[SJAAboard] [Fwd: RE: [TAC] Cave Astrola question.]

[Mark Wagner]

FWIW.... and food for thought or comment...

> Mark asked;
>
> Does anyone know approximately what the value of a 1970 10" Astrola 
> would be?  Has anyone here owned one and care to comment on it?
>
> ************
> Hi Mark,
>
> I have never owned or even looked through a telescope equipped with a 
> Cave mirror, but here is a copy-and-paste statement made by Carl 
> Zambuto himself, copied from the Zambuto Yahoo Group archives.  I know 
> that some folks think that Carl Z. is perhaps somewhat pompous, but 
> the man definitely knows his mirrors, so take this for whatever you 
> think it is worth.
>
> \Paul A   
>
> "I once owned a Cave mirror. It was manufactured in 1972 and was 
> scribed with date and numbers. Was smooth, but overcorrected in the 
> outer zones, and undercorrected in the center. It was nothing to write 
> home about. It was a 10" and I paid too much for it. The image began 
> breaking down at 250 power, so it was only a 25 power per inch mirror. 
> Well, $250.00 isn't too bad, but I did reduce it to a Pyrex blank as I 
> eventually refigured it. So it was no collector's item to me.
>
> Now if it were a fabulous performer in keeping with the reputation 
> which by today's standards (in my opinon) is overrated, then I might 
> consider it a collectors item. In defense of my statement about being 
> overrated, what I mean is yes, Cave was the best in its day, but they 
> in general appear to be no better than many mirrors which are 
> available today, and I see no good evidence that as a whole they came 
> close to our standards, for example... the Caves are good mirrors, and 
> the best of their day...
>
> Rejoice and be glad. Today you can buy consistently the finest optic 
> in the history of amateur astronomy, to date. "
>
> - Carl Zambuto
>