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SKYWATCHER FINDER SCOPE


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Yep, the 6x30 was the first thing I changed when I bought my new scope.

Got a SW 9x50 RACI from FLO (they just got some new stock in). Slots straight into the existing base plate. I love it.

Also fitted a Telrad from RVO (which, with an extra base plate, I can also use on my Nexstar 6SE).

(Or you could buy one of these - evil grin!)

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The RACI prism costs a bit more, so it will increase the base price of the scope, which is what most beginners will look at.

Besides some people like straight finders because they use both eyes open. Not me though... If I want both eyes open I'll use a binocular. (Hm, why not fit bins as finder :p

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The RACI prism costs a bit more, so it will increase the base price of the scope, which is what most beginners will look at....

This is spot on Perry. Keeping the scope at a certain price niche is very important to these brands. If they supplied 2 decent plossls and a right angled finder scope instead of what is actually supplied, then the price would rise by around £60 and the sales would drop off in favour of the competition.

Unfortunately, it's not just a case of adding a RA prism / diagonal. The finder tube is also shorter to take account of the additional light path that the diagonal uses up.

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The only issue with mine is the straight through finder. It's quite often difficult to look through without crawling on the floor - I have my scope set up to view in a sitting position.

I sometimes have my 80mm fitted. That makes a great finder but is a little on the heavy side...

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The advantage of using both eyes is that you can see the wide view with one eye and tne magnified with the other simultaneiusly. Makes it easier to find the object you want before it comes into the finderscope FOV. You can see the object moving towards the finder scope FOV and when it gets there you get a magnified version. Very easy after you've tried it a few times.

It is not the same as using binoculars which will give you the same view in each eye.

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Because a goto motor drive is only as good as the initial setup. Even when alignment is near perfect the requested object is more often than not off centre. If alignment is less than perfect so much so that it's not in view (and for most scopes you are looking at a very narrow FOV) you can use the finder to urrmm find the object and realign the scope relative to the mount.

Also many objects are not in the goto database only the more well known ones.

Finders and scopes are often out of alignment with each other too, so these need to be checked for accuracy as well.

You might say why do it manually? I've tried star hopping just for the exercise and I found it very satisfying when you eventually find an object that is not visible to the naked eye. It also helps you to understand the RA/DEC or Alt/Az stuff and how the stars are moving relevant to us.

Having a goto does not mean that you can only use goto, it can be used to pan manually using the built in motors. Then a finder is essential.

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