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Help! I am looking for info on the Kowa Telescope 3232 AK 5 (1 Viewer)

tradingclipper

New member
Hi There,
I am a new member and just started to scope birds with the old binoculars I had. Somebody offered me a second hand Kowa Telescope 3232 AK 5 which he got from one of his relatives. He could not give me any specifications because he does not know anything about scopes himself. I could not find the type and wondering whether somebody could tell me a bit more about the specifications, how old it could be and whether good or not. As far as I understand from te specifications I got, the scope goes from 20 to 50, but I have no diameter of the lense in mm.
The only info he could give me, was what he found on the scope which is:
20/25
25/30
30/40
40/50
ts-2/ts-3
ts-1
Could somebody help me out please
Thks a lot & kd rgds
[email protected]
 

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Hi Tradingclipper,

you have a Kowa TS-1 with a zoom eyepiece. The TS-1 was the dominating birding scope in the 70's and came with either 50 mm or 60 mm objective lens diameter. You can measure it with a ruler but it look like it is a 60 mm diameter scope on your picture. (I have a 60 mm TS-1 as well.)
The focus is set with the little knob under the prism-housing.

The numbers you gave are the magnifications for different settings of the zoom on the eyepiece. the first value is if you have a 50 mm objective and the second value is if the objective is 60 mm. So, you can zoom between 25-50 times magnification. This eyepiece is known for being a bit dark and with a narrow field of view when operated on the magnifications above 30x.

You can get a TS-1 like that second hand for 100-200 euro but the optical quality (IMO) is just as good as most new scopes for 400 euros that you find in the photo stores today.

Congratulations. It is a nice beginner's scope. If you can find a "25x Wide Angle" eyepiece for it, you will have a much better view through the scope.

Cheers, Jens.

tradingclipper said:
Hi There,
I am a new member and just started to scope birds with the old binoculars I had. Somebody offered me a second hand Kowa Telescope 3232 AK 5 which he got from one of his relatives. He could not give me any specifications because he does not know anything about scopes himself. I could not find the type and wondering whether somebody could tell me a bit more about the specifications, how old it could be and whether good or not. As far as I understand from te specifications I got, the scope goes from 20 to 50, but I have no diameter of the lense in mm.
The only info he could give me, was what he found on the scope which is:
20/25
25/30
30/40
40/50
ts-2/ts-3
ts-1
Could somebody help me out please
Thks a lot & kd rgds
[email protected]
 
tradingclipper said:
Hi There,
I am a new member and just started to scope birds with the old binoculars I had. Somebody offered me a second hand Kowa Telescope 3232 AK 5 which he got from one of his relatives. He could not give me any specifications because he does not know anything about scopes himself. I could not find the type and wondering whether somebody could tell me a bit more about the specifications, how old it could be and whether good or not. As far as I understand from te specifications I got, the scope goes from 20 to 50, but I have no diameter of the lense in mm.
The only info he could give me, was what he found on the scope which is:
20/25
25/30
30/40
40/50
ts-2/ts-3
ts-1
Could somebody help me out please
Thks a lot & kd rgds
[email protected]

Hi tradingclipper,
And welcome to the forum. I have a similar scope with many warm memories ;) Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I think the scope model is TS-1 from late 70's or early 80's. At that time there were some other Kowa models with slightly different focusing mechanisms and sizes (TS-2/3 ?). The two numbers (20/25 etc.) are the magnifications with either 50mm/60mm scope body. The scope itself (objective) is extremely strong and well made, and the optics is very good - the field-of-view is narrow compared to the modern scopes, but the image is surprisingly sharp, especially in the center. Unfortunately this is the case only with the low power, fixed eyepieces (25x or 20xLER) - at those days they could not *yet* build good zoom eyepieces. The zoom is narrow, dark and has a poor contrast and resolution. The good news is that the screw-mount was quite universal and very good, compatible second-hand eyepieces should be available.
I really like that scope but only with fixed eyepieces. I have no idea about their current value - I would not sell mine for any price... ;)

Ilkka
 
iporali said:
Oops - sorry about the repetition! I was so slow in my reply...

Ilkka

That's funny Ilkka,

that we hev exactly the same experience with these scopes. There is no doubt about the features of this good old construction. Here in Sweden it is often called the "lead-Kowa". I think because of its rugged construction and its lead-grey colour. It can't be because of the weight, I think that is OK.

Don't tell me that you also have a pair of good old Kowa 9x35 or 10x50?

Cheers, Jens.
 
jebir said:
...that we hev exactly the same experience with these scopes. There is no doubt about the features of this good old construction. Here in Sweden it is often called the "lead-Kowa". I think because of its rugged construction and its lead-grey colour. It can't be because of the weight, I think that is OK.

Don't tell me that you also have a pair of good old Kowa 9x35 or 10x50?

Yeah, Kowa did not try to save raw materials back then. That amount of aluminum sure gives some protection to the prisms and lenses. But yes, lightweight and sleek it was.

Kowa binos I could never afford, but I remember drooling at the 9x35s in the optics store. I had earlier chosen Zuiho 16x50s with fov of 3.5 degrees... :'D

Ilkka
 
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