Telrad Finderscope

[Dave Collins]

My Telrad Finderscope arrived today. I am going to mount it on my SW skyliner 200p dob. It comes with a base plate that has sticky pads. Just wondered whether I should leave the Finderscope in place that the skyliner came with and add the Telrad as a secondary? Would it make the end of the scope too heavy?

[JamesM]

Dave I would certainly keep both finders on for now. The Telrad is an excellent piece of kit, weighs very little despite its 'boxy' appearance and is grreat for helping you point the scope to within 95% of where you need to be. Now, if like me you live under a sky that has some light pollution, you will still need some kind of visual finder to finally 'nail' your chosen target. In a perfect world, I would prefer a right angled finder, which is slightly different to what you have in that it will show you an image that is the right way up, though still back to front. There are finders out there that through a prism will show you a fully corrected view (same as you would see with your eye) but of course both these alternatives come at a price. I would attache the Telrad near to the other finder but in the immediate future, I would attach it using some tape until you discover the most comfortable position for you. The sticky pads that come with this kit really do hold the finder in place, so you want to be sure of its position for the final attachment.

Clear skies

James

[Astro Imp]

That is excellent advice you have received from James, exactly what I did.

[spaceboy]

Ditto

[Tinker1947]

Somebody might confirm, but i believe the Telrad base can be taken back off with a hairdryer...

[Dave Collins]

Thanks for the info. I'll dig some electrical tape out of the tool cupboard to test the Telrad position. I've just carried out my first collimation on the dob. Fiddling for quite a while on the secondary mirror adjusters but looks ok now according to the instructions I got of Astrobaby. Will hopefully be able to test out tonight if the clouds disperse :-)

[swamp thing]

Nice one on the collimation.

This, you'll find gets easier every time. Until it takes just a few ticks.

Regards Steve

[Dave Collins]

Cheers Steve, just had a look outside and total cloud cover :-(. Roll on clear skies :-)

[Astro Imp]

Bad luck on the clouds but you can still line up your Telrad on a distant church tower or something similar. You will then be ready to go when we get some clear skies.