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how good is a telrad finderscope


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hi all most of you probably seen my posts about my new telescope the astromaster, im getting on very well with my new purchase and had quite a bit of use out of it weather permitting however a certain part of it im am not and that is the sloppy excuse of a red dot finder attached to it.from what i see it has had a lot of negative feedback regarding the finder.im thinking of getting a telrad finder as ive seen they have had a lot of fantastic reviews ect.they seem very scarce in the uk but an ebay seller has started selling them and its accessories and is the only uk dealer on ebay.has any one here had good experiences with them or bad id love to hear as im going to treat myself to one with christmas or birthday money i get , cheers:)

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I can only find ones being sold by Rother Valley Optics, so if you are referring to them - yes they are a reputable trader.

In answer to the question in the title, Telrads seem to be very "marmite" :) (Love or Hate ...)

I personally fall into the love category, and don't use anything but my Telrad for locating objects.

Edited by Stephen
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Hi Luna 2011,

I got rid of the "star finder from my 130eq" almost straight away.

I can honestly say that the Telrad is the best purchase I have made yet, simply fantastic. I also bought a separate base for my 200p dob so that I can swap from scope to scope. Check Rother Valley Optics out, they are the cheapest I could find in the UK.

There is a thread somwhere on here also that shows you how to make your own dew sheild, comes complete with template and full instrctions. I will try and dig out out for you.

Edited by Ewok
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It's as good as the person using it.

Personally I've always managed fine with whatever optical finder has come free with the scope I've been using, but these things are a matter of individual taste and preference.

I use the finder to aim the scope at a naked eye star, then use a low power eyepiece and a good map to get to the desired target. A telrad or gun-sight would do just as well for initial aiming. Important thing, IMHO, is the map.

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It's as good as the person using it.

Personally I've always managed fine with whatever optical finder has come free with the scope I've been using, but these things are a matter of individual taste and preference.

I use the finder to aim the scope at a naked eye star, then use a low power eyepiece and a good map to get to the desired target. A telrad or gun-sight would do just as well for initial aiming. Important thing, IMHO, is the map.

Fair comment but the finder supplied in this instance is notoriously poor and can be very frustrating for any budding astronomer.

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Well, I don't exactly fall into the "hate" category, but I'm not exactly a fan of Telrads either. The only virtue they have is that they're light and won't upset the balance on a Dob, which is about the only 'scope I'd recommend them for. Otherwise, it's just another RDF with a reticle pattern rather than a single dot - a feature that personally I didn't find terribly useful.

So, I don't really understand why suddenly everyone seems to be raving about them ... they're cheaply made (I had 2 over the years and the light sources failed on both of them after about 3 years), ugly, and you have to stick the base to your o.t.a. with 4 sticky pads which are a bu...r to remove if you decide to ditch the Telrad.

The worst thing is that they offer no protection from dew whatsoever. I did buy a dinky little flip-up dew shade for mine but that just made it difficult to view through, which defeated the object.

That said and despite the above stated dislikes I would say a Telrad is a better choice than the very cheap and small RDF's, but I think there are better alternatives these days, particularly from Baader who make some excellent gear, e.g. the Sky Surfer V RDF and the 60mm Vario Finder, if you prefer optical finders. Neither are cheap but they're made of high quality materials (unlike the Telrad), very usable and should last a life time.

Personal view. If you have a Telrad enjoy it; hope it lasts longer than mine did!

Edited by Alma
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Agreed, they are expensive for what they consist of and how they are made, but I do find mine very useful to have. I used to use a Baader Skysurfer V, which was much better made from metal and felt like a real quality item, however I just didn't find it great to use - some people do mind you!

Telrads do dew up, most finder-scopes will tbh. You can get little dew shields for them, again expensive for what they are, but they do help, a little.

Doc

Edited by Space Beagle
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Boxy, dew prone, sticky backed plastic monstrosities...yuk!

Since when did Astro kit have to be asthetically pleasing?

According to that analogy we should all be using brass refractors.

I see you own a 200p Dob, hardly the worlds answer to a great looking scope.:)

Regards Steve

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Since when did Astro kit have to be asthetically pleasing?

According to that analogy we should all be using brass refractors.

I see you own a 200p Dob, hardly the worlds answer to a great looking scope.:)

Regards Steve

Philistine :(

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Hi Paul,

I have dealt with Green Witch ( Lee ) recently, he is excellent at emails, good advice on the telephone and is honest on availability of items.

I purchased a Telrad for my dob about a year ago, it is an excellent product, easy set up and alignment procedures and easy to use. I have just purchased a Kendrick heater strip for my Telrad to prevent dew from forming on it.

I have tried using a small finder scope but found it not easy with glasses.

Cheers

Adrian

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Very surprized to hear of unreliability. I have two, both going strong after about ten years in commercial use. As for suddenly being raved about, not so! I've been raving about them from the first time I used one ten years ago.

The key thing is that a circle gives you a reference for scale. 4 degree circle. A dot is a dot is a dot. Not much information in a dot.

Olly

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