I’m a bit late in finding out (January 2018) but University Optics closed its doors in ~June 2017.  I was saddened to hear this.     

I purchased all of the original UO Konig’s over 30 years ago:  A 12mm, 16mm, 24mm in a 1.25-inch format, and a 32mm 2-inch…also a 20mm UO Erfle, and a 2.8x three-element apochromatic Barlow.  I have, or have had many other eyepieces over the years, including Televue, Celestron, Meade and others.  But I still use my Konig’s quite often, even to this day.  As a visual observer, I love eyepieces.  However, my last eyepiece purchase was over ten years ago…an 11mm Explore Scientific 82º AF bought in-person, from the Park’s Optical store in Las Vegas.   

It’s very sad to see a company that supplied mirror making kits, mirror cells, diagonal holders, and many other low profit items, now out of business after more than 50 years.  

University also sold a 6-inch f/8 Newtonian and an 80mm f/5 achromatic refractor in kit forms.  The refractor required both assembly and paint. The Newtonian only required assembly.  The 80mm was an air-spaced achromat which received many excellent reviews.   

University Optic’s will be missed by the amateur astronomy community.  So many great “made in  America” astronomy companies are no more.     

My University Optics eyepiece collection as following, and all still in pristine condition.   

This entry was posted on December 3, 2017 at 1:03 am and is filed under Roger's Articles. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.