My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

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StarBru United States of America
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My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

#1

Post by StarBru »


IMG_20210414_175301110.jpg
While searching for some 0.965" accessories for my 60mm scopes, I happened upon a New Old Stock Bushnell Sky Chief III Model 78-5700, 60mm f/910mm OTA! Made by Towa, it is the same scope as the Jason Discoverer 454x Model #313, only the Jason has a silver tube.

I was hoping it would be perfect, but being in storage for 50 years or so, there are some imperfections aesthetically, though minor. There are 2 small scratches and a few pits in the finish and one very minor dent in the tube that I didn't even see until a few hours later. The focuser assembly will need to be degreased and regreased with some Super Lube synthetic grease. It also looks like a few tiny critters may have gotten into the tube and left a little debris on the objective, no biggie as it should be easy to clean out!

I also ordered and received an all metal 0.965" Celestron by Vixen Deluxe 2x barlow, a 0.965" Celestron 16mm Kellner eyepiece, a 0.965" Celestron LPR Nebula filter, a 0.965" Meade #21 orange filter, all Made in Japan N.O S. with boxes and caps where applicable. ;) Also a Celestron Night Light variable red LED flashlight made in USA. All items from the same seller, and he has a lot of Celestron and other items. His name is Frederick Paulli at astroptx.com.

Wouldn't you know it, it's been cloudy ever since I started buying the accessories and received the telescope! Waiting for First Light!
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IMG_20210414_182823986.jpg
Bruce

Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

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Post by StarBru »


Here are some more pics I couldn't fit in the first post. Note: the EQ-2 mount in the first post is one I already owned.
Attachments
IMG_20210414_183014749.jpg
IMG_20210414_175247172.jpg
Bruce

Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

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Post by Ylem »


Very nice Bruce!
Beautiful scope :)
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

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Post by The Happy Parrot »


Can't wait to hear your first impressions. What a great find.
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

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Post by Thefatkitty »


Awesome find Bruce; hopefully it's one of the "good" Towa's. I have seven scopes that have Towa glass/mirrors, and so far, so good. Nice finderscope as well; I've only seen that on red 80's model Tasco's. Should be a lot better than the usual straight through!

All the best,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

#6

Post by Lady Fraktor »


That is really nice Bruce!
Antares still make 0.965" Plossl eyepieces: https://antares.space/eyepieces?q=Barre ... r-0.965%22
and Siebert Optics makes them as well and other accessories in this size: https://www.siebertoptics.com/Mono.html
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

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Post by MistrBadgr »


Hi Bruce!
That is a very nice scope you picked up. I have wondered if any of the old Bushnell scopes were good, simply because some of the modern ones I have seen were far from it. I am curious about the attachment on top, which I assume is a finder. Would be interested in hearing how that works out for you as well. Looks like you are in the .965 business now in a big way! :)
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

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Post by StarBru »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 5:19 am That is really nice Bruce!
Antares still make 0.965" Plossl eyepieces: https://antares.space/eyepieces?q=Barre ... r-0.965%22
and Siebert Optics makes them as well and other accessories in this size: https://www.siebertoptics.com/Mono.html
Gabrielle,
Thanks for those links! I have thought about buying a used zeiss 10x microscope eyepiece, but I am nervous about spending the money and finding out the glass isn't clear! I maybe just should take the plunge. Either that, or buy an eyepiece or two from Antares or Seibert.

I have a Meade 40mm MA and a Celestron 16mm Kellner in 0.965". With my Vixen .0965" 2x barlow with those eyepieces I can get 23x, 46x, 57x, and 114x. The zeiss 10x would convert to a 25mm for the scope, giving me 36x and with the 2x barlow- 73x. (All numbers rounded up!)

I really need to find a good .965" diagonal as the one I have is all plastic (an "economy" diagonal). Other than that, I have all the eyepieces I need in 1.25" and a choice of 3 hybrid diagonals to choose from.
Bruce

Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

#9

Post by StarBru »


MistrBadgr wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:07 am Hi Bruce!
That is a very nice scope you picked up. I have wondered if any of the old Bushnell scopes were good, simply because some of the modern ones I have seen were far from it. I am curious about the attachment on top, which I assume is a finder. Would be interested in hearing how that works out for you as well. Looks like you are in the .965 business now in a big way! :)
Bill,
So far I am a little frustrated with the prism reflex finder on top of the scope. I have not been able to observe yet because of all the clouds (go figure!), but I tried aligning the finder to the scope on a distant object in the daytime and have mixed feelings about it. After the first precise alignment, it will supposedly keep that alignment for a long time, or so I've heard.

First of all, the knob on the finder that drops the prism down, blocks the view through the scope until the knob is turned to raise the prism back up. Where this becomes frustrating is the knob is a little stiff, and the 3 adjustment screws and 1 center lock screw used to collimate the finder (just like with a secondary mirror on a reflector) are very tight. As you know, to align the finder, you position the scope on the object, lock it in, and then adjust the secondary, or in this case, the prism to the object. Except in this case, you have to keep turning the stiff knob on and off while looking between the scope and the finder because the stiffness of the knob is causing the scope to move from the object! Whew!

I will eventually need to find a way to make the knob less stiff, but for now I don't want to mess with it. I am thinking the stiff knob is attributed to the scope being stored for what, 40 - 50 years or more? I don't know the exact date it was manufactured, but maybe late 60's?

Of course, if I had a better mount the scope would probably stay in position better. Anyway, I think I have it close and will need to adjust it again when I can finally get First Light, hopefully tonight looking at the almost first quarter moon.

I have a few .965" eyepieces and a good .965" Vixen 2x barlow for now and of course my 1.25" eyepieces and hybrid diagonals, but yes, I am thinking maybe some more .965" eyepieces would be nice!
Bruce

Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
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Re: My N.O.S. Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.17

#10

Post by Bigzmey »


Congrats on the interesting find Bruce! While you are figuring out included finder you could attached with sticky tape red dot or Rigel finder to start observing.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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