Where on earth do you place the Telrad?

[emadmoussa]

I never thought I would be asking such a silly question..but seriously, on the GSO 10 inch dob the distance between the finder and the focuser is not wide enough for the Telrad base to sit. You would think you can position it on the right side of the finder scope..but it will be quite far and you'll have a neck like a giraffe to reach it...

I'm thinking either I find a radical solution to place the Telrad on top of the finder, or just forget about the Telrad and go for a Rigel finder instead.

Will appreciate any insights.

[swamp thing]

Aah! You see, if you'd bought the 12" it would've fitted in there

Seriously though, I'd move the optical finder over until the Telrad fitted between.

[Scooot]

That's tricky. When I used one I put it where you can't.

Would this fit?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-riser.html

[emadmoussa]

That's tricky. When I used one I put it where you can't.

Would this fit?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-riser.html

You will still need the base to fit first unfortunately.

[JamesF]

I have mine the other side of the finder.  I don't find it that much of a pain to use:

James

[JamesF]

That's a tube for a 10" mirror, btw.

James

[AlexB67]

I would just move it to the right of the finder, this what I did with the rigel,  but it is a bit higher above the OTA in its default configuration compared to a telrad, I would think a riser would be desirable in any case of a telrad perhaps ? Anyway, the rigel seems fine to me that way and is comfortable to use when it is located just to the right of the finder.

That gap looks quite narrow even if you did think of fitting a rigel there, it may well be that the gap is still too narrow for the rigel base to fit in any case. 

[AlexB67]

I should also add, since I have the rigel quite close to the right of the finder, no reason you could not do the same with the telrad I imagine,  It is not as if I need to walk around the scope, just a slight bending over, so unless you have a really massive beer gut or are very short, I suspect it will not be an issue :0)

[brucen]

On my Dob I have put one between the focuser and viewfinder but set back a little further down the tube so the base would fit. Might look a bit strange but it seems fine.

[Tinker1947]

I would throw the finder away, its extra weight and once the Telrad is aligned i wouldn't use the finder again, my C11 is minus its finder...

[emadmoussa]

I guess with the right riser placing the telrad on the right should probably do it. Perhaps a bit of experimenting first.

[emadmoussa]

I would throw the finder away, its extra weight and once the Telrad is aligned i wouldn't use the finder again, my C11 is minus its finder...

Mine weighs a ton, but for delicate objects on high mag it will come very handy.

[8kids]

I have my telrad in the same position  as James's, and It compliments the RACI perfectly.

[Scott]

fit it with cable ties for a while until you decide on its final resting place....thats what I did

Don't throw the finder, it's much more acurate than the telrad IMHO

[JamesF]

fit it with cable ties for a while until you decide on its final resting place....thats what I did

Don't throw the finder, it's much more acurate than the telrad IMHO

Agreed, on both counts.

James

[Scooot]

I agree with keeping the finder. I found that if the light pollution was bad,it wasn't always that easy to see the star through the Telrad screen. I could see it naked eye but then it was difficult through the glass.

[John]

Sell the Telrad and get a Rigel Quikfinder instead 

The Rigel's "footprint" is just 5cm by 6cm and I reckon it would fit either just forward or behind the optical finder, between it and the focuser base.

The Telrad might be a "design icon" of sorts but it's pretty bulky for what it does. Look inside and it's mostly empty space !

The Rigel gives you 2 circular reticules rather than the Telrad's 3 but does not dew up quite so quickly and weighs a lot less. You are going to have enough fun with balance with that big finder and a 2" eyepiece that you might welcome some weight saving at the "top end" 

[Bart]

I would throw the finder away, its extra weight and once the Telrad is aligned i wouldn't use the finder again, my C11 is minus its finder...

Same here, ditched the finder

Barry

[Bart]

I have the same scope as you, the GSO. Here's a pic, minus the finder, but with a 4" riser on the Telrad with polystyrene cup wedged in for covering EPs when you're messing around to avoid dew and weight sitting on a magnet sitting on soft cloth all taped together to allow easy sliding up and down for balancing. Not overly pretty, but very effective

Barry

[jetstream]

Sell the Telrad and get a Rigel Quikfinder instead 

The Rigel's "footprint" is just 5cm by 6cm and I reckon it would fit either just forward or behind the optical finder, between it and the focuser base.

The Telrad might be a "design icon" of sorts but it's pretty bulky for what it does. Look inside and it's mostly empty space !

The Rigel gives you 2 circular reticules rather than the Telrad's 3 but does not dew up quite so quickly and weighs a lot less. You are going to have enough fun with balance with that big finder and a 2" eyepiece that you might welcome some weight saving at the "top end" 

Emad,this works well for me,I can find objects seated,in Rigel,then they are right in the eyepiece.

[Qualia]

fit it with cable ties for a while until you decide on its final resting place....thats what I did

Don't throw the finder, it's much more acurate than the telrad IMHO

Sell the Telrad and get a Rigel Quikfinder instead 

Cannot but agree with the advice of both Auspom & John. If one must fit a Telrad use cable ties and avoid the sticky tape and don't ditch the finder! From my own perspective I cannot conceive how one can do swift and accurate star hopping around the sky, no matter how dark it is, without a finder. I think my own gives a true field of view of about 5º which means I would need a 60mm Ethos to cover the same ground Again, as John suggests, the Rigel is probably a more sensible option for a dob. Its lighter, just as accurate and takes up less space.

It might be of interest, but these days when using the frac I just hold the Telrad on the tube, no tape, no ties, nothing, aim to a star and that's it. Afterwards its more or less finder and eyepiece combo.

[emadmoussa]

Cannot but agree with the advice of both Auspom & John. If one must fit a Telrad use cable ties and avoid the sticky tape and don't ditch the finder! From my own perspective I cannot conceive how one can do swift and accurate star hopping around the sky, no matter how dark it is, without a finder. I think my own gives a true field of view of about 5º which means I would need a 60mm Ethos to cover the same ground Again, as John suggests, the Rigel is probably a more sensible option for a dob. Its lighter, just as accurate and takes up less space.

It might be of interest, but these days when using the frac I just hold the Telrad on the tube, no tape, no ties, nothing, aim to a star and that's it. Afterwards its more or less finder and eyepiece combo.

I did something similar. But now I have a Baader SkySurfer V on my refractors and it works a treat.

[emadmoussa]

Having experimented with the Telrad last night, I think John is right...I does tip the balance. You might think it's light, but if you become conscious of its weight it's not exactly feather light ... probably the Rigel is a better option. I'll look into that.

[Macavity]

You already have a Baader Skysurfer Five? Assuming that is not yet broken,

why not work with that? I cannot imagine it being much lesser than a Telrad.

[emadmoussa]

You already have a Baader Skysurfer Five? Assuming that is not yet broken,

why not work with that? I cannot imagine it being much lesser than a Telrad.

I do and it works perfectly well. The Baader requires a shoe same as the optical finder, and it's reserved for the latter.

Plus, I'd rather keep it aligned to the refractors...last time for some bizarre reason it took me almost a century to get it correctly aligned and don't want to mess it up.