336 replies to this topic

[steveyo]

Regarding the Zeiss Telementor currently on eBay...(http://www.ebay.com/...Q4AAOSwDiBZNZ63)

 

Is the Zeiss in question just a collectors item, or an observing tool one could use? Are the views in .965 EPs worthwhile (or like looking through a straw)? Will I need to acquire a whole set of .965s to make the thing useful?

 

Will it make me want to sell my TV Pronto?

I'd loved to hear from folks who've owned a Zeiss 63mm.

[starman876]

The Zeiss is an excellent scope with excellent optics.  The .965 zeiss eyepieces are also outstanding and you will not be looking through a straw. 

[Astrojensen]

For me, it's still very much a serious observing tool. A highly regarded one, even. I primarily use mine as a solar telescope and a quick-look grab and go instrument. You can get adapters, so you can use modern 1.25" eyepieces on it or even 2", to some degree (the version with the internal focuser can be fully adapted to 2", but the version with the helical focuser can not, due to lack of sufficient back focus).

 

The old 0.965" Zeiss eyepieces are extremely sharp and contrasty, but I still recommend getting adapters so you can use modern 1.25" eyepieces. The optics in most Telementors is superb and will show crisp, sharp views.  

 

 

My Zeiss Telemator with 1.25" Baader prism, Quark H-alpha filter and Baader binoviewer.

 

 

 

Observing the Sun via a Zeiss solar projection screen and good, old-fashioned solar projection method. Very nice for group viewing and instruction.

 

 

How to attach a Baader Maxbright or Mark V binoviewer to a Zeiss Telementor/Telemator

 

 

How to attach 2" eyepieces to a Baader T2 diagonal on the Zeiss Telementor/Telemator. NB! Some clipping of the outer field will occur with eyepieces with large fieldstops, but it will reach focus with all Telementors. 

 

 

If you have a Telementor 2 or a Telemator and can get a Baader Maxbright diagonal with SC-threads, you can adopt it to your Telementor 2 or Telemator, for true 2" capability. There will be some dimming of the outer field in large eyepieces, but the apparent field will not be reduced.

 

 

How it appears in real life.

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

[Fhuyu]

Thomas nobody can give better information, increbile as always  

 

Steveyo, if you buy a telementor you will not regret it, besides that, that Telementor is from BB!, an unbeatable unit being Bob's no doubt  

[Piggyback]

Go get it! This is a fantastic observing tool. Quality? Once you own a Telementor you will cherish it for the rest of your life. I recommend the Zeiss 25mm Huygens, 16mm Ortho and 6mm Ortho as a starter kit. Seller BB is a great guy. I recognized the barndoor backdrop he uses for his photo shoots.

[Bomber Bob]

The one on eBay:  ships with the Baader 1.25" adapter hardware to use modern eyepieces.

[Terra Nova]

Zeiss Telementors are wonderful scopes. I would never part with my T1!

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[Bomber Bob]

I recommend the Zeiss 25mm Huygens, 16mm Ortho and 6mm Ortho as a starter kit. Seller BB is a great guy.

 

IME, the Zeiss .965" eyepieces are the Best In Show for this format.  They really do help wring out the last bit of fine detail from small aperture refractors.  (Almost as though Zeiss designed them for this purpose.)

[Piggyback]

Terra's SANDEMAN Eyepiece collection. 

[Astrojensen]

The helical focuser on the Telementor 1 is one of the smoothest focusers out there, but what I really like about the ingenious internal focuser on the Telementor 2/Telemator, is that the SCT-like rear end where you thread the accesories on directly is that it can carry a TON of stuff without having to worry the slightest about overloading the focuser. 

 

 

 

Why the small EDs and apochromats, such as the 60 - 72mm EDs don't use this system is beyond me. It would offer some very significant advantages, especially for photography. It would completely eliminate focuser flexure related problems, since all accesories could be threaded directly to the main telescope OTA, like on an SCT, but without focuser slop. It would also allow the dovetail to be put much closer to the actual center of gravity. 

 

 

Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark

[PJ Anway]

I would agree; the Telementor is a nice scope. I've owned a few different samples over the years and all had excellent optics.

The build quality is also great. I would still have one if not for the AS63 I found. 

[steveyo]

The one on eBay:  ships with the Baader 1.25" adapter hardware to use modern eyepieces.

Thanks, Bob. I saw your note in the auction description, but I didn't know if .965 EPs work better in the scope.

[Piggyback]

I would agree; the Telementor is a nice scope. I've owned a few different samples over the years and all had excellent optics.

The build quality is also great. I would still have one if not for the AS63 I found. 

I totally agree with you, when it comes to the obvious superior optical finesse of the AS 63/840mm. But for mechanicals, the earlier AS Schulfernrohr lacks the practical superiority of the T1 and T2 Telementor. Take the absence of an appropriate finder device on the AS 63/840mm. It requires a lot of guessing and the use of a low power eyepiece to find stuff in the skies.

[Bomber Bob]

I didn't know if .965 EPs work better in the scope.

 

IME, the Telementor isn't as flexible with eyepiece designs & quality as my F15 & F20 refractors.  In .965" sizes, I preferred my Swiss-made spectros Kellners & Plossls, but the Tani Orthoscopics and Vixen Kellners did well.  In 1.25" sizes, my University Optics HD Orthoscopics gave the best views, followed closely by Tani volcano-top Orthos, and a pre-red-band RKE8 turned out to be my favorite medium-power eyepiece @ 105x with a decent FOV & good contrast.  What I really needed was a better prism diagonal.  I've had a Baader on back-order now for 6+ months!  (Shoulda got the TAK.)

[Joe Cepleur]

"It would completely eliminate focuser flexure related problems, since all accesories could be threaded directly to the main telescope OTA, like on an SCT, but without focuser slop."

What moves on a Zeiss internal focuser? I have never seen one, but had imagined it to be two sturdy, concentric tubes, with the tube holding the objective fixed (relative to the mount) and the tube holding the visual back moving.

[Sasa]

Telescope capable of showing 8 billion light years distant object is definitely observing tool (http://www-hep2.fzu...._Telementor.pdf). Despite having larger refractors, Telementor is my most used one. Handy, always ready to perform on short notice, pleasure to use. Some pictures and sketches of what I saw through telescope can be found on my web page:

http://www-hep2.fzu....Telementor.html

Edited by Sasa, 08 June 2017 - 05:31 PM.

[PJ Anway]

 Take the absence of an appropriate finder device on the AS 63/840mm. It requires a lot of guessing and the use of a low power eyepiece to find stuff in the skies.

 

 

I really do miss the pair of sighting holes on the Telementor OTA; they are surprisingly effective.

To aid in sighting objects with the AS63, I have a red-dot finder attached to the dovetail clamp of the (non-Zeiss) mount.

 

[PJ Anway]

What moves on a Zeiss internal focuser? I have never seen one, but had imagined it to be two sturdy, concentric tubes, with the tube holding the objective fixed (relative to the mount) and the tube holding the visual back moving.

Just the opposite. On the Telementor II, the internal tube (with the objective attached) moves and the outer tube (with the visual back attached) remains stationary.

[PJ Anway]

The only "drawback" to the Zeiss scopes is that everything screws together. Very safe, but somewhat tedious. That is why a "quick changer" was available; to make things relatively easier.

 

[Piggyback]

Nice collection of accessories, PJ. Love that Barlow. Does it see starlight or is it for show? I have the older 1.3 Zeiss Barlow in a nice wooden box but I am hardly ever using it. I prefer utilizing the Zeiss turret. Gives me so much flexibility.

[PJ Anway]

Nice collection of accessories, PJ. Love that Barlow. Does it see starlight or is it for show? I have the older 1.3 Zeiss Barlow in a nice wooden box but I am hardly ever using it. I prefer utilizing the Zeiss turret. Gives me so much flexibility.

Stefan,

Thanks. I do use the 2X barlow and a 1.3X (that I also have) on occasion, but I most often use a Zeiss/Baader 2X.

[steveyo]

Wow, maybe I shouldn't have brought extra attention to the Telementor on eBay!    Its current price ($730) pretty much exceeds my budget.  

 

BB, I think you chose a good place to sell it (eBay). There are many collectors who aren't astronomers bidding along with astronomers for this lovely piece of kit. EBay offers a potentially larger marketplace than just the astro boards.

[Bomber Bob]

Once the auction is over, I'll have some comments on our Pricing yak thread.

[Terra Nova]

I just realized that is on a T1 mount. The T2 mounts are blue and gray with red and white knobs, just like the Telemators, but no provision for a drive.

[starman876]

you are right Terra. It is a hodegpot of parts.  We need to report this to the bidding police.