SW Right Angled Finder

[Jiggy 67]

I've just taken delivery of a right angled finder scope, I've never used one before, always had the straight through type and a very sore neck!!

I expected the eyepeice to rotate independantly of the main body of the scope but that doesn't appear to be the case, you seem to have to rotate the whole scope in the bracket.....is this correct or am I missing something??..surely rotating the whole scope to a comfortable position will force it out of alignement with the OTA??...havn't tried it in the field yet, tomorrow night I hope

[John]

The basic RA finders like the Skywatcher and the Orion (USA) that I have don't have rotating eyepieces / diagonals so you do have to rotate the whole finder in it's mount. I guess you are using an equatorial mount - things do end up in odd positions with those. I've moved to alt-azimuth mounts now so at least the eyepiece and finder stay in an accessible position.

[brantuk]

If the finder and eyepiece end up in an awkward position - stand behind the scope - loosen the tube rings untill the ota can turn in the rings and move it to a comfy position. You're standing behind it to ensure it doesn't slip out or move up/down the rings and spoil the balance.

It's common practise to do this and some folks fit an extra ring to butt up against the main tube rings to stop it slipping up/down whilst being turned. It seems elaborate but you'll soon think nothing of it

[PorkyB]

I rotate my finderscope occasionally, although I am more likely just to spin the whole scope in its rings. If you make sure you are lined up on something bright before rotating the finder it only takes a few seconds to realign it after rotating. The alignment never moves by that much, so whatever you were looking at will still be near the centre of the finderscope view.

[Jiggy 67]

If you make sure you are lined up on something bright before rotating the finder it only takes a few seconds to realign it after rotating.

Good advice Porky, I discovered that myself last night with my first try with the finder, had no problem with it, in fact it was a 100% improvement on the straight through finder, so much easier, I would defo recommend the right angled finder to anyone considering an upgrade