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Tasco 304

Discussion in 'Vintage Telescopes & Equipment' started by larry walls, Jan 6, 2019.

Tasco 304

Started by larry walls on Jan 6, 2019 at 9:14 PM

10 Replies 4328 Views 3 Likes

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  1. larry walls

    larry walls Member

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    3A5D30CC-8E8E-41C6-91C0-102D1A219201.jpeg B1C2C184-9BA8-4DEB-9EEC-6F197C0D3309.jpeg 1E24A5BD-730E-4118-9E4B-B055CE9433D8.jpeg I just got my hands on a complete mint Tasco 304, RO# 0461123 all for $150 C and now I am looking for any experiences from those that have / have used one of these older scopes ! And a good place to buy ep’s for it !
     
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  2. Gabby76

    Gabby76 Well-Known Member

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    Very nice classic!!
    I hope you have the opportunity to use it right away :)

    I assume it has a 0.965" focuser? If so you can get a 0.965" to 1.25" adapter or a diagonal to use standard eyepieces.
    If you would like some modern 0.965" eyepieces then Harry Siebert (www.siebertoptics.com) makes a very good Performance+ line.
     
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  3. Seer

    Seer Well-Known Member

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    The box impresses me a lot also. It's a shame that wood doesn't grow on trees anymore. When I bought my first set of binoculars it came with a hard case but not anymore.
     
  4. larry walls

    larry walls Member

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    Experts on another site have dtermined that it is a 304 model built sometime in mid 1959 ! I bought an adptor that will allow a 1.25” diagonal to fit directly into the 0.965 focuser by unscrewing the original and replacing it with this flange that will accept the 1.25” diagonal !
     
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  5. Gabby76

    Gabby76 Well-Known Member

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    Excellent news! Some good Plossl eyepieces will work very well with the telescope.
     
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  6. larry walls

    larry walls Member

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    I am also going to try my Meade 4000 zoom !
     
  7. Gabby76

    Gabby76 Well-Known Member

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    Not a bad zoom though I have always disliked how they work "backwards".
    Highest power has the widest AFOV.
     
  8. larry walls

    larry walls Member

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    Its the nature of the beast I guess !
     
  9. Gabby76

    Gabby76 Well-Known Member

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    I just wish they would at least make them like the TeleVue or Speers-Waler zooms that maintain their AFOV at least.
    Oh well :)
     
  10. larry walls

    larry walls Member

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    I didn’t realize that there were zoom eps out there that held the AFOV / TFOV over all powers ! I will have to look into that, what would the APOV be 60-65° ?
     
  11. Gabby76

    Gabby76 Well-Known Member

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    The TeleVue is 50° AFOV and the Speers-Waler is 80° AFOV.
    You can buy the TeleVue new but would have to look on the used market for the S-W and is usually around $300USD.
     

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