Are Tasco Telescopes really that bad?

[SniffTheGlove]

I got my first scope back in 1998 and it was a 4in TASCO reflector with a 25mm EP. First light was with Saturn and there was this jewel in the FOV.

In 2010 when I got a 10in Dob along with Meade 4000 EP I look to see if they could fit onto the TASCO and there was a inner sleeve stopping down the drawtube dia, pulled it out and it was a 1.25in and in went my meades and got a much better image. Sadly the scope died early on this year in my garage fire.

For my first scope is was fantastic back in 1998

[den12386]

I to bought a Tasco 60mm refractor in the mid/late 70`s as a lad in his teens. I carn`t recall any other brand in the shops back then. The scope and mount came in one box with the tripod legs fitted to the underside of the polystyrene box insert. The box was yellow and black and had a clear plastic window on the top so you could see the scope inside. It cost £69 back in 1978. It was well used back then and now some 35 years later I have a 70mm skywatcher refractor on a Goto mount which was my 50th birthday present from my wife last November. The quality of the scope all round is much better than the tasco one and the mount, being a Goto, is just great to use once set up and allingned. It cost £210 new, wonder how much £69 is worth in todays money???

[Matt1979]

Did anyone else ever have a cheap terrestrial refractor as their first scope, like I did? I can remember that one of these was made by Humbrol, as I mentioned in my first post. Apparently the lens on this one was stopped down a lot, making it show only as much as an ordinary pair of binoculars.

[look_up]

Theres a Taco for sale near me, very cheap. Anyone shine any light on it?

[Rich MedRev]

I had two Tasco fracs in the early 70's, an awful 40mm with a zoom fixed EP quickly followed by a 60mm which was on a terrible Alt-Az mount with dreadful EP's. The finder despite being a 5 x24mm was itself stopped down.

The 40mm scope was also stopped down and at best reached 8th Mag.

I have a 20 x 30mm Tasco draw tube these days which I use as part of my pirate outfit, optically very average but it looks the part. Don't ask why!

[look_up]

(Un?)fortunately its gone so Ive directed my attention to a vintage Greenkat on Ebay. I know Im not getting anything amazing but if I get something for £10 Im not really going to lose. Greenkat anyone? All I can find is 60's 70's and Japanese, doubt theres much more to know really for that price. Its in a nice wooden box with tripod and

eyepieces in good order in plastic cases - 6mm, 20mm, two sun viewing lenses and 2X Barlow

[look_up]

Cant edit posts for some reason

eyepieces in good order in plastic cases - 6mm, 20mm, two sun viewing lenses and 2X Barlow

[bbottle]

My first telescope, like so many others here was a 70's 60mm Tasco refractor which was a Christmas present as I recall. It certainly gave me my first views of the planets and the moon in some detail. In around '82, I saved up and bought a Tasco 4.5 in (114mm) 11-T reflector which gave me some even better views albeit with a couple of crummy 0.965in EP's and a Barlow that should never be used (even worse than the EP's). Yes, he wooden mount was a bit wobbly and the 5X24 finder was stopped (!), but the mirrors were good and it was on a passable early EQ2 mount. I could never get rid of it and so it spent many years in the attic. A few weeks ago, I found it again and cleaned it all up, checked the mirrors (they were still well collimated!) and gave it a go one night. It worked so well that I am thinking of putting a new focusser in (1.25in), putting a better finder on it and adapting it to my NEQ3 set up. I think that I will keep all of the original parts for nostalgia!

[Siriusmeg]

eyepieces in good order in plastic cases - 6mm, 20mm, two sun viewing lenses and 2X Barlow

Sun viewing lenses (eps) should not be used - the light still gets too concentrated. Use a solar filter for the front of the OTA instead.

[Astralstroll]

The first scope that I looked at the heavens with was my friends small Tasco telescope. I can't remember what size it was, but one evening we pointed it at a really bright "star". When we looked in the eyepiece we were treated to the sight of Jupiter and the four Galillean satellites. We were both blown away by the view.

Dave.

[SniffTheGlove]

It worked so well that I am thinking of putting a new focusser in (1.25in), putting a better finder on it and adapting it to my NEQ3 set up. I think that I will keep all of the original parts for nostalgia!

You may find that it already has a 1.25in focuser fitted albiet with a 0.965in adaptor fitted. See if the adaptor come out. Mine did

Edited March 25, 2013 by SniffTheGlove

[Kropster]

Indeed... my grungy old Tasco 114 newtonian came with original .965" eyepieces (TERRIBLE!), fitted into an adaptor on the focuser. Removed the adaptor and it was able to take 1.25" eyepieces. Result!

[Matt1979]

I have recently bought a Tasco 5TN refractor - it is packaged with a microscope as the 49TN and the refractor doesn't appear to be sold separately anywhere - and I have been quite impressed so far. The x50 refractor has given me a small but very clear view of Saturn which was very recognisable and I have also had good views of Spica and the other brighter stars in Virgo with the refractor.

As I never had a Tasco in my childhood, I was really keen on getting the refractor (which I always wanted when I saw it in Christmas catalogues) and I am pleased that I have had good use of it. I don't know why Tasco have been criticised so much and also why some astronomers have given advice not to buy refractors smaller than 3 inches.

[malc-c]

LOL - Its nice to hear you guys speak so highly about Tasco scopes produced back in the late 80's - 90's

I Joined Tasco as an Office Administrator back in 1982, based in their Head Office in Old Welwyn, Hertfordshire. Back then, there was no real competition for the range of scopes they produced. There were the Tasco scopes and then you jumped up to Vixens, with the 102 Fluorite refactor being the most popular but was well over a grand at the time. By 1984 I was promoted to Product Manager and was responsible for answering most of the technical letters we received. My first views of Saturn were through an 11TR (4.5" reflector) that I borrowed from the showroom one weekend. Other than about three of the more expensive models (3TR, 11TR and 9T) most of the cheaper refractors had stop down rings installed as the quality of the single lens used gave poor CA. Yes, the stability of the mounts, wooden tripods and poor eyepieces took the edge of their performance, but placed on a sturdy pillar and using a decent eyepiece proved the mirrors were quite good for a small scope. Where Tasco really outshone was with their Binoculars, Rifle scopes and spotting scopes were decent quality and often used by professionals in their sports.

Back in the mid 1980's I was kept really busy answering letters and phone calls advising people how best to see Halley's Comet when it was due to return in the November of 1986. Most people used to believe that comets were bad omens, for us at the time it was a good omen as sales of 11TR's and binoculars went through the roof, so much so that the directors were air-freighting then in from China to keep up with orders from Argos, TV Times and a host of mail order catalogs.

It was a hard decision, but I left Tasco in 1987 as I was getting married and had an opportunity to earn more money in a new field which enabled us to get on the property ladder. I had some real fun times working for Tasco, the staff were warm and genuine people. I was given a pair of 8 x 40 Zip binoculars for my 21st (1983) and I still use them today - they perform every bit as good now as they did back then with nice wide field views of the night sky.

[Chris Rowland]

The first scope I used was an elderly 4.5" Tasco reflector, borrowed from my local Astro Society.

It gave good views. The light equatorial mount was poor and the finder wasn't good, I fitted a simple red dot finder.

It had 0.965" EPs.

I managed to see a number of deep sky objects with it, probably the most challenging was M97.

Chris

[malc-c]

Theres a Taco for sale near me, very cheap. Anyone shine any light on it?

The 58T is a small 2" refactor, originally retailing around £80. Basic Alt / AZ mount and wooden tripod. There have been reports of good ones resolving the Cassini division when Saturn was best placed, and it will pick out Jupiter and the four main moons, but with a short focal length don't expect to much magnification or resolution from a small aperture

[Matt1979]

LOL - Its nice to hear you guys speak so highly about Tasco scopes produced back in the late 80's - 90's

I Joined Tasco as an Office Administrator back in 1982, based in their Head Office in Old Welwyn, Hertfordshire. Back then, there was no real competition for the range of scopes they produced. There were the Tasco scopes and then you jumped up to Vixens, with the 102 Fluorite refactor being the most popular but was well over a grand at the time. By 1984 I was promoted to Product Manager and was responsible for answering most of the technical letters we received. My first views of Saturn were through an 11TR (4.5" reflector) that I borrowed from the showroom one weekend. Other than about three of the more expensive models (3TR, 11TR and 9T) most of the cheaper refractors had stop down rings installed as the quality of the single lens used gave poor CA. Yes, the stability of the mounts, wooden tripods and poor eyepieces took the edge of their performance, but placed on a sturdy pillar and using a decent eyepiece proved the mirrors were quite good for a small scope. Where Tasco really outshone was with their Binoculars, Rifle scopes and spotting scopes were decent quality and often used by professionals in their sports.

Back in the mid 1980's I was kept really busy answering letters and phone calls advising people how best to see Halley's Comet when it was due to return in the November of 1986. Most people used to believe that comets were bad omens, for us at the time it was a good omen as sales of 11TR's and binoculars went through the roof, so much so that the directors were air-freighting then in from China to keep up with orders from Argos, TV Times and a host of mail order catalogs.

It was a hard decision, but I left Tasco in 1987 as I was getting married and had an opportunity to earn more money in a new field which enabled us to get on the property ladder. I had some real fun times working for Tasco, the staff were warm and genuine people. I was given a pair of 8 x 40 Zip binoculars for my 21st (1983) and I still use them today - they perform every bit as good now as they did back then with nice wide field views of the night sky.

Hi Malcolm,

I was always disappointed not to have had a Tasco refractor for Christmas in the late 80s - the red 2 inch refractors were always in catalogues. The 5TN which you would probably remember is one of the cheaper models but it its almost, if not the same as the 1980s version. I decided to buy the 5TN so I could have a telescope like the one I always wanted when I was younger - and to see how good Tasco telescopes are. Although there are slight drawbacks, such as the fragile plastic focusing knobs and the plastic star diagonal, I have had good views of Saturn with the 5TN as well as Virgo and Libra. Not as many Tasco telescopes appear to be available in the UK nowadays, Argos seem to have Celestron instead.

[Hals]

Tasco 2" refractor, my first scope back in the mid 80's. First views of Jupiter, Saturn, phases of Venus, craters on the Moon, some double stars...and that's about it. The amazing thing was how I ever found anything in the first place as the "finder" was a pitiful plastic little affair and the mount was a very spindly alt-az tripod. I moved on to using binoculars afterwards. Still, I remember that scope fondly and finally ended up using it for solar projection. All that's left of it now is the dewcap unfortunately.

[RyanL]

I'm still using the 60mm refractor I mentioned earlier in this thread and this week have had some amazing views of Saturn that have blown me away.

[mindburner]

I had a Pathescope 70mm refractor with wobbly mount and one of those big AZ adjuster springy things that kept coming off or whacking you in the side. Pretty amazing views for the time. The focuser rack and pinion is hammered but it's still pointing skywards in the roofspace.

Edited June 5, 2013 by mindburner

[glowjet]

Apart from telescopes, I see mention has been made of their binocular products. I have a pair of rather dated 8x20 roof prism types, that I use in the country and at the coast and they are excellent optically and mechanically

[LeeB]

Just ordered another dovetail so I can put the tasco on the eq6, should be stable!. I think the weight bar will balance it with no weights.

[osbourne one-nil]

Very fond memories of my first telescope - a 60mm Tasco refractor back in around 1982. I loved it and used it as much as possible. It even came with me to university until, one summer, my house was broken into and everything was stolen. When I say everything, I mean everything, except for an Ipswich Town flag, onto which the thieves had written a rude message to the police. They didn't spell it right though as it's normally spelled with a k in it.

[hskygazer]

I have a Tasco SNS 1200 x 80 telescope made in Japan which I brought down from the loft yesterday. However its condition looks great considering I bought it second hand about 30 years ago. I am planning to attach my DSLR to it and test it out soon.

I was wondering if anyone knows where I might get an operating and maintenance manual for the telescope.

[Tonys]

I found my mid 70s Tasco 60mm earlier this year while clearing out the loft. I got it from Dixons for around £60 (around £300 in todays money?) at a time when proper scopes (3 inch refractor or 6 inch reflector) were out of my league. I set up the old Tasco one night and it was very poor indeed compared with my current Skywatcher scopes, both optically and in terms of the mount. My Evostar 5 inch with eq5 performs brilliantly and cost me £312 three years ago. We've never had it so good!