Steve_M_M
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 976
Loc: Moorpark, CA
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Once in a while, one of those Ebay auctions falls to one of our Classic Forum members. Today, I picked up this..
Kosmos Ebay
I will post a couple more pictures, but the Ebay ad has some nice ones.
The telescope appears to be a 68mm f13.2 (just a close guess at this point).
After picking up the telescope, I stopped by Dan Schechter's house for a quick run through. The telescope is in good condition. The focuser is smooth and the focuser shaft is original, although quite thin. It has a slight wobble which I will repair easily. The tube is dent free with a few paint chips that have been repainted.
Dan and I looked at the moon and the lens performed well. It has a slight scratch of about 10mmm on one edge, but does not appear to affect the view. The telescope appears to have been made for table top use as you literally have to lay on the ground to look through it. I took a picture next to a door knob and included a standard flashlight so you can visualize the size.
The seller told Dan the ocular holder was about 1.32". It turns out it is actually about 1.20" as is the eyepiece. I will do accurate measurements tomorrow unless someone else (Michael) knows. It is definitely obscure. Finally, there is no cap or dewshield and clearly marks indicating one did exist.
The mount is Zeiss like. It has gear reduction on the RA axis similar to my 1950's Goto and Zeiss mounts I have seen. It is a work of art and is in good working condition. The knobs are Bakelite which should help us determine the age. Anyone have any guesses?
The only issue is the Dec Axis is either missing some parts or I have not set it up right. I have attached a picture showing the Dec Axis. As you can see, the telescope rides on a plate, like a tangent arm. There is another plate below that that houses an adjustment pin. This provides slow motion. Above the adjustment pin you can see a Set screw. The problem is there is nothing to hold the telescope against this pin except gravity. So, the telescope just spins around. Does anyone have any ideas on what is wrong here? There appears to be some type of spring loaded mechanism missing. As Dan said, I can get it to work with just a simple rubber band 
This is a really cool telescope. I can't wait for some clear skies to check it out!
Steve
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1956 Goto Optical 6" f15 Observatory Refractor
From the Titan Observatory as featured in S&T 1957-1959
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1961 Nishimura 6" Reflector
Edited by Steve_M_M (10/27/09 01:46 AM)
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Steve_M_M
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 976
Loc: Moorpark, CA
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The Dec Assembly...
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1956 Goto Optical 6" f15 Observatory Refractor
From the Titan Observatory as featured in S&T 1957-1959
&
1961 Nishimura 6" Reflector
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mustgobigger
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/12/07
Posts: 2421
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congrats steve,
i must have looked at that 50 times in the last week,
truly a work of art.
several of us tried to get him to ship but it was a no go.
i was going to post a who got it tonight.
try drawing that adjustment all the way out and close part
then look on other end and see if there is a little nub that would hold a spring to keep pressure on the adjustment.
just a thought.
congrats again,
Brian
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RV-6
Meade 826
Meade 880 Deluxe
Unitron's 114,128,140,142,150,152,155,160
4" Jaegertron
4.5" A.E f/14 Refractor
4" f/15 Edmund's Refractor
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Dan /schechter
sage
Reged: 12/21/06
Posts: 365
Loc: Long Beach, Calif.
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I can second everything Steve said. This is one cool telescope. It is very compact and surprised me on how little it was. I own a Zeiss AS 80/1200 from the early 1900`s and had visions of it being 7/8`s that size. Its not, but it is very solidly built, oozes German engineering, gave a great image of the daylight moon and moves very smoothely in RA.
Steve mentioned to me that he wanted this telescopoe for his office and it will be perfect. When I looked at the EBay picture of this telescope and saw a pier mounted equatorial telescope, I never imagined it would fit or need to be on a table for convient viewing, but it does.
Congratulations Steve and thanks for stopping by and showing it to me. You said on the phone it would cause me to drool with envy and it does.
Dan
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Happy-Idiot
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/06/06
Posts: 2823
Loc: 3rd Rock
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Steve you are a great person to have on this forum, you always seem to find the most interesting telescopes. The scope is a work of art, almost Jules Verne-ish.  I don't know too much about older scopes, but what i do know is that is in the right hands. Enjoy it Steve, i know you will share it with us in pictures and reports.
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Brian
A small scope that gets used often is a better investment than a big scope that stays in the closet.
Unitrons, you spend more time looking at them than you do through them.
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Jae
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/13/06
Posts: 559
Loc: near Boston
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Quote:
The Dec Assembly...
Steve,
I agree with you that it may be missing a spring loaded piece or even just a spring that attaches to the end of screw and through the loop hole. Would be interesting to see an original catalog picture. Maybe one of our German members could find one out of Stuttgart....someone that owns an old porsche there might have one.. 
Hey - nice pick up ! I couldn't believe the great condition !
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Jae
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clintwhitman
Caveman
Reged: 01/01/07
Posts: 2431
Loc: ValVerde CA(SoEasyaCavemanCanD...
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That is one strange tangent arm setup. The needle point fine adjustment looks out of place for a dec adjustment? Look like something off a carberator... LOL. Like I was saying today Steve the knobs are leading me to think it was made some time in the 40s or maybe 30s but the BakeOlite seems to have been the big deal in the 40s and 50s.
I would give the scope a 10 on the rare scope list!! I to looked high and low for information on it to see if Zeiss might have made the lens, but did not find anything really reffering to Kosmos telescopes, just books and otical devices like microscopes!! Plus it was all in German and my German is spotty at best... Awsome that you won it and I hope to see it soon. Dan If you liked it, it must be cool!!
Clint 
PS Steve what did you think of the Schechter Optical Museum of long Beach!! I was like a kid in a candie store!! 
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Clint&Debbie Whitman (aveman
1960s 6"F15 Jaegers-Unipons by John Pons on a Byers 812, 1947 4" F15 TINSLEY, 1965 10" F8 CAVE, 1950 5CM & 6.5CM Nippon Kogakus (the twins), 1960s UNITRONS a 152 restored a 160 numbered green lens original mint a 114 original 50s mint, 1950s UNITRON M100 100mm F15 OTA, WO 80mm Florite, ASTROPHYSICS 155 EDFS on LOSMANDY G11, a bunch of Tascos,Sears Mayflowers The list goes on Add infinitum.
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donnw
super member
Reged: 08/03/08
Posts: 166
Loc: Maryland
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Hi Steve:
Congrats on a really cool scope - and I think one tremendous deal too! That should have gone for at least twice that price, but the seller was fixated on a local purchaser who could pick it up in person the next day. (I tried all kinds of options to bid on it - even having a friend pick it up but he was beyond reason :-( ... Definitely glad to see a CNer got it (so we can see some more cool photos and drool a little more ;-) Cheers...
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Peace & Blessings,
Donn Williams
Member - AAVSO
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Celestron EdgeHD 11 on CGE in SkyShed POD GL5
Meade Lightbridge 12", SN10, LX200 Classic 8", AR5, 314 Brass & ETX125PE
Lunt LS60T/DS, Stellarvue SV102ED, SV80BV, SV80/9D, SV NH2
Cave Astrolla 8", Zeiss Telementor II, Unitron 114, 128, 142
Towa 339, Royal Astro 76/1200, Pentax J80, Borg 100, AT 102-F/11
Goto 105, Various Sears/Tasco/Selsi/Towa 60-80mm's
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tim53
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/17/04
Posts: 1454
Loc: Highland Park, CA
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Wow, how did I miss seeing that one?
Truly a beaut!
I must have seen the name and thought it was some modern Chinese scope!
-Tim.
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"We`re just waiting looking skyward as the days come down.
Someone promised there`d be answers, if we stayed around."
-Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, "The Romance of the Telescope"
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mustgobigger
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/12/07
Posts: 2421
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tim,
i posted it in vintage scope ads the night it went up for sale.
i knew one of you westcoasters would get it.
Brian
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RV-6
Meade 826
Meade 880 Deluxe
Unitron's 114,128,140,142,150,152,155,160
4" Jaegertron
4.5" A.E f/14 Refractor
4" f/15 Edmund's Refractor
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Happy-Idiot
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/06/06
Posts: 2823
Loc: 3rd Rock
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Quote:
i knew one of you westcoasters would get it.
better skies= better scopes.
Not too many nice scope purchased near NYC, even though thats where some of the heavy hitters came from. Unitron, Jaegers, Lafayette..... 
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Brian
A small scope that gets used often is a better investment than a big scope that stays in the closet.
Unitrons, you spend more time looking at them than you do through them.
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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1022
Loc: SoCal
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Steve,
Nice score! I'd like to see it sometime.
(Did you sell the Nishamura yet?)
-Lew
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I don't get no respect, but my scopes do! 
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1961 Swift 60mm model 839 (2); 2003 TV-102/GM-8; 1959 8" f/6 Treckerscope; 1959 8" f/7.4 Murray Scope; 1959 Fecker Celestar-4; 1978 4" Edmund Astroscan; c. 1986 4-inch Celestron-Vixen SP-C102; c. 1950 20X60 Saturn spotting scope; 1963 7X50 Nippon Kogaku binoculars; Unitron #114 alt-az mount (Swifty-tron)
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Steve_M_M
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 976
Loc: Moorpark, CA
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Tonight is looking to be clear, so I should have a good chance to test it out.
I am going to need a dew shield. It would need to be about 83mm or so inside diameter. Could you all check your various scopes and see if any of the common vintage refractors have an 83mm dew shield??
Until some of our german members pipe in, I am going to have to just wrap rubberbands around the dec axis so I can use the telescope.
Clint, yes Dan's house is quite the optical museum. It is really amazing. Dan, maybe you could put together a video such as Rod did? And Lew, I still have the Nishimura. It is sold, but I still get to use it :-)
Steve
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1956 Goto Optical 6" f15 Observatory Refractor
From the Titan Observatory as featured in S&T 1957-1959
&
1961 Nishimura 6" Reflector
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Steve_M_M
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 976
Loc: Moorpark, CA
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As has been the case for the past couple weeks....the mush rolled in right after dark. I will check it out next weekend.
I am still looking for thoughts on the Dec Axis. Rubberbands work well, but just kind of take away for the overall appearance
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1956 Goto Optical 6" f15 Observatory Refractor
From the Titan Observatory as featured in S&T 1957-1959
&
1961 Nishimura 6" Reflector
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akman1955
sage
Reged: 09/07/09
Posts: 366
Loc: Alaska, USA
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Nice scope steve!! Quality it is and more info / pictures on scope. congradulations! ...john 
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AaronM
super member
Reged: 02/02/06
Posts: 340
Loc: NRW, Germany
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Hello Steve,
I had the same mount, but unfortunately on my mount exact the same part was missing. I helped me with a simple spring/festher.
I'm sorry to say, that I have no more detailed infos for you. And : it's even here in germany very difficult to find old KOSMOS catalogues or data sheets !
The mount you have was produced nearly without modifications for a lon time ( perhaps from 1925 till 1960!!).
Regards Michael
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clintwhitman
Caveman
Reged: 01/01/07
Posts: 2431
Loc: ValVerde CA(SoEasyaCavemanCanD...
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U2 rocked the Rose Bowl Last night!!! Caveman and Cavegirl gotto Go!!! Awsome Star Gazeing!!!
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Clint&Debbie Whitman (aveman
1960s 6"F15 Jaegers-Unipons by John Pons on a Byers 812, 1947 4" F15 TINSLEY, 1965 10" F8 CAVE, 1950 5CM & 6.5CM Nippon Kogakus (the twins), 1960s UNITRONS a 152 restored a 160 numbered green lens original mint a 114 original 50s mint, 1950s UNITRON M100 100mm F15 OTA, WO 80mm Florite, ASTROPHYSICS 155 EDFS on LOSMANDY G11, a bunch of Tascos,Sears Mayflowers The list goes on Add infinitum.
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Astrojensen
sage
Reged: 10/05/08
Posts: 219
Loc: Bornholm, Denmark
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A little more info here:
http://www.achromat.de/oldpage/html/kosmos_1960_g1.html
Clear skies!
Thomas, Bornholm
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mare233
member
Reged: 10/25/09
Posts: 15
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Hi,
my name is Martin and i am from Germany, so excuse my bad school english. I read about your scope steve, so i logged in the first time. I am collecting Kosmos scopes.
About your scope:
Kosmos in Stuttgart never build scopes on its own. They only made their label on it.
Kosmos made only books and from the twenties on they began to sell science kits, microscopes,.... Ca. 1920 they sold their first scopes until the eighties. In the beginning they got them from Merz until Merz closed. From the sixties to the eighties they got them from Lichtenknecker. In the time between i donīt know there they got them. 4 months ago I got a catalouge from Tremel, and Kosmos and Tremel looked near the same, this can be a hint. The history is very difficult, because in World war two the house from Kosmos was bombed and all papers were destroyed.
Your scope is a "Kosmos E 68" from the fifties. In the sixties the knobs on the eyepieceholder (i donīt know the english word) were bakelit.
Before this time all knobs were metal.
For the missing part give me some time so I can give you a detailed photo from the missing part. I have some of this scopes at home (and no i have no Porsche / Daimler);-).
I hope i could help you a little bit. If you have more questions please feel free to ask.
greets
Martin
P.S.: If you donīt know what to do with this thing, send it to me.
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Steve_M_M
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 976
Loc: Moorpark, CA
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Thomas/Michael/Martin,
Thank you so much for the information. It is great to see little pieces come in and help me form the complete picture. The catalog link is great...Thanks!
Martin, any pictures you have of the Declination assembly would be VERY much appreciated. If you have a Tremel catalog, I would love a scan of that too. I guess you are saying that my telescope is 1950's and therefore is not Lichtenknecker or Merz???Correct?
Seems like Kosmos is the Tasco of Germany...parts from all over and put your label on the finished product.
Steve
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1956 Goto Optical 6" f15 Observatory Refractor
From the Titan Observatory as featured in S&T 1957-1959
&
1961 Nishimura 6" Reflector
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