Edmund 6" F/8

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Brand and Model:Edmund 6" F/8
Price ($USD):no longer made
Type:Newtonian
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:152mm (6")
f Ratio:f/8
Focal Length:1216mm
Finder:6x30
Electric Power:110 volt
Mount:equatorial
Tripod:4" pier
Weight (lbs):25 lbs lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Edmund 6" F/8
Reading the previous reviews I cannot help but think this scope it's relatively garners high ratings due to the quality of the mirror and plain old nostalgia.

The mirror is itself quite good. After all these years I am no expert on star testing, but I can tell that the star patterns inside and outside of focus are identical. At focus and high power I would say they were textbook perfect for this type of scope. However I never fully realized it's potential until I lined the tube interior with flocking paper. I realize that good seeing is fleeting, especially here in the Northeast, more times than not it is poor. With that in mind I will say that I have looked at Jupiter through many scopes of similar aperture and the image that sticks in my mind is the one from this scope. I have only seen a better image through much larger instruments.

The mechanics brings me to a loss of words, how do I put this down without profanity? Yes the mount was heavy, but the whole mount and optical tube vibrated like a tuning fork at the slightest touch. Polar alignment was accomplished by shimming the pier legs with wood and kicking them to get your azimuth alignment. The locks on the axis were screws that dug into and eventually scored the shafts, well no one mentioned smooth movement. My mount came with "Teflon" bearings, which was basically an undercut on the RA shaft with a strip of Teflon wrapped around it. The focuser had a straight rack and was split at the top to hold the eyepiece in by spring tension. Many a time I would finally get my target in the field after much frustration and neck twisting only to loose it again when changing the eyepiece. The unlined tube in addition to being an excellent resonator also was quite good at passing your body heat into the optical path. The supplied finder, clock drive, 1 inch Kellner eyepiece and 1/2 inch Ramsden eyepiece were OK for what they were. Did I mention the mount was heavy?

To sum up, optically excellent ( weren't all scopes back then ) but severely lacking in the mechanics department. If you replace the mount, focuser and line the tube with flock paper you have a fine instrument.
Mike

Overall Rating: 5
Optics:10 Mount:1 Ease of Use:1 Value:3
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=332822

Edmund 6" F/8
I gave this a 10 for the following reasons:

Although the mounts drive is bad and best thrown away, overall it is a very good mount. Having 1" shafts it is rock solid and fairly smooth. The vote weighs its value.

The optics are supurb. I have not measured them as they are out for recoating, but I would estimate they are 1/10 or 1/12 wave.

This is a very easy to use begginers scope.

Value is exceptional if you can find a used one. It rivals the RV- from Criterion at a lower price.

[webmaster note: following comment merged from prior anonymous vote]

I got this scope about 7 minths ago for $60.00. It was in rough shape. I cleaned the mount up and painted it. Threw aside the motor drive (corroded and useless). After cleaning the optics I was amazed at the performance. Presently the primary in off being recoated and I am texurizing the interior of the tube. I have ordered a 4 vane spider to replace the stalk as well as a 1/12 wave secondary of which the primary is deserving.

All in all what a fine scope.... if you find one.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=85998

Edmund 6" F/8
THIS SCOPE DOESN'T GET A 10 BECAUSE OF THE MOUNT & FOCUSER. IT'S TRULY A 10 OPTICALLY. STAR TESTS EXCELLENT AND PLANETARY IMAGES ARE JUST WONDERFUL. ON GOOD NIGHTS I PUSH IT TO 500X & 600X WITH GREAT RESULTS. DETAIL ON JUPITER IS BETTER THAN ANY 8" SCT I'VE LOOKED THROUGH. STARS ARE TIGHT PINPOINTS WITH NO ANOYING GLARE. ROLAND.ATL. GA.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40761

Edmund 6" F/8
My red tube has the factory 4 vane spider mount for the secondary. This is a fine secondary mount and it is easy to fine tune the location and angle of the secondary should the need ever arise. I like the way the mount uses straps to hold the OTA in place. By easing the strap tension, I can spin the tube while it's in the mount allowing me to position the focuser anywhere from 9 o' clock to 3 o' clock relative to the tube. It's like having fancy tube rings on the cheap. Try that on a dob! The mount is solid and dampens vibration nicely. This mount could take a slightly heavier OTA without trouble. The one thing I really miss is having slow motion controls with this pier mount. Mine has a mint condition motor and the motor works as it should. Once the tricky task of polar aligning the mount is done, objects stay in the field of view and the clutch on the drive allows me to slew the tube to a different spot in the sky without bother. The instant I stop moving the tube, the motor drive continues doing it's job. The red right angle finder scope is OK. It does what it should and the cross-hair eyepiece is decent enough. The optics, when properly colimated, are superb. Stars are perfect points and racking the focus in and out gives perfectly round sets of concentric circles around an airy disc. Ronchi testing gives wonderful text book results-not a hint of any zonal errors. You can really tell that a lot of care was taken to grind the primary to very high specifications. The only inprovement I felt necessary was to install some black flocked tube liner opposite the focuser (I would do this on ANY newtonian tube) and to dab a bit of flat black paint on the head of the small bolt that holds the small round black central cover of the four vane spider in place. In today's market place, you would be hard pressed to find a six inch newt OTA with equal or better optical performance. Cool down time for this scope is good as there is a good amount of space between the outer edge of the primary mirror and the inside surface of the red tube allowing for plenty of air movement. The price of used six inch/F8 EQ mounted scopes has dropped considerably in the last decade so if you can find one of these scopes, and can live without slow motion controls, it should be a strong candidate for your selection.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:7 Ease of Use:9 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=253398

Edmund 6" F/8
I bought my Edmund 6 in Jan.1962,new for $200.
It was the most enjoyable scope to use. It
was rugged and I could take it in the back seat
of my 1953 Ford and head out into the country
and set it up in about 5 minutes. We didn't
have carrying cases back then. The motor drive
only worked now and then on 110v only. I bought
a set of 6 inch aluminun setting circles from
Edmund Sci. for $18 and a sun projection screen
for $10 and they really made observing
even more fun. I miss it now.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40763

Edmund 6" F/8
I am 2 a fan and proud owner of a 1970's 6"....clock drive never has workedbut i was able to have great fun when i was a kid...mount good....nice metal!!! tube and very good optics....this scope performs as well and maybe with brighter images than any 8" cassegrain scope...YA!!!!....sorry cant have mine...

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40762

Edmund 6" F/8
Great scope. In a world of cardboard and plastic this scope is a standout! Fantastic optics, a "10" in anybodys book. Exquisite planetary views and pinpoint star images. The mount is quite steady though the clock-drive clutch mechanism is a bit arcane. Collimation is a touchy given the single vane diagonal holder but once set the performance is fantastic-especially for the price. The fellow who sold this scope to me said it out performed an Astro Physics 5"APO in a side-by-side comparison. What sounded like a bit of "blue sky" has proven to be fact. This would be a solid 10 but for the somewhat dated mechanical system. So 9++++++++ for now. If you find one of these scopes in good shape, buy it!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40760

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