habsburg8
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/07/05
Posts: 802
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I need to learn more about a particular telescope sold by Royal Astro Optical Industries Co. Ltd. It was listed in their catalogs as Model No. R61-D. I have two of these in my collection and have found that the optical and mechanical performance is excellent. The lens diameter is 60mm (2.4-inches) and the focal length is a relatively long 1200mm.
I have access to a circa 1970 online Royal Astro catalog, but need further information about this great small refractor. In particular I would love to get another detailed image from a separate non-Royal catalog showing the scope. I also have these questions for owners of this vintage refractor:
(1) What were the specific production years for the R61-D?
(2) The Sears, Roebuck & Co. 1961 catalog only has it listed for $150. Did it carry the Sears label on the focuser?
(3) What other brand names and corresponding model numbers appears on the identifying metal tag? I have seen possible examples from Southerner and Carton. Is this true?
(4) What is the opinion of the optical performance from owners of this scope?
(5) What is the opinion of the mechanical performance from owners of this scope?
(6) Please contact me at 'My Home' if you have an additional catalog image that you can provide.
This information is intended to be incorporated into a January 2010 article titled "Classic Telescopes."
Any input is greatly appreciated!
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Happy-Idiot
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/06/06
Posts: 2802
Loc: 3rd Rock
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Did yours come with Ash legs? I have a 60mm AE-60 that is really a nice quality scope, and was wondering if all Royals came with Ash legs.
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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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Steve_M_M
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 976
Loc: Moorpark, CA
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John, Do you have any pictures of yours you could share?
--------------------
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: 362
Loc: Alaska, USA
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 Yes pictures brian ...please, john 
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stevenk
super member
Reged: 07/01/05
Posts: 143
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
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John hi
As you know I have the Royal Astro Branded R-61 which I believe is the earlier model but from what I have seen is and looks exactly the same as the R-61D. Saying this I have no idea why the difference in model numbers.
The scope is wonderful, better than any other scope of the same diameter and I am convinced better than the 75mm scopes I have looked through. This applies most definitely optically and I believe mechanically. It is significantly heavier than other scopes of the same diameter due to its steel tubing and its engineered lens cell and focus mechanism, not to mention its dimensions. Interestingly the tube is exactly the same width as a 60mm Unitron/Polarex.
Images are, in my opinion and of others, perfect. The focus is crisp and snaps into exceptional focus without deterioration at any magnification (have taken it to 300 - dim but exceptionally sharp). There is no purple fringing around Venus and as far as I can again tell there are no aberrations either chromatic or spherical. I was challenged by an associate to see whether this scope would define any banding on Saturn and the Casini division. And much to his surprise, on a particular night it did both very easily and it did very much outdo his more expensive 75mm f15.
I have found the Astro Optical scopes of which I have 3, are better performers than other scopes of equal or similar diameter, but the 60mm f20 is a gem and delivers the best and finest images of any refractor I have had the pleasure to see through to date- APOs included. I must admit though that the original mount is not sufficient for this scope and that I use a more robust mounting for viewing. This is the only complaint I have.
Hope this helps
Steve
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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Hi John,
I too own two specimens of this wonderful instrument.
a. one is labelled Royal-Astro Opt. Ind Co. Ltd. Tokyo (see label in this message)
b. one is labelled SPI Southern Precision Instrument Co. (see label in further message)
Both come with a collimatable cell. Optically they are both really excellent. They are superior to all the 60mm I have and tried (Unitron, Sears, Towa, etc. etc. etc.), including a Tak FS-60c. They are basically on par with my own Zeiss Telementor (although superior as per color correction). Inferior only to the Zeiss AS-63/840 as per sharpness (resolution and contrast). Still slightly better than this one on color correction.
They do have a perfectly white star test on Sirius and Vega and do show details you would not imagine on Jupiter (saw several breaks in the bandings and three festons on the equatorial bandlast time I used them...!).
The two mounts are identical. They came in an ugly, read "unusable", shape. I totally dismantled one and put it back to work. Now it is excellent and sturdy. Still the tripod is undersized if you want to run high powers (and, as Steve said, these boys do take 300x w/o problems...). The tubes do fit nicely on the Unitron 114 mount and they are a true pleasure to use as grab and go. To use the full potential of the optics you do need a bigger mount though. Big means neither theirs nor the 128 Unitron. Zeiss T Mount is fine. Bigger is even better.
Mechanically speaking the OTAs are very fine. Focusers are smooth and precise w/o any play. They are preferably to be used with a diagonal as the long extension needed to reach focus without the prism adds ridiculous flexure to the whole setup. They would have deserved a longer tube (although, as you know, they are long... see further pix). The Royal-Astro has the finder on top of the focuser while the SPI has it on the tube. As a consequence, the focuser of the Royal-Astro has a longer run.
I have no other catalogs than those on Robert's site but I do have the instruction manuals. I have to dig them out and scan them.
I also have detailed pix of everything. If you need anything specific just let me know.
This is all I can think of at the moment. I'll have a closer look and get back to you.
Hope it helps,
Max
PS/ Before posting, I went back to my notes of last year. I can confirm what Steve said: the 60/1200 did slightly better than the two 75/1200 I tested it against on three occasions (Unitron 142 and Royal-Astro itself...!). I did the test when I recalled than the Telementor did outperform the very same two telescopes the two occasions I had them side by side. So, indeed, I would put the R/A 60/1200 on par with the Zeiss T-mentor as per optical performances. The Zeiss is of course in a *totally* different league mechanically: a truly observatory instrument that can be coupled with very heavy visual and photographic accessories that would literally take the R/A focuser apart... but that's another story...).
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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The SPI label...
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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From top to bottom:
Royal-Astro 60/1200
SPI 60/1200
Tak FS-60c 60/355 (this is the "long version"... I should take a new pix with the NSV "short one"... really tiny... 
Zeiss AS-63/840 (now dewshield and with a protective pouch)
Zeiss Telementor C-63/840 (no focuser)
128 Unitron 60/900
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habsburg8
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/07/05
Posts: 802
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Max:
I truly appreciate the wonderful information that you have provided for me and our group of fellow collectors! I would love to see some scans from both your Royal Astro and SPI user manuals. When they are ready please contact me offline at 'My Home' on Cloudynights for further details.
Recently I had some machine work done and created what may be termed a "Royal Astro/Unitron hybrid." I purchased a pair of customized 70mm cradle rings from Parallax Instruments (they did a superb job) and remounted the optical tube assembly on a circa 1950s Unitron 2.4/3-inch equatorial mounting with tall wooden tripod.
The declination axis on the original mounting from Royal Astro tended to lock up in certain positions, making observing somewhat frustrating. I will post some pictures of my original and modified R61-D equipment setups within the next couple of days. I think that you will find them intriguing.
P.S.--Sneak preview: The forthcoming January 2010 'Classic Telescopes' article will focus on the constellation Gemini and the great R61-D achromatic refractor.
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habsburg8
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/07/05
Posts: 802
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Max:
Your evaluation is why I favor the bigger Royal Astro 90mm f/15.6 model imported and sold by Sears. It has just as good if not better image quality than my personal R61-D, plus the images are considerably brighter with a greater deep-sky range.
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stevenk
super member
Reged: 07/01/05
Posts: 143
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
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John have you been able to identify what is the difference between the R-61 and the R-61D other than age?
The R-61 I have is from the late 50s to early 60s as I have been advised. The 1970s Royal catalogue that I have, was obtained directly from an old employee of Astro Opt, and it lists the R-61D. Also I believe I had sent you a copy of the original instruction manual which relates to the R-61. Did you identify any differences between your scope and what was shown in the manual?
Steve
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stevenk
super member
Reged: 07/01/05
Posts: 143
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
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here is another of the label on the focusser with serial number 262017
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stevenk
super member
Reged: 07/01/05
Posts: 143
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
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And one of the scope on the original mount and sun screen
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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Quote:
The declination axis on the original mounting from Royal Astro tended to lock up in certain positions, making observing somewhat frustrating. I will post some pictures of my original and modified R61-D equipment setups within the next couple of days. I think that you will find them intriguing.
John,
Regarding the above, as already said, I fully dismantled one specimen, de-rusted, smoothened with steel-wool and re-lube the whole thing with teflon-based grease. Now is as perfect as it can be. No pbl with the Decl. On the other hand, the RA does need a careful adjustment of the screw at the back end of the polar axis to work at its best.
This being said, I did get back to the instruments and recalled that the SPI came from an auction w/o manual.
The Royal-Astro came from Germany with the original manual in German (see hereunder).
It would be interesting to see if the pages/infos correspond to the one that Steve got.
If I have to believe the notes of the previous owner, the Royal-Astro is from 1962.
As it is the case for Steve, the instruction manual calls it just "R 61". It might be that the D was added later on. No idea why.
The description is absolutely identical to the R61-D.
The SPI and R-A are basically twins. The sole differences are in the finder, as already said, and in the cradle which, in the Royal-Astro, is bigger, has two locking bolts and is more Unitron-like (the SPI has a one-piece cradle; see below).
Hope it helps,
Max
PS/ Hereunder the first pix. Royal-Astro. I put a longer dew-shield as I don't like short ones and I do use these telescopes.
Of course I keep the original...
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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This is the SPI.
It came in such a bad shape -- thanks God the optics was absolutely pristine and never touched -- that I decided to repaint the whole thing. Not to mention that the mount was rusty and fully locked.
Very many days and hours of work later, the scope was broken into several pieces that got de-rusted and cleaned. At the end I liked so much the result that I decided to keep it in its brushed-aluminum look. One can see the handwork in any single piece, really done by hand. I did not feel like covering with paint all this beauty. So like this it remained. As it was the day it came out of the hands of the workers and before going to the paint shop.
If there is an interest, I could post some details of the mount so you can appreciate the handwork...
Max
PS/ Now you can see the differences in the cradle between the two models. And also the different position of the finders. Metal cap on the R-A; plastic on the SPI.
PS2/ The slow motions are a loan from the SYW. The originals are in bakelite. The brushed metal of the SYW-108/1600 looks much cooler
Edited by Max Lattanzi (10/27/09 12:54 PM)
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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Now the instruction manual.
First the cover page. I have all over the documentation that "1962" handwritten by the previous owner...
Ooops, sorry, I thought it might have been better to delete name, addres, etc...
Edited by Max Lattanzi (10/27/09 01:01 PM)
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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Second page with description...
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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And this is how the telescope came.
Wooden case should be the same as Steve's. At least, outside looks identical.
Then this cardboard pack for the legs+mount.
In the manual it is also pictured another case holding telescope, mount and legs all together. But it's crossed. Maybe discontinued.
Max
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JamesE
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/22/07
Posts: 1112
Loc: Westbank, BC, Canada
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Hi Max,
On a slightly related topic. My pier mounted 15TEA wood case has a similar layout as what is pictured from your manual. Would you be so kind as to take a picture of the inside of your Royal Astro wood case.
Thanks
--------------------
James
(Thanks to Attilla for the Clear Sky charts)
Current Projects : Tasco 15TEA - 3 inch pier mounted planetary scope
Priorities : Wife, Kids
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Max Lattanzi
sage
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 216
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James,
Unfortunately the case is not with me at the moment but with a guy who is cleaning it (I have no time do everything myself...;-) Tomorrow I'll give him a call.
In the meantime maybe Steve can help.
What do you want to know, specifically? Maybe I can check if I have other images...
Max
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