All white tube, black fittings and wooden legs. No idea who the manufacturer was - I think it was marketed as 'Helios' but it came out of Japan it didn't have any manufacturers labels on it except at the back end it said something like 'Superiorr Japanese Astro Scope' and some Japanese markings, serial number etc and unfortunately I have no pictures of it at all now but it was probably the prettiest scope I ever owned. The clock drive had a teeny chime in it so when it was getting low on wind up power is would go 'ding-ding' to alert you to wind it back up Ok it was wind up and only ran for about 15 minutes but back then it was the bomb and VERY expensive. I had a 5" reflector back in the late 1970s that looked a little like Tascos 16T - it was super deluxe and even had a clock drive. I can imagine there have been many astronomers who started with a Tasco and it is disappointing that Tasco telescopes aren't as widely available now. Very sadly, I didn't have a proper telescope as a child (I won't go into details on the awful "toy" telescope that almost put me off astronomy.). I always wanted a Tasco refractor for Christmas as a child so I wanted to get one in recent years and I haven't been disappointed. While the mounting on my 2 inch/50mm isn't the best (it is on a table tripod), the views are perfectly acceptable and I have also had a good view of the Orion Nebula with the Tasco. Hi John, I have read that Tasco telescopes were much better made in the 1960s. While every telescope in here is red, most modern-day Tasco telescopes don't have red tubes now. I have attached three images from the Catalogue. It is disappointing how plastic is used in small Tasco refractors nowadays, although I think the 2 inch red refractor is the only one that now has a plastic tube. Unfortunately, the tube of my Tasco is plastic as well as the focusing knobs and the eyepiece barrel, but back in the 1980s metal was always used and the 1980s Tasco counterparts look so much better and the metal tubes are noticeable in the images. I have a 1980s Tasco Catalogue that has a really good range of refractors as well as two reflectors. I have a small Tasco refractor that gives perfectly good views of Venus's phases, Jupiter and its moons and Saturn's rings. I remember around eighteen months ago I mentioned Tasco telescopes on the forum and I commented about the unfair criticism they have had.
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