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STOLEN ASTRONOMY EQUIPMENT

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#1 nicknacknock

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Posted 23 September 2020 - 11:44 PM

This thread is intended to be used for members to report stolen astronomy equipment, either their own personal equipment; stuff stolen from an observatory with which they're affiliated; or other items which they have personal knowledge of and information about.

 

NO CHIT-CHAT, please. We intend for this thread to be used as a means by which folks can hopefully locate stolen equipment by giving our members a heads-up about it possibly being out in the market, and chit-chat will only clutter things up and get in the way. Any posts unrelated to the intention of this thread as stated above, will be removed without warning.

 

If you think you've stumbled across stolen merchandise that matches something posted here, please contact the poster directly via PM. We also hope this thread doesn't have to be used much! Thanks for your help and cooperation! smile.gif


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#2 gcs111

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 12:34 AM

Saw an ad for a UC Obsession selling for $320 in Offer Up in the Los Angeles area.

Maybe 16-18". This put up an alarm. If you know of anyone who has had one stollen contact me. Gerry


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#3 dougspeterson

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 01:52 AM

I had stolen from my Santa Ana, CA apartment, likely a service person, about a year ago, but I am still finding small things missing....

 

6” Celestron black tube f8 refractor OTA, w red Moonlite crayford refractor focuser, rings, vix rail

 

8” Orion black f6 newt ota, rings etc.

 

Celestron SP mount, had a Takahashi tray with it.

Luminos 31mm 2” 82deg in its box.


Edited by dougspeterson, 24 September 2020 - 01:53 AM.

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#4 slsnider423

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 10:06 AM

I purchased a Questar Standard 3.5" scope from a fellow in the Cincinnati area.  It was picked up by FedEx, brought to the Cincinnati FedEx facility, .....and was promptly lost.  I suspect the FedEx driver may have taken it, but have no proof.  The scope is a 1993 vintage with vinyl case and the Powerguide II system installed.  The serial number is 1-10187.  The shipping date was July 8, 2020.  Please keep an eye out for this scope!  Thanks much..........Steve Snider


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#5 25585

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Posted 25 September 2020 - 10:34 AM

In case it makes its way to the USA  https://stargazerslo...olen-telescope/


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#6 gcs111

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Posted 25 September 2020 - 02:24 PM

I purchased a C-8 Ultima 2000 in the Los Angeles area. May be stolen. If you know anyone who has had one taken please contact me. Thanks, Gerry
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#7 rosecityred

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Posted 05 October 2020 - 04:28 PM

Due to the Oregon fires I evacuated some of my equipment to a storage unit in Gresham, Oregon. The unit was robbed sometime between Sept. 12th and Sept 27th of this year.  Here is what was taken:

 

* William Optics 80mm F7 Apochromatic Refractor vintage about 2006 to 2008.  The OTA is shiny candy apple red. There is one small mar on the OTA.  

 

The telescope came with a William Optics aluminum case which also contained a William Optics 2" Carbon Fiber 2" Dielectric 90 degree diagonal.  It was in the case with the telescope.  There may have been a 1.25" diagonal in there too. 

 

* My eyepiece collection, kept in an aluminum tool case from Home Depot fitted with foam cut to hold each object.  It contained:

 1) 2" Meade 30mm ep

 1) 2" Guan Shen 25mm ep

 1) 1.25" volcano top University Optics 7mm Ortho ep

 1) 1.25" Burgess Optics TMB 6mm planetary ep

 1) 1.25" 14mm Pentax XL ep  

 1) 1.25" 9mm Plossl ep of some kind, probably Celestron.

 1) 2" Sean's Astronomy Shop 2X Barlow 

 1) Starlight self-centering 1.25" to 2" eyepiece adapter

 

The case also held a 2" Howie Glatter laser collimator and a 2" Televue Visual Paracorr.  Also some small tools, a head lamp, little red lights, and other assorted little astrogeek stuff.  

 

They also took my LowePro camera bag with my Pentax K90D camera with an 18-55mm Pentax zoom lens and a Pentax 55mm-250mm zoom lens, and the light tripod I used.

 

They also got my dad's WWII medal ribbons and his sterling silver submarine service pin, my great-grandmother's multicolored gold pocket watch with a small diamond (about a 1.5" in diameter), and an Aria Cedar acoustic slotted head guitar with lovely abalone inlay in a Washburn hard case.  I mention these items in case someone sees all this stuff together at a flea market they might alert someone that these items are all stolen.

 

If you see these things for sale or advertised I'd really appreciate it if you please would contact me.

 

Thank-you,

Julia aka rosecityred


Edited by rosecityred, 06 October 2020 - 12:29 AM.

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#8 stcroix

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Posted 19 October 2020 - 09:20 AM

Not a recent theft, but will post, just in case someone comes across the item(s). Not like a lot of these come up for sale very often and we are a fairly small and tight knit community. I will speculate that this ended up at a Pawn shop, since the thieves left the telescope, but stole the tripod and a fishing tackle box and a couple fishing poles from the storage unit.

 

Place: San Jose, CA

When: Hard to remember, but mid 1990's, probably '95 or '96

What: A Meade Tripod and Wedge for a 2120 LX5, with the large padded blue Meade carrying bag and in the zipper pouch, the 3 mounting screws.

 

While I don't necessarily expect to find this, I'm hopeful that maybe, just maybe, someone might step forward and say they picked it up years ago.


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#9 oldscope

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Posted 12 November 2020 - 12:10 AM

In the 1970's, an 1866 Alvan Clark & Sons 5-inch wood tube refractor was stolen from a cottage on Sparrow Lake, Ontario Canada.

 

If a 5 inch Clark with that date shows up anywhere, please contact the Antique Telescope Society or the Dorner Telescope Museum.


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#10 gcs111

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Posted 15 December 2020 - 11:53 PM

Good news, the original owner of the stolen Obsession UC scope has recovered his scope back. It was a 22". All has ended well.
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#11 Martin Lyons

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Posted 17 December 2020 - 08:30 AM

Good news, the original owner of the stolen Obsession UC scope has recovered his scope back. It was a 22". All has ended well.

Well done for being alert and for following through.

Also, thanks for the feedback.


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#12 John Rogers

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Posted 12 March 2021 - 06:35 PM

The Antique Telescope Society just published this alert: https://www.kxl.com/...n-in-hillsboro/

 

Hopefully, the telescope will be recovered intact.


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#13 Chris Westland

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Posted 14 March 2021 - 03:59 PM

Theft in Washington State

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=FMkBfhBIJUw


Edited by Chris Westland, 14 March 2021 - 03:59 PM.

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#14 Bill Jensen

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Posted 17 March 2021 - 01:31 PM

Theft in Washington State

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=FMkBfhBIJUw

Chris, it is the same scope theft as John posted above, both a large scope and the unitron. We have posted it on the Oregon Star Party FB page as well, to be on the lookout. 


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#15 ResQU

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Posted 24 March 2021 - 06:27 PM

Chris, it is the same scope theft as John posted above, both a large scope and the unitron. We have posted it on the Oregon Star Party FB page as well, to be on the lookout. 

Good news....Looks like it was found.  waytogo.gif
https://youtu.be/2iF6aRUJdmY


Edited by ResQU, 24 March 2021 - 06:27 PM.

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#16 Chris Westland

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Posted 24 March 2021 - 09:44 PM

That's heartwarming, and great to see that the police located it and are following up on the theft.


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#17 gcs111

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Posted 30 March 2021 - 12:59 AM

How about posting the info for the other scope....and any other items taken. I saw a hint it was a Unitron. Might help a little more if we here in the CN group know what to keep an eye out for.

#18 Barologuy

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Posted 12 April 2021 - 03:20 PM

Saw an ad on Mercari for a Explore Scientific AR152 + 1.25" Baader fringe killer + Guidescope + SPL 26mm and 32mm eyepieces (looks like Apertura, not fully pictured) for $636 out of TX. If you or anyone in TX had one lost, look it up. This set off major alarm bells for me.

#19 dwyer2bp

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Posted 21 April 2021 - 12:14 PM

Greetings everyone,

 

We have a situation with a deal carried out here on CN where a set of Celestron Japanese and Taiwan eyepieces have gone missing. USPS tracking claims it was delivered and yet the buyer unfortunately has not received it. Delivery location was Colorado Springs, CO. If you happen to come across them, just notify myself and I can notify any local authorities.

 

Some of the eyepieces are distinguishable as the original owner had engraved the words 'Deluxe' and 'REG' onto the barrels of the 2x barlows. Please see these two ads for photos of the missing items.

 

https://www.cloudyni...n-eyepiece-set/

https://www.cloudyni...n-eyepiece-set/

 

Thanks for reading,

Clear Skies



#20 dwyer2bp

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Posted 26 April 2021 - 12:40 PM

Follow-up on the missing Japan/Taiwan eyepieces: They are found and returned to the buyer! Case closed thanks to the detective work of both the buyer and their local USPS office, as they were able to re-acquire them from the person they were mistakenly delivered to.


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#21 Rbuckyfuller

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Posted 24 January 2022 - 08:23 PM

Hello all,

 

I recently bought a nice Celestron C8 from around 1977 or 1978 from a reputable seller on a resale site.  It had been donated to a charity and was being sold as a favor by a reputable seller.  I do not believe the reputable seller knew it might be stolen.

 

It was donated to a charity thrift shop/consignment in either Maryland or Pennsylvania -- I do not so far know which, but I'll update when I know.  The person who donated it said they were a family member of a deceased relative who owned the telescope.

 

I believe there is a chance it was stolen because the serial number was removed.  It may innocently have lost its plate and been given one from a junked C8, but it may also have been intentionally removed because it was stolen.

 

In the case it was stolen, I'd like to get it back to the rightful owner despite my investment in the telescope.

 

Unfortunately, by posting enough information to be helpful, I've also given people enough information to google and find the various listings.  So I'm going to need some real evidence to return it to the owner. 

 

But if you've got pictures of yourself with the telescope (not pictures that are in the online ads or have indications they were photoshopped), documentation from when you had a modification done on it (it has one), a report that I can get from the police department that pre-dates this post and has some details inside, I would be happy to part with the telescope so the rightful person can have it.  I would say goodbye to the money I spent on it.

 

If you heard anything about a stolen old C8 in PA or MD, please let me know.


Edited by Rbuckyfuller, 24 January 2022 - 08:37 PM.

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#22 M1juanda

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Posted 12 March 2022 - 03:25 PM

My observatory equipment was ransacked and most was stolen from a rental storage facility. Police no help and facility cameras strangely "not working" at the time. Would appreciate any tips or help. Houston Texas area Jan 3. 

11" celestron Starbright Cass with controll mount and 3" tripod

6" Galileo refractor

40mm Solarex Coronado in case with eyepieces and barlow

3 silver cases of eyepieces filters adapters

Rebel T7 camera in bag with telephoto

1 black case of 2" eyepieces

 

The Galeo 6" refractor is metallic gray and rare as a unicorn.

Text to 713-598-7042

 

 



#23 alintolea

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Posted 21 July 2022 - 10:32 AM

Possibly stolen Televue 140

 

Posted by some very improbable looking dude in Suceava, Romania, alongside a Vixen GP-DX and a case with accessories. Telescope comes with case. The guy is asking for 2000 euros on a romanian telescope swap facebook group I am part of.

 

don't know if the link will work but here it is:

https://www.facebook...120459614872631


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#24 YourNotSirius

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Posted 03 August 2022 - 11:31 AM

On or about July 26, 2022 some equipment was stolen from my house. The police are virtually clueless about how to search for these items. We need the help of the astronomy community to hopefully locate these items and arrange for them to be returned to us.

 

The major item was a Carton CST 100mm f/13 refractor with a Super Nova mount and tripod. Everything was there ranging from the original eyepieces to star charts and catalogs! Of course, everything was written in Japanese. (Weak grin) Even the original boxes were included since it was, for all practical purposes, NIB! (Yes!! It was virtually New In the Box!) I had shipped from Japan to here in New Hampshire at the beginning of this year. It was a birthday present for my father. What really stinks is that we never even got a chance to use it even once! Here is a link to the original ad posting: https://page.auction...ion/e1037625246

 

Some of the CN members may remember seeing the listing in the Classics Section. It certainly did get some attention especially since the seller forbid listing on the two popular service sites in Japan!

 

In addition to this other things were stolen. A Craftsman roll away tool cabinet set with many hand tools ranging from Snap-On screw driver sets to Dremel tools and Snap-On torque wrenches. Some of those tools my dad bought when he was just starting out in life. We have a video of the tools in the cabinet but, no stills to post here. I do have plenty of still photos of the Carton one of which includes the serial number. I will try to post them here.

 

One other item has turned up as missing, too. That is his venerable 1976-ish Celesctron Orange C-8 with a Moonlight two speed focusing unit. (Color was red.) It was in a black storage case that was sitting below the tripod of the Carton CST. The C-8 was his grab and go scope for public events.

 

We know who took it. However, in the world of today, since there was no video of the theft the police cannot even begin and investigation! What a crock of horseradish!

 

What I would like to request is that any and all in the greater New England area keep an eye out for any of this equipment. The usual places such as Craigslist and E-Bay are not too likely to have them posted because the thief knows that those are the first place anyone would search. It is more probable that he would have used some pawn shops or thrift stores in New Hampshire although, I have been told that there are some less honest web sites which are known to traffic in stolen goods. Since this person has ties to outer cities to the north of Boston, such shops in those locations would also be fair game. There is one slight chance that this went to the Pittsburgh PA area with an acquaintance but, that's a bit of a long shot since that person's car is too small for these items.

 

If anyone sees or hears of anything even close to this please, please, PLEASE, let me know immediately via a PM. Once the official investigation begins then I will offer up contact instructions for the proper authorities.

 

There is more to this story than what I have offered here. For now, this is as much as I can offer. It is my sincere hope that these items can be located and returned and that the thief will be given his just desserts!

 

Thank you to everyone.

 

Q

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#25 pjmulka

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Posted 11 August 2022 - 02:24 AM

Please write down or take photos of serial numbers it makes it so much easier identify stolen property. If you have something stolen REPORT IT. I can’t stress this enough get it in the system. There is a national law enforcement database get it in the system. Also if you have any doubts a about something you have purchased second hand have the serial number run by the police. In Michigan we can do it right from
the car I suspect most states can as well and certainly any department can have their dispatch run it through state and federal databases.
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