Looking to identify what type of scope this is. My guess is a Classic Cassegrain but I’m looking for input. It looks like it might have come out of government surplus, perhaps from a rocket tracker or some such, primarily because clearly it’s 42lb weight was not a build/use factor.
The primary mirror is 10” diameter, the distance between the mirrors is roughly about 26/27” (hard to measure accurately), the tube is 39.25” long, 12” OD, wall thickness is ¼”, non-magnetic but doesn’t look like aluminum to me in the areas where paint has been scraped away. The orange paint looks to be over white, but the white could be primer.
I don’t know how to translate the mirror distance to a focal length, is it different from taking the same info for a Newtonian?
Very sophisticated and nicely executed (except for the hose clamp that apparently keeps the assembly from sliding out down the tube) front cell/spider/secondary holder arrangement, looks like focus was achieved by sliding the secondary stock up and down manually.
In addition to collimation screw pairs there are threaded holes on the back of the rear cell for attaching something around the center hole, perhaps a camera or sensor of some sort?
The tube has a large hole on the side near the secondary suggesting the tube started out as a Newtonian. The front and rear cells where clearly made for this tube as the fitment is excellent. There are four ¼” un-threaded holes near the base of the tube, most likely how it was held in a cradle or some such.
Any thoughts welcome.
Tom Duncan
