35 replies to this topic

[timmywampus]

When I was growing up, my mom bought me a Tasco telescope at one point, a Jason at another, and ever since, I've been a huge refractor fan.  Today, I bought my own Tasco, but this is much better than the one from my childhood, it's a dusty but in-great-shape TE15-5.  I am going to spend this cloudy week cleaning it up and see how it does when clear skies return.  Tips, suggestions, recommendations are all welcome, this is my first fixer-upper. 

 

As you can see from the 1st unboxing picture, it's a true Arizona scope (hint: look inside the tube ring).

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[mdowns]

Nice find and catch!

[timmywampus]

thanks.  i'm trying to remember to take pictures as i go, but it's mostly dead spiders and dust that i'm dealing with.  there was some nylon brushing that was needed and i ran a dry fleece through the tube for cobwebs.  I've ordered a 0.965 to 1.25 adapter that should get here this weekend because i'm not wowed by these eyepieces.  the glass looks fine, but they're dirty and a longer term project. there are some scratches in the white paint, but overall, it's pretty much a dust-off job.  i'm fighting off my machinery training by not giving everything a light coat of oil as it goes together.  it's dry and it seems wrong.  the focus action is smooth but short, but the focusing tube gives about a foot worth of adjustment for the knob to fine tune with short travel.  the unboxing was a treat, once i got rid of the bugs.

[DouglasPaul]

That's a heck of a find, congrats!

[deSitter]

When I was growing up, my mom bought me a Tasco telescope at one point, a Jason at another, and ever since, I've been a huge refractor fan.  Today, I bought my own Tasco, but this is much better than the one from my childhood, it's a dusty but in-great-shape TE15-5.  I am going to spend this cloudy week cleaning it up and see how it does when clear skies return.  Tips, suggestions, recommendations are all welcome, this is my first fixer-upper. 

 

As you can see from the 1st unboxing picture, it's a true Arizona scope (hint: look inside the tube ring).

It came with a LIVE scorpion??

 

Does it have the clock drive? Nice find!

 

-drl

[Bomber Bob]

Congratulations on a Grand Old Classic!

 

And, a Great Buy, too!   $40... it's hard to find a good .965" Kellner eyepiece for that.

[timmywampus]

It came with a LIVE scorpion??

 

Does it have the clock drive? Nice find!

 

-drl

Yes to both.

 

AZ bark scorpions are no joke.  they tear up the cricket population and even spar against each other.  once we found this, i nearly dropped the mount to the floor, i couldn't put it down fast enough because scorpions are pretty quick.

 

It has a pristine clock drive that just purrs when plugged in.

[ArizonaScott]

Congrats on a spectacular find at a great bargain price....

 

....and your new AZ pet too!   

[photiost]

Great find congrats !!

 

Do post more images !!

[timmywampus]

Great find congrats !!

 

Do post more images !!

well, you motivated me to learn how to do that.  here are some pictures of the unboxing and one of the clock gear asked about earlier

 

[timmywampus]

Time to get down to business.  The lens in this scope is very dirty.  all surfaces, there were condensation marks between the elements

 

 

It took me a long time to figure this part out because unlike every other part of the scope so far, the lens retaining ring was super tight.  I read up on https://www.cloudyni.../#entry11792995 to see how others have done it and i had the same two screw drivers, but i came up with another method.  i drilled a woodblock to hold the screw drivers, set them back with washers and nuts so that they were not low enough to graze the lens in a slip.

 

 

It worked like a champ, suddenly the retainer moved smoothly and i was able to give the lens a distilled bath

 

 

I am letting it soak for a while to loosen all the dust, marks, and residue.  I'll pick the story back up later with a finished lens photo post assembly.

[timmywampus]

most everything came off, there were a few stubborn specks that didnt want to let go, but the streaks and lines that were present are nearly absent.  i've reassembled the lens cell and connected it up to the scope.  

 

 

The dew shield had a thread that really wanted to bind, but after checking a dozen times to see if i was crossthreading and finding out that i wasn't, it's back together.

 

[deSitter]

well, you motivated me to learn how to do that.  here are some pictures of the unboxing and one of the clock gear asked about earlier

The focuser flange (with screws) should stay in the tube and the focuser itself unscrews from the flange - at least on my 10TE-5 and Sears 6335. This provides a great advantage - you can get another focuser and adapt it for 1.25" and not have to modify the original. Also many AO 60mm refractors have a focuser that screws into the actual tube - those focusers can also fit on the 10TE flange.

 

-drl

[Terra Nova]

You got a really good deal! Congrats!

[Kasmos]

You said it!

[timmywampus]

It’s all assembled and I’m hoping to have an eyepiece adapter arrive this afternoon. If that happens, I’ll take it out for a spin.

[timmywampus]

the eyepiece adapter arrived late yesterday, so i took it out tonight and got a few pics, but i had some high cirrus that wasn't helping and i definitely appreciate a fine focus knob on my other scopes compared to this one speed that seems to struggle finding a sweet spot.  maybe what i need is a night without the high cirrus.

 

jupiter

 

 

moon

 

Edited by timmywampus, 14 January 2024 - 11:16 PM.

[ericb760]

You seemed to have lucked out with the .965 to 1.25 adapter. My Meade 60mm wouldn't focus with it so I had to replace the VB so it now accepts 1.25 EP's without an adapter. You may want to consider that as well. And, Offerup has been my honey hole for finding great deals as well. 

[timmywampus]

You seemed to have lucked out with the .965 to 1.25 adapter. My Meade 60mm wouldn't focus with it so I had to replace the VB so it now accepts 1.25 EP's without an adapter. You may want to consider that as well. And, Offerup has been my honey hole for finding great deals as well. 

I don’t know how lucky I am, it can theoretically reach focus, but it’s the tiniest sweet spot I’ve had to fight with. A different focuser would be really nice, something with a 10:1 knob would make huge difference. 

[ericb760]

I don’t know how lucky I am, it can theoretically reach focus, but it’s the tiniest sweet spot I’ve had to fight with. A different focuser would be really nice, something with a 10:1 knob would make huge difference. 

Buy the VB I linked to. It will make the scope so much more useable.

[deSitter]

I don’t know how lucky I am, it can theoretically reach focus, but it’s the tiniest sweet spot I’ve had to fight with. A different focuser would be really nice, something with a 10:1 knob would make huge difference. 

You should not be having any focus issues with this scope. It's very slow, f/16, and the optics on every example ever reported are excellent so you should get a snap focus of complete lack of doubt. Your objective may be installed backward so you are not getting any good focus and just looking for the best of a bad situation. I have two of the same scope and both have snap focus.

 

-drl

[Senex Bibax]

AZ bark scorpions are no joke.  they tear up the cricket population and even spar against each other.

Especially the ones in Fallout: New Vegas

[ericb760]

You should not be having any focus issues with this scope. It's very slow, f/16, and the optics on every example ever reported are excellent so you should get a snap focus of complete lack of doubt. Your objective may be installed backward so you are not getting any good focus and just looking for the best of a bad situation. I have two of the same scope and both have snap focus.

 

-drl

He's using a .965 to 1.25 adapter sleeve.

[deSitter]

He's using a .965 to 1.25 adapter sleeve.

That's not a problem other than vignetting in long eyepieces. These scopes have an enormous focus range because of the long pull-out draw tube. The OP should check that the objective is not installed backward and that the orientation of the positive (convex) element is properly installed relative to the negative element. This is very easy to check with a bright window or lamp.

 

-drl

[timmywampus]

This is very easy to check with a bright window or lamp.

 

-drl

During disassembly, I wrote down the orientation marks on the sides of the lenses to ensure they went back together right, but I am happy to verify.  Can you explain how to do this check?