Old scope from the loft

[TheycallmeRiver]

Came across this old 4" reflector in my Dad's loft this afternoon.

900mm focal length.  I guess somewhere around f/8.5.

He reckons his dad gave it to him about 50-55 years ago, no idea how long his dad owned it for prior to that.  The primary mirror looked in pretty good nick considering the bashing about the OTA seems to have taken over the years.  Secondary mirror not so great.  Don't even want to guess at the collimation

The 4/5 eyepieces in the box were all .965's.  There was also a wooden tripod and a mount in the box, alongside a finderscope, if you could call it that - Looked to be about 2cm wide!

Can anyone identify the model/age of the telescope from these pictures?  Quick google search didn't turn up much.

[DaveL59]

other than it's an old Japan made 4-inch (100mm) reflector branded Telstar on an equatorial mount, what are you looking to know? 

There's no apparent makers markings like circle-V or T or Z so hard to say who actually made it.

You might be able to get a suitable replacement secondary if you measure it and search various suppliers or even someone on here may have a suitable spare, they're just a flat mirror after all. Not sure it'd be able to take modern 1.25 inch eyepieces in that focuser but you might manage that with an adaptor and shifting the mirror up the tube to compensate for the displacement of the eyepiece.

Are you thinking to restore it or sell it on?

Edited June 28, 2022 by DaveL59

[LunaSwift]

Looks identical to my Tasco  Lunagrossa, circa 1977, I have still got it in MY loft

[TheycallmeRiver]

20 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

other than it's an old Japan made 4-inch (100mm) reflector branded Telstar on an equatorial mount, what are you looking to know? 

There's no apparent makers markings like circle-V or T or Z so hard to say who actually made it.

You might be able to get a suitable replacement secondary if you measure it and search various suppliers or even someone on here may have a suitable spare, they're just a flat mirror after all. Not sure it'd be able to take modern 1.25 inch eyepieces in that focuser but you might manage that with an adaptor and shifting the mirror up the tube to compensate for the displacement of the eyepiece.

Are you thinking to restore it or sell it on?

Well, mainly I was curious how old it was.   I like that i'd be at least the third generation of my family to own it, and I found it fascinating to look at and hold in my hands.  It's by a distance the oldest telescope i've seen in person.

I wasn't particularly planning on selling it and I certainly don't have the skill to restore it yet.

Maybe i'll just use it first?  I observe from a balcony at their house sometimes as it has a great view out to sea.  Next time i'm down there I might just set it up next to my own scope and see just how well it still works in its current condition.

[Peter Drew]

For terrestrial viewing. if you place the focuser and eyepiece in a top dead centre position, point the telescope at the object and then look in with your back to the object the view will be correctly orientated.    🙂

[Gabby76]

A very nice old piece of kit!

A bit of time and it should give some great views.

If you want to upgrade the eyepieces but keep things original Antares still produces their 0.965" Plossl eyepieces. 

Very good and not expensive either.  

[TheycallmeRiver]

12 hours ago, Gabby76 said:

If you want to upgrade the eyepieces but keep things original Antares still produces their 0.965" Plossl eyepieces. 

Very good and not expensive either.  

The eyepieces were in far worse condition than the mirrors were.  I may well do that.  Thanks.