Quality finder scope

[cyborg421]

Hi All,

I am looking for a quality finder/finderscope for my 4" refractor. I have a Telrad on my Dob but don't particularly want to start sticking things onto my new scope.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

Simon

[baggywrinkle]

Couple of reviews on these pages..

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/telescope-reviews?page=3

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/telescope-reviews?page=4

I have the Skywatcher 9x50 RA and it is very good.

[emadmoussa]

LOL, same here...totally hate sticking things on scopes. I had a lot of sticky bits on the mount,. It was a complete pain removing them - let alone cleaning the sticky remnants - which would become dirt magnets if otherwise.

Anyway, if you're aiming for star hopping and could benefit from a zero magnification finder, then I couldn't recommend enough the Baader Sky Surfer V. I've got a Telrad, but I found out that the Baader SkySurfer V takes a much longer time to fog up thanks to its long built in dew shield and transparent caps. It sits on the scope like a normal finder. Once calibrated, the alignment remains unchanged forever. Let alone the fantastic build quality. In all honesty, I use it interchangeably on both my refractors - 4" inch apo and a 6" achro and couldn't be happier with its performance.

I also use, the Altiair Astro RACI finder. Brilliant piece of kit, but a bit expensive. But recently I tend to use zero magnification on most occasions.  I just calculate degrees optically and use wide low power eyepiece to bag the target.

Teleskop Service in Germany sell large finder scopes - either right angled or straight through. I've heard they're pretty good.

In the end, it's a personal preference what suits you better.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Most focusers for fracs have screws that can be removed for the express purpose of attaching a finder shoe. No sticking involved

[John]

Most focusers for fracs have screws that can be removed for the express purpose of attaching a finder shoe. No sticking involved

Yep 

Many of the crayford focusers around have a threaded hole in the body to attach a finder foot along the same lines that WIlliam Optics uses. The trick is knowing which hole it is !

If you have a Skywatcher compatible finder shoe fitted then there is a large choice of finders available including the Baader Skysurfer IV that eMad uses, the Orion (USA) RACI 9x50 optical finder which I use and many others. If you really want to push the boat out then Tele Vue have their Starbeam reflex sight:

http://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/Reflex_Sights___Finder_Mounts.html

I use a mixture of the above mentioned RACI optical finder, a multi reticule finder mounted on a SKywatcher compatible stalk and a Vixen RDF on my refractors.

There are quite a lot of options in this department !

[emadmoussa]

Oh, how did I miss this?! I always invented solutions to mount a zero-magnification finder and optical finder side by side...and now I know I could by removing some screws on the focuser...doh!! I've got a bunch of finder shoes that will come pretty handy

[John]

Your set-up looks very good eMad. I'd stick with it I think. Using the hole tapped in the focuser body would move the position of the finder back towards the eyepiece and I reckon that would be less convenient to use than where it currently is.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

My best finder is the 14x70 RACI I built: 4.47 deg FOV and loads of light grasp to see faint stars for star hopping. No need to ruin the vertebrae in your neck either

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

BTW, I do not use the finder-shoe screws on my 80mm frac. At 5.3 deg TFOV with the Nagler 31T5 there is little point in adding a finder

[emadmoussa]

Your set-up looks very good eMad. I'd stick with it I think. Using the hole tapped in the focuser body would move the position of the finder back towards the eyepiece and I reckon that would be less convenient to use than where it currently is.

I experimented with finder shoe on the front ring and for a zero-mag it was better, then I moved the shoe to the back ring to test an optical finder and couldn't be bother moving back to the front.

[emadmoussa]

Speaking of which, I've been looking for straight-through finder with erected image...they don't seem that common. The only one I found was the Explore Scientific version, which is too expensive.

[Tinker1947]

I needed a Telrad base for my C11, have 2 on the newt so just need to get one off and transfer it,,,,a hair dryer softened the sticky pads, enough to remove it and remnants left on the tube came off with help from me finger nail, sticking it to the other tube is a work in progress waiting on thick double sided tape from Amazon.....

[emadmoussa]

I had the Telrad screwed in the C11...solid as rock!

[alan potts]

I bought a Baader Vario Finder as a quality finder scope, it is 60mm and has a magnification of X10. Don't buy one they are not very good in my opinion. I bought it 3 years ago and it was so bad I sent it back. This was specially selected by Baader and i still think it's junk, expensive junk though.

I now am very happy with the 50 x 8 that came with the Skywatcher scopes I have, they are better.

I would go so far as to say the Vario Finder is ok with my own diagonal and a 24mm Panoptic in it, so it tells me the objective lens is not bad.

Alan. 

[foundaplanet]

Speaking of which, I've been looking for straight-through finder with erected image...they don't seem that common. The only one I found was the Explore Scientific version, which is too expensive.

Have you seen this one here at Lyra Optic, they look very similar if not the same though it looks like you do not get rings with it from here..

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I bought a Baader Vario Finder as a quality finder scope, it is 60mm and has a magnification of X10. Don't buy one they are not very good in my opinion. I bought it 3 years ago and it was so bad I sent it back. This was specially selected by Baader and i still think it's junk, expensive junk though.

I now am very happy with the 50 x 8 that came with the Skywatcher scopes I have, they are better.

I would go so far as to say the Vario Finder is ok with my own diagonal and a 24mm Panoptic in it, so it tells me the objective lens is not bad.

Alan. 

A lot depends on the EP and prism. I replaced my official finder EP (Erfle with illuminated cross-hairs) with an Antares 25mm 70 deg with home-brew cross-hairs, and the view is a lot better (and wider). Illuminated cross-hair EPs generally have a field stop no larger than 22mm, whereas my adapted Antares sports a massive 27.3mm. This means moving from 3.6 deg FOV to 4.47 deg FOV. The quality of the Erfle also leaves a lot to be desired at F/5, in my opinion. The Antares is better, and the Panoptic, and even MaxVision 24 would take the Antares to the cleaners, no doubt. I would hesitate to open them up to insert a reticle, however. I have no such qualms with the second-hand Antares (just £30 or so).

[brantuk]

Altair Astro do a nice 10x60 finder scope with illuminated reticule. It's a tad dear but it's really very nice to use and will fit into SW standard finder scope shoes:

http://www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16335&cat=260&page=1

They also do a similar 12x80 that takes 1.25" eyepieces, which I presume is similar quality. Hth

[emadmoussa]

Altair Astro do a nice 10x60 finder scope with illuminated reticule. It's a tad dear but it's really very nice to use and will fit into SW standard finder scope shoes:

http://www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16335&cat=260&page=1

They also do a similar 12x80 that takes 1.25" eyepieces, which I presume is similar quality. Hth

I have this one and optically is very good. Sometimes I use the finder alone to test the seeing quality before going out

It's a great finder if you are after the right angled one. And if you can happily spend £169.

[cyborg421]

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I was wondering does a 60mm finder look v.big on a 100mm scope and also what are the ways the finder can be attached to the scope without sticking it on. Can I get an appropriate piece of kit irrespective of the finder/scope combination?

Simon

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I was wondering does a 60mm finder look v.big on a 100mm scope and also what are the ways the finder can be attached to the scope without sticking it on. Can I get an appropriate piece of kit irrespective of the finder/scope combination?

Simon

It might look big, but it is not impractical. Big finders make life easy, although given the wider field of your main scope a smaller (say 8x50) finder might do the job for a lot less. Having said that, my DSO count has simply shot up since installing my big 70mm finder.  Most focusers for refractors have screws fitted to them to attach a finder shoe. Other focusers have a finder shoe integrated with it (as does my ST80, which would look seriously silly with a 70mm finder attached to it )). In either case, no glue need be involved

[emadmoussa]

The thing is I find it easier with 60mm and less finders simply because I could benefit better from a wider field of view.

If you dont want to screw anything into the focuser, just install a dovetail on top of the rings which will give you more room to screw in or paste finders.

[emadmoussa]

If you look carefully you'll notice I screwed the Telrad base into the dovetail on top of the rings...solid as a rock. 

[emadmoussa]

And here's the Altair Astro finder...it's brilliant. I have to say you'll need a bit of time to get used to right angled viewing position as opposed to point and look through. This one is easy to align and will give a decent field of view. Having said that, optically you won't see a massive difference comparable to the standard Sky-watcher 9x50 finderscope (the latter comes in both straight-through and right angled modes). If money is an issue, I highly recommend the Sky-watcher. 

[impactcrater]

hopefully not repeating anything here. my scope came w a 'mickeymouse' 'red dot' finder which failed almost with no use. It was the first thing I replaced with the ORION" 9 by 50 mm 'Correct-Image Right-Angle' finder scope and I could not be happier. It has wonderful optics and even small smudges of nebulae are often visible in it which is a real help in aligning the scope to faint objects. I think this is a piece of kit spending big on...