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Rise of the Planet of the Long Focus Achromat...

canuck

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canuck

canuck

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A holiday through France brought a bit of news from 'Le Grapevine' of a vintage refractor for sale, so I stopped by on the way home to pick it up.

This is an impressive beast (I'm on a chair around 30cm off the ground to take the picture), with a fantastic mount. The makers mark is SYW and a bit of Googleing shows this scope may have links to the company that made Unitron & Polarex. Unusually, this 4" refractor is an F16...

Has anyone come across this slightly longer focal ratio in their travels? :)

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canuck

canuck

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I'd rather not mention price...sorry to disappoint. It wasn't like the 30-odd pound Towa mentioned on another thread though, I bought it from a knowledgable owner who knew what it was worth.

Looks gorgeous! Any more available?

Ant :)

Hi Anthony, he only had the one...sorry. :(

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JamesF

JamesF

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Just out of curiousness... what size is that finderscope?

Looks like it could be somewhere in the 350mm-400mm range with a 40mm aperture? You'd almost need a finderscope for the finderscope :)

James

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canuck

canuck

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Curiosity found a little more info on theses scopes... Telescope Reviews: Information about SYW wanted for article research

Yep, found that while I was in France...this information helped me decide to buy it.

Looks like it could be somewhere in the 350mm-400mm range with a 40mm aperture? You'd almost need a finderscope for the finderscope :(

Almost...

50mm aperture, approximately 50mm focal length (I haven't looked through it yet). The finder is a nice little scope on its' own and takes 1.25" eyepieces in its' own R&P focuser. No wide field finder is necessary when you have a scope this long...sighting down the scope is just as easy. :)

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A McEwan

A McEwan

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I would imagine that it'll be better corrected for SA and the high focal ratio will give improved colour correction. Whether or not the older coatings will allow its slightly larger aperture to show a brighter image or not... I wouldn't like to predict. Tal's focuser might be less fiddly though.

Ant

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JamesM

JamesM

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Congratulations on bagging a great scope and like Nightfisher, I eagerly await a first light report. I think long achromats are making a bit of a comeback and are certainly proving very desirable at the larger apertures (6" to 8") Appears to be in really good order and the tripod certainly looks fit for purpose. Do you have any idea how old this scope is?

Great find, made be jealous, await the report! :):D

James

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canuck

canuck

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It's a 1.25" focuser, typical draw tube for rough focus, then around 10cm in the R&P barrel for fine tuning. I believe these were originally pillar mounted, and the wooden tripod has been added at a later date. I have a set of Fullerscopes pillar feet and I'm considering making a pillar for it...however, it looks nice on the tripod too (although the legs are a bit chunky for my tastes).

No idea how old it is...at a guess I would say 1970's/perhaps early 80's. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

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When I first got into astronomy (1977) I perused the catalogs of "Polaris Wetenschappelijke Instrumenten" a leading supplier of astronomical kit in those days. I remember seeing a 4" F/16 achromat for an astronomical price in those days. I think it was of the Polarex brand, very similar indeed to these.

Regarding wooden tripods: my GP mount has one, and I converted the old EQ1 mounts aluminium legs to hardwood, resulting in a much more stable tripod. Vibrations damp out very quickly.

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