Tasco 76.2mm Classic Achromatic Refractor

The Tasco's classic achromatic refractor formula was F15.2, which gave a 1200 mm focal length. Estimated time of manufacture: the 1960s. Serial Number 770347. Originally using .965 accessories, but adapted by me to standard 1.25 inch. This had crisp optics and a pretty decent mount-- overall, the scope and mount were perhaps 85% as good as a comparable Unitron model of the era.

This small Tasco refractor gave its owner most of the aesthetic satisfaction of a fine classic long-focus refractor at a very modest cost; it was often sold at places like Sears.... Nowadays, if you can find one for cheap somewhere, like a garage sale or thrift store, they make a wonderful living room display even if the optics have been screwed up by abusive cleaning or fungus or fogging..... You gotta love the all metal, the black plus white color scheme, and the rich wood tones of the mount.

 

 

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Binocular knowledge:

Getting inside the focus mechanism of a classic porro prism binocular with center focus: the classic and excellent Celestron 11x80. Why was I doing this? It's about focus. You can access the focus mechanism and adjust the amount of in and out focus travel; in my case, I could get the binocuar to focus better for my very near-sighted eyes when doing astronomy (infinity focus was adjusted). Binocular repairman Cory Suddarth had kindly given me careful instructions about what to do (SuddarthOptical@yahoo.com).

 

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Last revised 12/2/2021