116 replies to this topic

[grif 678]

Before things got so high tech, and you did not have all these hand held gizmos, the ads for the classic scopes like Vixen, Edmund, and so on, were exciting to read. Now I am talking about us that had not seen the things that the ads said that the scope would show. Now when they said that the scope would show the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, the Polar Ice cap on Mars, these things really got me turned on. It made me want to get one of those scopes real bad. I had never seen those things, maybe in a book in school or something.

Wanting to see those things made the classic telescope ads so fun to read, and really got my intensity for getting a good scope very high. What were some of the things you could not wait to see when you finally got you a classic scope.

[rob1986]

Before things got so high tech, and you did not have all these hand held gizmos, the ads for the classic scopes like Vixen, Edmund, and so on, were exciting to read. Now I am talking about us that had not seen the things that the ads said that the scope would show. Now when they said that the scope would show the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, the Polar Ice cap on Mars, these things really got me turned on. It made me want to get one of those scopes real bad. I had never seen those things, maybe in a book in school or something.
Wanting to see those things made the classic telescope ads so fun to read, and really got my intensity for getting a good scope very high. What were some of the things you could not wait to see when you finally got you a classic scope.

The first time i didnt see the cassini division i was 36, so my perspective is a bit different.

But meades 90s catalogs and televue ep ads

I miss them

[bobzeq25]

Pretty much any ad from Unitron.  They must have had a great ad agency.

[Exnihilo]

+1 for the Unitron ads.  I also thought the S&T Celestron ads with Leonard Nimoy were pretty cool.  I always liked the Starliner ads, as well as the JMI ads.  The JMI NGT Newts were so different, and the scopes so cool looking, I always thought about having one someday.

[CHASLX200]

I saw my first real ads when i saw my first SKY& TELE at my first club meeting in June of 1977. I was 14 then. All ads turned me on as i could only dream about all them ads back then.  I told myself that one day i would have them all and just about have done that.  Sure made me hate my 60mm. Meade was the real deal in 1977 when i got their first catalog so i dreamed of that killer looking 4" Unitron look a like they sold. Any Celestron ad was head in the sky dream land for me. The old school Newt ads were what dreams were made of.

Edited by CHASLX200, 29 July 2022 - 06:51 PM.

[kasprowy]

Getting the paper Orion catalog in the mail was always pretty good ...

[clamchip]

The Unitron ads, "now that's a telescope" I said to myself.

I knew there was no way on 75 cents a week allowance.

I didn't even think of a charge card, I just might of been able to swing it if I did.

I just had to be happy with my Harmonic Reed 2-1/2" newt, and I was indeed happy.

I was so happy astronomy has stayed with me all my life.

I didn't need a telescope to be interested in astronomy. To this day I look up and the feeling is still there, the grand sky show, it's so

awesome, so big, so cool!

Incredibly I still have that Harmonic Reed, I'm surprised the plastic hasn't turned to dust.

Robert

 

[Eric P]

The Questar and TeleVue Genesis/Oracle ads in S&T hooked me into both brands from a young age.

[CharLakeAstro]

The ad that influenced me the most, was a 2 page Meade ad, showing a line-up of the LX-50, and the LX-200 classic. The Meade block letters were filled with stars and nebulae. No white lab coats.

 

Then the ETX scopes came out, but I realized that aperture was important. I had a small refractor, but I lusted after an SCT. I was torn between an Ultima 8 PEC and a Meade LX. I saved up, succumbed to the flashy Meade ad, and bought an LX-10 as my first serious scope. "The exact same optics as the LX-200" and all I could afford at the time 

 

My next scope was an Ultima 8 PEC, then an Ultima 2000, then a NexStar... then I went back to the Ultima PEC before moving to an equatorial mount. Still own and use (2) Ultima PECs.

 

But the lined-up Meade ad was the bait that really drew me in... like a moth to a porch light.

 

 

 

Edited by CharLakeAstro, 29 July 2022 - 10:09 PM.

[mdowns]

I loved them all,lots of drool over many catalogs and years for me.The one that always sticks in my heart ,was this pic of the unobtainium,from a cave catalog.

[Mcloud]

Televue plossl ads, TV Pronto, Edmund fork mounted red Newtonian, anything with the Celestron gals (I was a teenager after all) the Meade white coat scientist with the Research Grade newts, the ridiculous Questar ad claiming that the new owner of the 3.5 was now getting Hubble like views of Jupiter compared to his C8 and the amazing full color glossy catalogues from the big 2 at the time. Oh and the orange tube C102 on yolk mount!

[RichA]

Before things got so high tech, and you did not have all these hand held gizmos, the ads for the classic scopes like Vixen, Edmund, and so on, were exciting to read. Now I am talking about us that had not seen the things that the ads said that the scope would show. Now when they said that the scope would show the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, the Polar Ice cap on Mars, these things really got me turned on. It made me want to get one of those scopes real bad. I had never seen those things, maybe in a book in school or something.

Wanting to see those things made the classic telescope ads so fun to read, and really got my intensity for getting a good scope very high. What were some of the things you could not wait to see when you finally got you a classic scope.

The SMELL of the late 1970's Celestron catalog was a powerful trigger to want the scopes.  It was a really beautiful, glossy piece of work that had a very particular (though not unpleasant) odor.  It (the one I had) lasted for years. Something that in addition to the quality of the images, cannot be duplicated as well online.

Edited by RichA, 30 July 2022 - 12:12 AM.

[John Higbee]

the 1976 Celestron glossy catalog that came with my C8 Orange Tube...

 

the Criterion RV-6 ads...

 

the Edmund Deluxe Space Conqueror / Palomar Jr. (what great names!) 4.25" Newtonian in the Edmund catalog...and

 

the box for my Tasco 5VTE 60mm...my first telescope, in 1964. 

[oldmanastro]

Back in 1965 it was the lineup of Astro Optical and Towa telescopes in the Sears Fall-Winter catalog what turned me on into astronomy. After my first telescope arrived during that Christmas (#4 in the Sears image), the Unitorn ad in the back page of the Review of Popular Astronomy featuring the fully loaded 3" equatorial was always my favorite. 

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[bobhen]

I got a 60mm refractor when I was 13 but by the time I was 25 I wanted to get a “serious” telescope. Having owned a scope I sort of knew what I was in for, at least I thought so.

 

The Quester ads were drool-worthy but back then Questars were out of my price range. The ads for the GE mounted Newtonians looked very utilitarian. Many of the SCT ads showed photos taken (an attribute promoted by SCT makers) of solar system and deep space objects that sparked my imagination.  

 

But the Sky and Telescope ad that really got my attention was from the February 1978 issue. As you can see in the image below, Meade was promoting their Unitron lookalike refractors. I think there is still some of my drool on those pages.

 

I then made the trip from the Philadelphia suburbs across the river to Edmund Scientific to have a look at the scopes they had on display. They also had a nice looking red tube 4” F15 achromatic refractor. But they also had a 5” Celestron SCT on display. The C5 looked so small and yet still had more aperture than the 4” refractors.

 

I thought, why don’t I just get an 8” SCT and have twice the aperture as one of those 4” refractors. So that is what I ended up buying. In hindsight, at the time, that was probably a mistake. Some 45-years later among my 5 telescopes are both a C8 SCT and a 4" refractor.  

 

Bob

 

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[CHASLX200]

I got a 60mm refractor when I was 13 but by the time I was 25 I wanted to get a “serious” telescope. Having owned a scope I sort of knew what I was in for, at least I thought so.

 

The Quester ads were drool-worthy but back then Questars were out of my price range. The ads for the GE mounted Newtonians looked very utilitarian. Many of the SCT ads showed photos taken (an attribute promoted by SCT makers) of solar system and deep space objects that sparked my imagination.  

 

But the Sky and Telescope ad that really got my attention was from the February 1978 issue. As you can see in the image below, Meade was promoting their Unitron lookalike refractors. I think there is still some of my drool on those pages.

 

I then made the trip from the Philadelphia suburbs across the river to Edmund Scientific to have a look at the scopes they had on display. They also had a nice looking red tube 4” F15 achromatic refractor. But they also had a 5” Celestron SCT on display. The C5 looked so small and yet still had more aperture than the 4” refractors.

 

I thought, why don’t I just get an 8” SCT and have twice the aperture as one of those 4” refractors. So that is what I ended up buying. In hindsight, at the time, that was probably a mistake. Some 45-years later among my 5 telescopes are both a C8 SCT and a 4" refractor.  

 

Bob

I have that catalog. That was when Meade was the best.
 

[rcwolpert]

The first issue of my S&T subscription to arrive at my home was the March 1964 issue. I poured over that issue for days, but no page interested me as much as the ad for the RV-6 Dynascope. I saved my money all year and finally purchased and had my RV-6 by the end of December that year.

 

 

[Exnihilo]

The Unitron ads, "now that's a telescope" I said to myself.

I knew there was no way on 75 cents a week allowance.

I didn't even think of a charge card, I just might of been able to swing it if I did.

I just had to be happy with my Harmonic Reed 2-1/2" newt, and I was indeed happy.

I was so happy astronomy has stayed with me all my life.

I didn't need a telescope to be interested in astronomy. To this day I look up and the feeling is still there, the grand sky show, it's so

awesome, so big, so cool!

Incredibly I still have that Harmonic Reed, I'm surprised the plastic hasn't turned to dust.

Robert

 

post-50896-14074277746471_thumb.jpg

Just thinking your pic could be turned into an ad.  

[Darren Drake]

There's soooo many but here's one to start....

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Edited by Darren Drake, 01 August 2022 - 02:57 PM.

[Darren Drake]

How about having the actual scope used for the add???

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[davidmcgo]

I was hooked by the 1981 or 1982 double page Celestron spreads in Sky and Tel for the C8 and C11 where the left page showed the scope and a lot of flowing prose on what you could see with it and the right face had a bunch of color deep sky and lunar/planetary shots.  They were really catchy with a black background and white text.

 

Dave

[davidmcgo]

Also the Questar Shoots Deep space inside front cover ad with the photo of the Lagoon Nebula by Leo Herzl with a Q3.5 piggybacked on a Q7.

 

Dave

[Xeroid]

When I saw this add for a Meade 826 reflector, I went ga-ga..I was hooked.

 

Got the scope around 1977 and I still use it to this day! 

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[oldmanastro]

When I saw this add for a Meade 826 reflector, I went ga-ga..I was hooked.

 

Got the scope around 1977 and I still use it to this day! 

Nice scope! I had one like this back in 79. By 1986 it had seen little use and I decided to sell it (I always regretted that sale!). The person who bought it still has it today and brings it to the local astronomy club star parties. He has kept it as good as new.

[Terra Nova]

Like many others here, and as you may guess, it was the Unitron ads and brochures! Wow! I was gobsmacked!