operate functions such as automatic GoTo slewing*.

*During automatic GoTo slewing, the telescope moves at about 100 times the tracking speed (sidereal rate).

STAR BOOK Wireless

App Store Google Play

Wireless Unit

Product page
Notice Regarding Wi-Fi Connection for Wireless Unit Users

Intuitive Friction-stop Control

By adjusting the clamping tightness, you can manually move the telescope toward your target, allowing you to point it at objects intuitively and comfortably. (Note that the friction control and automatic slewing functions cannot be used simultaneously.)

Polar Alignment Scope PF-LII for Accurate Polar Alignment

The AP mount is compatible with the polar alignment scope PF-LII (sold separately), allowing you to set the mount’s polar axis accurately and easily.

It offers a method in which three reference stars are aligned with designated positions on the scale inside the polar scope to determine the direction to the polar axis (compatible with both Northern and Southern Hemispheres).

The polar scope features built-in dark-field illumination, which makes the scale appear red against the night sky. You can adjust the brightness in 8 steps to your preferred level. It also has an automatic shut-off function to prevent battery drain from accidentally leaving the switch on.

Vixen offers a free "PFL Assist" app for smartphones and tablets, designed for use with the Polar Alignment Scope PF-L II. The app assists with polar alignment by displaying the polar scope’s reticle on your device screen and showing its correct orientation. This allows you to align the reticle pattern of your polar scope with the alignment stars visible through it.

Quick, Rough Polar Alignment

The mount is compatible with a Polar Meter (sold separately), which provides easy and rough polar alignment. With its altitude scale and magnetic compass, even beginners can quickly turn the AP mount to the celestial pole.

For more precise polar alignment, an optional Polar Alignment Scope PF-LI can be used by referencing Polaris. However, the Polar Meter is particularly effective in locations where Polaris is behind obstructions and not visible.

AE81M Optical Tube Assembly

This is an entry-level telescope designed to let beginners enjoy serious astronomical observation with ease.
It features a cost-effective design that remains affordable while maintaining essential performance.
The objective lens, a key factor in image quality, is an 81 mm achromatic lens that minimizes chromatic aberration. Its multi-coated surfaces reduce light reflection, producing clear images with minimal light loss.

The focuser is a durable metal rack-and-pinion type. The telescope comes with two eyepieces (140× and 46× magnifications) and an erect-image diagonal prism, which angles the light path by 90° for comfortable viewing.

APP-TL130 Tripod

The compact APP-TL130 tripod features adjustable telescopic legs from 60 cm to 130 cm long, combining the portability of a camera tripod with the stability of an astronomical telescope tripod. The leg tips can be easily switched between metal spikes and rubber-capped feet by twisting them, reducing the risk of floor damage when used indoors.

Tool-free Quick Setup

No tools are required for assembly or disassembly, allowing quick and effortless setup and takedown at the observation site.