36 replies to this topic

[Jim Svetlikov]

I found this telescope at a curio shop today:

Tasco Astronomical Telescope Japan (1966)
Model No. 9TE-5
D=60mm F=700mm
Coated Lenses
Reg. No. 59234

Does anyone have experience with or know something about this scope?

[Tom L]

Did you take it home? f/11.7, that should be a great little lunar and planetary scope. Wonder how the coating on the lens is?

[Jim Svetlikov]

Yes, I took it home and am in the process of stripping it down and cleaning it up. It has a couple of scratches in the the OTA paint and a small ding near the focuser, and one of the hinges in the tray has been damaged. One of the two lenses is chipped, but aside from that its in great condition. Its all metal except for the focuser knobs.

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement lens - about 2-1/2"? I read that Apogee might have them so I sent an email today.

As well, can I replace the .965 diagonal with a 1-1/4" so I can use my eyepieces or is there an adapter available?

Any help would be appreciated to get this puppy up and running.

[rodrake]

Jim,

Does the focus tube have an eyepiece adapter that screws into it? On my Sears Discoverer, the focus tube was threaded and was 34.6mm diameter. I got a Vixen 34.6mm to 31.7mm adapter from Adorama so I can use 1-1/4" accessories now. If that doesn't work, you'll probably need to use a hybrid diagonal.

Rich

[Tom L]

What kind of shape is the lens in (the chipped one)? There are a lot of .965 EPs available on astromart if you can find an adapter. There is a guy that makes brass and aluminum focus know in 1.5" and 2" versions. There is a discussion about them in the equipement section.

[Jim Svetlikov]

rodrake

Yes, I believe so - would this be that adapter? If I get the adapter, does that mean I must get a new diagonal? Can I get an adapter for the eyepiece end of the diagonal instead?

[Jim Svetlikov]

Tom

There are about 4 chips, the largest is about 10mm across while the others are about 1-2mm, all are from the edge out. There are two lenses side by side - the other appears to be in perfect condition. I'm not up to speed on optics so I wouldn't be able to tell you if the coatings are good or not. Would pictures help?

The one and only eyepiece is dirty so I will throw caution to the wind and attempt to take it apart and clean it.

[Tom L]

Jim, I would post the lens picture in the optics forum and ask AlM what he thinks...he is the man when it comes to optics, and he is a great guy to boot!

[rodrake]

Jim,

I can't quite tell from the picture. Try measuring the inside diameter of the focuser tube to see if it is 34.6mm. Here's the adapter I got:

Vixen Standard 1.25" Telescope Eyepiece Adapter, #3720

If it works, you would need to get a 1-1/4" diagonal. Your other choices would be to get a .965" to 1-1/4" hybrid diagonal or try to find some .965" eyepieces on Astromart as Tom suggested.

Rich

[Jim Svetlikov]

Rich

The inside diameter of the focuser tube looks like about 25mm (.965"), quite a bit less than 34.6mm. From the picture above, you can see the entire adapter is about 30mm.

[Jim Svetlikov]

Apogee has a .96” to 1.25” diagonal for about $25 – this should solve the problem, but I would much rather prefer an adapter that slides into the diagonal for 1.25” eyepieces – does such an adapter exist?

[Nauset]

Just wondering, but I also have an old Tasco 60mm, that I bought thru an Estate Auction House here on the Cape along with several very good binoculars. I know the Auction House well as my mother was in the business years ago and we have been trading and selling since. Although, unlike the item above we usually don't purchace, it seemed interesting.It is a Tasco World Class Adventurer Zoom Telescope/Spotting Scope/Telephoto lens which I now have mounted on an EG to observe and photograph swans,ducks on the Bay in front of our house (not to mention the pleasure we take in spying on our neighbor across the Bay when he has had "a little too much" and insists on firing his cannon to the annoynance of every two and four legged creature nearby).
Nice to hear someone else has "an old Tasco". Although the Tasco may not be up to par, the two binoculars certainly were!

[Tom L]

Betsy, are you as eccentric as you sound??!! The guy across the bay sounds like a character right out of a Disney movie!

Jim, I must have misread, but if you want a .965 to a 1.25 adapter, won't you need the 1.25" portion to be long enough to accept the barrel of your 1.25"EPs? Excuse my ignorance.

[Jim Svetlikov]

Tom,

You're right! That would effectively change the focal length and might not allow some eyepieces to come into focus.

I put the current diagonal from that scope up for trade on Astromart and another ad looking for a .965" to 1-1/4" diagonal.

[Tom L]

Hope you can find it.

[Jim Svetlikov]

Thanks - if I can't get one over the next while, I'll probably buy one from Apogee and then sell this diagonal. I've seen a few wanted ads for Japan .965" star diagonals, so it shouldn't be that difficult to sell.

I'll post some pics of the scope when I get a chance - it looks so much better now that its been cleaned.

[rodrake]

Tom,

If you don't find a hybrid diagonal on Astromart, you could try Hands On Optics. They have lots of new and used items not listed on thier web page. I bought some good 0.965" eyepieces from them. I think Apogee and Orion also sell them new for around $25.

Rich

[Jim Svetlikov]

I went back into the archives and found this ad - it appears they do sell adapters. Would this not cause a problem with changing the focal length and not bringing certain eyepieces to focus?

http://www.astromart....asp?cid=244066

[Jim Svetlikov]

Things are looking up!

I found a brand new Sky Instruments mirror hybrid diagonal from a company in Eastern Canada for $30CDN ($22US) shipped and a new Meade 60mm 700mm fully coated complete objective lenses and cell for about $16US shipped from the Telescope Warehouse in Las Vegas - bought through Ebay.

http://www.naturewatchshop.com/

"Description
Brand new Meade product. 60mm F11 (700mm focal length) Telescope objective lens with lens cell and dewcap. This is a quality coated glass air spaced achromatic lens that is used in many Meade refractor telescopes. You can use this to make your own telescope or replace a used or broken lens in your scope. If your scope is marked D=60mm and F=700mm this lens will replace it."

http://www.astronomy...cope-warehouse/

[rodrake]

Nice find Jim. I'm interested to hear how it performs with the new objective and some decent eyepieces.

[Tom L]

How in the world you found that is amazing. I hope it fits like a glove! So, what's you're total cost of ownership so far?

[Jim Svetlikov]

Most likely it will take a couple of weeks for everything to arrive and of course we need some clear skies. I'm looking forward to looking through this thing with new optics.

Let's see now, $5CDN for the scope, $30CDN for the diagonal and about $21CDN for the objective = $56CDN ($42US).

But if I sell the orignal .965" diagonal and eyepiece, I can perhaps recoup around $10-20.

But that's not all - I found a college level Bushnell microscope from the late 60's for $20 and have paid a local microscope technician another $20 to clean, tighten and regrease the scope. He also threw in a box of research grade slides.

The scope came in a wooden box with 2 slide out trays; one that holds 3 eyepieces and the other holds 3 specimen jars. It's scratched up and needs a new hasp and hinges, but I should be able to sand and varnish to look like brand new.

We brought it home and it works great. My son spent the whole afternoon going in and out of the house looking for things to look at.

I'll post some pics of both "scopes" when I get the chance.

[Tom L]

Sounds like a good days work to me. Cool find with the microscope!

[desertstars]

I think I have the early '70s clone of that scope. Doesn't have the Tasco brand name, since JC Penney was marketing things under their 'Pencrest' brand. But all the optics sound the same. I've gotten some great views of the moon and the brighter DSOs through it. Congrats!

[Jim Svetlikov]

I'm looking forward to views of the moon as well. The very short focal length of my dob only gives good views up to about 10mm.