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1956 Space Scope Model 151

Discussion in 'Vintage Telescopes & Equipment' started by Bomber Bob, Nov 12, 2015.

1956 Space Scope Model 151

Started by Bomber Bob on Nov 12, 2015 at 10:04 AM

9 Replies 3846 Views 2 Likes

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  1. Bomber Bob

    Bomber Bob Well-Known Member

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    Bomber Bob, Nov 12, 2015
    #1
    Picked this up yesterday from a Seller in Birmingham. It has all of the original documentation, and he told me about the original owner. This scope has been in Alabama since purchased from The Akron store in Los Angeles in 1957. It's also been in its case and stored indoors for almost all of its 60 years. Once I get all the paperwork scanned, I'll post it here for the history buffs.

    1956 Space Scope M-151 20151111 P01.jpg
    1956 Space Scope M-151 20151111 P02.jpg
     
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  2. Turk

    Turk Well-Known Member

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    Turk, Nov 12, 2015
    #2
    Looks very nice. Good job!
     
  3. KeithF

    KeithF Well-Known Member

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    KeithF, Nov 12, 2015
    #3
    Nice find JW! It looks like it was well taken care of.
     
  4. Bomber Bob

    Bomber Bob Well-Known Member

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    Bomber Bob, Nov 13, 2015
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    Sadly, it's missing the DEC assembly: counterweight, shaft, and hub. Near as I can tell, everything else is present, and in good to excellent condition. Most importantly, the lens is pristine. And, it has all the original documentation. Lots of stuff to study!
     
  5. Bomber Bob

    Bomber Bob Well-Known Member

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    Bomber Bob, Nov 13, 2015
    #5
    Here are the low-res scans of some of the original documentation:

    Space Scope 151 - Manual Cover (Plain) 1956.jpg
    Space Scope 151 - Manual Back (Plain) 1956.jpg
    Space Scope 151 - Japan Inspection Tag 1956.jpg
    Space Scope 151 - The Akron Invoice 1957.jpg
     
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  6. KeithF

    KeithF Well-Known Member

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    KeithF, Nov 13, 2015
    #6
    That's too bad! Did you borrow from another scope then for the first photo?
     
  7. Bomber Bob

    Bomber Bob Well-Known Member

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    Bomber Bob, Nov 14, 2015
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    Yeah, the c/w & shaft from my "new" EQ-1, so the scope would stay balanced for the photo-op. For its star tests (and future use) I swap it with the Mayflower 815's motorized GEM. I packed the 151's mount in its case after cleaning that yesterday. The case is in the best condition of any of my vintage scopes.

    Space Scope 151 - P01.jpg
     
  8. LewC

    LewC Well-Known Member

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    LewC, Nov 14, 2015
    #8
    I remember those scopes being sold at Akron in the 1960s, but as relatively inexpensive as they were I still couldn't afford one.
    You can find the Akron ads for this scope in old Sky & Telescope magazines from the early to mid-1960s.
     
  9. clintwhitman

    clintwhitman Well-Known Member

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    clintwhitman, Nov 14, 2015
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    Bob you might find it hard to believe, John Ponds has this same scope set up in his living room. He claims it has perfect Optics!!
     
  10. Bomber Bob

    Bomber Bob Well-Known Member

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    Bomber Bob, Nov 15, 2015
    #10
    John isn't exaggerating. I've spent the past few nights evaluating the 151. It's views are comparable to my Hiyoshi-made Monolux 4380, which was the finest 60mm f/15 I'd ever used. The 151 has better contrast than the Yamamoto. I sighted Europa this morning just as it emerged from Jupiter's disk, and using only 36x - the gap was an incredibly thin black line between the two. Seeing let me push the 151 to 227x without image breakdown, though the finest views were at 152x with an HD OR6. No glare around Jupiter at all - I could see background stars until the Sun woke up.

    Besides double stars, the 151 does well on a variety of DSOs, too. Shows M31's wide spiral, The Ring's black center, and gives hints of M15's fringe stars. Yeah, it's a keeper.
     

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