Vintage Newtonians

Lately, I've been giving some thought to picking up a quality scope to fill the gap between my Tak FS102 and my 16" Dob. There is a multitude of scopes on the market these days, from Russian Maks and Chinese refractors to American SCTs . They fail to ignite any passion within me, alas. They are mostly cheaply made with frequent quality control issues, as well. The image of a Cave Astrola has been haunting my dreams, however. A majestic Newtonian riding high upon a rock-solid GEM. It makes the mouth water to think of it! My question is, are these venerable Cave and Criterion scopes of yore as good as their reputations, and are they still available at reasonable prices? Which are the units to hunt for? Let's hear from all of you rock-ribbed Newtonian lovers out there!

Walter

Walter, don't forget Parks, they have been known to make some really good mirrors and their lightweight fiberglass tubes are great. I just purchased a Parks 10" F6 that had been languishing here on Astromart for quite some time, waiting for a local buyer (thanks, Tom!). It is sort of a diamond in the rough as the optics are great but the mount has been heavily used. I've had it out a couple times (not exactly a grab and go scope compared to my 5lb refractor :-) under fairly crumby conditions but it is still obvious that the optics are first rate. It is around 20 years old. One thing I have discovered is that this is positively the largest equatorial telescope I can transport and that it pretty much consumes the interior of a Plymouth Horizon (no passenger space). I'm not sure how much the 1.5" shaft/ 10" gear equatorial head assembly weighs (50 lbs+ ?) but I do know that it helps a LOT to remove the declination shaft. I plan to put the scope on a Dob mount and set the Equatorial up in a permanent observatory eventually. One other note: this scope came with a G-11 saddle plate and a dovetail for the scope - it is indespensible and makes attaching the OTA to the mount a million times easier. I realize that Parks equipment is really expensive new - but you can find some amazing deals on these big Newtonian here on Astromart. By the way, how is that Coolpix 4500 working out for you ? I've yet to purchase a digital camera but that may be the one I end up getting.

Joplin

Walter,
I think you could nicely fill the GAP with either the TMB 8" apo or the AP 10" Mak.

Of course, if you fill that gap, then there will be 2 more gaps between the new scope and the fs102 and 16". Then you fill those 2 and you'd create 4 more gaps.

Astronomy can get very expensive if one focuses on equipment rather than on celestial objects.

Jerry