Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Bill Burton (a good friend of the late Ron Ravneburg, creator of the first Fecker Celestar Telescope Registry, which I took over) had the good fortune of acquiring an 8-inch f/8 Trecker Scope off of CL last month.
Initially, the seller wasn't willing to ship it from his home in Oklahoma to Bill in Ohio, but he eventually relented. This was a real nail biter of a sale for Bill. He had been wanting to own a Trecker Scope for a long time, and his wish has finally been realized. 
This one is a really nice, totally original standard model without clock drive but with setting circles. I believe Bill said it came with one or two Ortho-Stars. Bill completely disassembed it, cleaned it and put it back together as you can see in the picture below. It shares some of the same tube components as Cave Astrolas of that era.
First light revealed that its optics are very good indeed. Bill is waiting for a night of better seeing to really put it to the test, but first impressions, based on observations of Jupiter and its moons, were very positive.
There is no definite way to date this scope. The mirror is unsigned and undated and the serial no. offers no direct clue. However, the mount looks to be from 1957 or 1958, based on ads in S&T. During that period Leland Barnes was still making mirrors for the maker, Coast Instrument, Inc. of Long Beach, California. But there is an old sticker on the mirror back put there by Keim Precision Optical of Glendale, California. Keim was a contemporary of Pancro Mirrors. Both did mirror aluminizing, but I believe Keim also made optics, so this mirror could have been made by Keim for Coast Instrument, but we may never know for sure.
I posted this thread without Bill's permission, but I think he won't mind. (Will you, Bill???)
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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)
Edited by Lew Chilton (11/08/09 05:04 PM)
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CHASLX200
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/29/07
Posts: 1808
Loc: Tampa area Florida
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Looks like a 8" F/8.
Chas
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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Quote:
Looks like a 8" F/8.
Chas
BINGO! 
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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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gnowellsct
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/24/09
Posts: 729
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The GEM head attachment to the pier looks very different--from contemporary practice or past practice. Could you give us close up? Greg N
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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
featuring selected astrojunk:
bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff
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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Quote:
The GEM head attachment to the pier looks very different--from contemporary practice or past practice. Could you give us close up? Greg N
Here's another view of the Trecker Scope. Modern looking mount for 1957 or 1958?
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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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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Here is the curved screw that is used to adjust for latitude.
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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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gnowellsct
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/24/09
Posts: 729
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wow that's really wild. Thank you for posting extra pictures. I'm not smart enough to figure out how that altitude adjuster works. Looks wacky.
What is the thing made of? Or is that just an offbeat finish?
Greg N
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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
featuring selected astrojunk:
bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff
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RLTYS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/18/04
Posts: 2144
Loc: New York (Long Island)
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 That is one interesting looking mount.
Rich (RLTYS)
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10" F4.8 Refl.
4" F5 Refr. (Genesis)
3" F4 Celestron FirstScope
50mm F12 Refr. (Tasco #6TE-5)
12x63 and 10x50 Binoculars.
"I want to do more then just look."
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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Here's a picture of another Trecker Scope (also called Treckerscope) that was just sent to me by well-known amateur astronomer and photographer, John Sanford, who has been a long-time member of the Orange County (California) Astronomers (OCA). He is retired and living in a community of retired amateur astronomers in Kern County, California.
John was scanning some of his old negatives and ran across this picture that he took in 1972. It was taken at a star party hosted by the OCA, probably at a park in Orange County, California. The owner of this 8-inch ~f/6 Treckerscope (the same optical specs as mine!) was Victor Wagner, standing at left. That mount - all aluminum castings - was very beefy and could easily have held a 10-inch, don't you think?
I imagine that many of you reading this post have never heard of a Trecker Scope, let alone seen one, which is why I'm posting these pix.
Coast Instrument, Inc. of Long Beach, California, made the Trecker Scope. It was my first visit (by bicycle) to Coast Instrument in September 1957 that solidified my interest in astronomy and telescopes. They treated me so well at Coast and more than once rolled out a telescope onto the front sidewalk for me to use, which is why I have such fond memories of the store, the staff and the scopes they produced.
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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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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Here's a picture of my 8" f/6 Treckerscope at the time I picked it up from the owner of a pawnshop in Los Angeles. He was very savvy when it came to telescope prices, having sold a number of Celestrons and other scopes on eBay, which is how I acquired this one. It looks very similar to the one in the B+W photo above. I reckon mine was built shortly after March 31, 1959, the date inscribed on it's mirror, which still has the original Pancro sticker. (Note the dated photo - the date I acquired this scope.)
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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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CHASLX200
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/29/07
Posts: 1808
Loc: Tampa area Florida
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I wonder if Treckerscope used Parks tubes? It kinda looks like a Parks tube.
Chas
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actionhac
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/09/08
Posts: 732
Loc: WA
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I wonder who made those finders, I've seen them before on Caves. They look like binocular parts with the prism section removed and replaced with a tube.
Yours looks like it's set up for entimology!
Robert
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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Yes, those were Parks fiberglass tubes. Parks was located in Torrance, Calif., only about 15 - 20 miles from Coast Instrument and Cave Optical in Long Beach.
Yup, in the picture above the finder is definitely pointing at the ground.  These finders were used by Coast Instrument for about 3 of the 5 years it manufactured Treckerscopes and by Cave for a few years. Don't know who supplied them, but they were definitely made from binocular parts (I currently own two), which makes them easy to reproduce today.
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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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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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In 1958 or 1959, I rode my bicycle to Coast Instrument, Inc. in Long Beach, California to pick up their latest catalog, the Fall 1958-Spring 1959 issue. As almost all of us have done, I read it from cover to cover, dreamed and drooled. I even read the testimonials at the beginning of the catalog.
One of those testimonials was from a satisfied customer named Robin who extolled his satisfaction with his new Treckerscope, comparing its performance on the Ring Nebula, M13, the Double Cluster in Perseus and the moon with his 3" refractor.
Fast forward 50 years to 2008. An amateur astronomer friend of mine, Mike O'Neal, e-mailed me a picture of a Treckerscope that he had obtained from its owner, Robin. My friend knows I'm into Treckerscopes and thought I'd be interested in this old period photograph of Robin and his 10-inch Deluxe Treckerscope. I was even given Robin's phone number. (Turns out Robin lives only 10 to 12 miles from me.)
I called Robin, we chatted briefly, but I was unable to arrange a meeting with him or see his old Treckerscope.
Fast forward another year, to a few nights ago. I'm reviewing the Coast Instrument catalog again and re-reading the testimonials. My eyes stop at Robin's letter, then the gears in my head overcome their rust and inertia and start turning. Whoa, could the Robin in the 1958 testimonial letter, the Robin in the period photograph and the Robin I talked to a year ago be the same person?
I made a quick phone call to Robin, left a message, then got a call-back from him yesterday. I asked, "Robin, are you the same Robin whose testimonial letter was published in the 1958-1959 Coast Instrument catalog? "Yes," he replied. Yes, indeed!!!
Robin informed me that he owned a 3-inch Unitron when his dad purchased the 10-inch Treckerscope for him in 1958. In the picture below, Robin was 14. That was 51 years ago!!
He still owns the Treckerscope but hasn't had it set up in many, many years. I hope to visit Robin soon to meet him, see his Treckerscope, show him his testimonial letter in the Coast Instrument catalog and take a picture like the one he posed for 51 years ago. If I get that picture, I'll post it here.
Here's Robin 51 years ago when he lived in Laguna Beach, California.
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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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albert1
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/01/07
Posts: 1368
Loc: Northern New Jersey
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Too much Lew, too much. That's a great story. Hope you do get that new pic of Robin.
He was one lucky kid  .
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Albert
1 Great 'ole Newt
4 Good 'ole Newts
2 Great 'ole Cats
1 Lousy 'ole Newt
One of these days I'll try a Refractor better than my 90mm finderscope
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akman1955
sage
Reged: 09/07/09
Posts: 360
Loc: Alaska, USA
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 This is a cool story Lew! Thanks, john
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clintwhitman
Caveman
Reged: 01/01/07
Posts: 2427
Loc: ValVerde CA(SoEasyaCavemanCanD...
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Lew take the Caveman with you!!
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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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Lew Chilton
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/20/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: SoCal
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Lately, I've been communicating by phone and e-mail with Bill Burton in Ohio, whose 8-inch Treckerscope is at the top of this thread. We've been discussing the finer points of Treckerscopes and how so many mechanical details vary from one to another. His keen eyes have opened mine to the smaller details of Treckerscope construction that I never noticed before. If you're reading this Bill, thanks a lot!
Bill also pointed out in an e-mail this morning that the guide scope atop Robin's 10-inch Treckerscope is a 3-inch Unitron. I think Bill is right. What do you guys think?
When I was on the phone with Robin the other day, he told me he frequently reads the CN and AM forums. I encouraged him to visit ours and contribute. I also encouraged Bill Burton to do the same. He's got a huge collection of vintage scopes, including a beautiful chome-plated Cave Astrola that has appeared on Robert Provin's Classic Telescope Catalogs & Manuals site. Here's the link to this beautiful 10-inch Astrola pic.
http://geogdata.csun.edu/~voltaire/classics/thumb/thumb02.html
This scope formerly belonged to the late Ron Ravneberg.
Edited by Lew Chilton (11/14/09 04:19 PM)
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CHASLX200
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/29/07
Posts: 1808
Loc: Tampa area Florida
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It looks like a Unitron OTA. I love that pic! That was when Newts were Newts.
Chas
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akman1955
sage
Reged: 09/07/09
Posts: 360
Loc: Alaska, USA
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 Nice Lew, wish i could have met Ron. john
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