2335 replies to this topic

[Tony Cifani]

I bought a 60/700 "Telestar by Meade" off Facebook Marketplace last week for $20 from a guy who said his grandson never used it. I knew exactly what I was getting into with this scope, but I thought I'd see what I could do with it. The tripod and mount of course are very flimsy, but I was amazed by what I could see. The optics are still in good shape and clean. This morning just before dawn I could easily see Saturn's rings edge on at 35x with a 20mm Svbony "Redline". With a 7mm Ortho (100x), I could see a very slight separation of the rings and planet, and possibly a couple of moons. Saturn was still very small at 100x but recognizable. The actual clear aperture is 56mm, not 60mm, so it's an F/12.5 scope. I was able to split the Double Double with an 8mm Starguider Dual ED eyepiece at 87.5x, although these eyepieces are actually too heavy for the mount and it sags from the extra weight. The Svbony "Redline" is the perfect eyepiece for this scope, nice and lightweight. The big downer is trying to focus at higher magnifications, as there's quite a bit of shake in the mount. Every time I touched the scope, I had to wait several seconds for it to stop jiggling. It's missing the accessory tray, which may help this. I might build one out of thin plywood. I'd like to make a few improvements without spending a lot of money. But, I actually enjoy using this small scope, especially at low powers. I can easily pick it up with one hand and quickly walk out the front door. The Double Cluster was a joy to see, even with just 56mm aperture. I spent some time with a 32mm Plossl just sweeping Cygnus and Lyra before it got light out. Would I recommend this scope to a newcomer? No. But it's a fun small project scope.

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Edited by Tony Cifani, 09 June 2025 - 06:33 AM.

[npbarker]

Let us know if you find anything that that focuser will thread into.  I've got two, one cobbled onto an 80mm f5 scope and one I haven't used.  But a flat, square plate on the bottom would have made it much more usable for a "test bed" OTA.

Moving that cheap ebay focuser to another project, I found that it threads into this lens flange: https://www.ebay.com/itm/165689511891. The edge of the flange provides just enough material to (small) bolt it to a wooden tube back plate, which is how I'm planning on mounting it to an 80mm f4 refractor I'm building around a stubby wood box tube. 

 

Nathan

[John R.]

I bought a 60/700 "Telestar by Meade" off Facebook Marketplace last week for $20 from a guy who said his grandson never used it. I knew exactly what I was getting into with this scope, but I thought I'd see what I could do with it. *big break*  No. But it's a fun small project scope.

Good catch Tony. Definitely worth it. The optics on these so called ‘hobby killers’ can be surprisingly good, probably due to the long f-ratio. Slow refractors like these also don’t put much stress on eyepieces. From the photo it looks like the altitude arm does not use a vixen style clamp. That is what I would try to modify first. It would open up possibly of using the mount on shorter rich field refractors, which would be more stable because they are shorter length. 
I have a very old 60/700, (old enough to have a metal lens cell) of unknown origin that I fixed up. In steady air it puts up a fine image. 
Here it is on a lightweight EQ mount. 

 

Edit; Ah yes, 'project scopes'. They do help wile away the hours until it gets dark.....or the clouds finally go away. (Rare in western Washington in the winter.) 
 

Edited by John R., 09 June 2025 - 06:29 PM.

[Maranatha]

John…you are bad for my wallet. Lol.

 

I checked and ran across the SOI 80mm which is the only SOI refractor I dont own. Well, it used to be, lol. What a monster, 900mm! 3 ft long, sheessh. For $75 why not.

 

I look forward to seeing what it can do.

 

 

Thanks for that heads up Brian. I finally gave in and have just ordered the Spectrum 90mm f7.3, optical tube only. I'll do a report when it arrives, and have had a chance to have it out for several sessions.  

I'm just a pushover for achromat refractors, of all types. 

 

Edit: Yikes! The questions from the missus started, 

So.....whatcha buying? 

Oh, something telescope related. 

But what is it? 

It's an OTA. Hoping she doesn't know what OTA means. 

Oh. 

Yeah, Telescope Warehouse sells telescope parts and stuff. 

Ok? 

At this point she let it go. She knows I tinker with telescope stuff all the time and has given up on my long winded explanations of what this or that is and does.   

 

[John R.]

John…you are bad for my wallet. Lol.

 

I checked and ran across the SOI 80mm which is the only SOI refractor I dont own. Well, it used to be, lol. What a monster, 900mm! 3 ft long, sheessh. For $75 why not.

 

I look forward to seeing what it can do.

At that f-ratio it should show only moderate false color and be very sharp. First thing I check when getting a new refractor is how tight the retaining ring is on the lens cell. I loosen it, then retighten only very lightly. I find most are shipped too tight. 

[Matthew Trail]

I’ve joined the “Goldilocks” club with tonight’s first light of my Spectrum 60mm f8.3 refractor! Purchased just the ota and used a cheap Celestron prism diagonal. First off was the moon, with a bit of high haze that intensified as the session progressed. I used 5 and 6mm Radians and a 7mm TMB planetary (the original Burgess branding). In a nutshell, 100x with the 5 Radiant was definitely supported, but probably the most aesthetically pleasing view was at 71x with the 7mm. 83x with the 6mm Radian was very very nice too. The Radians were a bit heavy with my impromptu old light Bogen 3 way head, though. All the views were very sharp off axis and color was very minimal—a thin yellow rim on the limb, depending on eye angle.
I turned briefly to some low power sweeping around Cygnus, with a no name 20mm plossl, a 19mm TV widefield, and the 24 Pan. All the views were very pretty and contrasty, even with the moon and the encroaching cirrus. I was particularly impressed with how sharp the stars were off axis. Albireo’s colors were particularly vivid. While the star fields were definitely a bit less bright than with my TV-85, they were very pleasing. And the ota is so incredibly light.

I did notice that achieving exact focus is a bit more challenging than with my other refractors, and the focused itself is a tad stiff.

Best $25 I’ve spent on astronomy in a long time time! I may rethink my plan to give this to my sister…

[Maranatha]

Your last sentence makes me laugh.  Gave my goldy to one of my grandsons. Recently asked him if he wanted an upgrade and he said no thanks im good. Out of the mouths of babes!

 

I’ve joined the “Goldilocks” club with tonight’s first light of my Spectrum 60mm f8.3 refractor! Purchased just the ota and used a cheap Celestron prism diagonal. First off was the moon, with a bit of high haze that intensified as the session progressed. I used 5 and 6mm Radians and a 7mm TMB planetary (the original Burgess branding). In a nutshell, 100x with the 5 Radiant was definitely supported, but probably the most aesthetically pleasing view was at 71x with the 7mm. 83x with the 6mm Radian was very very nice too. The Radians were a bit heavy with my impromptu old light Bogen 3 way head, though. All the views were very sharp off axis and color was very minimal—a thin yellow rim on the limb, depending on eye angle.
I turned briefly to some low power sweeping around Cygnus, with a no name 20mm plossl, a 19mm TV widefield, and the 24 Pan. All the views were very pretty and contrasty, even with the moon and the encroaching cirrus. I was particularly impressed with how sharp the stars were off axis. Albireo’s colors were particularly vivid. While the star fields were definitely a bit less bright than with my TV-85, they were very pleasing. And the ota is so incredibly light.

I did notice that achieving exact focus is a bit more challenging than with my other refractors, and the focused itself is a tad stiff.

Best $25 I’ve spent on astronomy in a long time time! I may rethink my plan to give this to my sister…

 

[Gonariu]

Having read a thread on this forum about the Celestron Travelscope 70, after a long time I took it out for grab and go observations (after dinner I sit on the armchair and a heavy drowsiness comes over me that makes me lose all desire to start observing something). In these days I had a good view of the Lagoon Nebula, a certain number of globular clusters in Ophiuchus and some doubles (70 Ophiuchi and, in March, Castor). With a Celestron PL 40 mm that gives 10X, the view of star fields in Sagittarius is very beautiful, even 16X (Celestron PL 25 mm) can be good for the purpose.

[Matthew Trail]

The view of the Moon last night at 75x (.8mm exit pupil) in my new 60mm f8.3 left absolutely nothing to be desired. I was using my old Meade 6.7 UWA smoothie and it was bright and sharp from edge to edge. Very pleasing.

[John R.]

An idea for the Spectrum Explorapro AZ mount altitude slow motion function.
The original configuration features a knob to lock the slow motion.

Loosening this knob permits free rotation in altitude, often too free, and it is difficult to adjust the knob to provide just the right amount of friction, plus allow slow motion control. 
By replacing the knob with a 6mm x 1mm pitch bolt, a compression spring, and washers, as shown here,

Along with the original roller bearing and thrust washers, applied as shown here, 

The bolt can be finger tightened to provide both free altitude movement and have the slow motion control also. The spring offers a much wider range of friction and is much easier to fine tune than the knob. 
I still want to place a nylon washer between the bearing and main body, and will try that after another visit to the hardware store. 

 

[John R.]

Have been out several nights with my new Spectrum 90mm refractor. It is now mounted on an AT Voyager III sitting on a medium duty Slik 300DX photo tripod. 
It has taken a while to learn how to best use the Voyager AZ mount but I am learning how much resistance to dial in for the movements. Balance is critical and even a few ounce change in eyepiece weight has to be adjusted for. 
The low powered views with an inexpensive 32mm plossl (21x at 2.5 degrees) are excellent with pinpoint stars almost to the edge. 
I am finding a 32mm plossl, 15mm Expanse, and 5.5mm AT-PF cover 99% of anything I’m looking at. 
I’m really pleased with this simple, lightweight (<5lb.) achromat. It seems very well made for such a low cost refractor. 
I’m not sure who Spectrum is, but they offer some serviceable telescopes for reasonable prices. I see that Astronomics has picked up their dob line to sell. 
 

The required ‘picture or it isn’t real’; 

 

Almost forgot, I had to add the 90mm rings, they don’t come with the telescope. The gold colored 4inch vixen rail is the one that was attached directly to the tube and transferred directly to the rings. 
Black, white, and gold, looks kinda nice I think. 

Edited by John R., 08 July 2025 - 07:36 PM.