Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Telementor dilemma


Recommended Posts

Well not really a dilemma as I’ve pretty much decided... but interested in others opinions of what you’d do @Stu @L8-Nite and other owners 

Yesterday I posted in the what did the postman bring thread my newly acquired Telementor which I was very excited about. When it arrived my heart sank straight away as all the optics were caked in decades old dust and there were several mechanical issues in the mount- a broken spring housing and stripped threads in both slomo controls (very common problem I hear) I convinced myself I could fix the mechanical issues even ordering an M11x0.75 dies for the threaded parts...

But on cleaning the objective and eyepieces things looked worse. The eyepiece bodies showed corrosion and paint loss from humidity and the 16mm ortho has typical worm traces in the coatings from fungus, but overall they didn’t look too bad.

 The objective on the other hand had me really worrying. Small pits were visible under a loupe in the front coating and clumps of what looked like fungus was visible on the inside surface. I gently swabbed it clean with isopropyl and optical cleaning cloths and superficially it looked ok. So I gave it first light last night.

i could certainly see the potential of this little scope with rich contrasty images of the moon. But everything was bathed in a hazy glowing glare like when my dob secondary has misted up on very rare occasions. The photos below don’t pick this up but it was unpleasant through the ep. The iPhone pics of the moon were pretty good actually- in some ways preferable to those I’ve taken with my dob although they all have a violet shift. At higher mags everything had a violet fringe and Venus at 140x with the 6mm ortho was shocking in its violet incarnation. 

Looking through the scope without ep and with a strong source of light offset a circular patch of diffusion can be seen and under the right light with a loupe this patch is filled with small pits on the inner surface of the objective. This is I’m sure fungal damage and irreparable. This is I think causing a diffusion and the hazy image.

So I wrote to the seller and informed him I’d like to send it back as tbh I don’t think I would use it much with all the haze/ flare. He’s been very good actually and asked me if there was a value I’d propose it was worth in this condition if I were to keep it. I bought it to look through rather than as a pretty ornament (which it is) so I think it’s going back. What would you do? Any opinions on if it has any value? I guess if I had another it’d be handy for spares but I have way too much junk already 

8A6E1FAD-39B1-4EDB-8BDB-166907BB1914.jpeg

86ED4428-3BAC-472A-AE7B-5587C203B204.jpeg

F211C01C-4115-40C3-97FF-1DA8D7BAF726.jpeg

B18B1AF5-668E-49EF-A940-27BA10355C71.jpeg

96D8102A-5025-40E1-9920-9B9C27284CBF.jpeg

4AC2277D-71F6-4D51-96C4-10032C76AB57.jpeg

9B1BE1C8-B08D-4683-95D6-8232C61923D9.jpeg

  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd either send it back for a full refund (my preference), or offer him to keep it at a price of no more than £50-100 IF you have the time, will and inclination to give the scope the tlc it needs to get it into some sort of fit optical state.

A good Telementor is a fabulous scope.

If you could repair the mount and the tripod is ok, they would be worth at least £100 or more regardless of the OTA. If you can dissemble and clean the objective, the tube would be worth keeping for yourself as long as you knew the residual value might be low if your cleaning left marks visible (even though the marks might well not affect the views).

Good luck, whichever you decide) 🙂

Dave

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It all depends on how much the original owner will let you have it for. I tend to agree with Dave it's worth about £100 in this state. If you can get it for that type of figure keep it and over the time learn to strip it down and restore it, think of it as a long term project, I have loads of these, keeps you busy.

 

 

Edited by Doc
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a shame Mark. Prices do vary quite a bit. Helen paid £350 for her setup which was similar to yours but in excellent condition. I paid £200 for my OTA in excellent optical and very good mechanical condition. I’ve seen them advertised for much more and can sometimes generate ‘collectors’ type prices.

I would tend to view the OTA as being worth little as it is, and the mount as potential for repair but obviously it will be a bit of work. Logically if you paid £100 for the mount, nothing for the scope then spent a bit on fixing the mount and picked up a different tube for £200 you would be in the same kind of ball park as Helen, although the eyepieces are also a bit damaged..... hmm.

So, either send it back or offer the £100 I think.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a shame to read you are having these issues. If I were you, I would probably send it back for a full refund. Another option if you are not comfortable sorting the lenses , is to send it to be professionally cleaned. Ask for a quote from the telescope specialist and then ask the previous owner to pay the bill. Or get the previous owner to atleast pay the quoted price up front, and then if there is any difference between quoted and final prices, to settle the final bill.

David

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to here about this. :sad2: I would agree with F15 Rules & Doc. The tripod and mount are desirable even if the optics are not. Of course, it all depends on what your investment was.

Also, you could check with APM Telescopes who are usually the go to source for Zeiss telescopes and accessories. I have often seen them sell Zeiss objective's in "other " tubes.

Perhaps they have a Telementor objective, or would be interested in what parts you might have available ?

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bad luck on this one @markse68. I wouldn't worry too much about the eyepieces as they can be replaced, but the OTA sounds very poorly. If those really are pits on the OG, it's had it.

The mount also needs a lot of skilled attention.

I'd send it back if it were me. If you've got to pay the carriage, you could also tell the seller you'd pay them that amount and keep it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for the input. It’s going back and I shall look for another. All good. The die means I’ll be ready to make replacements for the almost inevitably stripped slo-mo inserts when I do get one 😉

Edited by markse68
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

sounds like the right call Mark, if the optics were good then some fettling on the rest might be worth it, but unfortunately if the glass is shot you're pretty much done unless you're real lucky and manage to source a replacement. Not so easy on vintage gear for sure. Hope you luck in on another and it turns out to be a winner :) 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Dave1 said:

That is a shame to read you are having these issues. If I were you, I would probably send it back for a full refund. Another option if you are not comfortable sorting the lenses , is to send it to be professionally cleaned. Ask for a quote from the telescope specialist and then ask the previous owner to pay the bill. Or get the previous owner to atleast pay the quoted price up front, and then if there is any difference between quoted and final prices, to settle the final bill.

David

I had a another look at the moon last night - couldn’t resist. Despite the flare there’s just something very nice about it’s rendering- a Kodachrome like richness of contrast. 🤦‍♂️So now I’m seesawing again lol. Has anyone ever had their objective professionally cleaned by an optician? Got a ball park idea of what it’s likely to cost? Can’t imagine it’d be that expensive?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.