A 4" F:10 refractor.

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A new contact has kindly sent me some images of his 4" refractor on a MkIII Fullerscopes mounting.

The instrument is not labelled so it is uncertain whether the telescope originated with Fullerscopes. Some of the components are reported to be very reminiscent of Irving's. Beacon Hill telescopes may also have been involved. It is known that Fullerscopes sourced components from other, established manufacturers. Particularly in the early days. They would then undercut the original suppliers leading to their commercial downfall. (according to some sources)


The MKIII has worm and wheel slow motions with extension stalks. Fullerscopes graduated plastic circles are also present. These had the advantage of being much easier to read compared with the typically fine graduations on brass or bronze. Though silvering the circle helps to improve legibility dramatically. Given enough light!

The MkIII pot base sits on a smart, stainless steel tripod with removable legs. Stainless steel is much heavier and probably far stiffer than aluminium of a similar section. So will provide a sturdier, shake-free support for the telescope.

A star diagonal is always useful with a refractor to avoid uncomfortable contortions when pointing to high altitudes.

The finder/photographic guide telescope is a 20x60.

Examination of the image suggests that it was constructed from the objective, cell and housing of a powerful pair of binoculars.

It is not known whether Fullerscopes actually made this. The mounting rings are sturdy and have a reasonable stand-off from the main tube. This would allow the observer to more easily reach the eyepiece.


These adaptors are an interesting insight into the problems of managing afocal film photography at the telescope. This method provides larger images than photography at the focal plane. Useful for photographing the planets, Moon or Sun.

A 3-part tubular brass (bronze?) photo adaptor.
The colour is more reminiscent of bronze than brass.

The threaded section on the right would screw into a Pentax camera lens fitting. 

The adaptor separated to show the central position of the eyepiece.

                                                                             
Here is a sturdy (Fullerscopes) camera bracket. Presumably the brass rod would slide into a drilled fitting on the telescope. The slotted, flat bar would support the camera body and be clamped by the tripod fixing screw. The disadvantage on a lighter instrument and mounting is the imbalance from adding a cantilevered camera and support bracket so far form the centre of gravity. It would need a considerable sliding weight, on the main tube, to balance these forces out.

Here is the afocal photographic adaptor shown in the Fullerscopes catalogue.
(At bottom right)
It mentions a Pentax thread rather than Zenith.











My thanks to John for sharing these interesting images. 
Note that I have adapted the images in PhotoFilter to suit the blog format.
If anyone can confirm the instrument is a Fullerscopes product (or clearly recognisable as by another maker) then please do get in touch.
It has been confirmed as probably made by Barrie Watts of Beacon Hill.

Click any image for an enlargement.

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