1970 Scope

[Starlight 1]

I just won a little scope from the 1970s and still have its wooded box I put a photo in next week , still look clean so I clean the box up as it got some marks on it ready for the new show room I am doing this year/ I trying to keep the size down so I can have more room to show them, so I have 70s 80s 90s 2000 on . So I like to know of any good  makes before 1970s to llook out for .

[John]

Here is an interesting link. It's a collection of classic telescope catalogues which covers about 100 years but has quite a few from the 1960's, 70's and 80's. This should give you some idea what was about back then:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160201112755/http://geogdata.csun.edu/~voltaire/classics/

[Demon Barber]

Nice reference library,found a reference to a Vixen 80M i own,loads of info,thanks for posting,

Regards

Mike

[Putaendo Patrick]

So much depends on your budget! But there were all sorts of good or interesting (or both) telescopes. The 1960s and 70s Carton from Japan were great refractors. Uniton as well, but many of these command collectors' prices. Pentax and Nikon if you've got money! Go back earlier and you're looking at Zeiss.

If you're interested in popular telescopes, an Edmunds Scientific Astroscan would have a great place in your collection. More up-market is the superb (and expensive) Questar. Also look out for the early Celestron C90 Maks.

Another area of interesting small telescopes are those popular in the Space Race from the late 50s through the 70s. There were government programmes in the USA for amateurs to monitor satellite activity - partly astronomy and part national security - for example Moonwatch. Quite a number of manufacturers produced small telescopes for this purpose.

If you go back earlier to the era of brass telescopes, please take a lot of care. There are an enormous amount of copies made in India which are falsely sold as originals!

[Dave In Vermont]

Here's where more information on Carton Optical Industries can be un-earthed:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cartonscopeclub/conversations/messages?messageStartId=1395&archiveSearch=true

I had a 3" F/15 refractor in the early 1970's. From this group I learned the lens' for my cheap (in today's $$$) Edmund-Scienfic was also sold with the Unitron 3" refractor also!

Oh the nights I dreamed of having a Unitron! Little did I know then. Knock me over with a feather,

Dave

 

 

[Starlight 1]

Thanks for posting, This is a Japan one D60=F700 . paid   £21.50

[Starlight 1]

Well it come on thusday and I have been cleaning it up , just went out side to try it out  not bad at all for its age. push my luck and give the the 1970 glass Sun filter a go nice yellow sun ,

I do not look in the ep and put on to paper stay safe.  Just started on the wood work. photo time I go and do one.

[Starlight 1]

D-600 F700 

[bejay1957]

2 hours ago, Starlight 1 said:

D-600 F700 

Scope itself looks very similar to the one I bought around 1970, though mine had wooden tripod - always remember the alt slow-mo control never worked well.  Cannot recall any brand name, but it was around £20 from an advert in Exchange & Mart.

[Starlight 1]

The legs got lost,  the gamble was i have 3 sets of wooding legs but Unfortunately not the right ones for this mount .

[triton1]

I had to laugh at one of the last adverts in the Unitron manual when you buy the 6 inch refractor you get a 4 inch with it as a guide scope not for the faint hearted methinks a lot of$$$$$$ aswell.