7 replies to this topic

[grif 678]

Just recently acquired an excellent condition Cometron CO80, 400 mm FL. It is the cute grey short tube refractor, Vixen sourced. All caps for the diagonal, eyepiece etc have the circle V caps. This scope is very well built, from one end to the other, including the very nice sized finder for this scope, the 6 x 30 on the long stalk, easy to see through. Has a very nice vixen diagonal, and the 1.25 25mm volcano top kellner, which is suppose to be a collector eyepiece. It used 1.25 accessories. This is a great scope. I tried it out tonight on the moon, with the 25mm eyepiece it  gave about 16X, not a very large image, but the craters were outstandingly sharp and easy to see. And the sky was not completely dark yet, and the craters were this nice. But the clouds started coming in before it got dark, bad storms moving in again. I think I will love this scope, will probably handle 75X easily, as the previous owner testified to. Ed Ting has a video om the smaller CO62 cometron. It did not come with the short tripod, but I have a taller one I will use any way. I think I made a great find on this one.

[mdowns]

I had one of those and thought it was a well executed model,very easy to use with nice build quality. I think those came out in the mid to late 90s but I'm not sure.Congrats on the find!

[gstrumol]

Any pics?

[ericb760]

 

I have the SS80 Spotting Scope version. If you look closely you can see that the OTA is identical. In fact, if I pry the name plate off of the top of the focuser there are four screw holes where the finderscope would be mounted. Excellent optics in a tight little package.

[cookjaiii]

I also have this scope with the Celestron SS80 paint job.  It is indeed a well made scope with sharp optics.  It has a known quirk though, and that is the vignetting of the light cone by the draw tube.  I've read that the vignetting stops it down to as small as 68mm by some estimates.  Here's a link to that discussion.  

 

https://www.cloudyni...ron-s-80-scope/

 

It's still a great little scope that I love so much that I have two.  One is for grab and go, and the other serves as a super finder on my 12" Dob.  It's that lightweight!

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Edited by cookjaiii, 09 May 2025 - 09:02 AM.

[RichA]

Just recently acquired an excellent condition Cometron CO80, 400 mm FL. It is the cute grey short tube refractor, Vixen sourced. All caps for the diagonal, eyepiece etc have the circle V caps. This scope is very well built, from one end to the other, including the very nice sized finder for this scope, the 6 x 30 on the long stalk, easy to see through. Has a very nice vixen diagonal, and the 1.25 25mm volcano top kellner, which is suppose to be a collector eyepiece. It used 1.25 accessories. This is a great scope. I tried it out tonight on the moon, with the 25mm eyepiece it  gave about 16X, not a very large image, but the craters were outstandingly sharp and easy to see. And the sky was not completely dark yet, and the craters were this nice. But the clouds started coming in before it got dark, bad storms moving in again. I think I will love this scope, will probably handle 75X easily, as the previous owner testified to. Ed Ting has a video om the smaller CO62 cometron. It did not come with the short tripod, but I have a taller one I will use any way. I think I made a great find on this one.

Tale your lowest power eyepiece, measure the exit pupil, divide it into the objective diameter to get the power.  Then divide 400mm by the eyepiece focal length to get the power.  I doubt they'll match, though they should.

[deSitter]

Tale your lowest power eyepiece, measure the exit pupil, divide it into the objective diameter to get the power.  Then divide 400mm by the eyepiece focal length to get the power.  I doubt they'll match, though they should.

 

It's very hard to accurately measure an exit pupil. You need to be pretty far away to avoid perspective problems. I tape a paper ruler over the eyepiece then examine it from a distance by taking a picture. 

 

-drl

[Senex Bibax]

I've got one too, absolute keeper. Pinpoint stars, smooth focus, extremely portable, fits on a camera tripod, and Vixen glass. What's not to like?