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old astral scopes... are they any good?

garethmob

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garethmob

garethmob

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lol just revived a thread i posted along time ago and only just releised where it was posted to... :) the heads up area so posting it here too as most approiate

with solar maxium coming up i was thinking what their suitability for being a solar scope and makeshift planetary scope would be

i have an astrotrac so mount would be ok but i be looking at somthing like 100 - 500 (theres a 450 im considering atm)

id use a baader solar film on it too

i know theres cheap scopes kicking around but moneys tight atm and some of these older scopes fit the budget

thanks guys

gaz

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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Kingfisher???? I meant nightfisher appoligies I was in tesco buying dinner at the time I repled :)

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Thats ok, hopefully after next weekend i might feel like a kingfisher, as i will be doing a 3 night session on cromwell lake for specimen c a r p

these astral scopes turn up badged as "astro as well, i had one a little while back and it was superb optics, with a decent little focuser, a lot of them have .096 diagonals, so you might have to do a conversion

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Merlin

Merlin

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The PRINZ refractors are comparable to the SKYWATCHER refractors, but with the advantage of having all-metal parts, not plastic.

As with all mass-produced 'scopes, the quality varies from one to the other. Scopes'n'skies sells adaptors with married continental 24.5mm/1.25" fittings.

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garethmob

garethmob

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Thanks guys. I asked the seller of this one and this was his reply

" the only mark is a small silver lable that says TOWA no.3-16913. pat p. no.55-173314"

Does that mean anything?

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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Thanks guys. I asked the seller of this one and this was his reply

" the only mark is a small silver lable that says TOWA no.3-16913. pat p. no.55-173314"

Does that mean anything?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thats very good, towa optics are first class if in good condition, also known as circle T , i am going to sell my towa 80mm f15 as i just dont get to use it and it needs more TLC

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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dont know as the optic crown and flint need aligning and not had time to do this and use it, but not selling it for a while as i might still have a play with it

what price are you looking at for the one you are interested in, some times they go for next to nothing , other times towa`s fetch high prices

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billhinge

billhinge

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lol just revived a thread i posted along time ago and only just releised where it was posted to... :blob10: the heads up area so posting it here too as most approiate

with solar maxium coming up i was thinking what their suitability for being a solar scope and makeshift planetary scope would be

i have an astrotrac so mount would be ok but i be looking at somthing like 100 - 500 (theres a 450 im considering atm)

id use a baader solar film on it too

i know theres cheap scopes kicking around but moneys tight atm and some of these older scopes fit the budget

thanks guys

gaz

If the question is about old telescopes in general as opposed to a specific brand then I have an old Fullerscopes 3" refractor that I used last year before getting a SCT. The answer is definitely yes it is very good.

Funny I was thinking of making it into a solar scope with some Baader solar film.

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A McEwan

A McEwan

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Gaz, is it a 60mm scope?

I have had two Prinz Astral 500 scopes and both had very good optics that showed considerable solar detail with a Baader solar filter on the objective. Very nice build quality too, and as you say - they fit the budget. Be forewarned though, that the focus is done by pulling out the drawtube to rough focus by hand, then using the focus knobs to fine-tune it. The rack & pinion has about 2-3" of travel and the main drawtube much more than that.

0.96" to 1.25" hybrid diagonal recommended.

Ant

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garethmob

garethmob

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the 450 is a CAT scope but im going away from it after a review i saw of john on heres, but iv found a astral 100 (60mm) at a nice price, im used to the focus like that with the colters literal drain pipe focuser. basacally all i want it for is solar work, and thats light enough for the astrotrac:),

just one question, would it be worth stripping, repainting ect or leave it as it is?

thanks guys:)

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A McEwan

A McEwan

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The 100 is the one with the zoom-lens type arrangement isn't it? Personally I prefer to be able to change eyepieces for whatever mag I want, but I've not tried the 100. It only goes up to 60x mag - I think(/know) I would want higher powers than that for solar/planetary viewing.

Ant

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A McEwan

A McEwan

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The 500 is pretty decent, and conventional in that it uses user-supplied eyepieces (takes 1.25" ones if you use a hybrid diagonal or adapter). The 500 comes with an EQ mount, if you can find a complete one. The mount is not in the same league as modern offerings though.

The 400 comes with a hand-driven alt-az mount and has a slightly shorter focal length I think. Can't remember exacly the f-ratio at the moment. It too takes user-supplied eyepieces, like the 500 model.

Only the 100 has the built-in zoom eyepiece.

The 660s are bigger, being 77mm or 80mm I think, and with sturdier mounts. They are harder to find in good condition.

Other suitable scopes would be Meade 390s (90mm f11 alt-az), Vixen 80mm or 90mm Customs, Celestron C80 or C90 (f11) or Firstscope 90 (similar but later model), or in a more modern vein, the Skywatcher 90mm f10 is very nice too, and sits well on an AZ-3 for quick setup.

If you're looking for "old Tascos" make sure they really ARE old - they started going downhill in the early 80s with the introduction of plastic parts. Before then they had decent optics and better construction.

Good hunting!

Ant

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