SV AT1002 Specs??

Just purchased my first refractor (SV AT1002) for a quick set scope. Don't know much about it though and searching for specs has turned up little detail web-wide. Can anyone provide some detail as to when this scope was manufactured? pros/cons/suggestions et al. I was told this was one of the first AT1002s made by SV.

Thanks - Pete

Hi Pete,

I had one of the early AT1002's from the first run back in the late spring of 2000. In common parlance at the time, it was known simply as the "Stellarvue 80mm/f6." The AT1002 eventually evolved into the AT1010 and thence to the current Nighthawk Classic. It had an cemented doublet objective and a 1.25" R&P focuser, although for a while I believe there was a "deluxe" version that had a 2" R&P focuser. The original batch of 1.25" focusers had a longer drawtube which reduced effective aperture a bit, but later runs used a shorter drawtube which solved that problem. Owners of scopes in the first run were offered a free exchange on the drawtube. I later changed my focuser to the 2" R&P that was used in the AT1010. The dewshield was fixed rather than sliding as on the Nighthawk. I believe the AT1002 was made from spring 2000 perhaps through mid-2001 (not sure of the latter date). The AT1002's did not have serial numbers, so the only way to trace the date of manufacture would be through an ownership trail. All in all, the AT1002 was a great little scope. I kept mine for four years and only traded it to get a Nighthawk because of the sliding dew shield so I would have a more compact travel package. Any difference in optical performance is imperceptible to my eye.

Summary of differences:
* Objective -- AT1002 80mm/f6 doublet achro, cemented, non-user adjustable cell; AT1010 80mm/f6doublet achro, air spaced, non-user adjustable cell; Nighthawk 80mm/f6 doublet achro, air spaced, user adjustable cell.
* Focuser -- AT1002 1.25" R&P; AT1010 2" R&P; Nighthawk 2" R&P (early models) or 2" Crayford (later models).
* Rings: AT1002 basic hinged rings (2); AT1010/Nighthawk single clamshell type ring, deluxe hinged rings optional.
* Dewshield: AT1002, AT1010 fixed; Nighhawk sliding.
* Standard Finder -- SV red dot unity type.

The big changes between AT1002 and AT1010 were the air-spaced lens and the 2" focuser. The big changes between the AT1010 and Nighthawk were the adjustable lens cell and the sliding dewshield.

Hope this helps...There is also an interesting history of the early Stellarvue telescopes in the Files section of the Yahoo Stellarvue group.

Jim