Mom's telescope

Friend of my sister, Al, it seems, had an old telescope which he wasn't using. I gather my sister talked about some of our astronomy stuff so Al "gave" it to my Mom. Cool!

It did not come with any notes or documentation so I had to do some digging on the net to learn about this thing... It is apparently circa 1974!



type: reflector / Newtonian
make: Edmund Scientific Co.
model: 6"
sighting finder scope: none included
viewing equipment: 1¼" shaft, rack & pinion focuser

mount type: equatorial with 2 counterweights, 1" shaft
mount accessories: Conrac single-axis "clock drive" motor
tripod: iron (heavy!), 3" pillar

eyepiece(s):

• unmarked, wide field, looks old
• Meade 18mm, orthoscopic
• Meade 4mm, orthoscopic

accessories: none

technical info:

• focal length: 1210mm (the main tube is 47-5/8” long)
• aperture: 6"
• focal ratio: f/8
• minimum / maximum magnification: 22x / 300x

I found a photo on the Astromart Classifieds site. This is the same mount as Mom's.



On the tripod, Edmund Scientific Co. is embossed in the metal everywhere. The code C2058 shows on the base cap. And on the equatorial mount, B-2088 or B-2089 shows.

Here's a close-up photo (also from Astromart Classifieds) of the clock drive.



The A/C-powered, synchronous clock drive motor has the following printing:

• CRAMER DIVISION, Old Saybrook, Conn.
• Type 117, P27MABA3, 18A1XA08A-L, date 6 72, RPM 1/15 V115, CY60 W2.7
• CONRAC CORP

It has a 96 tooth ring gear and a single helical worm gear.

The 'scope didn't work correctly at first. I realised it needed to be aligned or collimated. I was able to do this easily!