A Sad Find

[Guest chaz2b]

How dreadful that a British made scope could last so long... Why not buy Chinese when, just after only a few years you can experience the joy of having to restore the whole damn mount! Nothing sticks better than ice on a hot window pane, the Chinese figured on painting their mounts without an etching primer so you can have an excellent retirement project... Aaaah.

Seriously though, bring her back to life and don't forget to post the results on here.

[dweller25]

On 20/06/2018 at 23:38, Les Ewan said:

HI All,

I was clearing out a old shed(at last)at the bottom of the garden and came across a old neglected friend among the old strimmers , lawnmowers and mummified rats ?.It was my first Newt(the empty tube anyway),its a Astro Systems  6" F8 on a sturdy and rather unusual altazimuth mount. British made ,and when I ordered it from Astro Systems back in 1978 I had to wait several weeks while they constructed it!

The tube is fibre glass, and although well made the mount looks like its made out of odds and ends(most of which was also retrieved).The 8X40 finder which I no longer have was made from a cut off binocular barrel.The focuser was helical that twisted but  most of it is now missing.It was supplied with a rather good 20mm Kellner which I sometimes still use.I saw Halleys comet with this scope back in 1986 I remember I sent the mirrors down to northern England to be re-coated especially for the event.

It was my main instrument until I bought my Siberia 6" f8 Newt on a driven equatorial in 1994(which is safely packed away in its wooden crates in the house).

I cant bring myself to put this old scope on the skip,I still have the mirrors stored somewhere once clean I may reunited them with the tube.

Regards Les.

That scope NEEDS restoring - maybe Peter Drew could offer some guidance ??

My first scope was also an Astro Systems - a 1985 8.5” Newt

[mark117h]

Hi Les

On ‎20‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 23:38, Les Ewan said:

when I ordered it from Astro Systems back in 1978

Crikey's, the scope is as old as me now, I was born in 78 lol.

[Tomatobro]

a couple of pictures of a control unit built by me in the early eighties. 12 volt to 230 volt ac for the synchronous RA and DEC drives with varying frequency to control speeds, film exposure display with audible warning, handset control and later interface to the first SBIG autoguider in the UK.

Ahh the joys of TTL logic.

Sadly now being cannibalised for spares

Bring back memories Tomato?

[tomato]

Wow, I never knew there was so much inside the box!

Ah, manual guiding, setting circles and developing slide film the next day, marvellous!

[Gina]

WOW!!  There sure is a lot in there!  ?