Polarex-Unitron 60mm f15 Refractor

[DRT]

I picked this up on Ebay last weekend for the Princely sum of £93. The seller was very honest in his description so I knew I was taking on a renovation project but thought it worth the risk to grab this little piece of history for not much money.

Here are some pictures from the unpacking this afternoon...

I spent a couple of hours cleaning the eyepieces, diagonal and barlow this evening so that I could give it a go. The focus tube, focuser and Alt-az mount are very grimed up and stiff so that is tomorrow's job.

I have just come inside having experienced my first light using this scope and the supplied 18mm eyepiece. I couldn't see anything through the finder but managed to line the scope up at Venus and had a fabulous view of it in half phase with no sign of CA. The view was very crisp despite the stiffness of the focuser, which made it difficult to fine tune the focus.

Lots of work to do to get this into shape but I am very pleased with my first few hours with it

More later.

Edited June 5, 2015 by DRT

[Fozzie]

I think a few of us were looking at this scope, glad it's gone to a great home... Looks to be in good shape optically too..

Looking forward to further updates..

[DRT]

Thanks, Steve.

The objective is much cleaner than I thought it would be and nothing like any of the other glass parts which were all completely covered in dust. The picture of the "Achromatic Amplifier" (Barlow) at the end of the above post shows how all the other glass bits looked when I opened the box. I was dreading taking the lens cap off the OTA but was pleasantly surprised when I did

Looking forward to the Moon coming up later to give me something easy to aim at!

[paul mc c]

Good one,i was watching this as well,it will be great on the moon,glad it is in a good place now.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice project there. The sym-ach 9mm brings back memories. That was my first "planetary" EP. Did sterling work in the 6" F/8 Newtonian I had built myself.

[Chris]

lol I was also watching this one.

I think it will clean up/do up very well and you'll have a lovely classic refractor to cherish

I'm also very glad it's gone to a good home  

[Chris]

Oh, and that objective lens and cell look great! Well worth the money just for that

[DRT]

I just had my first look at Saturn through it - very nice through the 18mm but a bit mushy with the 12mm. The focuser is the problem so I'll definitely spend a bit of time cleaning that tomorrow.

I must say that the mount is a fabulous piece of engineering. The slow motion controls are very smooth and precise and don't transmit any vibration to the OTA. I'm looking forward to cleaning that up too.

You're right, Chris, the objective cell is in tip top condition. The red paint looks like the original, factory applied, anti-tamper treatment to help maintain collimation and alignment of the lens elements. I read about this in an old article about these scopes and it seems to be genuine and untouched.

The hard work will be in restoring the tripod and box. Lots of rubbing down to do to remove what little is left of the original varnish and the top of the box needs to be completely replaced so I need to find some reclaimed plywood. I might outsource those bits to my now retired father-in-law

[Chris]

I was looking at the red paint and thought it must be some kind of anti tamper thing, it's good to have the fact confirmed for future reference

Great news about the mount, I was struggling to make head or tails of it when I was thinking of bidding, so it's good to hear that it works well.

Yes that box lid needs to be completely replaced, maybe you can get new ply and make it look old? I'm sure there's a trick using coffee? or is that to age paper? I take it this is why it needs to be reclaimed wood? Anyway, the rest of the box looks recoverable on the pics

[DRT]

Yes that box lid needs to be completely replaced, maybe you can get new ply and make it look old? I'm sure there's a trick using coffee? or is that to age paper? I take it this is why it needs to be reclaimed wood? Anyway, the rest of the box looks recoverable on the pics

That's what I was thinking. If I can get some ply that is weathered to a similar extent than the rest of the box but still sound it will be easier when it comes to oiling or varnishing it to get a consistent colour. Not the biggest priority at the moment but I think the scope deserves it's original box in better nick than it is now.

[DRT]

Here is an article written about this model by Company Seven who appear to have a number of museum pieces of astro kit:

Unitron Model 114 - 2.4" (60mm) Achromatic Telescope

[Roy Challen]

That's a very nice telescope you have. I completely missed it on eBay, but then again I have been doing my fair share of spending. I recently acquired a Tal R, and a Prinz 660. Just had first light with the Prinz tonight so report and pics due in soon:)

[DRT]

it will be great on the moon

It sure is!!

I've now had a look at the Moon using the supplied EPs and also my TV 32mm Plossl and 8mm & 13mm Ethos using a 0.965" to 1.25" adapter I bought this week - WOW!!

Still problems with the sticky focuser but I had no idea the small aperture at the front and the 0.965" fittings at the back would allow such a wide field with the Ethos EPs. That said, it was a terrifying few minutes trying to cradle the Ethos whilst not touching it so that I could catch it if any of the push-to fittings gave way. I need a more secure solution before I repeat that!

But this scope certainly seems to come into its own when the Moon is in the sky

I think some good quality Plossls is the answer for now

[John]

Very interesting scope - it's nice to own something with a bit of history

I've managed to pick up a 2001 TAL 100RT from e.bay complete with EQ mount and tripod within past few days for a great price. There are some bargains around if you know what you are looking for

My TAL came with the original TAL 25mm and 6.3mm plossls (v.decent eyepieces) but I'd like to get some classic orthos for it I think.

I must dig my old Tasco 60mm F/13.3 refractor out sometime soon and give that a run out. Thats a 1960's vintage when they were Japanese made and had decent objective lenses.

[DRT]

I think some good quality Plossls is the answer for now

Thanks to Chris's excellent early-morning sales technique I now have a set of Baader Classic Orthos incoming for use with this scope

I think I need to replace the 0.965" prism diagonal to get the best out of these but they should perform better than the supplied EPs and will have a wider FOV that will help me find things in the sky

[Chris]

Thanks to Chris's excellent early-morning sales technique I now have a set of Baader Classic Orthos incoming for use with this scope

I think I need to replace the 0.965" prism diagonal to get the best out of these but they should perform better than the supplied EPs and will have a wider FOV that will help me find things in the sky

lol I'm just waiting for FLO to open a East Anglia branch so I can give up radiography and sell astronomy stuff 

I'm fairly sure the BCO's will do well against your supplied EP's and they will be very in-keeping with the scope, you'll love the 10 and 18mm especially I wasn't going to sell them until our little convo but the SLV's are just as good optically and also have 50 degrees so it kind of makes sense not to have both  

I think there might be a .965 to 1.25" diagonal on Astroboot Derek?

[Roy Challen]

I think there might be a .965 to 1.25" diagonal on Astroboot Derek?

Yes, there is but it might make the optical path too long to use with a diagonal (depending on the diagonal), so measure first! My Lunt wedge doesn't come to focus in the Prinz for this very reason.

[DRT]

The hybrid diagonal is on its way from Astroboot. At £6 it's worth experimenting.

The supplied diagonal is a solid prism so lots of glass to go through. Might be a bit brighter with a mirror diagonal.

[DRT]

Good progress being made on the renovation...

The mount looked like this yesterday...

...but now looks like this...

I am even more impressed with this mount having taken it apart and re-assembled it. It is simplicity itself with only about twenty parts (excluding washers and bolts) and is as solid as a rock. None of those cheap, fragile Synta castings and stripped threads here

The focuser is now smooth and much easier to use than it was last night. It is a strange affair with a long free-running draw tube that has the diagonal attachment at one end and the other end slides into the body of the main focuser. The long tube slides in and out manually to achieve coarse focus and then a smaller tube with an adjustment knob and only about one inch of travel is used to achieve fine focus. I do worry that the long tube could simply slide out and hit the ground if heavier accessories were attached to the back end

So that is the main cleaning and servicing job done. Next is to sand down and re-varnish or oil the tripod legs.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Derek that looks a fabulous scope with so much history. You have done a fine job restoring this Polarex Unitron. I remember looking at Sky and Telescope mags from the early 1960s and wishing I could afford a Polarex.

Hopefully, you will be able to bring it to a future SGL star party to make us feel jealous. Look forward to reading further observing reports.

[Chris]

Looking really good Derek.

Don't worry about the focuser, just drop a Moonlite on it  

[DRT]

Hopefully, you will be able to bring it to a future SGL star party to make us feel jealous.

I certainly will, Mark

[DRT]

Looking really good Derek.

Don't worry about the focuser, just drop a Moonlite on it  

Stop it - you've made me spend enough today already!

[DRT]

I found a solution for the broken finder on Ebay today that is now on its way from Belgium so this...

Will soon be replaced by...

[Chris]

Result! great find.

Or should I say great find-er 

Edited June 6, 2015 by Chris Lock