Astroscan was my second telescope. The first was a refractor 60mm diameter as it was the usual scope of the 70's. I got my Astroscan in 1981.It was love at first view. The enormous widefield and large eye relieve of the RKE 28mm eyepiece is relaxing to have like a big window into space and not like a tube narrow view. Combined with the RKE 2.5X Barlow the 28mm RKE offers a crisp view of Jupiter and the Gallilean Moons and Saturn with rings. Not large, but wide fields that show the surrounding stars e so gives a nice perspective of the imense distance of the planets that we know are so large, yet just tiny "balls" and a huge space beyond. I had 8inch scopes Meade or Celestron over the many years. Now in my late 60's it became heavy work the idea of mounting a heavy telescope. So guess what! The scope I own (actually two of them) is the good old Astroscan from the 80's stil proudly made in the USA. As finder I use a very bright green laser (attached to the side of the focuser base and exactly in line with the light path) that I point to where I know is M31 or M81 and M82, or M57! or whatever I wish to observe. And what a view! Natural, small or faint, but wide fields and easy to handle, in seconds ready to watch. No more Smith Cas, no more heavy stuff. Just the pleasure of easy use. Thanks Astroscan, the greatest idea in telescope making.
I was a teenager in the '70s and I remember seeing those things in magazines from physics class. I was in love with the Celestron SCT ads. I had about as much chance of owning one as a moon rock. Now I've finally got my own C8.
I found one with all the parts at a thrift store but the eyepiece and case were gone , made in new jersey and still had the warning label , It was 20 bucks. thank you for the video
I still have my Astroscan from 30 years. Taken it on vacation and have all the items that came with it, endcap, eyepiece, finder, strap, tripod. Its actually set up currently in my family room as I had taken it out to the street corner to view Comet Neowise. I ended up have around 15 people stop by while driving and walking by to view the comet. I typically heard is that a thing a telescope, lol...still gives great wide field views, one tough unit.
Great review. I bought my Astroscan new in 1994 and have really enjoyed it. Kids love using it. I have (too many) other scopes, but this one is consistently the greatest crowd pleaser. I've realized that most people peeking through a scope for a few seconds won't be aware of the softish optics. They only notice how easy it is to look through that 28mm RKE and wow! Saturn's rings! Or, I can't believe that's the moon! Or, Jupiter has its own moons! I think it's great for what it's great at doing. Also good for showing sunspots with the add on screen.
Hahahahaha. Does this ever bring back memories. I really should go back and try to find photos of the various prototypes before the final shape was finalized. The tube on the prototypes were always similar to the final design, albeit slightly shorter. The base on the original prototype was a star chart on a flat top plate (with three "feet" on the bottom around the outside). So the support was equivalent to the final released design. The base on the released design was more attractive, but obviously not as function as having the built-in star-chart / pointing aid. Wish I had a time machine so I could go back and live it all again.
My first telescope was the Edmund Scientific 6" f/6 newtonian reflector on their EQ mount. I did have the complete RKE eyepiece set in the plastic case. I cut my teeth on the Mag 5 Star Atlas, it was a great resource back in the day. I wore out two copies of it.
Mine was a 4 1/4" Edmund Palomar loved it so much I bought another 48 years later! Did not have money but loved the light gathering over 60mm refractors and the simple but very effective mount. It taught me all about star hopping and opened up life long passion. I worked at a planetarium and was amazed at the planetary views it matched much more expensive telescopes and beat as big refractors.
I wanted one of these so badly. Kept hitting up my folks. They eventually bought me a terrible little KMart sky-stick. Using it was awful. I tried so hard for so long to get it right. Dad stayed furious because he couldn’t it to work either. Eventually, I got a great view of Saturn, one time, one night. It was amazing, for a few brilliant minutes. Nobody was home for some reason. I couldn’t show anybody that I got it working. Not like I could post it on Twitter in 1985. That was the only night I got Saturn.
I remember having one of those when they first came out, I was this crazy 15 year old hiker trailing that thing up and down the Highlands of Scotland, until I came to my senses, when I nearly went down a Munro the fast way, I soon swapped it for an old pair of 10x50 marine binoculars, my late grandfather gave me, I did have a lot of fun with it though. Thank you for bring back so many mostly good memories.
You know those egg crates are stack-able throw an extra couple for height. great video just saw one for sale on Market place and was searching for info and there you were! Thanks
I just bought one of these classics and wont be letting go of it. Beautiful scope. Best grab and go scope I'v ever owned. The views remind me of my fist telescope the TAL 2 from Russia, Great memories . PS Thanks for the great idea. Milk create :)
My wife bought me one in the 80s from the Intelligent Child Store in Dallas. Great little beginner scope. Took a group of church kids out to see Halley's Comet with it in 86. Traded it for a bigger reflector with a GEM mount which gave me fits. Wish that I still had one for my grandson. Great seeing you review it. Brings back memories. Thanks.
I still have my Astroscan with all of the original pieces. I also have an 8" Orion Skyquest Dob which i love. However, when i'm tired and dont feel like lugging the 8" out to the yard, my little Astroscan is nestled on my lap and I still get so much joy from simply sweeping slowly thru the Milky Way with it and the 28mm RKE eyepiece. It's like I'm flying through space.
I put some glow tape on the peep sight. Many of the Astroscans were missing the peep site and so I made replicas, the parts that fail are the foam block behind the mirror.
The best aiming device for those that know space is what I use with my Astroscan today, a high power green laser pointer held in place along the tube just close and parallel to the focuser housing. It is absolutely precise and you do not brake your neck trying to peep on your knees to find something behind a red dot. Astroscan will always be my great fun scope.
Very nice, Ed. I love this rich-field telescope, and have most, if not all, the accessories in great shape. I will attempt to do some astrophotography with it this summer, although I don't expect too much. Again, many thanks for the appreciation !
One comment about these - the foam under the mirror tends to disintegrate over decades, allowing the mirror to flop around. It's not easy to get inside to fix that.
Years ago when I worked for Perfecta Camera in Salem, NH we took a few of these in on trade for Celestron's. The mirror surfaces were already oxidizing back then in the 80's I can't image what they're like now. I thought the concept was good but the quality lacked even back then.
My favorite page on astronomy magazines were the Edmund Scientific ads, and there was always the Astroscan. Though you're right about Made and Celestron as competitors. Meade had amazing ads and I've wanted the big boy scope (eventually the LX200GPS) ever since.
I remeber seeing this scope as a kid (I just turned 50) and always wanted one. I was sure they were better than the Jason 3" refractor my dad bought (even though I'd seen the rings of Saturn with it).
Matthew I felt the same way as a kid. I just got the Astronomers Without Borders Onesky, I guess you could call it the bigger brother also my first telescope was a Jason 60 mm. I'm 53 yrs young.
The Astroscan may not have aged as gracefully as some scopes, but for a long time it really was THE rich field instrument and had an influence on great instruments like the portaball. I learned how to do solar eyepiece projection with one in my science class when I was in high school and then went home and converted my 60mm scope to be a dedicated sunspot projector. Didn't want to risk messing up the good eyepieces for my Dobsonian. I still need to add a 28mm RKE to my eyepiece case. They're really fun to look through.
Ed, I just got one of these. In good condition and $40. Have to put new foam behind the main mirror, but it’s a really early model, not Chinese and looks great. Has all the accessories and the 28 RKE eyepiece. Looking for a 15. Love the portability, getting an iPhone attachment (I’m pretty good at iPhone astrophotography lol) and will use it at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory and Mono Lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Do you think they are collectible yet? It has such an iconic look.
I remember seeing these in astronomy magazines years ago but they were almost impossible to find here in Australia in the day. I looked for them from time to time but there as rare as hens teeth now if I can ever find one I'll certainly buy one.
Only perhaps my closest friends know that I am hugely into amateur astronomy. I built all of my first telescopes and still do. Anyway, I influenced my sister into purchasing one of these Astroscans from Edmund Scientific. I don't know whatever happened to it, but I was very envious of it. Most of my mirrors were either "found or ground", and I had never seen a mirror from a manufacturer before. This is a true iconic telescope. I wish I had one in my collection, but I don't need one...Criterion and Celestron ruined me.
I bought mine in the mid '80s. I already had a Cave 8" Newtonian and a C-11 but I wanted something I could just quickly go outside for a look a lunar eclipse or a quick view of Jupiter or Saturn. I had the tripod mount but the weight was a bit too much for a standard camera tripod. Many times I actually did put it on the hood of my car. One other thing, it sure looked strange with a 13mm Nagler in it, not to mention that the eyepiece was more expensive than the telescope.
I hear you can judge how much that scope has been used by the Sun Warning Sticker...if it's intact it hasn't been used that much, if it's faded it's been used as it a common grabbing point...thats just what I heard, I've never owned one but it looks to be true
I wanted an Astroscan so badly when I was twelve. (I wanted a lot of stuff from Edmund at that age.) Then I saw a photo of someone sitting on the ground holding one in their lap and I thought, "That thing is tiny! That's not a real telescope." Hopefully I'm a little smarter now.
The Fun Scope has a bespoke eyepiece which is low quality and quite powerful giving a rather narrow field of view.Because it's bespoke there's no easy way to fit a less powerful 1:25"eyepiece.Because of the very narrow field of view aiming it is very hard.
I bought what had to be a super old Astroscan a few years back, sold for a profit. The eyepiece it came with was measured in standard, not metric, but 28mm is about correct. To my eyes, it wasn't useful at the focal length of the included eyepiece, I could see the secondary. A 25mm Plossl was useful though. I barlowed a 10mm in it and it showed banding around Jupiter, but not exactly a laser sharp image either. Nowadays, the Starblast and AWB OneSky are far better choices, but the Astroscan definitely has a lot of charm.
Edit: I went to a local used telescope shop today to get an eyepiece. Low and behold, they had an Astroscan. I wasn't gonna get it, but it was looking at me. It's here now. I hope it's clear tonight in Tucson: I had the Voyager 6001. I loved that thing. I'm not sure what happened to it, but my sister remembers me dragging her out into the backyard in the freezing Colorado winter to look at the moon. I miss it. Unlike today's beginner scopes, it was built like a brick.
I entered the name the telescope contest Edmund put on in the mid 70's . I submitted the name Astroscan and never heard anything from them. I think a lot of people came up with that name after the description they gave of the features of the future scope.
Cant barlow it, because its got one built-in. Probably ~2.5x. I have no experience with the Astroscan type, but Ive dealt with a lot of 'compact' scopes and they're usually around f4, with a 2-2.5x barlow built into the focuser. I suspect this is a weak link in the optics.
Just looked at jupiter and saturn last night, i have found that you can lay a cheap green laser next to the focus mount and it makes it much easier to point. Have had mine since 1980 or so, i feel old ?
Can this telescope be serviced on the inside or cleaned? Mine from 1978 looks as if its closure glass and primary mirror are dusted or stained from condensation.
@@edting Thank You. I spoke with a local telescope maker and he sent me of some links on Cloudy Nights Forums. Still, it is unclear how the people claiming to get the thing disassembled to have it cleaned did the work without ruining things.
@@ZFB2 I took apart my Astroscan for the first time in 36 years. You need a Snap Ring Pliers Set to take out the front glass that holds the secondary mirror and the primary mirror as well. They are both held in place by snap rings. Under the primary there is a counterweight held by screws. You can clean the optics and the glass plate. I recommend using gloves so you don't scratch the optics. The primary mirror holds collimation by means of a sponge/foam in the back. The foam ususally decomposes over the years and the mirror tilts. I replaced it with a cleaning sponge cut to shape. If you don´t get perfect collimation after that you have to add small strips of vinyl/electric tape to the glass plate base until you get it right. It takes patience and a steady hand to "restore" the telescope, but it is well worth the effort. Mine went from foggy missaligned views to clear sharp ones!
@@CarlosGalliath Thanks for the information. I find that views are less bright than in previous years. Recently I used eyeglass cleaner on the RKE eyepiece and things improved somewhat. Time permitting, I will possibly try the cleaning suggestions you have made. The sponge has held the mirror within a good alignment, but once the work starts on anything you never know what you will find. Again, thank you for giving me an idea of what it will take to complete the work.
It's a bong telescope. They knew what they were doing in the 70s
hue hue hue!
That is a very generous review. Wow, 90,000 of them produced! And some permanently satisfied owners in the comments section.
Thank-you.
Astroscan was my second telescope. The first was a refractor 60mm diameter as it was the usual scope of the 70's. I got my Astroscan in 1981.It was love at first view. The enormous widefield and large eye relieve of the RKE 28mm eyepiece is relaxing to have like a big window into space and not like a tube narrow view. Combined with the RKE 2.5X Barlow the 28mm RKE offers a crisp view of Jupiter and the Gallilean Moons and Saturn with rings. Not large, but wide fields that show the surrounding stars e so gives a nice perspective of the imense distance of the planets that we know are so large, yet just tiny "balls" and a huge space beyond. I had 8inch scopes Meade or Celestron over the many years. Now in my late 60's it became heavy work the idea of mounting a heavy telescope. So guess what! The scope I own (actually two of them) is the good old Astroscan from the 80's stil proudly made in the USA. As finder I use a very bright green laser (attached to the side of the focuser base and exactly in line with the light path) that I point to where I know is M31 or M81 and M82, or M57! or whatever I wish to observe. And what a view! Natural, small or faint, but wide fields and easy to handle, in seconds ready to watch. No more Smith Cas, no more heavy stuff. Just the pleasure of easy use. Thanks Astroscan, the greatest idea in telescope making.
I was a teenager in the '70s and I remember seeing those things in magazines from physics class. I was in love with the Celestron SCT ads. I had about as much chance of owning one as a moon rock. Now I've finally got my own C8.
I found one with all the parts at a thrift store but the eyepiece and case were gone , made in new jersey and still had the warning label , It was 20 bucks. thank you for the video
This was my very first telescope I got in 7th grade and still have today 37 years later. So many memories like you Ed!
Where did the years go. How has this much time passed. Thank you for making me feel young again, even if only for a little while.
I restored several of these AstroScans. They are great when shimmed and collimated. I really enjoy using them.
I still have my Astroscan from 30 years. Taken it on vacation and have all the items that came with it, endcap, eyepiece, finder, strap, tripod. Its actually set up currently in my family room as I had taken it out to the street corner to view Comet Neowise. I ended up have around 15 people stop by while driving and walking by to view the comet. I typically heard is that a thing a telescope, lol...still gives great wide field views, one tough unit.
First ever travel Newtonian reflector, he forgot to mention
Finding old documents from early activities are wonderful to discover and relive.
I loved these Mag-5 star atlases. At the time I didn’t even have a telescope but these were so much fun.
I still have mine!! love this thing. it was my first and i still use it.
I had an Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas! Wow!
Great review. I bought my Astroscan new in 1994 and have really enjoyed it. Kids love using it. I have (too many) other scopes, but this one is consistently the greatest crowd pleaser. I've realized that most people peeking through a scope for a few seconds won't be aware of the softish optics. They only notice how easy it is to look through that 28mm RKE and wow! Saturn's rings! Or, I can't believe that's the moon! Or, Jupiter has its own moons! I think it's great for what it's great at doing. Also good for showing sunspots with the add on screen.
Hahahahaha. Does this ever bring back memories. I really should go back and try to find photos of the various prototypes before the final shape was finalized. The tube on the prototypes were always similar to the final design, albeit slightly shorter. The base on the original prototype was a star chart on a flat top plate (with three "feet" on the bottom around the outside). So the support was equivalent to the final released design. The base on the released design was more attractive, but obviously not as function as having the built-in star-chart / pointing aid. Wish I had a time machine so I could go back and live it all again.
My first telescope was the Edmund Scientific 6" f/6 newtonian reflector on their EQ mount. I did have the complete RKE eyepiece set in the plastic case. I cut my teeth on the Mag 5 Star Atlas, it was a great resource back in the day. I wore out two copies of it.
Mine was a 4 1/4" Edmund Palomar loved it so much I bought another 48 years later! Did not have money but loved the light gathering over 60mm refractors and the simple but very effective mount. It taught me all about star hopping and opened up life long passion. I worked at a planetarium and was amazed at the planetary views it matched much more expensive telescopes and beat as big refractors.
My first scope was an Edmund 3in reflector. Great to see this.
I wanted one of these so badly. Kept hitting up my folks. They eventually bought me a terrible little KMart sky-stick. Using it was awful. I tried so hard for so long to get it right. Dad stayed furious because he couldn’t it to work either.
Eventually, I got a great view of Saturn, one time, one night. It was amazing, for a few brilliant minutes. Nobody was home for some reason. I couldn’t show anybody that I got it working. Not like I could post it on Twitter in 1985.
That was the only night I got Saturn.
I remember having one of those when they first came out, I was this crazy 15 year old hiker trailing that thing up and down the Highlands of Scotland, until I came to my senses, when I nearly went down a Munro the fast way, I soon swapped it for an old pair of 10x50 marine binoculars, my late grandfather gave me, I did have a lot of fun with it though. Thank you for bring back so many mostly good memories.
You know those egg crates are stack-able throw an extra couple for height. great video just saw one for sale on Market place and was searching for info and there you were! Thanks
I just bought one of these classics and wont be letting go of it. Beautiful scope. Best grab and go scope I'v ever owned. The views remind me of my fist telescope the TAL 2 from Russia, Great memories . PS Thanks for the great idea. Milk create :)
I came across one for $10. I'll scoop it up after the new year
My wife bought me one in the 80s from the Intelligent Child Store in Dallas. Great little beginner scope. Took a group of church kids out to see Halley's Comet with it in 86. Traded it for a bigger reflector with a GEM mount which gave me fits. Wish that I still had one for my grandson. Great seeing you review it. Brings back memories. Thanks.
I still have my Astroscan with all of the original pieces. I also have an 8" Orion Skyquest Dob which i love. However, when i'm tired and dont feel like lugging the 8" out to the yard, my little Astroscan is nestled on my lap and I still get so much joy from simply sweeping slowly thru the Milky Way with it and the 28mm RKE eyepiece. It's like I'm flying through space.
I'm getting another Astroscan soon. Time for an update - have my opinions and thoughts changed since this video from 3 years ago?
@@edting Looking forward to it!
I put some glow tape on the peep sight. Many of the Astroscans were missing the peep site and so I made replicas, the parts that fail are the foam block behind the mirror.
The best aiming device for those that know space is what I use with my Astroscan today, a high power green laser pointer held in place along the tube just close and parallel to the focuser housing. It is absolutely precise and you do not brake your neck trying to peep on your knees to find something behind a red dot. Astroscan will always be my great fun scope.
Very nice, Ed. I love this rich-field telescope, and have most, if not all, the accessories in great shape. I will attempt to do some astrophotography with it this summer, although I don't expect too much. Again, many thanks for the appreciation !
1:38 Look at those two kids, having so much fun..... looking in the wrong end of the telescope, lol
Thankyou! Great advice and review and things to watch out for..... Cheers! :)
I still have my Edmund mag 5 Star Atlas.
One comment about these - the foam under the mirror tends to disintegrate over decades, allowing the mirror to flop around. It's not easy to get inside to fix that.
Years ago when I worked for Perfecta Camera in Salem, NH we took a few of these in on trade for Celestron's. The mirror surfaces were already oxidizing back then in the 80's I can't image what they're like now. I thought the concept was good but the quality lacked even back then.
I had a course instructed by the designer of this telescope. He is proud of it.
The awesome font used in the catalogue alone would make me buy an Astroscan.
My favorite page on astronomy magazines were the Edmund Scientific ads, and there was always the Astroscan. Though you're right about Made and Celestron as competitors. Meade had amazing ads and I've wanted the big boy scope (eventually the LX200GPS) ever since.
Loving the new format Ed 👍👍
I remeber seeing this scope as a kid (I just turned 50) and always wanted one. I was sure they were better than the Jason 3" refractor my dad bought (even though I'd seen the rings of Saturn with it).
Matthew I felt the same way as a kid. I just got the Astronomers Without Borders Onesky, I guess you could call it the bigger brother also my first telescope was a Jason 60 mm. I'm 53 yrs young.
The Astroscan may not have aged as gracefully as some scopes, but for a long time it really was THE rich field instrument and had an influence on great instruments like the portaball.
I learned how to do solar eyepiece projection with one in my science class when I was in high school and then went home and converted my 60mm scope to be a dedicated sunspot projector. Didn't want to risk messing up the good eyepieces for my Dobsonian.
I still need to add a 28mm RKE to my eyepiece case. They're really fun to look through.
Ed, I just got one of these. In good condition and $40. Have to put new foam behind the main mirror, but it’s a really early model, not Chinese and looks great. Has all the accessories and the 28 RKE eyepiece. Looking for a 15. Love the portability, getting an iPhone attachment (I’m pretty good at iPhone astrophotography lol) and will use it at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory and Mono Lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Do you think they are collectible yet? It has such an iconic look.
I remember seeing these in astronomy magazines years ago but they were almost impossible to find here in Australia in the day. I looked for them from time to time but there as rare as hens teeth now if I can ever find one I'll certainly buy one.
Only perhaps my closest friends know that I am hugely into amateur astronomy. I built all of my first telescopes and still do. Anyway, I influenced my sister into purchasing one of these Astroscans from Edmund Scientific. I don't know whatever happened to it, but I was very envious of it. Most of my mirrors were either "found or ground", and I had never seen a mirror from a manufacturer before. This is a true iconic telescope. I wish I had one in my collection, but I don't need one...Criterion and Celestron ruined me.
I bought mine in the mid '80s. I already had a Cave 8" Newtonian and a C-11 but I wanted something I could just quickly go outside for a look a lunar eclipse or a quick view of Jupiter or Saturn. I had the tripod mount but the weight was a bit too much for a standard camera tripod. Many times I actually did put it on the hood of my car. One other thing, it sure looked strange with a 13mm Nagler in it, not to mention that the eyepiece was more expensive than the telescope.
Cave 'word'!
I hear you can judge how much that scope has been used by the Sun Warning Sticker...if it's intact it hasn't been used that much, if it's faded it's been used as it a common grabbing point...thats just what I heard, I've never owned one but it looks to be true
I wanted an Astroscan so badly when I was twelve. (I wanted a lot of stuff from Edmund at that age.) Then I saw a photo of someone sitting on the ground holding one in their lap and I thought, "That thing is tiny! That's not a real telescope." Hopefully I'm a little smarter now.
I'm working on a 2024 re-review of the Astroscan.
The Fun Scope has a bespoke eyepiece which is low quality and quite powerful giving a rather narrow field of view.Because it's bespoke there's no easy way to fit a less powerful 1:25"eyepiece.Because of the very narrow field of view aiming it is very hard.
The Astroscan deserves some love, I wish i had one in mint condition just to say i have one.
There's one on goodwillshopping auction for 8 dollars that I am watching.
I bought what had to be a super old Astroscan a few years back, sold for a profit. The eyepiece it came with was measured in standard, not metric, but 28mm is about correct.
To my eyes, it wasn't useful at the focal length of the included eyepiece, I could see the secondary. A 25mm Plossl was useful though. I barlowed a 10mm in it and it showed banding around Jupiter, but not exactly a laser sharp image either.
Nowadays, the Starblast and AWB OneSky are far better choices, but the Astroscan definitely has a lot of charm.
This was my 2nd scope. I ended up selling it and I regret it every day!
Edit: I went to a local used telescope shop today to get an eyepiece. Low and behold, they had an Astroscan. I wasn't gonna get it, but it was looking at me. It's here now. I hope it's clear tonight in Tucson: I had the Voyager 6001. I loved that thing. I'm not sure what happened to it, but my sister remembers me dragging her out into the backyard in the freezing Colorado winter to look at the moon. I miss it. Unlike today's beginner scopes, it was built like a brick.
Yeah first travel Newtonian reflector telescope, brilliant I always wanted 1 I need an good cry its a telescope ota
I still find the simplicity of the ball and cradle design appealing. Picture a Questar/Astroscan Mak-Newt
Yes that part of it is good but the execution of the rest of the product is suspect. I am working on a 2024 version of this video, stay tuned.
@@edting !!!. Another 'telescopes that don't exist, but should' video, or did you find you had more to say about the existing Astroscans?
Hi - I'd love to get scans of the documents you showed - I'm building a website dedicated to this telescope.
I entered the name the telescope contest Edmund put on in the mid 70's . I submitted the name Astroscan and never heard anything from them. I think a lot of people came up with that name after the description they gave of the features of the future scope.
You're not the first person to say that!
I remember that contest and entered. EdScope, I thought for sure I would win.
Well to be fair that last ' telescope' is a good one. That is if it was the year 1608!
Spock loves astronomy!
Cant barlow it, because its got one built-in. Probably ~2.5x. I have no experience with the Astroscan type, but Ive dealt with a lot of 'compact' scopes and they're usually around f4, with a 2-2.5x barlow built into the focuser. I suspect this is a weak link in the optics.
Just looked at jupiter and saturn last night, i have found that you can lay a cheap green laser next to the focus mount and it makes it much easier to point. Have had mine since 1980 or so, i feel old ?
I remember those telescopes and almost bought one, but noticed the price going up. For that price it should be called the Astro-scam
♥️
How do you collimate it?
I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience with the Edmund 4.25" f/10. I bought one used years back and the optics were excellent.
Can this telescope be serviced on the inside or cleaned? Mine from 1978 looks as if its closure glass and primary mirror are dusted or stained from condensation.
I'd find a local astronomy club. Thye might know how to approach the situation. Having said that, don't get your hopes up too much...
@@edting Thank You. I spoke with a local telescope maker and he sent me of some links on Cloudy Nights Forums. Still, it is unclear how the people claiming to get the thing disassembled to have it cleaned did the work without ruining things.
@@ZFB2 I took apart my Astroscan for the first time in 36 years. You need a Snap Ring Pliers Set to take out the front glass that holds the secondary mirror and the primary mirror as well. They are both held in place by snap rings. Under the primary there is a counterweight held by screws. You can clean the optics and the glass plate. I recommend using gloves so you don't scratch the optics. The primary mirror holds collimation by means of a sponge/foam in the back. The foam ususally decomposes over the years and the mirror tilts. I replaced it with a cleaning sponge cut to shape. If you don´t get perfect collimation after that you have to add small strips of vinyl/electric tape to the glass plate base until you get it right. It takes patience and a steady hand to "restore" the telescope, but it is well worth the effort. Mine went from foggy missaligned views to clear sharp ones!
@@CarlosGalliath Thanks for the information. I find that views are less bright than in previous years. Recently I used eyeglass cleaner on the RKE eyepiece and things improved somewhat. Time permitting, I will possibly try the cleaning suggestions you have made. The sponge has held the mirror within a good alignment, but once the work starts on anything you never know what you will find. Again, thank you for giving me an idea of what it will take to complete the work.
I found on for sale for like 150. Is it worth it?