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Focal (Tanzutsu) 15-45 x 45 zooming refractor COOL!

Auction No.:
12046
Current Bid:
$46.56
High Bidder:
Andrew Hahn
Bid History:
33 Bids [View History]
Location:
Spokane Vly, WA - United States
Started:
08/24/2017 11:41PM
Ends:
08/31/2017 04:41PM
Shipping:
Payment:
PayPal, Personal or Cashier's Checks, Money Orders
Hits:
862
Pretty cool puppy here! This is a Focal 15 to 45 power 40mm doublet achromat zooming telescope with fully coated optics. Marketed by Kmart way back in the day, this is an earlier offering by Tanzutsu, who some of you remember as being Tasco's optics supplier before they sourced from China in the late 1980s.

This scope is impressive on a few levels. It is heavily built of solid aluminum and brass. You are not going to find ANY plastic on this. Optics are very sharp with some light purple on the brightest objects, but in all truth, false color is very well suppressed. The twist focus mechanism is very precise and the twist-to-zoom keeps the main object of focus IN FOCUS as you change powers. Like the older Deluxe Zoom oculars that Tani made for Celestron, this is not a click stop.

Optics are actually noteworthy on the Moon, Jupiter, M45, M42 (gotta have a steady tripod at this point), you can see Titan next to Saturn if in very dark skies, and, of course, LOTS of fun for terrestrial objects. This is a slow doublet system with what should be a Kellner eyepiece design. So views will have an a backseat feel at around 40-degrees fov. Nonetheless, I am impressed by its performance.

Cosmetics are great to great+. No dents, deep scrapes, gashes, metal chipping or paint fade. Really, most of the paint wear is on the metal edging where you grip to twist. All zooming and focusing functions are perfect. The optics have VERY little dust and definitely no need to service or clean any part of them. The front doublet is particularly clean for its age. Look at the photos.

This has a nicely made, built-in 1/4-20 female adapter plate, so it will mount to any photo tripod pan head, or anything with a 1/4-20 screw.

15.3-inches long at rest

1.5 pounds and dense to hold

All nations welcome to bid!
Time Placed User Bid Amount
08/31/2017 04:18AM Andrew Hahn $46.56
08/28/2017 10:23PM Charles Sheasley $45.56
08/28/2017 02:29PM Andrew Hahn $27.50
08/28/2017 02:29PM Dan Purjes $26.50
08/28/2017 02:29PM Andrew Hahn $25.00
08/28/2017 02:29PM Dan Purjes $24.50
08/28/2017 02:29PM Andrew Hahn $24.00
08/28/2017 02:29PM Dan Purjes $23.50
08/28/2017 02:29PM Andrew Hahn $23.00
08/28/2017 02:29PM Dan Purjes $22.50
08/28/2017 02:15PM Andrew Hahn $21.00
08/28/2017 02:15PM Dan Purjes $20.50
08/28/2017 02:15PM Andrew Hahn $20.00
08/28/2017 02:15PM Dan Purjes $19.50
08/28/2017 02:15PM Andrew Hahn $19.00
08/28/2017 02:15PM Dan Purjes $18.50
08/28/2017 02:15PM Andrew Hahn $18.00
08/28/2017 02:15PM Dan Purjes $17.50
08/28/2017 02:15PM Andrew Hahn $17.00
08/28/2017 02:15PM Dan Purjes $16.50
08/28/2017 02:15PM Andrew Hahn $16.00
08/28/2017 02:15PM Dan Purjes $15.50
08/28/2017 02:15PM Andrew Hahn $15.00
08/28/2017 02:15PM Dan Purjes $14.50
08/28/2017 02:14PM Andrew Hahn $14.00
08/28/2017 02:14PM Dan Purjes $13.50
08/28/2017 02:14PM Andrew Hahn $13.00
08/28/2017 02:14PM Dan Purjes $12.50
08/28/2017 02:14PM Andrew Hahn $12.00
08/28/2017 02:14PM Dan Purjes $11.50
08/26/2017 02:27PM Andrew Hahn $10.50
08/26/2017 02:27PM Joe Gianninoto $10.00
08/25/2017 12:20AM Andrew Hahn $1.00