Askar 160 mm f/7 Triplet Apo with 3.5 inch RAP Focuser - with Optics Test

Askar 160 mm f/7 Triplet Apochromat with 3.5 inch RAP Focuser
The Askar 160APO is a high-quality astrograph with a large aperture.


The Askar 160APO is a telescope with 160 mm aperture, 1120 focal length, and f/7 native focal ratio

The large aperture of 160 mm gives it an inherent advantage in terms of light-gathering power, resolution, brightness, and contrast, allowing the photographer to gather more light and present more details and brighter objects in the image. Along with more light coming into the astrograph, the limiting magnitude can reach 12.8 mag.


The Askar 160APO adopts a triplet air-spaced APO lens design, including one piece of ED glass.

The Askar APO series employs special optical designs and multiple lens elements to correct chromatic aberration, naturally providing higher-quality object details and color accuracy.
In the refractor´s element structure, increasing the number of lens elements and designing lens combinations can effectively improve chromatic aberration correction. However, this also means increased production costs and design complexity.
ED glass, also known as low-dispersion glass, is a type of optical glass specifically designed to reduce chromatic aberration.
As a large aperture, long focal ratio telescope, the Askar 160APO was designed with portability in mind. The shortest overall length is only 883 mm, the net weight is 11.4 kg, and the gross weight is 13.6 kg (including the handle, tube ring, and dovetail plate).

The retractable design of the dew shield, along with the enlarged locking screws, provides convenient usage. The dew shield serves the purpose of protecting the lens from the impact of external and internal light.
The Askar 160APO has an overall lightweight design for the tube rings. The thumb screws enable easy opening and locking of the tube rings. Meanwhile, the base of the tube rings is heightened, providing more space.
The handle of the Askar 160APO has a special slot design, making it also a base for installing a finder scope. The handle itself is 316 mm long.
The dovetail plate of the Askar 160APO is the standard Losmandy style dovetail plate, which is compatible with most equatorial mounts and bases on the market. We extended the length and added screw holes, making the length 400 mm, which is easier to balance on the mounts. With the slotted handle, the spacing between the tube rings can be adjusted as desired.


Integrated tube extension

It is worth mentioning that the rear lens tube of the Askar 160APO has an integrated retractable design. Askar has strengthen the overall stability and ensure that the optical axis will not be affected when the lens tube is stretched, thus guaranteeing the quality of the image. The retractable part also features a rudder-type locking ring that makes it easy to loosen or tighten.



When the tube is contracted, the Askar 160APO can be used with a binoviewer for visual observation. When the lens tube is stretched, the 160APO can be equipped with a reducer or flattener for imaging or a diagonal and eyepiece for observing.

In terms of visual observation, it can easily achieve focus when connected to 1.25" or 2" diagonals or various eyepieces. Because of the retractable lens tube design, it can also be attached to a binoviewer for visual observation.


The focuser of the 160APO

In terms of the focuser, the Askar 160APO is equipped with a large, rigid, 3.5-inch dual-speed rack and pinion focuser, which is compatible with most motorized focusers on the market. There is a high-precision scale on the drawtube with 10 cm travel. The entire focuser barrel is CNC machined with an anti-reflective internal design and matting paint, providing extra measures to eliminate stray light.
There are two finder bases on both sides of the focuser, which not only eliminates the need for disassembling when changing the position of the finder scope but also provides additional mounting positions for other astronomical accessories.
The rear of the focuser features a big 360° high-precision rotator, along with precise scales for convenient adjustment and saving of rotation angles, enabling precise rotation. It is also equipped with an enlarged rotator locking screw that can be easily secured even under high loads. The telescope interface at the rear comes with a 1.25"/2" adapter.

The entire Askar 160APO tube is crafted using high-quality CNC machining with anodized and surface spray paint treatments. The orange accents on the ivory-white tube add a bright and eye-catching touch, presenting a stylish and elegant overall appearance.


This is how we hand over the apo to the amateur:

Every single 160APO is checked in our technical department before it is put into storage, in order to guarantee a consistently high product quality.

The mechanics are tested and the focuser is optimally adjusted.

The lens is cosmetically checked and cleaned. We also check that all counter screws are correctly tightened. These often loosen during transportation.

The optics are collimated and the result is checked on the optical bench. The telescope is given a serial number.

An optical test is carried out, which is enclosed with the telescope (star images and ronchi image on the optical bench in autocollimation).

Only then are the telescopes handed over to the warehouse and prepared for dispatch.

Product video

The manufacturer has published a product video:



Technical Information
Teleskop-Service has collected a lot of helpful information about refractors and provided it in English as a PDF file: refractors.pdf

- 160APO OTA
- Tube rings
- Handle
- 400 mm Losmandy dovetail plate
- Aluminum box
- Manual
- TS Startest

Safety informations: PDF Download