TELRAD Issues? or Not?

[Moonshane]

I use contact lenses whih seem a good compromise for me. I put them in, sleep in them etc and it's like not having any in (or I suppose like having laser surgery). I then take them out after a month and put the new ones in. sometimes I get a little flare from the 'wave effect' depedning on the angle of my head but this is a small price to pay for the convenience of them.

[Charic]

Still undecided on the Telrad. I need to wear glasses to see a sharp reticule, whereas glasses are not needed for the telescope or binoculars. Also the fitting of the Telrad to my Skyliner means I have to lay over the scope from a seated position to see anything. There doesn't appear to be enough space to mount the Telrad between the focuser and the original finder scope mount. That would be the ideal position. I could exchange it completely for the finder scope, but then glasses will come back into the equation. 

The reticule is a great idea, but like Mick Jagger says  I cant get no satisfaction ( at present )

[rory]

charic  if you have issues with the telrad or recticle sights in general , and don't want to faff about with glasses, have you considered a RACI finder  for comfort if nothing else.

 I had a raci on my old dob (and a telrad) they make a good combo . but a raci finder save a lot of bending of the back , you can shift your eye from finder to eyepiece with so much ease.

sorry if its already been discussed .

[Charic]

rory.......... Tonight I managed  some observations of the Moon and Jupiter, just as it was turning dark, and packed up at about 1945 hrs. My decision is to sell on the Telrad. two reasons apply. First the reach? sitting the other side of the 9x50, its quite a reach, and there's  insufficient space between the focuser and the default finder mount. Secondly, my old eyes just wont let me focus the reticle with out it appearing to be overlaid on itself, without  some  correction from my glasses. I also tried again tonight to see if I could manage the telescope with glasses, and its no joy, so the Telrad will go. Now I've  just spent 3 hours looking for its damn box? where the hell is it? I think the Mrs may be involved,? but as soon as its located, it`ll be away to some else. Also playing around with my Revelation 2.5x. Thats going too? too much power for my set-up / eyes. I'll re- invest in just a 2x Barlow.

I had my first  chance to use my 5mm on the Moon. Wow! The 5mm is good for the Moon, but too much for Jupiter tonight. My best lens tonight on Jupiter was the 8mm.

I get on great with the default finder. I just thought the Telrad would be of more benefit to me at a darker site, but for the reasons already stated, it will go. I also note that Stellarium and some books use the same reticle scale, which does make searching a breeze.

[Charic]

My Telrad  already has a happy new owner   in-case anyone was thinking about one? 

[bambuko]

Thanks Charic! - great dealing with you

First job (starting tomorrow) is to shorten the Telrad to half of it's usual length

[Charic]

So brutal!.............I had a thought about that, or even using a riser on my Skyliner to get it to fit between focuser and finder. just make sure you measure twice and cut once. Not sure you can shorten the distance between the internal reticle to the mirror? 

[Charic]

rory.......... Tonight I managed  some observations of the Moon and Jupiter, just as it was turning dark, and packed up at about 1945 hrs. My decision is to sell on the Telrad. two reasons apply. First the reach? sitting the other side of the 9x50, its quite a reach, and there's  insufficient space between the focuser and the default finder mount. Secondly, my old eyes just wont let me focus the reticle with out it appearing to be overlaid on itself, without  some  correction from my glasses. I also tried again tonight to see if I could manage the telescope with glasses, and its no joy, so the Telrad will go. Now I've  just spent 3 hours looking for its damn box? where the hell is it? I think the Mrs may be involved,? but as soon as its located, it`ll be away to some else. Also playing around with my Revelation 2.5x. Thats going too? too much power for my set-up / eyes. I'll re- invest in just a 2x Barlow.

I had my first  chance to use my 5mm on the Moon. Wow! The 5mm is good for the Moon, but too much for Jupiter tonight. My best lens tonight on Jupiter was the 8mm.

I get on great with the default finder. I just thought the Telrad would be of more benefit to me at a darker site, but for the reasons already stated, it will go. I also note that Stellarium and some books use the same reticle scale, which does make searching a breeze.

Update- Both at new homes now. Not sure I need a new 2x Barlow  anymore  as I have a full set of BST's?  But a Barlow will be of use to me for final primary mirror adjustments, but not in any rush now. Might just use the cheapy plastic Celestron 3x for final laser/Barlow diffusion!