Help identifying equipment, please?

[AnnieWhite]

Hello,
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I am looking for some help identifying some equipment. It all used to belong to my Father-in-Law who was a keen astronomer, however he passed away in September after a short illness with cancer. Now my mother-in-law would like to sell the equipment to raise funds towards the funeral costs. 

The problem we have is that not one of us has the first clue about astronomy, so do not even know where to start in identifying the equipment and tell if everything needed is with each scope. 

I have managed to identify the scopes that he had as;

Altair Lightwave 66mm f6 EDR

Altair Starwave 70-ED 

Meade LX90 GPS 10"

Then there is a skywatcher explorer D:200mm which we believe came alongside his NEQ6 Skywatcher pro tripod and mount.

After that I don't know if everything is with them, so I have attatched images of all the equipment I have (I will add the rest to the thread if anyone can help me- or takes pity on me). 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. 

Annie 

Edited October 7, 2019 by AnnieWhite
Update to Pictures

[AnnieWhite]

SEE BELOW....

Edited October 7, 2019 by AnnieWhite
Update of identified images

[Carbon Brush]

Hello Annie.

Where to start?

You have some good equipment there. 2nd hand prices tend to be up to 2/3 of new price, assuming things are in good working order.
It would make sense to bundle certain items for sale. An obvious example being the Canon camera and the accessories.

I hope that a member near to Chesterfield will come along and offer to help you to sort things out.
That would raise maximum funds for you.

Alternatively, was your father in law a member of a local astronomy society?
Someone from there who knew him might be a good idea.

A person who deals in used astronomy kit may come along and make an offer for the lot.
This is the minimum effort/hassle route. But not necessarily raising much money.

I'm sure an SGL member local to you will be along soon.

Hope this helps, David.

[AnnieWhite]

14 hours ago, Carbon Brush said:

Hello Annie.

Where to start?

You have some good equipment there. 2nd hand prices tend to be up to 2/3 of new price, assuming things are in good working order.
It would make sense to bundle certain items for sale. An obvious example being the Canon camera and the accessories.

I hope that a member near to Chesterfield will come along and offer to help you to sort things out.
That would raise maximum funds for you.

Alternatively, was your father in law a member of a local astronomy society?
Someone from there who knew him might be a good idea.

A person who deals in used astronomy kit may come along and make an offer for the lot.
This is the minimum effort/hassle route. But not necessarily raising much money.

I'm sure an SGL member local to you will be along soon.

Hope this helps, David.

Hi David, 

Thank you very much for the reply I really do appreciate it. 

No, Chris wasn't part of any local societies, he did go to a few star parties but he really wasn't a social person. 

We knew that he most of the equipment from Rother Valley Optics so I did contact them and they offered £1000 for everything which seemed incredibly low to me looking at how much just a few of the items go for second hand on ebay etc. 

I did notice that your based in Ollerton area, which isn't actually that far away from myself, so if no one else comes forward would you be willing to meet me (I will of course come to you) with the equipment so I can get it sorted? Obviously I know that is a big ask so please do not feel you have to say yes. 

Again thank you so much for your time.

 

Annie

[John]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your Father-in-Law.

It is worth bearing in mind that the price of used equipment is usually around 60% of the new price, assuming the equipment is in excellent condition and full working order.

If you use e.bay to sell it you will have their fees and possibly Paypal fees to take into account as well. In the case of a vendor such as Rother Valley Optics, they will have expenses to take into account as well and will have to spend time checking that each item is in full working order.

I'm not saying accept the RVO offer but being realisic about the price that you might realise from the equipment is important.

I do hope you are able to dispose of the equipment for a decent price without too much trouble.

 

[Rob]

You have some nice kit there. I mirror what john has said here on correct pricing. You must do your research and price to around 60% based on condition.

You could use this site also - open a free account, no fees apart from Paypal fees

https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

Best Regards Rob

[AnnieWhite]

1 hour ago, Rob said:

You have some nice kit there. I mirror what john has said here on correct pricing. You must do your research and price to around 60% based on condition.

You could use this site also - open a free account, no fees apart from Paypal fees

https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

Best Regards Rob

Thanks for that Rob, I am more concerned about identifying all of the kit at the moment, so eventually I may be able to do the research to sort out pricing etc. Chris was incredibly precious about all his 'toys' so I know the condition of the kit will be high, but again I need someone who knows what they are talking about to look through and confirm this with me. 

Thank you for the tip on astrobuysell, I will add it to my diary for future reference.

Thanks,

Annie

[AnnieWhite]

1 hour ago, John said:

Sorry to hear of the loss of your Father-in-Law.

It is worth bearing in mind that the price of used equipment is usually around 60% of the new price, assuming the equipment is in excellent condition and full working order.

If you use e.bay to sell it you will have their fees and possibly Paypal fees to take into account as well. In the case of a vendor such as Rother Valley Optics, they will have expenses to take into account as well and will have to spend time checking that each item is in full working order.

I'm not saying accept the RVO offer but being realisic about the price that you might realise from the equipment is important.

I do hope you are able to dispose of the equipment for a decent price without too much trouble.

 

Hi John,
Thanks for taking the time to reply, i really appreciate it. 

Yeah, I understand about fees etc being incorporated into the values, and that RVO will have expenses to cover too, but still the price given just seemed a little low to us, looking at the price the second hand scopes (of same models) are going for in various places. That was not a dig at RVO at all. I appreciate they have a business to run and at the end of the day need to make money. 

The main thing I was looking for was advise on identifying the equipment, and what items would usually be with what. (Obviously if they are in cases together I get they pretty much would sell together. 

Thanks for taking the time to reply,

Annie

[JOC]

4 hours ago, AnnieWhite said:

The main thing I was looking for was advise on identifying the equipment, and what items would usually be with what. (Obviously if they are in cases together I get they pretty much would sell together. 

In terms of indentifying things, you might able to work able the simple things yourself and then just leave the photos up for the more esoteric connectors, and electronic gubbins.  As it is there are a lot of photos there and a huge list to work through.  If you could narrow it down it a lot you might get more answers.

Things like the eyepieces are easy.  They are the Celestron orange and black things with usually a cap on the top and a cap on the bottom.  You describe those as Celestron eyepiece and then look to see how many mm are written on them.  In amongst those is a Celestron barlow that the thing with a socket in the top rather than a bit of glass, that will have a muliplication size written on it, so that is a Celestron Barlow x whatever it is.

The telescopes themselves, should have a makers name and a plate or identifier on them - you describe those by the makers name then the name from the plate and they will often have a FL (focal length) and possibly apperture - often in mm and a F number i.e. 5.6 on them.  All these details describe the telescopes for selling.

The little shiny round things in black plastic frames that probably will find it difficult to see through are filters - mind you don't scratch them.  They may not be in their original boxes, but written around the edge of them it should say a makers name and a filter type, i.e. polarising, O-III etc.  These are the details that describe the filters

The little triangle wedges with shiny silver lenses sticking out the edge are called diagonals - they are used with refracting telescopes like the ones you have in the photos - these may have a name on them and on observation will tilt the image around either a 90 degree bend or I think a 45 degree bend (someone may need to correct me on the latter degrees) - so these are for example Brand name diagonal of 90 degrees - if sold with a picture someone will work out if it has a prism or mirror in it if they want it.

The red ZO ASI camera is easily found online, you don't need help with that one as it's in its box

Second set of images under the Altair diagonal are red dot finders of various types - handy little gizmos, but probably only worth £15-£20 second hand depending on type.  If you do an image search on google for red dot finders (RDF) you should find all those you have to check for new prices.

The camera has what it is printed on it, but that looks like some sort of specialised adapted kit that you might need an imager for.

Under the camera pictures is a field flattener, it is clearly canon - google image search that and you might find it.

Under the field flattener is a T ring - this attaches the camera to the back of the telescope.

Under the T ring is what looks like the battery charger for the camera - you had better keep that with the camera

Once you can identify what you have Google it all and ask about 60% of new price for it.

Have a bash at giving names to things based on my suggestions above, then delete those you've worked out and maybe folks will have a bash at what is left which won't be half as much IMO.

Just casting my eye over the items I think with a bit of effort you should make sufficiently more than £1000 for it all to make the extra effort worth while,  it looks nice kit.

[AnnieWhite]

7 minutes ago, JOC said:

In terms of indentifying things, you might able to work able the simple things yourself and then just leave the photos up for the more esoteric connectors, and electronic gubbins.  As it is there are a lot of photos there and a huge list to work through.  If you could narrow it down it a lot you might get more answers.

Things like the eyepieces are easy.  They are the Celestron orange and black things with usually a cap on the top and a cap on the bottom.  You describe those as Celestron eyepiece and then look to see how many mm are written on them.  In amongst those is a Celestron barlow that the thing with a socket in the top rather than a bit of glass, that will have a muliplication size written on it, so that is a Celestron Barlow x whatever it is.

The telescopes themselves, should have a makers name and a plate or identifier on them - you describe those by the makers name then the name from the plate and they will often have a FL (focal length) and possibly apperture - often in mm and a F number i.e. 5.6 on them.  All these details describe the telescopes for selling.

The little shiny round things in black plastic frames that probably will find it difficult to see through are filters - mind you don't scratch them.  They may not be in their original boxes, but written around the edge of them it should say a makers name and a filter type, i.e. polarising, O-III etc.  These are the details that describe the filters

The little triangle wedges with shiny silver lenses sticking out the edge are called diagonals - they are used with refracting telescopes like the ones you have in the photos - these may have a name on them and on observation will tilt the image around either a 90 degree bend or I think a 45 degree bend (someone may need to correct me on the latter degrees) - so these are for example Brand name diagonal of 90 degrees - if sold with a picture someone will work out if it has a prism or mirror in it if they want it.

The red ZO ASI camera is easily found online, you don't need help with that one as it's in its box

Second set of images under the Altair diagonal are red dot finders of various types - handy little gizmos, but probably only worth £15-£20 second hand depending on type.  If you do an image search on google for red dot finders (RDF) you should find all those you have to check for new prices.

The camera has what it is printed on it, but that looks like some sort of specialised adapted kit that you might need an imager for.

Under the camera pictures is a field flattener, it is clearly canon - google image search that and you might find it.

Under the field flattener is a T ring - this attaches the camera to the back of the telescope.

Under the T ring is what looks like the battery charger for the camera - you had better keep that with the camera

Once you can identify what you have Google it all and ask about 60% of new price for it.

Have a bash at giving names to things based on my suggestions above, then delete those you've worked out and maybe folks will have a bash at what is left which won't be half as much IMO.

Just casting my eye over the items I think with a bit of effort you should make sufficiently more than £1000 for it all to make the extra effort worth while,  it looks nice kit.

Thank you so much for that! I appreciate its a lot to go through. 

So far I have spent the day identifying the majority, so I will now go back and remove all the images I no longer want help with. 
Thanks so much, you have helped loads!

Annie

[Davey-T]

1 minute ago, AnnieWhite said:

Thank you so much for that! I appreciate its a lot to go through. 

So far I have spent the day identifying the majority, so I will now go back and remove all the images I no longer want help with. 
Thanks so much, you have helped loads!

Annie

Don't delete them I am just working my through them pricing them up 

Dave

[AnnieWhite]

8 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Don't delete them I am just working my through them pricing them up 

Dave

Ahh sorry, can I send them to you instead? I didnt get that message until I did it 🙈

[Waldemar]

Dave,

I respect and admire your dedication to help this lady out!
That is a rare thing nowadays... Chapeau!

[JOC]

All the things marked Barlow and a mulitplication are exactly that i.e. a x whatever Barlow with a makers name - they provide an effective magnification of that amount for any eyepiece that is placed in them.

Top photo as of now still looks like something that connects to the canon camera that was up earlier and provides then an attachment onto another fitting.  I don't know exactly what it is, but I bet it fits onto the front of the camera body

Ah......here are those ED eyepieces:  various sizes, but only variations on this one https://www.365astronomy.com/TS-Paragon-ED-14mm-1.25-Eyepiece-50-deg-20mm-eye-relief.html 

The top two of the second batch of images are both standard looking red dot finders

[AnnieWhite]

34 minutes ago, Waldemar said:

Dave,

I respect and admire your dedication to help this lady out!
That is a rare thing nowadays... Chapeau!

I agree! I think I owe a fair few people a pint or more

[JOC]

The thing marked Plossl under the ED eyepieces is a Plossl eyepiece of the given mm length, I think the one below that is also a plossl eyepiece - they might be the two original cheaper eyepieces that could have been supplied with the telescope when it was first bought.

[JOC]

Second from the top is a threaded adapter for attaching something of a different size to the focussing unit of the telescope, I use something similar with the T ring of my camera to enable it to attach to the focus unit

[JOC]

The image directly under the red dot finders in the second set of images is an automatic shutter release for the camera.  The camera has a bit of plastic on its side edge and if you prise it out the cable connector should connect to one of the sockets that will be revealed.

Edited October 4, 2019 by JOC

[The Admiral]

My take from this is that as we "approach the terminus of life"  (as Clive James so succinctly put it!), we owe it to our family to draw up a list of what we have, preferably with 'advert ready' photos. It would be a nightmare for those without any knowledge of what we do to sort out our gear.

I'm trying to heed that thought and have just started to get the list together. I've no doubt that when all our, err, junk, is contained in a list we'd be astonished at what we've amassed. Perhaps it'd be an incentive to de-clutter .

Ian

[JOC]

The thing marked YC with the slider above the IR blocking device looks like some form of voltage output controller so that when it is plugged into a 12V battery supply a different output voltage can be selected for what needs to be powered.  You need to search for a suitable socket to plug it into on an item that might need 18-19V power as that is what it is set to at the moment.  I must admit the end looks very similar to computer socket (was there a portable PC in the kit?), or maybe something like a dew controller (a strip of fabric with a cable running through it).

The two tall cylinders with IR markings on one end.  I think these are generic cameras for fitting into the focusser unit to take photos of thing like planets.  I think the IR rims are separate items and I bet they unscrew to produce two separate infrared filters like this one: https://www.tringastro.co.uk/altair-astro-planet-killer-685nm-premium-ir-pass-filter-with-ar-coating-10246-p.asp

The last photo looks like some form of sender/receiver for a web based connection.  If the telescopes had an onboard computer on their tripods this might plug in to it either obtain GPS directions directly or connect to produce a WiFi signal which could then be used to hook up a WiFi receiving device like a portable computer or mobile phone so that GPS data can be obtained to drive the system.

[AnnieWhite]

2 hours ago, The Admiral said:

My take from this is that as we "approach the terminus of life"  (as Clive James so succinctly put it!), we owe it to our family to draw up a list of what we have, preferably with 'advert ready' photos. It would be a nightmare for those without any knowledge of what we do to sort out our gear.

I'm trying to heed that thought and have just started to get the list together. I've no doubt that when all our, err, junk, is contained in a list we'd be astonished at what we've amassed. Perhaps it'd be an incentive to de-clutter .

Ian

If I could give anyone a piece of advice in life, its make a list of you hobby 'tools' I do embroidery and I know full well none of my family would have a clue, so I now have a list with pictures for them to use, in case of my early demise.  Enjoy your de-clutter!

[AnnieWhite]

Well Gents, 

 I honestly can't thank you all enough! I have now got the majority of stuff on ebay (user: zifnab4x4) 
There are a few really random bits that I dont have a clue what to do with or what they are for so I will add the photos after this post. 

Again, a million times thank you. 

Annie

[AnnieWhite]

These are the last few bits I cant label, I know the first 3 are of the same item, but I cant make out the name (in blue) on it at all. 

Kind Regards,

Annie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by AnnieWhite
Removal of identified objects

[The Admiral]

12 minutes ago, AnnieWhite said:

Enjoy your de-clutter!

Huh ha! I just said an incentive, not that I'd actually do it!

Ian

[Peter_D]

Hi Annie,

Sorry to hear about your loss.

The first 3 photos are a 'Teleskop Service 7mm HR' eyepiece. I  have the same eyepiece except it is a 4mm one. 

Best regards

Peter

Edited October 7, 2019 by Peter_D