This is the baby of the TAL family, with a tiny 65mm aperture. However, it has very high quality optics, and I'd say would be close to diffraction-limited performance.
It's on a simple alt-az mount, with manual slow-motion controls. The pillar support and base are heavy cast iron. There is no optical finder, just a simple 'gunsight' finder system, although I have rigged up a make-do finder which you just strap/tape to the main tube.
The whole package comprises:
- OTA (which has the mount permanently bolted to it)
- 2-section pillar plus base
- 1 eyepiece - gives about 33x
- Barlow lens - gives about 88x
- Barlow extension - gives about 133x
- screwdriver & paint brush (presumably for dusting the optics(!)
- solid wooden box
- instructions in English as well as the original Russian handbook.
I have also added a second Barlow extension tube, which allows magnifications of approx 170x and 215x (and if you maximise the separation of the various push-fit components, up to about 250x!).
I bought this scope about 20 years ago from a non-astro friend who received it as a gift. He was unable to use it, so I took it off his hands, and just used it for quick views of Moon & planets. However, Ron Livesy, who was then Director of the BAA's Aurora Section, went out and got one for himself after looking through mine, and he regularly used it for variable star obs, through his living-room window! Another chum tested mine on some challenging doubles, and found it excellent; we were able to split epsilon Bootis, IIRC (less than 3" separation).
It has had very little use over the years, although I always had a notion to set it up as a guide scope for a larger instrument. I have never touched the collimation adjustment, and the screws for this are still covered in the original gold-coloured Blu-tak-like putty. The secondary has no facility for adjustment, being on a simple fixed bracket. There are a few small rust spots on mild steel fittings, that can be seen in the close image.
I have just given the primary a gentle cleaning, to remove surface mould, and the mirror surface looks pretty good, with just a few marks. I wish I could say the same for my 150mm, which was realuminised only about 5 years ago :-/
The eyepiece is an unusual fitting, about 24mm push-fit, so don't expect to use your other eyepieces on this scope.
Can't remember what it cost me, and I can't find much indication of current value, but is anyone interested at $75? I could deliver around south Brisbane 'burbs, if need be.
FWIW, there's a bit of iphone video taken through this scope
here.
Duncan
