28 replies to this topic

[clintwhitman]

Well Debbie and I when out to RED Rock canyon last night to our club the Antelope valley astronomers dark sky star party Great time I put up the Tak 130 and G11 for the Globs then late stuck a 10" Meade on the G11 for the veil and lagoon. Had a great time stayed till 3am. Well we took the 4” Unitron and set it up just to show people and see what kind of reaction we would get… Well a lot of folks wondered what it was and some commented that it looked like it was from the 1800s. The funny thing was that out of 20 or so folks not one said cool UNITRON! Know one knew what it was and there were a lot of older guys there. So that was UN expected I figured there would be more folks that knew what it was. So I guess these are fewer and farther between that I thought. It did attract some attention. The sky there was incredible and we had a lot of fun Here is a shot of the eastern sky at 1 am. Have fun and take those scopes out and show them off this summer…

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[Awesomelenny]

Hi Clint,

Wow what a shot! At least where you were, the skies are darker than dark! Something I haven't experienced since I was about 15 years old.

You're right that was unusual that the older amateurs didn't recognize the Unitron!

[Bonco]

That is surprising the Unitron wasn't recognized for what it is. No doubt none of those observers lusted for one in their youth like I did. Many years later I discovered girls.
Bonco PS Nice picture

[Glassthrower]

Those folks (especially the older ones), who did know what a Unitron was should be ashamed!

I was born in 1970 and I can smell a Unitron from around the corner!

Regards and clear skies,

MikeG

PS - Awesome photo Clint!

[refractory]

Mike- watch yourself- remember what happened a while back on the Binocular Smells thread in the other discussion....

Jess Tauber

[Glassthrower]

I think I smell Zeiss already!

[refractory]

Well, SOMEONE has to maintain sanity around here, as there are none of the iron-fisted cleat-booted baton-wielding stormtrooper types patrolling posts, as perhaps might be found in certain other fora. OTOH, one might suppose that IF I had an avatar, it might be from Gremlins-The New Batch- the goofy looking one with the crossed eyes.

Just because I like horseradish and blue cheese ice cream and climb trees with only my fingernails moving DOESN'T mean I can't be trusted, right?

Jess Tauber

[bendab]

Hey Clint,
Maybe if they sold these,Ho what are they ! Unitron Scopes at Sears someone my recognize them ? :rofl5: :rofl2:
Bruce

[refractory]

Broose, Broose, Broose...What are you saying?? Sears' scopes once were nearly in the same league as Unitron's. Oh well, FWIW at least they have kept pace with what Tasco offers! In all seriouslness.....

Jess 'Starmonger' Tauber

[refractory]

That's true, Jess. You have a knack of stating the oblivious. Must be something in the water from the old Ford plant.

Jess 'Audience Shill' Tauber

[refractory]

Guys, guys- you're starting to worry the moderators and me- you two sub-personalities are supposed to stay repressed. The family spent tons on treatment, you want them to get suspicious??

Jess 'Classic' Tauber

[Awesomelenny]

:rofl2:

[bendab]

Look, Those of you here at CN that own Sears telescopes know that they are up there with the Unitrons (what ever there called )when it comes to quality and performance.I was trying to go easy on Clint being he was upset that no one recognized his Unitom at the star party.Some of you may have noticed that these unitom owners like to get carryed away sometimes posting all these photo's and such .Maybe they just need someone to bring them back down to EARTH every once in a while.I did notice that out of all the telescope Clint own's there is not one Sears Telescope.Maybe his wife can change all that on father's day and get him one.If you need to get noticed at a star party at least bring a telescope with a name that will be reconized by the common man.I think he learnd a hard lesson here NEXT TIME BRING A SEARS DISCOVERER TELESCOPE !!!!!!
Bruce (super member don't forget it)) :dabomb:

[Awesomelenny]

Bruce..quality and performance ...only with respect to the optics. The equatorial mounts tripod legs, as well as the focusers are much better quality on the Unitrons. I had both and restored both, so I know that for a fact. Sorry, pal. I had my Sears since I was 12 or 13 years old. I loved it but always wondered how much better the Unitrons were. Well when I finally started buying them last year, I was really surprised to find that the optical performance was the SAME when I had both of them side by side. But for stability , Unitron/Polarex was far superior. Even in appearance, Unitron and Polarex are much more massive.

So now I know that dollar for dollar, a $700 3 inch Unitron vs. a Sears 3 inch for $299 something HAD to be sacrificed. Fortunately the manufacturer of the Sears did pick keeping the optics up to par while sacrificing the massiveness of the mount to keep costs down. At least the Sears customers like me were able to get top quality viewing pleasure with the Sears telescopes. Not really a bad thing!

Clear skies!

[Jae]

You gotta love a guy dedicated to Sears scopes. Me, growing up in NYC, Sears was not as dominant as a Macys or other dept store and Macy's carried Tasco, essentially the same manufacturer so I can relate to the Tasco/Sears loyalty. It's funny, I've been buying Unitrons too but I only saw Unitrons in astro mags and catalogs growing up. The Tasco was a weekly visit to stare and drool....so it inevitably has a closer place in the heart.


Jae

[bendab]

Lenny,
quality and performance ...only with respect to the optics
this is what really count. The rest is obvious !!!!
The point you can still buy a Ford and keep up with the Cadillac

[Awesomelenny]

Precisely!
Nowadays the Fords and Cadillacs look the same, LOL!

[bendab]

Lenny,
Something still needs to be done to help Clint restore his morale " The funny thing was that out of 20 or so folks not one said cool UNITRON! Know one knew what it was "

[clintwhitman]

The star party was in Lancaster in the 60s they didnt even have a sears just dirt and 60 mph winds, And the space progam... Buncha go fast freaks Buzz and all those guys with the right stuff edwards airforce base. Onece in the 70s I was eating at burger king and the flight crew from the black bird Skunk works came in a sat down next to me! That was cool That was before it was declassified and I had seen the black bird like 3 times. Well as far as The Unitron there like a ferrari dont know what there like until you drive one but I will say this using it is more fun than any scope i have Well balanced and Very well made...The cartons and Towas are not even close. Like celestron vers. Losmandy!

[bendab]

Hello Clint,
I like to needle you unitron owners every now and then,
I only wish I had one ,I guess no one elese here will fall for the bait.Anyway great photo you'll never see anything like that here in NJ. For now I just happy with my model T .
Bruce

[refractory]

There probably used to be lots of Unitrons here in NJ, but the acid in the air and water must've dissoved them. 'trons may be 'prettier' and more mechanically robust, but chemically, where it counts out here in the waste-land, Sears and Tasco have the edge. You can get redox thermal currents inside OTA's just by having your scope outside! Now THAT shows great 'potential', as it were.....

Jess Tauber

[bendab]

Jess ,
they don't know what their missing here in the Garden State:flower:.Looks like the unitron owners here on CN have all disappeared. I was looking for a good all out debate Sears VS Unitom. Even our moderator would not come out and play.The way I see it it's Sears 3 Unitron 1(clint) I think lenny's on our side with this one.Let's see what happens tomorrow's another day? :rofl2:

[Bonco]

Trouble makers here.
How many gun owners proudly announce they have a vintage JC Higgins Sears, firearm...NONE !! Sears was for the common folk, Unitron was for the snobbish, I mean rich. LOL
Bonco

[bendab]

I take it your a Sears Man Bonco ? We can add you to the list,Calling unitron owners snobbish isn't going to go over very good here But it sounds good !!!

[Bonco]

Look at Lenny... he's rich, case closed.
Bonco