Finderscope Advice for a newcomer

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

after the huge choice in telescopes you can purchase, i went with a Skywatcher.

but sadly as i now know, the red dot and cheap finder scopes are near on useless to use or optics are shabby.

i decided to have a look for a new finder scope, something cheap to the pocket but ideal for a newcomer. but the choice is huge like it was choosing a scope. i tried my best to use the cheap finder and red dot that came with my two SW scopes but to no avail.

i decided the only thing to do was mount my toy spotting scope ( 20x50mm) to the skywatcher, maybe it will be slightly better than the ones i have, but i really need something that is useful not useless.

what makes you chose a finder scope ?, what cheap finders work and what do not ?, where do us newcomers start in choosing a decent but cheap finder?. all good having a nice scope but if the finder is bad, it means more heartache for the newcomer surely ?

i have attached the cowboy job i have done with my spotting scope, advice ideas and pointers would be nice.

[Catweazel]

Have you thought about a Telrad finder? It can sit with your existing finderscope and is like a target type finder, what is in the target is what you see in the scope; no upside down or back to front!

[rory]

i think opticaly 9x50 is the standard to go by. if the light pollution is not a issue then id imagine a rigel/telrad would be a good idea.

i see quite a few 9x50 finders on sale second hand online.

[Tinker1947]

I set up my Telrad yesterday, really nice bit of kit, the RDF is going in the bin..

[dmahon]

On a big scope, a Telrad is great but they are BIG. On a smaller refractor, a cheap gun type Red Dot Finder (think Modern Warfare 2/3 for those that play that sort of thing) is excellent. Obviously Skywatcher didn't supply one of those types of RDF.

[Nexus 6]

a cheap gun type Red Dot Finder

something like this would be better, there will be other suppliers too..Revelation Advanced Red Dot Finder

they are far better than the standard rdf units that come with many telescopes, I use the same one on my 925

[kenmyers]

something like this would be better, there will be other suppliers too..Revelation Advanced Red Dot Finder

they are far better than the standard rdf units that come with many telescopes, I use the same one on my 925

nice, ordering me one of these!

[rory]

i picked up my telrad today. after almost a year with no finder aid apart from low mag e/p,i was really praying this would be a big help .

my god how simple but effective is that thing .

as my scope has a small radius i used cable ties to hold the base in place. slipped on the telrad . used jupiter to pair it up with the ota.

once done i picked a star (alot of mist at the moment,so choices were scarce) i picked out the middle of the three stars in orions belt ,centred the telrad sight on it ,looked into the e/p ,and bingo ,job done.

i like the way the circles tend not to move if you move your head,and as the seeing was very poor at 6.30 tonite i had to set the brightness on low level and that also worked a treat:hello2:.

cant wait to get some hunting in now.

clear skies...

[Tinker1947]

I have been veiwing most of the evening and yes, once the Telrad is set-up its so easy to find DSO's ect, even the one's you can't see..

[Dave Collins]

I've used my new Telrad a few times now on my SW 200p and find it much easier to find objects than the finder it came with.

[rory]

yeah, i wish id got one months ago,would have saved me alot of time. i even got a nice big dew shield with it....back o the net !

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

Telrad sounds like the thing to have.

those RDF you get these days just do not cut the mustard. they should work like a telrad , you move head and the dot stays centred, but with mine it dances around the sky like a belly dancer on a bullet ant nest.

i shoved the RDF on the mini dob for my godson and niece, looks the part to them. but i always help the eyeball the scope to targets. i will need to save some more pennys, been saving for a while now and have just about enough pennys for a SW 200p but not including a telrad

thank you everyone and hopeful this topic will help other newcomers decide on the best viewfinder / targeting system