Your refractor - let's see it
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
I've used it a couple of times recently for astro, Jupiter, Saturn conjunction, M45, because my binoculars are locked in the caravan and can't be retrieved due to lockdown.
Mainly it's used for checking garden birds after a heron appeared and to confirm the small critters in the neighbour's silver birch were chaffinches and not sparrows.
The objective is about 30mm and the focal length is about 300mm. In use it gives you an overwelming desire to talk like a pirate!
Regards
Graeme
Celestron 9.25 f10 SCT, f6.3FR, CGX. Sky-Watcher Evostar-120, HEQ5
ASI1600MM Pro, ASI294MC Pro, ASI224MC
ZWO EFW, ZWO OAG, ASI220MM Mini.
APM 11x70 ED APO Binoculars.
https://www.averywayobservatory.co.uk/
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
That's a sweet looking scope John. I've always looked at that as a future purchase. Are you happy with it? Looks like a nice A.P. mount and dome too?
Scopes: Celestron EdgeHD14", Explore Scientific ED152CF & ED127 APO's, StellarVue SV70T, Classic Orange-Tube C-8, Lunt 80mm Ha double-stack solar scope.
Mounts: Astro-Physics Mach One, iOptron CEM70EC Mount, iOptron ZEQ25 Mount.
Cameras: ZWO ASI2600mm Pro, ZWO 2600MC Pro, ZWO ASI1600mm
Filters: 36mm Chroma LRGB & 3nm Ha, OIII, SII, L-Pro, L-eXtreme
Eyepieces: 27mm TeleVue Panoptic, 4mm TeleVue Radian, Explore Scientific 82° 30mm, 6.7mm , Baader 13mm Hyperion, Explore Scientific 70° 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, Meade 8.8mm UWA
Software: N.I.N.A., SharpCapPro, PixInsight, PhotoShop CC, Phd2, Stellarium
https://www.nevadadesertskies.com
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Tony.
Smart Scope: Dwarf II - Club and outreach work.
AP Refractor: Altair 72EDF Deluxe F6;1x & 0.8 Flatteners; Antares Versascope 60mm finder. ASIAir Pro.Li battery pack for grab & go.
Celestron AVX Mount; X-cel LX eyepieces & Barlows 2x 3x, ZWO 2” Filter holder,
Cameras: main DSO ASI533MC; DSO guide ASI120MM; Planetary ASI224MC; DSLR Canon EOS100 stock.
Filters: Astronomik IR cut; Optolong L-Pro; Optolong L-Enhance.
Binoculars: Celestron 15 x 70.
Latitude: 52.219853
Longitude: -1.034471
Accuracy: 5 m
Bortle 4 site. https://maps.google.com/?q=52.21985,-1.03447
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Super coolKathyNS wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 11:34 pm My 70mm f/3.2 franken-copy-scope. It is made from a $10 surplus photocopies lens. The field flatness requirements for photocopying are quite different than for imaging the skies, so it has some nasty negative coma. Still, I have gotten some decent images of large targets like M31 with it.
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Celestron Onyx 80ED
Meade 80ST set for solar projection
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, Delos, 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.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.
Observing: DSOs: 3122 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2196, S110: 77). Doubles: 2461, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 261
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
I counted my refractors, and it seems I have 8 of them! How my other half hasn't kicked me out the door yet is a mystery...
However, I won't bore you with all my various Towa/Vixen made scopes; just this one. I bought this a number of years ago on Kijiji (local buy & sell) for $100.
It's a 1961 Tasco 12TE 60mm at
Now you're wondering, OK Mark, how do you know for sure it's a 1961 model? Well, I'm not 100% sure, but I think the following photo's are fairly good proof. Take a look at the second photo; notice the "star" marked next to the finderscope?
My guess is this: Bought in late '61 as a Christmas present, unpacked, and since A) the family probably spent a good amount of money on this and B) shouldn't the finderscope produce the same image as the scope? The reason for the letter.
Made in the days before Styrofoam packing was popular. The wooden case is mint, as is the straw and rice paper packing; even the rubber feet on the tripod legs.
Wood pieces for packing with green felt on the bottom that were screwed down with wingnuts. Almost 60 years old all this....
There was even 3 of these in the box to be sure there was no mold/mildew forming...
It also had a cardboard "hanger" from the Japanese Telescope Inspection Institute. This is both sides of that:
The only other scope I have that has anything "inspected" by the JTII is my Celestron/Vixen orange C80, and that's just a sticker:
And how does it do for views? I remember the first time I used it and looked at Saturn with the stock diagonal and 20mm .965 lens. What a Wow moment! I've since adapted it to take the 1.25 prism diagonal from my Vixen made orange tube C80, in which I use my KK Ortho's. You'd have to view through it to believe it. It's right up there with, again, my orange tube C80.
I don't have any
All the best,
"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4, AZ-EQ5 and SolarQuest mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.
Solar:
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.
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Everybody has one of these, don't they?
~87% illuminated Moon got its picture taken, too.
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Triple lensed fracs are so yummy when looking at planets.
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
It looks like a great buy! It seems a pity though that it looks like it has hardly seen any use, especially as you point out that it must have cost a bit, and was obviously initially unpacked when they noticed the finder-scope view. I wonder how many times since 1961 was it taken out under the sky?Thefatkitty wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:58 am Fun thread
I counted my refractors, and it seems I have 8 of them! How my other half hasn't kicked me out the door yet is a mystery...
However, I won't bore you with all my various Towa/Vixen made scopes; just this one. I bought this a number of years ago on Kijiji (local buy & sell) for $100.
It's a 1961 Tasco 12TE 60mm at f/11.4.
Now you're wondering, OK Mark, how do you know for sure it's a 1961 model? Well, I'm not 100% sure, but I think the following photo's are fairly good proof. Take a look at the second photo; notice the "star" marked next to the finderscope?
My guess is this: Bought in late '61 as a Christmas present, unpacked, and since A) the family probably spent a good amount of money on this and B) shouldn't the finderscope produce the same image as the scope? The reason for the letter.
Made in the days before Styrofoam packing was popular. The wooden case is mint, as is the straw and rice paper packing; even the rubber feet on the tripod legs.
Wood pieces for packing with green felt on the bottom that were screwed down with wingnuts. Almost 60 years old all this....
There was even 3 of these in the box to be sure there was no mold/mildew forming...
It also had a cardboard "hanger" from the Japanese Telescope Inspection Institute. This is both sides of that:
The only other scope I have that has anything "inspected" by the JTII is my Celestron/Vixen orange C80, and that's just a sticker:
And how does it do for views? I remember the first time I used it and looked at Saturn with the stock diagonal and 20mm .965 lens. What a Wow moment! I've since adapted it to take the 1.25 prism diagonal from my Vixen made orange tube C80, in which I use my KK Ortho's. You'd have to view through it to believe it. It's right up there with, again, my orange tube C80.
I don't have any APO or even ED refractors (as in nothing really worth posting), but I sure do love my achro's!
All the best,
Have you had a play with it? What are the optics like?
- Dean
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Triple lensed fracs are so yummy when looking at planets.
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Hi Dean, nice to hear from you.DeanD wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:49 am
It looks like a great buy! It seems a pity though that it looks like it has hardly seen any use, especially as you point out that it must have cost a bit, and was obviously initially unpacked when they noticed the finder-scope view. I wonder how many times since 1961 was it taken out under the sky?
Have you had a play with it? What are the optics like?
- Dean
The optics on this are really very good; it's a close second to my orange Vixen/Celestron C80 which is the best visual scope I have. The only reason it's second to that is because of the smaller
I've taken it out over 30 times, and from the shape it was (and still is) in, I have to wonder as well how many times it was used by the original owners. Also, how did it end up going from the USA to Canada as well?
Things to ponder...
All the best,
"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4, AZ-EQ5 and SolarQuest mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.
Solar:
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.
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Sounds good!Thefatkitty wrote: ↑Sat Feb 27, 2021 1:54 amHi Dean, nice to hear from you.DeanD wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:49 am
It looks like a great buy! It seems a pity though that it looks like it has hardly seen any use, especially as you point out that it must have cost a bit, and was obviously initially unpacked when they noticed the finder-scope view. I wonder how many times since 1961 was it taken out under the sky?
Have you had a play with it? What are the optics like?
- Dean
The optics on this are really very good; it's a close second to my orange Vixen/Celestron C80 which is the best visual scope I have. The only reason it's second to that is because of the smalleraperture
I've taken it out over 30 times, and from the shape it was (and still is) in, I have to wonder as well how many times it was used by the original owners. Also, how did it end up going from the USA to Canada as well?
Things to ponder...
All the best,
I think our obsession with modern glass and fast APOs can lead us to think the older scopes aren't any good. I have a Pentax 50mm f12 (currently sans focuser) that has excellent optics: I have seen nice detail on Saturn and Jupiter at around 100x, which is the usually quoted benchmark for good optics (50x/inch of
I also have a 4" f18 lens cell from the 19th century (which my artist daughter has been using for a room-sized camera obscura). When I managed to mount this a few years back (before she stole it!) it gave my TSA102 a run for its money on high-power (200x) views of Saturn. (Actually a huge run, considering I only paid $5 for the lens cell!)
(As an aside, I find it fascinating that when it is used as a camera obscura it can illuminate a king-size white sheet at the focal plane, and if you bend the sheet appropriately to follow the focal plane you can get a sharp image over a 6' circle. When you think we only use the (say) 20mm circle in the centre of this for our telescope views it goes to show how important it is to have good baffling in the tube.)
Modern glass has much better coatings (my 4"f18 doesn't have any...) so better light throughput, but not necessarily any better figure and finish on the optics.
All the best,
Dean
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Bought new September 2009.
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
I'm new to the forum. I've posted in the introductions section but I thought that I would drop in here because I am a great fan of refractors.
I currently own 5 of them. This is the largest
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
I have the Teleskop-Service version of the Stellarvue Planet Hunter, fine achromats
The only culture I have is from yogurt
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Celestron C11 Carbon Fiber CGEM II Mount AKA Cloudzilla
Sky Watcher Mak Cas 180 Ioptron IEQ 30 AKA MoonZilla
AT 92 on IEQ 30 Pro AKA ClusterZilla
Home Made 8 inch Newtonian Reflector on Rocker Box AKA Scopezilla
Celestron 4 1/2 114 mm Newtonian Telescope 910 F/L GT Mount AKA Frankenscope.
David
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Your refractor - let's see it
She works just as well as she looks. I bought another Mount for it but still waiting on the second counter weight. Very thick shaft on it like 28mm and I can't find any counter weights to use. Will post anopther photo of it on the Ioptron
Celestron C11 Carbon Fiber CGEM II Mount AKA Cloudzilla
Sky Watcher Mak Cas 180 Ioptron IEQ 30 AKA MoonZilla
AT 92 on IEQ 30 Pro AKA ClusterZilla
Home Made 8 inch Newtonian Reflector on Rocker Box AKA Scopezilla
Celestron 4 1/2 114 mm Newtonian Telescope 910 F/L GT Mount AKA Frankenscope.
David
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