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Yet another telescope.......


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I have been feeling a bit poorly of late....seem to have a bug that's pretty resistant......on a bit of a low cycle really and being (a) a bit foggy of mind and (:) in need of cheering myself up I lost my mind on bay and bid for a scope which I won.......

It's a Unitron ( yes I know I already have one but this one was irresistible especially in my weakened state ). So I ended up blowing cash I had set aside for a PST and bidding and blow me I won. Must be the first time I haven't lost out on bay in a very long time.

Anyway it's a Unitron, branded Polarex. It's a late model, my best guess is maybe late seventies or early eighties and it's immaculate and complete with all of it's original accessories.

It's a real beauty though and doesn't look as if it's ever been out of the box.

Sighs .......I am probably going to die when other half finds out.

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Nice one AB :D

Those are very sought after, especially in the USA.

For some reason I keep looking at this one as a restoration project:

SNS ML-45 TELESCOPE..FOR REFURB........... on eBay (end time 06-Dec-10 18:59:55 GMT)

Strange looking scope but it rings a bell from way back - going to have to do some research but it's not too far from me :)

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Well if the reserve is where the the starting bid is you can't go wrong! Gives you something to do on these cloudy nights too. Brrr its cold =[

As for the other half finding out, tell him its his Xmas pressie and use puppy dog eyes and use the excuse you thought it was what he always wanted =D *cough cough*

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Yup it's that one on bay......a bargain really as they normally go around the 250 to 300 mark. This one is immaculate, still had itsvinternal wrapping paper with the scope, no ring scratches on the tube and the lens is as perfect as you could ever hope to see.

I am still seeking the equatorial mount that Unitron sold with this one at the right price.

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John that SNS scope is odd - I've never seen one quite like it but its very tempting for me - damn !!!

Anyway here some pics of the new baby. She was originally part of a Polarex 128 kit which would have included the equatorial mount. That was missing which is a shame so the pics here are of her mounted on my other Polarex scopes 114 Alt/Az mount which was restored by yours truly.

I knows its a 128 as it has the sun projection kit and only the EQ mounted scopes were ever supplied with that as standard.

Heres the firts two with the sun projection gubbins.

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Here she is in normal astro observing mode and a pic of the scope in its case with its accessories which include the full set of eyepieces, a Herschel Wedge (but strangely not the Barlow - what Unitron used to call an Achromatic Amplifier).

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An embarassment of riches - heres the two scopes together in their storage cases side by side.

Its interesting that the top one is the older of the two from around the late 60s while the bottom one is probably late 70s. The later one while superficially identical (and in better condition) is not quite so well made. It shows in the attention to detail in very small areas.

For all that the new one is still very beautiful and even came with its original instruction manual.

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Sy - I would estimate the new one was made at the end of the 70s but possibly early 80s. Its lens coatings arent quite as nice as the older one, some of the fine detail is less well attended to - nothing critical but its small things like the quality of the screws and fittings.

It appears to have had almost no use at all, no tube nicks or dents, lots of dust on it when it arrived but all the eyepieces covers are there, the accessories dont look very used and some of the parts still had their original factory greaseproof paper on them.

The manual is every bit as dreadful as modern scope manuals :)

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Herschel wedge..... Make sure you have a suitable neutral density filter before you try to use it! Personally I'd have got the PST, but then the forces of impulse purchases can be strong.... Like what I am typing this on!

PEterW

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Ahhh I know Peter but the cash would only stretch to a Coronado and much as I was interested I just love old things with a passion really and the Polarex called to me at a very deep level. If it had gone past £150 I would have quit.

Theres just something about old Unitron scopes that calls very deeply to me :)

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Ahhh I know Peter but the cash would only stretch to a Coronado and much as I was interested I just love old things with a passion really and the Polarex called to me at a very deep level. If it had gone past £150 I would have quit.

Theres just something about old Unitron scopes that calls very deeply to me :D

I can perfectly understand the draw - when I really started to get into astronomy in the early 1980's I took the American magazine "Astronomy" for a few years and drooled over the pictures of the Unitron refractors - they seemed totally unobtainable back then, which added to their mystique of course :)

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Twotter - get the 100RS - these old Polarex scopes are extremely good bits of kit but a modern TAL 100RS runs rings around them on every front - aperture, build, durability and ease of use.

I think one of the problems with old optics is like old cars they acquire mythical power. People big them up as being superb - in their day they probably were and the optics can probably give a modern mass produced scope a run for its money BUT they are fragile things with links of crankiness and in the field they can be a nightmare.

For instance scopes of this period seldom have a full travel focuser - so you have to pull the inner drawtube out to the rough focus point and then use the focuser for fine control. Trying to pull the inner drawtube out without disturbing stuff is nigh impossible and each eyepiece has its own needs, add a Barlow in and you have to change it all again. Under a dark sky it can rapidly become a real headache not to say a mite frustrating.

I just happen to have a passion for old stuff - so great is it that I do toy occasionally with the idea of selling all the new scopes off (with the exception of the TAL 100RS) and just concentrate on old things.

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One for younger readers who have only known top end glass for their eyepieces :)

Heres a pic showing the size difference of eyepieces from back when Unitron were top dogs.

Left to right a Skywatcher 26mm Panaview in 2" fitting, a Unitron 25mm Ramsden in .965 and a TAL 25mm Plossl in 1.25"

Back when Unitron was making scopes it was not unusual for all your eyepieces to be carried in a pocket :D Try doing that with modern EPs ;)

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Fascinating stuff Mel, thanks for sharing..and I know exactly why you feel like this about Unitrons. I had a beautiful 4" F15 Folder complete unit in the early 90s and sold it as I was skint with 2 young children, (shortly later, 3 of 'em)..have always regretted selling that scope.

Also agree with your view re modern scopes like the Tal 100RS..beats the Unitron hands down, in fact I don't think Unitron glass was the best, but their build was superb.

Glad to hear you can still be moved by these wonderful scopes...hope this will still keep you active in the hobby?

cheers

Dave

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Oh I dont suppose I'll ever quit Dave - at least not while I have cash available :D

I do keep toying with the idea of losing all the scopes though with the exception of the TAL 100RS and maybe buying something barmy like a Skylight F15.

The problem with most modern scopes is they arent very lovable - they are more like DVD players or televisions - you dont ever grow to love a flat screen TV whereas you could love a classic car or motorbike.

I could probably grow to love a Takahashi :D

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