Jump to content

  •  

CNers have asked about a donation box for Cloudy Nights over the years, so here you go. Donation is not required by any means, so please enjoy your stay.

Photo

Who manufactured SCOPE telescopes?

  • Please log in to reply
30 replies to this topic

#1 2696

2696

    Messenger

  • *****
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 458
  • Joined: 27 May 2019
  • Loc: New York

Posted 31 July 2019 - 08:17 PM

Just received a "SCOPE" brand refractor and I can't really find any information on the brand and who made them. If anyone knows which company produced them or knows anything about this brand at all please inform me!
  • bob midiri and Veridian like this

#2 Don Taylor

Don Taylor

    Apollo

  • *****
  • Posts: 1,405
  • Joined: 12 Jul 2009
  • Loc: South Tulsa Oklahoma (near Jenks)

Posted 31 July 2019 - 08:19 PM

I have two - a model 2515 (76mm x 1200mm) which is Royal Astro and a model 2555 (60mm x 900mm) which is a Towa.


  • Veridian likes this

#3 Linn

Linn

    Viking 1

  • *****
  • In Memoriam
  • Posts: 678
  • Joined: 14 Jan 2013

Posted 31 July 2019 - 08:41 PM

If you can, post a picture of the label on the telescope. Usually there is a maker's mark on the label. Someone here will be able to tell you who made your scope. Many of the resellers bought scopes from multiple sources.


  • BillinBallard and Veridian like this

#4 DreamWeaver

DreamWeaver

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,427
  • Joined: 30 Dec 2008
  • Loc: Tucson, AZ

Posted 31 July 2019 - 08:51 PM

They were built for Scope Instrument Corp by different telescope manufacturers.  https://www.cloudyni...cope/?p=7069791    My Scope Orbit 2258 was built by Yamamoto (SYW), and my Orbit 2260 was built by Towa (T).  From what I've been able to find, you will see them branded as "Scope", "Scope Orbit", or "Orbit".


  • Veridian likes this

#5 2696

2696

    Messenger

  • *****
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 458
  • Joined: 27 May 2019
  • Loc: New York

Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:19 PM

Here's the label, model #2553

SCOPE Label.jpg


  • Veridian likes this

#6 DreamWeaver

DreamWeaver

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,427
  • Joined: 30 Dec 2008
  • Loc: Tucson, AZ

Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:21 PM

The circle-T  on the lower right tells us that yours was made by Towa.


  • BillinBallard, Veridian and Bowlerhat like this

#7 DreamWeaver

DreamWeaver

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,427
  • Joined: 30 Dec 2008
  • Loc: Tucson, AZ

Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:24 PM

How about a picture or two of the whole telescope?  We like pictures of old telescopes in this group.  We're kinda weird like that.  lol.gif


  • Vesper818 and Veridian like this

#8 2696

2696

    Messenger

  • *****
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 458
  • Joined: 27 May 2019
  • Loc: New York

Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:47 PM

How about a picture or two of the whole telescope?  We like pictures of old telescopes in this group.  We're kinda weird like that.  lol.gif

SCOPE.jpg

 

Not a great photo for now, I will take more pictures when I start to clean it. Overall though a pretty clean scope.


  • Veridian, Star.Monger, Bomber Bob and 1 other like this

#9 Kasmos

Kasmos

    Fly Me to the Moon

  • *****
  • Posts: 7,403
  • Joined: 19 Aug 2015
  • Loc: So Cal

Posted 01 August 2019 - 03:21 AM

After awhile you don't even need to see a makers mark to tell who made some scopes. Towas are pretty easy to recognize by their styles of focusers, knobs, and especially the models featuring those tray lights. That said, I'm not sure I've seen one with that particular mount. There's a Sears model that has something similar but I don't think it's the same. The diagonal on the finder is especially unique.


Edited by Kasmos, 01 August 2019 - 03:22 AM.

  • Veridian likes this

#10 walter a

walter a

    Viking 1

  • *****
  • Posts: 717
  • Joined: 04 Aug 2014
  • Loc: Prawda Manitoba Canada

Posted 01 August 2019 - 06:25 AM

I recall a sears model that looked similar.


  • Veridian and Bowlerhat like this

#11 beanerds

beanerds

    Apollo

  • -----
  • Posts: 1,244
  • Joined: 15 Jul 2008
  • Loc: Darwin Australia

Posted 01 August 2019 - 06:29 AM

What a cool looking scope ,,,, pun intended , but it makes todays scopes look ??? ,, its a sweetie .

Beanerds .
  • Veridian likes this

#12 2696

2696

    Messenger

  • *****
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 458
  • Joined: 27 May 2019
  • Loc: New York

Posted 01 August 2019 - 06:31 AM

Alright. This probably isn't the best place to post about this but I'm now looking to clean this scope, not necessarily restore it since there really isn't much to restore. I need to clean the objective, the diagonal, and an eyepiece. As far as I know that's all that REALLY needs cleaning. How should I go about this? What products should I use to safely clean the glass on this scope?
  • Veridian likes this

#13 Chuck Hards

Chuck Hards

    You don't know Swift from Astrola

  • *****
  • Posts: 27,730
  • Joined: 03 May 2010

Posted 01 August 2019 - 09:56 AM

I start with just room-temperature water and dish soap.  Avoid more aggressive cleaning methods until you see what soap and water does.  Most of the time it's all you need.


  • Veridian and Kasmos like this

#14 rmoore

rmoore

    Lift Off

  • -----
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: 06 Sep 2018
  • Loc: Boston-ish

Posted 22 December 2021 - 04:09 PM

I thought this might be of use to others seeking information about Scope Instrument company and their products. My own Scope refractor, a model 2531, is not in this 1972 catalog and I have yet to find reference to it any any discussions on CN or elsewhere. (Apparently Scope took the model 2531, a 60mm with wooden tripod, gave it a metal tripod and put the wooden tripod under a 50mm OTA and mount that looks otherwise identical). If anyone is looking for information on Scope instruments of this era I'd be happy to supply data or images from within the catalog.

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

  • IMG_7623.jpg

  • Veridian, Bomber Bob and Kasmos like this

#15 Veridian

Veridian

    Apollo

  • *****
  • Posts: 1,237
  • Joined: 16 Jul 2006
  • Loc: Milwaukee County, Wis.

Posted 21 April 2023 - 06:03 PM

    Yet another fascinating thread.  So, here are some photos taken today of my 'Scope' mod.#2553 and which was purchased new in 1967 (maybe 1968).  For what I can remember, I am thinking it was $39.95, but of course I can not be certain of this.  

 

    The tripod seen in the images is not the original, black, steel tube model.  That one disappeared years ago.  The original 0.965" eyepieces have also disappeared over the years and the zoom eyepiece seen is not original equipment.

    There are now rust streaks and haze across the inner surfaces of the objective lenses.  This is from its getting wet at some point during storage and the steel spacer ring had rusted.  I have no idea as to how to properly remove these stains without removing the coatings or even damaging the lens surfaces.  The dew cap is frozen in place and I was not able to get a good photo of the stains.  

 

    This is my first telescope.  To be able to buy it, a part time job was taken for about 6 months after school and Saturdays, at a meat packing plant.  One thing learned there was that becoming a butcher would not be in my future.

    In 1969, becoming distracted from astronomy by motorcycles, girls and rock & roll, a hiatus was taken from astronomy.  When getting back into the hobby in 2003, I had wondered what became of this telescope.  When my father died in 2016 and when going through his things afterwards, there it was.  It is real luck to have what remains of the telescope and I am so grateful to my father for keeping it 

Attached Thumbnails

  • Scope #2553 60x750mm, my 1st one_rpsrte230421.jpg
  • Scope #2553 60×750mm, $39.95¿1967_rpsrte230421.jpg

  • deSitter, oldmanastro and jcruse64 like this

#16 Veridian

Veridian

    Apollo

  • *****
  • Posts: 1,237
  • Joined: 16 Jul 2006
  • Loc: Milwaukee County, Wis.

Posted 21 April 2023 - 06:05 PM

. . . . and here is a close-up of the focuser's label plate:

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

  • Scope #2553 f12.5, my 1st scope 1967_rpsrte230421.jpg

  • Vesper818 and oldmanastro like this

#17 deSitter

deSitter

    Still in Old School

  • *****
  • Posts: 20,889
  • Joined: 09 Dec 2004

Posted 21 April 2023 - 10:40 PM

This scope can certainly be restored probably to new condition almost! Rust is just iron oxide, it can easily be chemically removed without any damage to the glass, and I doubt there is any magic iron chemistry that is harmful to glass. The coating may even have survived. Strangely, the biggest enemies to glass are pollen and fungus! Fungus can produce hydrofluoric acid as part of its metabolism.which will eat glass, and pollen is incredibly tenacious. To get the dew shield off, use a strap wrench. If it got wet there is certainly oxidation between the aluminum components but once you break that free it should come right off, and then you can work on getting the threads to engage smoothly again.

 

I would get the objective off as a whole and at least attempt to get the dew shield removed, then immerse the entire objective assembly in a chemical bath to remove the rust stain and free the rusted retaining ring. You can start with plain white vinegar. You will have to replace the aluminum spacers between the lenses. Easy.

 

Note that vinegar will also likely at least get at the aluminum cell where it is not painted, which may be a good thing for freeing things up. But don't leave it forever and don't let it get too warm.

 

I had a very similar scope which I sold to some friends. That scope was awesome! I miss it!

 

-drl


Edited by deSitter, 22 April 2023 - 05:25 PM.

  • Veridian likes this

#18 Veridian

Veridian

    Apollo

  • *****
  • Posts: 1,237
  • Joined: 16 Jul 2006
  • Loc: Milwaukee County, Wis.

Posted 22 April 2023 - 03:12 PM

Hi deSitter,

 

    It was really good to find this thread.  Since putting up my 1st post, some reading outside of the forum has been done regarding removing stains from glass.  Several methods and materials were found in the articles last night and vinegar was recommended to be one of them. 

    Oh, I should mention that when originally working with this a few years ago, the objective was removed from its cell for cleaning (Dawn and room temp water w/distilled water rinse).  I can not remember if the dew shield's removal gave me trouble then, but it was taken off and my strap wrench may have been used at that time to do so.  This has been a recurring problem over the years with several other telescopes and a strap wrench is indeed a most handy tool to deal with this.

 

     For concerns of being reprimanded for hi-jacking this thread, I do not want to get too far into this here, as I was already thinking my 1st post was too long and getting off the OP's (2696) original topic.      When I can get some other issues taken care of, starting another thread on "How To Remove Rust Stains From an Objective Lens" may be worthwhile.  We could really get into something good there.

   

Thank you, for getting back with your post,

 

Mark J.D.


  • deSitter likes this

#19 Napersky

Napersky

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,247
  • Joined: 27 Jan 2010
  • Loc: Chicagoland

Posted 20 January 2025 - 02:25 PM

My Scope MODEL 2515 AOC 

 

Attached Thumbnails

  • SCOPE MODEL 2515.jpg

  • deSitter and jcruse64 like this

#20 deSitter

deSitter

    Still in Old School

  • *****
  • Posts: 20,889
  • Joined: 09 Dec 2004

Posted 20 January 2025 - 02:41 PM

My Scope MODEL 2515 AOC 

More pics of this? There was a Astro-Optical SCOPE 76/1200mm in the famous "hain't blue" color of the Sears and Penney scopes of the late 60s, but I've only seen the above color on the mid-60s Sears 6335 version 2 (version 1 was gold/bronze) and the 6336 - same scope on a pier and with an additional side scope. They are all the same scope essentially. The last version sold by Sears was the silver/black 6339a. The AO scope was replaced by an equally good - or almost so - SYW 76/1200mm. That was also hain't blue.

 

-drl


  • Napersky likes this

#21 Napersky

Napersky

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,247
  • Joined: 27 Jan 2010
  • Loc: Chicagoland

Posted 20 January 2025 - 05:30 PM

More pics of this? There was a Astro-Optical SCOPE 76/1200mm in the famous "hain't blue" color of the Sears and Penney scopes of the late 60s, but I've only seen the above color on the mid-60s Sears 6335 version 2 (version 1 was gold/bronze) and the 6336 - same scope on a pier and with an additional side scope. They are all the same scope essentially. The last version sold by Sears was the silver/black 6339a. The AO scope was replaced by an equally good - or almost so - SYW 76/1200mm. That was also hain't blue.

 

-drl

Attached Thumbnails

  • SCOPE MODEL 2515.jpg
  • AOC SCOPE 2215.jpg
  • AOC SCOPE 2515.jpg

  • deSitter and jcruse64 like this

#22 deSitter

deSitter

    Still in Old School

  • *****
  • Posts: 20,889
  • Joined: 09 Dec 2004

Posted 20 January 2025 - 07:45 PM

 

More pics of this? There was a Astro-Optical SCOPE 76/1200mm in the famous "hain't blue" color of the Sears and Penney scopes of the late 60s, but I've only seen the above color on the mid-60s Sears 6335 version 2 (version 1 was gold/bronze) and the 6336 - same scope on a pier and with an additional side scope. They are all the same scope essentially. The last version sold by Sears was the silver/black 6339a. The AO scope was replaced by an equally good - or almost so - SYW 76/1200mm. That was also hain't blue.

 

-drl

 

Well that looks like the 6335 color but it's hard to tell. Can you clean the camera lens? Cell phones get fingerprints on the lens and it makes things muddy-looking.

 

-drl



#23 Napersky

Napersky

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,247
  • Joined: 27 Jan 2010
  • Loc: Chicagoland

Posted 22 January 2025 - 01:02 PM

There are references to Scope Instruments of New York. 

There is a Service Manager at Scope Instrument Co.

Jeff DePaul East Syracuse, New York 1995-present


Edited by Napersky, 22 January 2025 - 01:11 PM.


#24 Napersky

Napersky

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,247
  • Joined: 27 Jan 2010
  • Loc: Chicagoland

Posted 22 January 2025 - 01:04 PM

SCOPE INSTRUMENTS MICROSCOPE

Attached Thumbnails

  • SCOPE INTRUMENTS MICROSCOPE.jpg

  • deSitter and jcruse64 like this

#25 deSitter

deSitter

    Still in Old School

  • *****
  • Posts: 20,889
  • Joined: 09 Dec 2004

Posted 22 January 2025 - 01:06 PM

SCOPE INSTRUMENTS MICROSCOPE

Badge close up!

 

-drl




CNers have asked about a donation box for Cloudy Nights over the years, so here you go. Donation is not required by any means, so please enjoy your stay.


Recent Topics






Cloudy Nights LLC
Cloudy Nights Sponsor: Astronomics