The Rafes Urban Astronomy Center (see Links/Information Page) located near Denton, Texas is home to one of the few existing 6 inch Unitron/Polarex Refractors, and one of only three complete Model 620’s known to be open to the public (The others are is at Castleton State College, Castleton, Vermont and Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan). Located near the Denton Municipal Airport, it is open the first Saturday night of the month, weather permitting for public viewing. Jim Curry visited the site shown here on October 4, 2014 and provided the attached photos of the 40 year old scope. Additionally, a small group of Unitron enthusiasts attended a star party there that included the rental of the scope on March 28, 2015. Details of the star party are included on this Cloudy Night thread: http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/494509-6-unitron-star-party-in-denton-tx/
A Special Thanks from all of us to Jim for taking the time to make this visit and sharing these photos. This is a rare find.
Dave
The article from the North Texas Daily, dated Thursday, April 27, 2006 (see Links/Information Page), reveals that this featured scope was acquired brand new from Unitron in 1978. Sources working for Unitron Company at the time indicate this particular scope was most likely the display model at the Company Headquarters and was one of the last 6 inch Unitron’s manufactured.
