Telescope Reviews: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!!

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Equipment Discussions >> Eyepieces

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: a_adam]
#5632894 - 01/20/13 10:19 AM

Very nice, André -

Thanks for sharing photos of your Gen 3 45mm. I had not seen one of these.

I also discovered that I have a 22mm Gen 3 as well, so here is a revised list...

Generation 1 (all silver with engraved orange lettering "Fully Coated"):
45mm, 36mm, 26mm, 17mm, 10mm and Deluxe 2x Barlow.

Generation 2 (all silver with engraved orange lettering "Multi-Coated"):
45mm, 36mm, 26mm, 17mm, 10mm, and Deluxe 2x Barlow, initially;
22mm, 15mm, and 7.5mm were released later;
30mm was released last.

Generation 3 (silver with black tops and silk screened red lettering):
45mm, 36mm, 26mm, 22mm, 17mm, 10mm, 7.5mm and Deluxe 2x Barlow;
50mm 2" was also released during this timeframe.

I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone that has an example that is not listed above. For example, how 'bout an all silver 50mm 2" Silvertop? Or, maybe a 15mm black-top silvertop? Any takers?

Another fun fact is that during the production of the Gen 1 and Gen 2 all-satin silvertops, it appears that Celestron had exclusive rights to distribution. When Gen 3 came along Vixen also produced a set with their own branding. The Vixen branded set also included a 5mm that I don't ever recall seeing with a Celestron brand.

I'll post some blacktop silver top photos as time permits.

Cheers!
Blake

Edited by Blake Andrews (01/20/13 10:21 AM)

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: stevep]
#5632947 - 01/20/13 10:47 AM

Quote:

Hi Blake,

You are very welcome to ''Christmas past'' glad to see you have added a couple more to this very exclusive early run , I think if others exist in the line you may have to look closer to the production source !

Good Hunting, and a Happy New Year,

Steve

Hi Steve,

Happy New Year. I hope your skies have been favorable this season.

Yep, this project is a exercise in supreme multi-year patience and I could not be successful without the help of folks like you!

Bagging the 17mm and 10mm will be challenging because its so easy to NOT notice the markings. I've missed a couple of opportunities because of that.

Good luck on the sale of your Celestron Erfles at auction on the other site.

Cheers!
Blake

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Dave Ittner
sage

Reged: 05/29/12

Loc: SF Bay Area, California

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: a_adam]
#5633161 - 01/20/13 12:58 PM

Cool. Thanks for posting the pics

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stevep
member

Reged: 07/28/08

Loc: UK

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: Blake Andrews]
#5633185 - 01/20/13 01:10 PM

Hi Blake,

Thanks,

Bit of a hard decision and I might regret it!,
but over the years the herd keeps growing !! still I have had the pleasure to own and use these fine classic ep's
and have enjoyed them all,

If the 17 and 10 exist with patience you will find them,
and I wish you all the luck, as the two I had came from Australia might be worth hunting there,

Best of luck,
Steve

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Dave Ittner
sage

Reged: 05/29/12

Loc: SF Bay Area, California

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: Blake Andrews]
#5633207 - 01/20/13 01:22 PM

Hi Blake,

I just came across a snippet from a post that I saved. The poster provided this list of focal lengths and field stop

fl AFOV fieldstop
7.5mm 46d 6mm
10mm 46d 7mm
15mm 46d 11mm
17mm 47d 14mm
22mm 48d 17mm
26mm 49d 20mm
30mm 50d 28mm
36mm 35d 22mm
45mm 33d 25mm
50mm 43d 37mm

I think it might have been Don (eyepiecesetc) or BillP. Wish I had kept a link.

Shortly after recording the snippet above I can across a few other posts that stated there was a 6.3mm and a 20mm silvertop (not sure of what generation for either of them). If they didn't come from a post it might have been from a classifieds ad at one of the two main sites.

I saved the above because of my interest to collect a set.

Do you know anything about this 6.3 or 20mm?

Dave

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: Dave Ittner]
#5633235 - 01/20/13 01:32 PM

Quote:

Shortly after recording the snippet above I can across a few other posts that stated there was a 6.3mm and a 20mm silvertop (not sure of what generation for either of them). If they didn't come from a post it might have been from a classifieds ad at one of the two main sites.

I saved the above because of my interest to collect a set.

Do you know anything about this 6.3 or 20mm?

Dave

Hi Dave,
This is a common myth that just will not die. If you see an ad for a 20mm or 6.3mm Silvertop, be very skeptical. These simply do not exist. I believe Synta began making a silver flecked blacktop series with both red or black lettering from China sometime in the mid to late-2000's. These eyepieces are sometimes represented as silvertops.

FWIW, The Halloween Plossls do have a 6.3mm in the series.

Cheers!
Blake

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Dave Ittner
sage

Reged: 05/29/12

Loc: SF Bay Area, California

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: Blake Andrews]
#5633261 - 01/20/13 01:42 PM

Hehe, well what would life be like if we didn't have myths that just don't die?

I will scratch the 6.3 and 20mm from my list.

Thanks for clearing that up.

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! [Re: Dave Ittner]
#5633265 - 01/20/13 01:45 PM

Quote:

Hehe, well what would life be like if we didn't have myths that just don't die?

I will scratch the 6.3 and 20mm from my list.

Thanks for clearing that up.

It means that we couldn't have hokey-pokey funerals!!!

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: stevep]
#5731425 - 03/14/13 12:05 AM

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let you all know that I may have found a "Fully Coated" 10mm Silvertop!

I'm eagerly awaiting the package and I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Stay tuned!

- B.

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: Blake Andrews]
#5746442 - 03/20/13 10:16 PM Attachment (6 downloads)

Well,
My package arrived on Monday and of course this means at least another 2 weeks of winter.

Anyway as promised, here are some quick glamour shots. This eyepiece was from a second owner. It was purchased with a complete Super C8 Plus setup from the first owner in 1988. The manual that came with the set has a copyright date of 1985. However, the scope could easily have been manufactured in 1984. This info probably does little to narrow the dates that the Fully Coated Silvertops were manufactured.

Enjoy!
Blake

The quest continues for the Fully Coated 17mm!!!

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: Blake Andrews]
#5746449 - 03/20/13 10:17 PM Attachment (6 downloads)

The second and more interesting photo...

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GeneT
Ely Kid

Reged: 11/07/08

Loc: South Texas

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: Blake Andrews]
#5746540 - 03/20/13 10:56 PM

When I owned a C8, I owned several of these eyepieces. They performed very well with my telescope, and came at a very reasonable price.

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Blake Andrews
sage

Reged: 07/31/08

Loc: Iowa

Re: Celestron Silvertops - Fully Coated!!! new

new

[Re: GeneT]
#5746595 - 03/20/13 11:27 PM

Quote:

When I owned a C8, I owned several of these eyepieces. They performed very well with my telescope, and came at a very reasonable price.

Hi GeneT,
I agree. I purchased the 45mm, 26mm, and 15mm Silvertops new with my Super C8 Plus in 1985. They've given me many memorable nights.

The "Fully Coated" versions appear to be an initial production run as most (my originals included) were marked "Multi-Coated".

Cheers!
Blake

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