Telrad versus Ridel Quikfinder

[peterbolson]

Hi

I am new to this site having only recently become interested in astronomy. I have a SkyWatcher 8" Dobsonisn & wanted to buy a Telrad but these are currently unavailable because of production problems in Japan & there is no idea when they might be available again. The alternative would seem to be the Rigel Quikfinder but as I am interested in star hopping and DSO I am concerned that it doesn't have the 4 degree ring. I wondered if that would prove a problem in practice or whether it really didn't matter. Although it only has Telrad stttings I was planning to use Carte du Ciel to make finder charts.

I would be very grateful for any opinions on this.

Peter

PS Wish the weather would improve - there hasn't been a clear night for 2 weeks up here in Cumbria

[johninderby]

Telescope House has the Telrad in stock and it's 10% off until Monday night.

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Telrad_Red_Dot_Finder.html

John

[cgarry]

I have both and quality wise there is no comparison. Telrad all the way!

Cheers,

Chris

[John]

I have both and like them both. The Telrad has the extra reticule ring and seems slightly more forgiving on eye placement than the Quikfinder. For use on smaller tube scopes though the Quickfinder's footprint is much smaller and it's lighter than the Telrad. The Quickfinder is a little less prone to dewing than the Telrad is.

On an 8" dob you might as well go for the Telrad. You may need to think about making a dew shield for it in due course.

[peterbolson]

Thanks to all. John, I'll certainly try telescopehouse but I'm not sure they will actually have it as other suppliers say on their websites that they have it in stock but when I order they e-mail me about the problem.

Peter

[johninderby]

Telescope House's stock indications are very accurate indeed. In the last 10 years they've never let me down when something is shown as being in stock.

John

[Rusty Strings]

I have both and like both. As said above the Rigel is far better on smaller tube scopes, mines on a 80mm refractor where the telrad looks very silly and would not mount anything like as easily.

[G0JVK]

Yes another recommendation for the Telrad and as others have already said if it states on the item page at Telescope house say they have it in stock then they do.their infromation about stock is very accurate so i would advise you go ahead and order it from them and save yourself 10%, it's very popular and is an excellent piece of kit indeed as many including myself on here at SGL will testify.

Oh and a warm welcome to SGL too from me enjoy the best forum of it's kind on the internet.

[cgarry]

I have both and like both. As said above the Rigel is far better on smaller tube scopes, mines on a 80mm refractor where the telrad looks very silly and would not mount anything like as easily.

Exactly the same for me, I bought the Rigel because the Telrad is a bit too large for my 80mm scope.

However, although the Rigel does its job, it is not as good as the Telrad. If I move my head a little while looking through the Rigel the projected rings move their position on the sky, with the Telrad the position of the rings are rock solid. Also, the Rigel just does not feel that well made.

The Telrad is useless without a dew shield, which you can easily make. Better still, buy a Telrad shield for £3 from here: AstroBoot

I bought one and it is far neater than the one I made myself.

Cheers,

Chris

[peterbolson]

I've ordered the Telrad from Telescope house so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Chris, thanks for the tip about the dew shield.

Peter

[twotter]

I've never had a problem finding targets with a simple red dot finder.

Telrad...smellrad

[Telrad]

Gimme a Telrad anyday...!

[Moonshane]

defo telrad for me on newts. I had a Rigel one for a refractor but sold it when the frac was sold.

personally, I find the Telrad a lot easier to use.

[ZEbbEDY]

Ive got a kson red dot on my 8"

Telrad is moosive and blocky for what it is