Early 80's

30 yrs 0f Amateur Equipment

Early 1980's

As the decade got under way, Meade made an announcement in September of 1980; the release of the 2080 - an 8" SCT that had taken three years to develop. From that point on Meade became a serious contender with Celestron for the amateur market share; for amateur astronomy equipment a new modern era had begun. In the next few years Celestron's and Meade's model numbers grew steadily, as the number of ads showed. Celestron's tubes began to change colors (orange to black) and the "Celestron girls" started to appear in the ads.

On the other end of the scale, amateur Steve Dodson offers a 3" reflector for only $189.00. And in the background a small company begins, that would soon set a new standard in U.S. optics with the introduction of a 13mm eyepiece named after it's founder, Al Nagler.

	Celestron's Array Of Telescope Equipment which includes a 3.5" and an 11" SCT
	Celestron C8 8" Schmidt Cassegrain
	Celestron Super C8 8" Schmidt Cassegrain
	Celestron C5, C11, C14 Schmidt Cassegrains
	Celestron C90 Astro 90mm Maksutov Cassegrain
	Celestron C80 80mm Achromatic Refractor
	Celestron C70 Flourite 70mm Achromatic Refractor
	Celestron C30 30mm Achromatic Refractor
	Celestron C6 6" Newtonian Reflector
	Celestron Comet Catcher 5.5" Newtonian Reflector
	Meade 2080 & 2044 8" and 4" Schmidt Cassegrains
	Meade 2044, 2080, 2120 4" 8" & 10" Schmidt Cassegrains
	Meade 2044, 2080, 2120 4" 8" & 10" Schmidt Cassegrains
	Meade Research Grade Newtonian Reflectors
	Meade Deluxe Series Newtonian Reflectors
	Meade DS10 & DS16 10" & 16" Newtonian Reflectors (with "Sonotube" OTA's)
	Edmund Scientific 8" Newtonian Reflector
	Coulter Optic's Newtonian Reflectors on Dobsonian Mounts
	Bausch & Lomb Criterion 4000 4" Schmidt Cassegrain
	Steve Dodson's 3" Newtonian Reflector
	Criterion RV-6 6" Newtonian Reflector (price increases)
	Tele Vue Plossl Eyepieces
	Tele Vue Eyepieces Plossls, Wide Fields & Naglers

References used:
Sky & Telescope magazine - Sky Publishing Corporation
Astronomy magazine - Kalmbach Publishing Co.

30 yrs.

Late 60's

Early 70's

Late 70's

Late 80's

Early 90's

Late 90's