To C8 Orange Tube Owners

Hi All,
What started with a curiosity to try to find what year my daughters
Orange Tube C8 was made has turned into part time hobby.
First thing I found was that Celestron's records don't extend back to the
earlier C8s.
Then I found someone who knew what the purchase date of his C8 was, a
1984 with a SN in the 800,000 range. My daughter's is in the 254,000.
Several years later I found a 1973 with a known purchase date, SN 4936
2. I thought once I found an older scope, I could extrapolate and come
up with an approximate year. Did not work!
So now I am cruising the net and bugging people. I apologize, but if I
may bug you, what I have started is a database consisting of:
Serial Number:
Serial Number Location: Fork Base, Secondary Mirror, Someplace else?
Purchase Year: If Known
Forks: Sandcast or Diecast
Paint: Orange Peel, Smooth, Matte Burnt Orange, White
Miscellaneous: Optics Enhanced Optics, Special Coatings, Starbright
Label Celestron Pacific, Celestron International
Secondary Mirror 3 or 4 screws
AC Plug Round, Oval, Side or Underneath
Anything else that may pinpoint it to an particular year.
If, in a couple of years, I can get enough numbers, a pattern might start
to make sense.
Please feel free to completely ignore me.
Thanks,
Roy

Hi Roy,

This is mine. And i'm note sure on the purchase year...

Serial Number: 804081
Serial Number Location: Secondary Mirror
Purchase Year: 1977?
Forks: Sandcast
Paint: Orange Peel
Miscellaneous: Starbright
Secondary Mirror 3 screws
AC Plug Oval, Underneath

-Florian

Subject: To C8 Orange Tube Owners
From: Roy Dionne
Date: 9/14/03 2:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

Hi All,
What started with a curiosity to try to find what year my daughters
Orange Tube C8 was made has turned into part time hobby.
First thing I found was that Celestron's records don't extend back to
the
earlier C8s.
Then I found someone who knew what the purchase date of his C8 was, a
1984 with a SN in the 800,000 range. My daughter's is in the 254,000.
Several years later I found a 1973 with a known purchase date, SN 4936
2. I thought once I found an older scope, I could extrapolate and come
up with an approximate year. Did not work!
So now I am cruising the net and bugging people. I apologize, but if I
may bug you, what I have started is a database consisting of:
Serial Number:
Serial Number Location: Fork Base, Secondary Mirror, Someplace else?
Purchase Year: If Known
Forks: Sandcast or Diecast
Paint: Orange Peel, Smooth, Matte Burnt Orange, White
Miscellaneous: Optics Enhanced Optics, Special Coatings, Starbright
Label Celestron Pacific, Celestron International
Secondary Mirror 3 or 4 screws
AC Plug Round, Oval, Side or Underneath
Anything else that may pinpoint it to an particular year.
If, in a couple of years, I can get enough numbers, a pattern might
start
to make sense.
Please feel free to completely ignore me.
Thanks,
Roy
********************
Does the fork arms have holes in them???

Chas P.

Roy OK, here is another C-8, purchased in, if memory serves, early 1975.
Serial number 339705 (think I paid around $700 USD, but not quite sure).
Location of tag: Front of forks on motor casing.
Purchase year 1975- direct from Factory; there were no outlets as yet.
Forks...I don't know the difference, but mine has 5 open holes up each fork.
Paint- orange- smooth
Misc- standard coating
Label states:

Celestron 8
Schmidt Telescope
Aperture 8in, f/10 efl 80in.
Serial No. 339705
Celestron Pacific
Torrance, California

Secondary mirror- three adjustment allen screws,
and one center screw.
AC plug, but I don't remember its shape....I think circular.
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA....and Yes, I still own it, but rarely use it,
except for eclipse pictures.



Roy Dionne wrote:
Hi All,
What started with a curiosity to try to find what year my daughters
Orange Tube C8 was made has turned into part time hobby.
First thing I found was that Celestron's records don't extend back
to the earlier C8s.
Then I found someone who knew what the purchase date of his C8 was,
a 1984 with a SN in the 800,000 range. My daughter's is in the 254,000.
Several years later I found a 1973 with a known purchase date, SN 4936
2. I thought once I found an older scope, I could extrapolate and come
up with an approximate year. Did not work!
So now I am cruising the net and bugging people. I apologize, but if
I may bug you, what I have started is a database consisting of:
Serial Number:
Serial Number Location: Fork Base, Secondary Mirror, Someplace else?
Purchase Year: If Known
Forks: Sandcast or Diecast
Paint: Orange Peel, Smooth, Matte Burnt Orange, White
Miscellaneous: Optics Enhanced Optics, Special Coatings, Starbright
Label Celestron Pacific, Celestron International
Secondary Mirror 3 or 4 screws
AC Plug Round, Oval, Side or Underneath
Anything else that may pinpoint it to an particular year.
If, in a couple of years, I can get enough numbers, a pattern might
start to make sense.
Please feel free to completely ignore me.
Thanks,
Roy

Roy,
just a guess, but judging by my 1975 serial number of 339xxx, and your
daughters 254xxx, and as hot an item those C-8's were back then,
I would guess her date would be sometime in late 1973-early 74...but
just an educated guess.
Clear skies,
Tom W.




Roy Dionne wrote:

Hi All,
What started with a curiosity to try to find what year my daughters
Orange Tube C8 was made has turned into part time hobby.
First thing I found was that Celestron's records don't extend back
to the earlier C8s.
Then I found someone who knew what the purchase date of his C8 was,
a 1984 with a SN in the 800,000 range. My daughter's is in the 254,000.
Several years later I found a 1973 with a known purchase date, SN 4936
2. I thought once I found an older scope, I could extrapolate and come
up with an approximate year. Did not work!
So now I am cruising the net and bugging people. I apologize, but if
I may bug you, what I have started is a database consisting of:
Serial Number:
Serial Number Location: Fork Base, Secondary Mirror, Someplace else?
Purchase Year: If Known
Forks: Sandcast or Diecast
Paint: Orange Peel, Smooth, Matte Burnt Orange, White
Miscellaneous: Optics Enhanced Optics, Special Coatings, Starbright
Label Celestron Pacific, Celestron International
Secondary Mirror 3 or 4 screws
AC Plug Round, Oval, Side or Underneath
Anything else that may pinpoint it to an particular year.
If, in a couple of years, I can get enough numbers, a pattern might
start to make sense.
Please feel free to completely ignore me.
Thanks,
Roy

Hi Roy,
Forget serial numbers. The best way I've found to date the older C8s
is by the motors. If you look on the bottom of drive base you'll see
the two motor housings. With a little luck, the housings will be
oriented such that you will be able to read the manufacture date on
their sides (without luck, you'll need a flashlight!). The date will
be noted in a mm/yy format. Assuming that the motors were never
replaced, this will give you a "no older than" date, meaning, if the
motor dates read 11-75, your scope rolled off the production line no
earlier than November 1975. If both motors show the same date,
chances are they are the originals.

~~~/\~~~
Shark
(Owner of a '75 C8)




Roy Dionne wrote in message ...

What started with a curiosity to try to find what year my daughters
Orange Tube C8 was made has turned into part time hobby.