![]() This costcutting lead to the common belief that the “red tube” telescopes of the era were junk scopes. Now in the Halley’s comet boom for telescope sales most manufacturers were looking at cutting costs to maximise sales. All previous models are fitted with Towa objectives but sadly the 56T is not. The 56T is the last and most confusing model with a Japan variant. As you can see this version was a step back to tabletop mount but retained the 2x barlow. The 6TR-S is an exception to the red tube curse which we’ll get onto next. Now in “Radiant Red” this version is rare and widely avoided by astronomers “in the know” due to red tube Halley’s comet era telescopes that were vastly inferior to earlier versions. The 6TR-S (as far as i can tell) is the last telescope in Tasco’s 50mm lineup fitted with a Towa objective and performs as well as the previous 66TE. Although this model has a full size tripod it’s not the best but.! it’s better than the cheap flimsy aluminium type provided with todays chinese offerings. Usual focal lengths of supplied eyepieces are 20, 12.5 and 6mm. The eyepieces are all equal in performance. The optics are just a touch better in my 6TE. If i had to choose between the 66TE and the earlier 6TE, i’d personally choose the earlier model. i have three of these models and all perform identically. ![]() Next in the lineup and by far the most common is the 66TE, now with a full size tripod with steel legs and a 2x barlow added to the accessories list. (I have seen an earlier version than mine with no finderscope just two aluminium peephole sights). Mounted on a sturdier tripod these scopes are a joy to use. I have tested the views through two seperate 6TE’s and both were good performers. Equiped with a Towa 50mm objective it gives very good views for it’s size. To my knowledge the earliest Tasco 50mm is the 6TE, a Tabletop telescope supplied with a diagonal, 3 eyepieces and a tiny finderscope. This guide is’nt meant to be a thorough guide to Tasco’s 50mm telescope collection, only an overview of my knowledge that i share freely and without recourse. I’m not including the terrestrial versions or “spotters” as they’re commonly known, just the Astro versions. This is a quick guide to the well known and often overlooked Tasco 50mm (2 inch) Refractor range.
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