The sheer beauty of Unitron refractors -- their hallmark black and white paint scheme, the elegant "Uniclamps" for adding piggyback scopes and sliding tube counterweights, the polished metal knobs -- made the 5- and 6-inch Unitron refractors the stuff of boyhood dreams for geezers like me. Alas, as my late father lamented, "Son, why couldn't we have been born rich instead of good looking?" Compensating for inflation, the 6-inch Unitron fetched almost $70,000 in 2024 dollars.
In the words of the Irish Tourism Development Authority "There's a great future in nostalgia." I've attempted to recreate the aesthetic appeal of those classic instruments in a modest, far more affordable way. Adorning the living room of my Florida house is a much-modified Bresser 6" f/8 achromat with piggybacked 80mm f/8 and 70mm f/10 achromats. Granted, it's not a towering f/16 behemoth like the original that inspired it, but it never fails to draw a crowd at star parties.
Edited by schiefspiegler, 25 August 2024 - 05:19 PM.