THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016
Edmund Scientific 6" reflector
Friend of my sister's and brother-in-law's, Al, gave us this Newtonian
telescope with equatorial mount. Apparently, it was collecting dust
at his place. We will surely put it to good use. Initially kept at
Mom's.
The photo below is from the web; it is not of Al's 'scope. We don't have the
straps or finder scope. We do have a clock drive. Shower cap added later!
type: reflector / Newtonian
make: Edmund Scientific Co.
model: Super Space Conqueror 6" Reflector
obtained: December 2003 from Al
technical info:
- focal length: 1210mm
- aperture: 6"
- focal ratio: f/8
- minimum / maximum magnification: 22x / 300x
sighting scope: none included (later added a Telrad)
viewing equipment:
- 1¼" shaft
- rack & pinion focuser
- 1 Kellner eyepiece (included)
- 2 additional eyepieces (supplied as 'scope was gifted)
mount type:
- made by Edmund Scientific
- equatorial design
- models B-2088 and B-2089
mount accessories:
- Conrac single-axis synchronous, "clock drive" motor, A/C-powered,
96 tooth ring gear, single helical worm gear, quick clutch with lock, manual slow-motion,
lever-operated control, accurate to less than 4 minutes/day, upgraded leather
washers, it works!
- CRAMER DIVISION, Old Saybrook, Conn.
- Type 117, P27MABA3, 18A1XA08A-L, date 6 72, RPM 1/15 V115, CY60 W2.7
- CONRAC CORP
- two counterweights on 1" shaft
- integrated 3" setting circles
tripod: iron (heavy!), 3" pillar, base cap code C2058
accessories:
- Telrad from Kendrick (purchased in 2004)
- custom-built non-invasive Telrad heater, made with two 2-watt 220-ohm resistors
in parallel, functions with Kendrick controller
- extension tube (plumbing bit) for high power eyepieces
notes:
- main tube is aluminium, 47-3/4" long, baked with white enamel, interior
is painted flat black, pre-drilled to take a camera holder
- should go down to 13th magnitude stars
- will split double stars separated by less than 1 arcsecond
- the mirror is parabolic, made with PYREX by Corning, aluminised, hand-finished,
and rated to better than ¼ wave
- 6" mirror cleaned (Dec 2008)
- centre of the 6" mirror marked with white self-adhesive reinforcement
ring (DEC 2008)
- mount has Teflon bearings
- Edmund catalogue number 85086
- shipping weight is 68 lbs
- listed at $249.50 in the '74 catalogue, an addendum advised that the price
was adjusted to $259.50, and the price rose to $285 in the '75 catalogue
- the 'scope shipped with an achromatic finder scope with crosshairs
- the 'scope shipped with 3 standard eyepieces
- wide-field achromatic 48x Kellner
- 1/2" 96x
- 1/4" 192x Ramsden
- the 'scope shipped with an achromatic Barlow that will "double and triple"
magnifications (not provided to Mom)
photo gallery
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Mom's eyepieces.
Provided by Al.
The top two are Meade Orthoscopic multicoated units, a useful 18mm, and a useless
4mm.
The bottom eyepiece is the original one supplied with the Edmund scope. It
is a non-coated Kellner which yields 48x power in the reflector.
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Edmund eyepiece.
Here's a shot of the inside of the mystery eyepiece. The inner lens is concave.
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Edmund eyepiece.
Photo found on web. The "Edmund" eyepiece at the bottom appears to
match Mom's.
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Edmund mount.
Photo found on the AstroMart Classifieds site.
This is exactly Mom's equatorial mount included the two weights and clock drive.
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Mount without drive.
Another photo I found on the net showing the Edscorp. mount. This is what it
looks like without the clock drive. Base unit for tripod; not pedestal.
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Mount without drive.
And another photo of the mount without drive but with the pedestal. Fresh coat
of paint, nice!
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Mount with drive.
Here's another shot I found on the web. Mount like Mom's including clock drive.
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Clock drive.
Another photo found on AstroMart site.
This is like Mom's Conrac clock drive.
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Clock drive.
Like Mom's, without a ground wire.
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Funny. First photos I ever shot of our gear.
Mom's OTA, mount, and heavy metal tripod.
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The new home for Mom's telescope. The new pier is embedded in concrete below
the deck then emerges through a hole.
I bolted the original mount atop the steel pier post.
All vibration from the deck is eliminated!
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2021
my blog posts
For quick reference, here is an index to the blog posts related to
the Edmund Scientific telescope and mount. There are some additional
links here, not strictly on Edmund, but about Mom's observatory. Reverse
chronological order.
- checked
Teflon from Toronto plastics shop, 23 Sep '21
- found
a tube, metal, for Dob base, 30 Sep '20
- mostly
clear while picking up some pucks, 11 Sep '20
- made more
Dob progress, 6 Sep '20
- started
dry-fit of Dob base parts, 23 Aug '20
- cut
and sanded wood pieces of Dob base, 1 Jul '20
- cut
wood circles for custom Dob base, 24 May '20
- cut
wood rectangles for Dob base, 23 May '20
- discussed
conversion of Edmund Sci with Ian, 26 Aug '17
- already
found a design! for converting to a Dob, 22 Jan '16
- minor tracking issue while viewing
planets and doubles, 31 Mar '14
- tried
for Virgo galaxies, 27 Apr '13
- viewed
some doubles, first in Eridanus, 23 Dec '12
- worked on cover, ready
for skin, 30 Dec '09
- starting measuring
the 'scope for the cover build, 13 Dec '09
- set up the red LED lighting, enough
light, 14 Dec '09
- first
light on new pier, 14 Nov '09
- quickly built a workspace,
14 Nov '09
- tried new pier, new
home, 14 Nov '09
- inspected loft
and deck, 14 Nov '09
- first
session from Mom's observatory, 13 Jun '09
- moved into observatory, while
the cat's away, 13 Jun '09
- cleaned
the mirror, twice, 27 Dec '08
- observed
with Mom, 9 Jun '07
- replaced bent clutch
bolts, 23 Dec '06
- learned eyepiece
was a Kellner, 22 Nov '06
- clock
drive works, 26 Dec '05
- found an
old book, All About Telescopes, 2 Dec '05
- researched telescope in a time
warp, 22 Nov '05
- tried 'scope unsuccessfully, varied
session, 19 Nov '05
- received more
eyepieces, 4 Sep '05
- received
'scope, mount, with motor, tripod, 26 Dec '03
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links
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