Nikon 6.5cm ED APO

Just arrived from Japan: a Nikon 6.5cm ED APO with original mount and Nikon .965"diagonal from 10cm ED. It is more beautiful in person than in pictures. Waiting with an FC-60 and FS-78 to do a run with Saturn.

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Another view.

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A beautiful classic scope. Have fun Larry.

Tom Mack

Very nice find.
Is it related to Takahashi? It looks Tak-like.

John

Larry,

Won't you tell us more about this scope? How did you come about getting it? How old is it? You've wet out appetites by posting photos but havn't told us anythig about it.

Jim

A picture of the larger brother to the 6.5cm Nikon:

Nikon 250mm Refractor:


http://www.actpal-uji.com/tenntaikannsatu.html

A little history thanks to the efforts of my friend in Japan:

"The initial date of the production of the 6.5cm achromat. was November 10, 1983. The Nikon 6.5cm ED started on March 15, 1984. By the way, the Nikon ad said that the first 200 Nikon 6.5cm Achromats would come with a Nikon logo collapsible chair (a promotion item). So I think Nikon made two hundreds of 6.5cm achromats, at least.

The end of Nikon telescopes (10cm ED, 8cm ED, 6.5cm ED and 6.5cm Achr. ) was in 1991. But I don't know the accurate date. By the way, Nikon continued making large telescopes after 1991. I send an ad in 1995. This is the Nikon 25cm Apo made in 1999. I think it is the last Nikon made refractor:

http://www.actpal-uji.com/tenntaikannsatu.html

The 6.5cm mount can be set up as an alt-azimuth (page 15 of the manual.) The worm wheel diameter of RA is 76mm, and the number of teeth is 144. The worm wheel diameter of Dec is 56mm, and the number of teeth is 112. (page 46 of the manual.) The official load capacity is 11 kg. You can use four counter weights with the mount. It is written on page 9 (and page 46) of the manual. I can't believe the load capacity written on the manual, because Vixen GPD's load capacity is 10kg. But the 6.5cm mount might be actually more robust than it looks. By the way, Nikon 10cm mount's load capacity is 18 kg. I can believe it. I think it is sturdier than Tak EM-200, of which load capacity is 16 kg.


Any idea how many were made or how many made it to the US? I don't know. As for the 10cm ED, 600+ were made. It was written in an article in an Astronomical magazine. And I heard from Nikon that the production of 6.5cm was lesser than that of 10cm ED.

Were they well regarded in Japan?

Nikon 6.5cm ED is not well known even in Japan, because there were so few."

Nice find Larry. Very impressive to say the least.

-JW: