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SATMAN
sage
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 276
Loc: NJ 39.7 lat., -74.3 long
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Here are the promised Pictures of my Classic Tinsley restoration of 1983-1984,
The story:
back in grade school on Long Beach Island NJ, My school bus used to pass a house in Beach Haven, This place had an Enormus Refracter set on the second floor porch facing south.
Every day I used to wish I had one like it But in the last part of the 1960's decade there were no funds available in the family Budget for a telescope.
Years later I worked with the the man's son who owned the Telescope and inquired what had become of it?,
He told me it was stored in the shed with his deceased fathers fishing equipment, which lead to the question all of us ask how much do you want for it, $25.00 sold! being a 22 year old guy in 1980 this was a lot of cash with a car bills etc and a bad Economy.
I went to get it it was in horrid shape , But I am a pretty resourceful Guy, It had been left out in the elements and was badly corroded, the lense was shot, the tripod was in bad shape most of the metal was oxidized you know the drill.
First I broke down the entire OTA cleaned everything removed about 6 layers of paint, and started to rebuild.
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CELESTRON/VIXEN C102 GP REFRACTOR
CELESTRON SUPER C8 PLUS
VIXEN 90 CUSTOM REFRACTOR ALTAZ. MOUNT
QUESTAR 3.5 STANDARD POWER GUIDE II ON TRISTAND
CORONADO PST DOUBLE STACKED
BRANDON 94mm f/7 ON VIXEN POLARIS MOUNT
VIXEN PORTA MOUNT, QUARTER HALF HITCH MOUNT
BRANDON EYEPIECE SET (circa 1986) 8,12,16,24,32, 2.4X DAKIN BARLOW
VARIOUS NAGLERS 3-6 ZOOM,7,9,11,13,16,24PANOPTIC
ETHOS 6mm, 10mm
ZEISS 10X40B/GA T*P* BINOCULARS
Edited by SATMAN (11/01/09 02:22 PM)
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SATMAN
sage
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 276
Loc: NJ 39.7 lat., -74.3 long
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second picure, what a mess I had to soak the tripod head in penetrating oil for 2 weeks to free it up.
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CELESTRON/VIXEN C102 GP REFRACTOR
CELESTRON SUPER C8 PLUS
VIXEN 90 CUSTOM REFRACTOR ALTAZ. MOUNT
QUESTAR 3.5 STANDARD POWER GUIDE II ON TRISTAND
CORONADO PST DOUBLE STACKED
BRANDON 94mm f/7 ON VIXEN POLARIS MOUNT
VIXEN PORTA MOUNT, QUARTER HALF HITCH MOUNT
BRANDON EYEPIECE SET (circa 1986) 8,12,16,24,32, 2.4X DAKIN BARLOW
VARIOUS NAGLERS 3-6 ZOOM,7,9,11,13,16,24PANOPTIC
ETHOS 6mm, 10mm
ZEISS 10X40B/GA T*P* BINOCULARS
Edited by SATMAN (10/31/09 04:51 PM)
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SATMAN
sage
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 276
Loc: NJ 39.7 lat., -74.3 long
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I replaced the lense with a 4" f-15 Edmond Scientific objective, Shimmed the lense cell to accommodate the difference in diameter, repainted the tube and refinished the tripod and tripode head , At the time of this restoration no internet existed , my only guidence was Sky and Telescopes ATM section and the Librarys copy of Amateur Telescope making,
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CELESTRON/VIXEN C102 GP REFRACTOR
CELESTRON SUPER C8 PLUS
VIXEN 90 CUSTOM REFRACTOR ALTAZ. MOUNT
QUESTAR 3.5 STANDARD POWER GUIDE II ON TRISTAND
CORONADO PST DOUBLE STACKED
BRANDON 94mm f/7 ON VIXEN POLARIS MOUNT
VIXEN PORTA MOUNT, QUARTER HALF HITCH MOUNT
BRANDON EYEPIECE SET (circa 1986) 8,12,16,24,32, 2.4X DAKIN BARLOW
VARIOUS NAGLERS 3-6 ZOOM,7,9,11,13,16,24PANOPTIC
ETHOS 6mm, 10mm
ZEISS 10X40B/GA T*P* BINOCULARS
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SATMAN
sage
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 276
Loc: NJ 39.7 lat., -74.3 long
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The origional finder was missing so I replaced it with an old tasco 5x24 that I had in the parts bin, I left the origional finder mounts unfinished they were brass, The focusing mechanism was hopelessly damaged so I added an old tasco focuser it fit the outside diameter of the focusing tube (focuser was Trash Picked no Vulturing here!)
to function as a focuser with a home made 0.960 to 1-1/4" adapter made of old plumbing pipe. the tube cradle top fasteners were missing so I used 1/4 x 20 threaded screws with a electrical conduit hanger to cover the top of the cradle trunnions , this slipped over the treaded rod inserted into the tripod head and was held in place by an aluminum tube which was pushed down vertically over the treaded rod, wing nuts allowed me to control the pressure on the conduit holder which acted as a thrust bearing. I lined the underside of the conduit holder with felt to provide Grab to the whole assembly to prevent slippage.
--------------------
CELESTRON/VIXEN C102 GP REFRACTOR
CELESTRON SUPER C8 PLUS
VIXEN 90 CUSTOM REFRACTOR ALTAZ. MOUNT
QUESTAR 3.5 STANDARD POWER GUIDE II ON TRISTAND
CORONADO PST DOUBLE STACKED
BRANDON 94mm f/7 ON VIXEN POLARIS MOUNT
VIXEN PORTA MOUNT, QUARTER HALF HITCH MOUNT
BRANDON EYEPIECE SET (circa 1986) 8,12,16,24,32, 2.4X DAKIN BARLOW
VARIOUS NAGLERS 3-6 ZOOM,7,9,11,13,16,24PANOPTIC
ETHOS 6mm, 10mm
ZEISS 10X40B/GA T*P* BINOCULARS
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SATMAN
sage
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 276
Loc: NJ 39.7 lat., -74.3 long
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This wasn't as good as Clint Witmans find (Caveman) but it was my first large telescope that I owned , My first target was the Great Orion Nebula M41-42 , I was amazed the Trapezium was resolved cleanly and the images were contrasty , I collimated the scope by using Polaris and gradually turning the screws in the objectives lense cell until I got concentric defraction rings around a defocused star image.
Edmond Scientific produced excellent lenses years ago.
Epalog: I just had to have a Super C-8 Plus in 1986 and gave this scope to a friend with a complete set of RKE eyepieces who had an interest in Astronomy He told me about a Unitron refractor at the College he attended (Moravian College in Pensylvania)
(Prestons Unitron Small World) after a few years I believe he let it go and donated it to a school in Norristown PA,
This is the one scope I should have kept, It was my first rebuild many years ago and I used it under the stars as my primary instrument.
Me in 1983
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CELESTRON/VIXEN C102 GP REFRACTOR
CELESTRON SUPER C8 PLUS
VIXEN 90 CUSTOM REFRACTOR ALTAZ. MOUNT
QUESTAR 3.5 STANDARD POWER GUIDE II ON TRISTAND
CORONADO PST DOUBLE STACKED
BRANDON 94mm f/7 ON VIXEN POLARIS MOUNT
VIXEN PORTA MOUNT, QUARTER HALF HITCH MOUNT
BRANDON EYEPIECE SET (circa 1986) 8,12,16,24,32, 2.4X DAKIN BARLOW
VARIOUS NAGLERS 3-6 ZOOM,7,9,11,13,16,24PANOPTIC
ETHOS 6mm, 10mm
ZEISS 10X40B/GA T*P* BINOCULARS
Edited by SATMAN (11/01/09 10:39 AM)
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SATMAN
sage
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 276
Loc: NJ 39.7 lat., -74.3 long
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the modified trunnion assembly
--------------------
CELESTRON/VIXEN C102 GP REFRACTOR
CELESTRON SUPER C8 PLUS
VIXEN 90 CUSTOM REFRACTOR ALTAZ. MOUNT
QUESTAR 3.5 STANDARD POWER GUIDE II ON TRISTAND
CORONADO PST DOUBLE STACKED
BRANDON 94mm f/7 ON VIXEN POLARIS MOUNT
VIXEN PORTA MOUNT, QUARTER HALF HITCH MOUNT
BRANDON EYEPIECE SET (circa 1986) 8,12,16,24,32, 2.4X DAKIN BARLOW
VARIOUS NAGLERS 3-6 ZOOM,7,9,11,13,16,24PANOPTIC
ETHOS 6mm, 10mm
ZEISS 10X40B/GA T*P* BINOCULARS
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SATMAN
sage
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 276
Loc: NJ 39.7 lat., -74.3 long
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|
focuser photo
--------------------
CELESTRON/VIXEN C102 GP REFRACTOR
CELESTRON SUPER C8 PLUS
VIXEN 90 CUSTOM REFRACTOR ALTAZ. MOUNT
QUESTAR 3.5 STANDARD POWER GUIDE II ON TRISTAND
CORONADO PST DOUBLE STACKED
BRANDON 94mm f/7 ON VIXEN POLARIS MOUNT
VIXEN PORTA MOUNT, QUARTER HALF HITCH MOUNT
BRANDON EYEPIECE SET (circa 1986) 8,12,16,24,32, 2.4X DAKIN BARLOW
VARIOUS NAGLERS 3-6 ZOOM,7,9,11,13,16,24PANOPTIC
ETHOS 6mm, 10mm
ZEISS 10X40B/GA T*P* BINOCULARS
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