9 replies to this topic

[Gamura2013]

Hi all,

 

In 1981 my parents purchased a 2nd hand Polarex telescope for my as a Birthday present. It got a fair bit of use for several years, however has sat in its box for years.

 

In recent years my partner and I have purchased a house in the country ( about 2 hours drive from Sydney, Australia) and I unboxed the scope. It seems to work fine (still!!) however I am having trouble identifying exactly what Polarex model it is ( might be an Australian specific model?). At first I thought it might be a model 133N-11, however it is not the exactly the same.

 

If anyone can help identify it I would be very appreciative.

 

 

 

 

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[ngc7319_20]

It looks shorter than my 114 model, so I am guessing you are right about yours being a "Junior" model 133N.

 

Another clue would be the diameter of the large lens in the front.  Make a rough measurement of that in mm, and then convert to inches, and compare to your paperwork.  Model 133N should be 60mm or 2.4 inches.

 

There should also be some numbers inscribed on the rear focuser body.  There are probably values of D= and F= in mm.  These might be in one of your photos already, but I cannot read it. Maybe upload it again?  That photo is very tiny for some reason.

Edited by ngc7319_20, 05 January 2025 - 08:03 PM.

[starman876]

Does look like a Unitron 114

[starman876]

It does look like a 114 however closer inspection it looks like a Unitron 760.

[Gamura2013]

Oops - apologies I forgot to include one photo...sigh....

[Airship]

Yep, it looks like a Polarex 133-N. See...

 

https://www.unitronh...ex-model-133-n/

 

...on the Unitron History Project website.

[Gamura2013]

Apologies - struggling with the upload of photos - I will try once more

 

The mount looks very much like the Unitron 760, however the scope is labelled Polarex

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Edited by Gamura2013, 05 January 2025 - 09:01 PM.

[Airship]

Unitron sold these under their 700 series. The 740, 750, and 760 were 40mm, 50mm, and 60mm scopes, all with 700mm focal lengths. The Unitrons featured a folding finder that was hinged so that it would fold up and fit in the cabinet. The Polarex version may not have featured this element.

[Gamura2013]

thanks all - it looks like mine is a Polarex version of the Unitron 760 ( the finder scope definitely does not fold - one of my uncles [who was a carpenter] made me a custom case for the whole kit as when purchased it was in a generic cardboard box).

 

thanks for your help all, I will continue to research (great resources listed here!! Research has already shown that the store my parents purchased from was the Australian distributor for Unitron/Polarex - and that my telescope is most likely pre mid 1960's as  the name Polarex was dropped then in favour of Unitron).

[starman876]

these were interesting as the focusing tube pulled out of the end of the scope and the focuser moved in and out with it.   This was the only Unitrons that did that.