1895 replies to this topic

[clamchip]

How does everyone feel about having a place to post a piece of information that really doesn't need its own entire post?
I find myself with discoveries but have no where to place them.
If you have a picture or a link or anything why not post it here before you forget where it is.

Robert

[clamchip]

I found this link for B&L Bausch & Lomb serial numbers 1941-1986:
http://www.binocular..._prod_list.html
It seems to work for binoculars and a spotting scope I own, and hopefully telescopes and lenses.

Robert

[Ducky62]

Here is some pictures and reviews from a Japanese collector.
Clicking the dates brings up 3 different pages of classic telescopes and a spread sheet/index to what I think is an equipment review magazine. Pasting the urls into Google translate will at least identify what 'scopes they are. The pictures will open up bigger too.

Mercy Love These


(A "process stand" is an alt-az mount. There are a lot of other confusing terms in translation)

[starman876]

Thanks

Great information

[Terra Nova]

Yes. Great idea Robert. Thanks.

Terra :flower:

[clamchip]

Ever wonder what the Edmund #50,130 eyepiece looked like before the Edmund modifications?
For a refresher, this eyepiece is a Type 3 Kellner or what we know as a Plossl design. This eyepiece was used in telescopes and particularly gunsights during WWII. It is a very good eyepiece.
Here it is as you would buy it from the catalog. Edmund would chuck the eyepiece in a lathe and trim about a pound of brass off and make a 1.25" adapter barrel so us amateurs can use it in our focusers.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[clamchip]

And here it is as surplus before the Edmund treatment.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[clamchip]

Cheryl's dad is a camera collector and he found these at a swap meet and thought I might be interested. Objective lens, reticle and the eyepiece for a Telescope M70 Sherman tank gunsight. Edmund after the war would buy this stuff surplus and quickly ran out of room at their own building so they rented space all over town to store all this.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[tim53]

I've got some of this kind of stuff.

[apfever]

I have a bunch of this stuff, including that eyepiece. I need to locate it, document, and label it.

[clamchip]

I like to use my Newtonian for daytime terrestrial and its much more enjoyable if the image is right side up. I tried out the in-line erector prism from my Edmund Astroscan and I'm happy to report it works great the image is erect. Really no reason why it wouldn't work but for some reason I found myself surprised it works with a conventional newt. But the Astroscan is a Newtonian! I don't know what I was thinking! I guess its just because I'm so happy it works, nothing is ever this easy.
http://www.scientifi...sm-erector.html
Its in a cell that slides into a 1.25" focuser tube. It holds itself in the tube by the expansion of a ring at the end of the erector. Its only slightly longer than a inch.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[clamchip]

The glass inside the erector:

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[orion61]

I found this link for B&L Bausch & Lomb serial numbers 1941-1986:
http://www.binocular..._prod_list.html
It seems to work for binoculars and a spotting scope I own, and hopefully telescopes and lenses.

Robert

Nope not on my 2 B&L 4000's. Those SN are Numerical.

[clamchip]

Thats interesting so it won't work for the SCT telescopes. I wonder if that is the case with all the B&L SCT's throughout the years of production.
I wonder if B&L SCT's were still being made at the old Criterion works and considered a different division.

Robert

[greju]

The only number other than the model number on this...

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[greju]

...was from Dr. Clay.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[clamchip]

Historical Astronomical ads:
http://www.astrosurf.com/re/adds.html

Robert

[clamchip]

If you own a filar micrometer and wondering about its use this article may help.
I recently became the owner of one and I've been searching for information on using it.
I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Calibration of a microscope filar micrometer for telescope:
http://www2.odn.ne.j.../filarmc99.html
Also go to the authors home page 4" refractor.

Robert

[clamchip]

I have been observing with my reintroduced Celestron C5 and I started wondering when it was introduced.
The "new" C5 hit the market in late 1992 after being absent from Celestron's line for 7 years.
Celestron stopped producing the C5 in 1985 to concentrate on C8 production during the Halley comet days.
The "new" C5 has improved overall tolerances, stricter centering of the secondary, HR coating on primary and secondary. AR coating on the corrector.
I own both and they are both such good telescopes I can't tell the difference through the eyepiece.
New uses a threaded retainer:

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[clamchip]

The original has 6 screws and a ring:

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[clamchip]

My "new" left the factory as a spotter model, although the optics are supposedly the same. Notice the thick screw in corrector retainer.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[clamchip]

My original. This C5 was retired from the Pacific Science Center here in Seattle. It is painted silver over the original orange and this telescope has a lot of hours on it but still in great shape, nothing is worn out.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Geo31]

My original. This C5 was retired from the Pacific Science Center here in Seattle. It is painted silver over the original orange and this telescope has a lot of hours on it but still in great shape, nothing is worn out.

Wow, that silver looks surprisingly good.

On another note, how did you adapt the Meade tripod? I'm curious because I just bought and adapted a Meade tripod for my C8.

[clamchip]

The Celestron wedge bolts right on to the Meade tripod.
You will need to use a smaller diameter threaded rod for the Meade spreader because the center threaded hole in the Celestron wedge is smaller where I have red arrows.
The original equipment Celestron "Locked Triangle" is a engineering marvel and rock solid but a little too high for my favorite plastic observing chair so I used my Meade tripod, Unfortunately I sold the Meade tripod along with the Meade telescope.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Geo31]

The Celestron wedge bolts right on to the Meade tripod.
You will need to use a smaller diameter threaded rod for the Meade spreader because the center threaded hole in the Celestron wedge is smaller where I have red arrows.
The original equipment Celestron "Locked Triangle" is a engineering marvel and rock solid but a little too high for my favorite plastic observing chair so I used my Meade tripod, Unfortunately I sold the Meade tripod along with the Meade telescope.

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

My solution was somewhat simple, but also somewhat mulch-faceted. I sourced some 3/4" OD aluminum tubing of appropriate ID to tap with 1/2-13 threads. Took a couple of tries to get it right. I had the tubing cut to 1" length, but had to file about 1/16" off the length.

I thread the 1/2" rod into the (now) threaded tubing. I put the large "star" knob on the bottom and tighten from the bottom against the spreader. Works quite well. I kinda wanted something to pass through the 1/4" hole in the center of the Celestron wedge, but that was becoming just a bit too complicated and I knew it was truly unnecessary.

I really like the Meade tripod. I had a late model black Celestron tripod, but it has the typical broken clamps and I didn't much care for it. I wish I had a classic "locked triangle" but now that I've used the Meade, I'm happy with the Meade.