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30 yrs 0f Amateur Equipment

Late 1990's

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  By the time the decade and the century came to a close, several new trends in amateur scopes had emerged. Commercially made dobsonian telescopes were very popular. New "goto" systems were available on a number of telescopes, yet their availability on beginner scopes was not without controversy. New models like the ETX from Meade and the Nexstar from Celestron were rising in popularity. Both Meade and Celestron were making "goto" SCT's with the Meade LX200 series and the Celestron Ultima's. There was also a continued move from the SCT on a fork mount to one on a german equatorial mount. Tele Vue had introduced the Nagler Type 5 eyepiece; a 2.2 lb 31mm monster. Apochromatic refractors and Maksutov-Newtonians were presenting a real challenge to the SCT in the amateur equipment market.



Celestron 6" & 8"
Newtonian Reflectors
on Dobsonian Mount
Meade Newtonian Reflectors on Dobsonian Mount
Orion 6" & 8" Newtonian Reflectors
on Dobsonian Mount
Starsplitter Newtonian Reflectors
on Dobsonian Mount
Discovery Newtonian Reflectors
on Dobsonian and German Equatorial Mounts
Stargazer Steve's
4.5" Newtonian Reflector
on Dobsonian Mount - Kit
Meade ETX
90mm Maksutov Cassegrain
Meade ETX 90EC & 125EC
90mm & 125mm
Maksutov Cassegrains
Celestron Nexstar 5
5" Schmidt Cassegrain
Celestron Ultima 8
8" Schmidt Cassegrain
with "goto" computer
Meade LX200 8
8" Schmidt Cassegrain
with "goto" computer
Celestron G3 & G5
3" Maksutov Cassegrain &
5" Schmidt Cassegrain
on German Equatorial Mount
Celestron CG14 & CG11
14" &11" Schmidt Cassegrains
on Losmandy German Equatorial Mount
Celestron G8, G9 1/4, G-8N, & CR 150
Equatorial Mounted Telescopes
Meade LXD300 & LXD500
8" Schmidt Cassegrain
on German Equatorial Mount
Tele Vue 31mm Nagler Type 5 Eyepiece
Tele Vue 101mm, 85mm, & 70mm
Apochromatic Refractors
Takahashi 150mm & 152mm Apochromatic Refractors
Takahashi 106mm Apocromatic Refractor
Astro Physics 155mm Apochromatic Refractor
Ceravolo Optical Systems
5.7" Maksutov-Newtonian Reflector
Orion
Short-Tube Refractor,
Short-Tube Newtonian, Dobsonian Reflector & Maksutov-Cassegrain


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

30 yrs.

 Late 60's

 Early 70's

 Late 70's

 Early 80's

 Late 80's

 Early 90's