I didn't think I would ever do it, but now after having bought the new/latest refractor, this one will need to go to make some room in my den (if you can call it that...Man Junk Heap more like, or the Room My Wife Banished My Sheet To).
Anyway, I got it for a bargain, but sorry, I know it's value. Honesty for you.
Yamamoto's owner/founder was reputedly Takahashi's cousin, and in fact Tak ground and figured the lenses for Yamamoto before Tak got serious himself. Tak also borrowed a few ideas from his cousin, namely in the choice of blue-grey enamel for the focuser etc (the early Tak's had this colour before the iconic green, and well before the new powder blue). The clamshell is decidedly Tak-esque, down to the knob and hinges. When Yamamoto ceased, most employees went to Vixen, taking their ideas and designs with them (quite evident in the early Vixen items). This one is "Yosco" branded - York Optical and Scientific Company (thanks Mark!) - the Japanese maker code on these is SYW in a diamond.
Build quality, attention to detail, and finish is absolutely stunning. The chrome on it is phenomenal. Tube shows some inconsequential scratches, but they do not BREAK the paint, merely marking them (I buffed them out with polish and you are hard pressed to even find them - hey, this scope was made in the 1960's, it's been around a while!). The alt-az mount is beautiful, exceptionally sturdy. There is some backlash with the slo-mo controls, but you can work on that if you like - I never found it offensive to bother.
Comes with everything in the pictures - scope, finder, EP's, diagonal (prism), Amici prism (erect image), sun filter (I am not going to warn you about it - make your own decision abut using it - SAFETY WAIVER APPLIED
), tripod, alt-az mount, all in it's original box. There is the FAINT remnants of the prior owner's name and address (from Stafford Heights in QLD) on the lid. Ply case could do with either some linseed oil or tung oil, or even varnish, but that is up to you. I will also include a 0.965" zoom EP (quite uncommon) that came from another 60's era scope I purchased. ONLY DOWNSIDE is the crosshairs in the finder are broken - easily replaced with invisible thread or really fine copper wire (Alex Massey "Mental4Astro" does this repair if you prefer someone to do it). I also include a Vixen 0.965" to 1.25" adaptor, so you can easily use a modern diagonal and EP (it screws directly to the drawtube)
Views through this are tack sharp and distinctly quite colour free for an achromat - it is f/13 after all.
Price is $150
. Postage will be extra, at cost, but due to the wooden box, I'd expect something like $50 plus - bulk/volume alone.
I am open for trades with a QUALITY 2" diagonal: TV, AP, Lumicon, Tak...nothing Chinese/Taiwanese
