Telescope Reviews: Unitron 155 102mm

· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt

· Submit a Review / Article

Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums

Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User

You are not logged in. [Login]

Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online
FAQ · Calendar

Equipment Discussions >> Classic Telescopes

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | (show all)

mustgobigger
Post Laureate

Reged: 06/12/07

Loc: Michigan

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: Peter B]
#5485762 - 10/23/12 05:51 PM Attachment (37 downloads)

Quote:

Great get Steve! I saw your ad on amart for a eq head box, any luck with that? There was a discussion on here a while back about somebody making a copy of the box. Does anyone know if that ever happened? Pete

that was me...i had a friend make some of the old style
that would fit the mount that the cradle would not
come off.
had to do minor tweaking but they worked out fine.
sold a couple and sadly only have one left.
congrats on a good score...cant wait to see restoration on this one.
heres a picture of my custom box.

Edited by mustgobigger (10/23/12 05:52 PM)

Post Extras:

CHASLX200
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/29/07

Loc: Tampa area Florida

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5485795 - 10/23/12 06:08 PM

Quote:

I bet that was a relief. Now lets see if you can get it back in I have had a few where they came out and then for some reason would not go back in without jamming up.

Maybe a little wet sanding will smooth things up.

Chas

Post Extras:

akman1955
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 09/07/09

Loc: Alaska, USA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: CHASLX200]
#5485850 - 10/23/12 06:49 PM

Gongrats steve..

Post Extras:

sgorton99
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/30/08

Loc: Wisconsin, Madison

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: akman1955]
#5485882 - 10/23/12 07:07 PM

Thanks guys -
Yes, wet/dry sandpaper should do the trick just fine.

Brian, thanks about the box. I do have someone that offered to sell me theirs. I am double checking with them if it is for a mount that the cradle is fixed.

Post Extras:

starman876
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/28/08

Loc: VA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: mustgobigger]
#5485967 - 10/23/12 08:08 PM

That is a nice looking box Brian. Maybe I should you buy some mahogany and get out the table saw and see how hard it would be to make one. Are the corners joined or just glued together?

Post Extras:

starman876
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/28/08

Loc: VA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5485969 - 10/23/12 08:09 PM

Brian
Did your freind make them for plans or did he make them with an old box as an example?

Post Extras:

sgorton99
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/30/08

Loc: Wisconsin, Madison

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5486061 - 10/23/12 09:18 PM Attachment (35 downloads)

Have spent most my free time working on the mount. Went to move the counterweight to a new spot and the "top" popped off. Amazing all the times we moved it and hauled it here it never came apart, and I never noticed. Always surprised I didn't have 2 weights with this...

Post Extras:

mustgobigger
Post Laureate

Reged: 06/12/07

Loc: Michigan

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5486201 - 10/23/12 10:47 PM

Quote:

Brian
Did your freind make them for plans or did he make them with an old box as an example?

Johann,
Made from a unitron box as example.

Post Extras:

starman876
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/28/08

Loc: VA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: mustgobigger]
#5486606 - 10/24/12 08:01 AM

Anyone got a 4" mount box they can loan me to see if I can make one?

Post Extras:

akman1955
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 09/07/09

Loc: Alaska, USA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5487274 - 10/24/12 04:27 PM

Johann, you bought my 4" unitron with the eq mount box..

Post Extras:

starman876
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/28/08

Loc: VA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: akman1955]
#5487490 - 10/24/12 07:02 PM

Oops, let the cat out of the bag. That has a new happy owner. I traded the mount for another scope I really wanted. Need things to look at and things to look through. I think you know what I mean

That mount got me a triplet refractor that when I compared it to some other scopes I have, I quickly sold it. I want that 4" mount back

Post Extras:

sgorton99
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/30/08

Loc: Wisconsin, Madison

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5487555 - 10/24/12 07:56 PM

Quote:

Oops, let the cat out of the bag. That has a new happy owner. I traded the mount for another scope I really wanted. Need things to look at and things to look through. I think you know what I mean That mount got me a triplet refractor that when I compared it to some other scopes I have, I quickly sold it. I want that 4" mount back

Your confusing me, so you have this light - http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/5482599/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1 ?

But not the mount? If your light is extra, please send me a PM.

Edited by sgorton99 (10/24/12 07:58 PM)

Post Extras:

starman876
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/28/08

Loc: VA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: sgorton99]
#5487794 - 10/24/12 10:49 PM

I have the mount and the light. The box and mount mentioned by John was another mount.

Post Extras:

sgorton99
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/30/08

Loc: Wisconsin, Madison

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5493454 - 10/28/12 05:58 PM Attachment (26 downloads)

Starting working on stripping the mount base today. Anyone out there painted one of these before? Happy to hear advice on having it powder coated vs. "rattle can" spray painting. If I powder coat it, I will have to strip the upper portion of this piece as well.

Post Extras:

starman876
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/28/08

Loc: VA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: sgorton99]
#5493531 - 10/28/12 06:53 PM

you can use the black epoxy paint that they use to paint car springs with. Use 400 wet sandpaper to feather all edges between the unpainted area and old paint. It also would be good to use an automotive primer before painting. Paint using very thin coats to avoid runs. Patience and effort will provide excellent results.

Post Extras:

starman876
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/28/08

Loc: VA

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: starman876]
#5493536 - 10/28/12 06:55 PM

also, make sure there is not lose paint left. Use a brass brush to clean the base completely.

Post Extras:

clintwhitman
Caveman

Reged: 01/01/07

Loc: CALI SoEasyACavemanCanSlewIt

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: sgorton99]
#5493918 - 10/28/12 11:59 PM Attachment (28 downloads)

Steve just strip it with Jasco and paint with black primer maybe some filler, then sand and paint it with rustoleum satin black it looks as close to the original paint as anything out there. 1954 155 some parts are original and some needed paint. You can't tell which are which. I use rubbing compound and wax when the painting is done to finish it off.

Edited by clintwhitman (10/29/12 12:44 AM)

Post Extras:

clintwhitman
Caveman

Reged: 01/01/07

Loc: CALI SoEasyACavemanCanSlewIt

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: clintwhitman]
#5493957 - 10/29/12 12:37 AM Attachment (27 downloads)

1966 Lost Unitron Same thing.

Post Extras:

sgorton99
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/30/08

Loc: Wisconsin, Madison

Re: Unitron 155 102mm new

[Re: clintwhitman]
#5494146 - 10/29/12 06:44 AM

Thanks Clint!

Post Extras:

JonH
super member

Reged: 04/07/12

Loc: Brisbane Australia

Re: Powder coating new

[Re: sgorton99]
#5494160 - 10/29/12 07:10 AM

Stuggled with the question of powder coating vs spray as well. I ended up spraying my Unitron 152 OTA because I was afraid of what the heat of powder coating would do to the baffles. But I went ahead with powder coating the mount because of the knocks it is likely to take during use. Having said that a big advantage of doing a spray job is that it is easy to touch up and if you take care you will end up with a finish like Clint's. I will be posting some pictures of a powder coated mount in the next few days to finish off the Unitron 152 restoration thread I started a while ago.

For those of you on the East Coast: I know there are quite a few Unitron aficionados looking up at the skies as Sandy comes into view. Good luck Guys and I hope the meterologist predictions turn out to be incorrect or at least wildly pessimistic.

Stay Safe

Jon

Post Extras:

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | (show all)

Extra information

12 registered and 17 anonymous users are browsing this forum.

Moderator: RLTYS, BRisley

Print Thread

Forum Permissions
      You cannot start new topics
      You cannot reply to topics
      HTML is disabled
      UBBCode is enabled

Thread views: 7093

Jump to

CN Forums

Home

Cloudy Nights LLC
Cloudy Nights Sponsor: Astronomics