tasco sp 502 . for the colombian municipality see tasco boyac . tasco type corporation industry technology founded 1954 founder george rosenfield headquarters miami fl united states website http www.tasco.com tasco also known as tasco worldwide is a major international distributor of telescopes . tasco mainly makes telescopes for amateur astronomers but has expanded into other optical products such as spotting scopes microscopes binoculars and telescopic sights and other rifle accessories . tasco sells via specialty outlets catalogues and online retailers . tasco is based in miramar florida . george rosenfield founded the firm as the tanross supply company in 1954 . it started as a distributor of fishing tackle and hardware . the name was later shortened to tasco as inventory expanded to include binoculars and eyepieces . 1 contents 1 products 1.1 telescopes 1.2 binoculars 1.3 gun sights 1.4 terrestrial scopes 2 company history 3 bankruptcy 4 references 5 external links products edit tasco manufactures both a variety of optical equipment including terrestrial telescopes microscopes binoculars telescopic sights and accessories for each . telescopes edit department store 50 mm tasco specialty refractor on modified mount lower left and a 114mm sky watcher reflector . three categories of telescopes are available from tasco novice luminova and spacestation . each family has several models . the novice family features the most economical telescopes using manual focus and view finding while the high end spacestation utilizes fully automated sky mapping goto technology . magnification ranges of the telescopes are advertised as between 25 and 675 power . 2 both reflecting telescopes and refracting telescopes are available in each category . tasco s astronomical telescopes have a noted poor reputation as a usable instrument . 3 4 it is one of several companies that follows the deceptive practice of advertising their products based on claims of high magnification far beyond any attainable usable magnification . 3 tasco s astronomical products usually get lumped in with the whole series of telescopes pejoratively referred to as department store telescopes low quality and low cost instruments targeted at the impulse purchase market . 3 5 6 binoculars edit tasco makes binoculars with magnifications range between seven and ten power on a variety of models . they also offer snapshot series binoculars which include an ability to record video and capture still pictures as seen through the binoculars . users can transfer images to a computer through a usb cable . tasco provides software for viewing and printing . gun sights edit tasco makes telescopic sights for long rifles rimfire rifles and handguns featuring magnifications of 1 to 40 power . they also make non magnifying red dot sights . terrestrial scopes edit tasco offers several models of spotting scopes . these scopes are designed for rugged outdoor use and feature rubber armour protection as well as optional camouflage . models have magnifications between 12 and 45 times and feature panoramic view finding . company history edit tasco was originally founded and owned by george rosenfield in 1954 . in march 1996 rosenfield sold the business . at that time tasco employed 160 people at its florida headquarters and maintained a location in the state of washington which employed 40 . 1 in june 1998 tasco purchased celestron another telescope manufacturer which focused on performance optical equipment and the more serious observer . celestron was second only to meade instruments corporation in sales of telescopes . 7 early 2001 tasco began searching for a buyer as profits sank . meade corporation begins negotiations for a merger but the federal trade commission blocked the attempt . by june 2002 wind point partners parent company of bushnell performance optics bpo purchased the tasco brand and all the company s intellectual property . in july 2007 wind point partners sold bushnell performance optics along with tasco property and sales rights to midocean partners a private equity firm based in new york and london . 8 bankruptcy edit on may 29 2002 tasco worldwide initiated liquidation of all its assets . 9 after defaulting on nearly 30 million in loans . 10 the company had been searching for a buyer for several months but after much interest by meade corporation the federal trade commission on this day sanctioned a temporary restraining order in federal district court to preempt any attempt by meade instruments corporation the leading manufacturer of performance telescopes in the united states to purchase all or certain assets of tasco holdings inc. including celestron a child company and number two performance telescope provider in the u.s. the ftc argued that an acquisition by meade of celestron would negatively impact the performance telescope market by eliminating significant competition between the two companies and by creating a monopoly in the market for schmidt cassegrain telescopes which were currently only being sold in the u.s. by celestron and meade . 7 in response to the ftc s denial meade filed several lawsuits against both tasco and celestron concerning a patent for a fully automated telescope system with distributed intelligence also known as goto technology charging the two companies with patent infringement and unfair competition . the complaints were filed in the united states district court central district of california southern division but were all subsequently denied . later in 2002 tasco and celestron now under the ownership of bushnell performance optics fired back with lawsuits also in the district court of california alleging meade products infringed on a united states patent entitled tripod structure for telescopes . both companies sought injunctive relief and compensatory damages in an unspecified amount and attorneys fees and costs . in december 2002 the district court denied both celestron s and tasco s motion . 11 references edit a b http www.company7.com celestron news tasco.html accessed sept 17 2007 . as the focal length of the telescope divided by that of the eyepiece determines magnification ; advertised magnification is irrelevant . a b c philip s. harrington star ware the amateur astronomer s guide to choosing buying and using telescopes and accessories john wiley & sons 2011 page 80 rod mollise the good tasco uncle rod s astro blog . sunday july 13 2008 michael borgia human vision and the night sky how to improve your observing skills springer science & business media 2006 page 1 nightwatch a practical guide to viewing the universe terence dickinson isbn 1 55209 302 6 third edition pg 65 trash scope blues a b http www.ftc.gov opa 2002 05 meadecelestron.shtm accessed sept 15 2007 midocean partners and management announce acquisition of bushnell outdoor products inc. from wind point partners miramar fla. based binocular telescope distributor starts to liquidate . the miami herald fl may 29 2002 . http www.skyandtelescope.com news 3306111.html page 1 & c y accessed sept 17 2007 . http sec.edgar online.com 2003 05 29 000089256 9 03 001421 section5.asp accessed sept 14 2007 . external links edit tasco official website . tasco holdings international inc. official website . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title tasco & oldid 743550430 categories companies based in miamitelescope manufacturerscompanies established in 1954american brandshidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this 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