Skymaster 9x50 Finderscope diagonal upgrade?

[DRT]

I have the standard 9x50 finderscope on my SW200p Dob but have read good things about the diagonal version.

Is it possible to buy a diagonal that would fit on the small viewing end of the standard model or would I have to buy the angled version? A normal 1.25" diagonal won't work because the small end of the findescope has a much smaller barrel.

[emadmoussa]

I doubt this will work. There are right angled finders with removable eyepieces and perhaps diagonals. But they tend to be expensive and heavy.

Your best option is a Skywatcher RACI finder. It's the same one you have but right angled. A word of warning though, it might take some time getting used to it, but it's usually complimented with a red dot finder.

[Astro Imp]

What Emad says. The combination of Telrad and RACI finder really improves the observing experience.

[DRT]

I have ordered a Telrad.

Is there a 2nd hand market for the straight-through SW finderscope?

I feel a bit cheated having to buy almost the same thing again so soon after buying the scope. The diagonal version should be an upgrade option at minimal cost

[emadmoussa]

Welcome to the hobby. You spend a fortune on a scope and you get low end stock accessories. However, the SW is optically good..but I wish you could have the choice to pick your accessories.

Post a wanted ad on here or ABS for a RACI finder.

[John]

Until you have 250 posts and can access our classifieds section, this is a great place to buy & sell used gear:

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

If they supplied scopes with better quality accessories then they would cost more and another brand would step in and offer a version with more basic ones again and steal their business. We would also get lots of questions like "is it really worth an extra £XX to have a 90 degree finder and 3 good quality eyepieces - are the basic ones that bad ?". 

[DRT]

If they supplied scopes with better quality accessories then they would cost more and another brand would step in and offer a version with more basic ones again and steal their business. We would also get lots of questions like "is it really worth an extra £XX to have a 90 degree finder and 3 good quality eyepieces - are the basic ones that bad ?". 

I don't have an issue with the manufacturers using the low-grade accessories as the default kit but I do think they should offer upgrade options. The published price would be as it is now but we could add as many ££ as we want to by selecting higher spec options.

As it is, I have bought a £45 piece of kit that I don't want and have to pay the full £65 for the one I do want and hope to sell the other one for a few quid. I would much rather have had the choice of paying £25 to upgrade

[Naemeth]

I don't have an issue with the manufacturers using the low-grade accessories as the default kit but I do think they should offer upgrade options. The published price would be as it is now but we could add as many ££ as we want to by selecting higher spec options.

As it is, I have bought a £45 piece of kit that I don't want and have to pay the full £65 for the one I do want and hope to sell the other one for a few quid. I would much rather have had the choice of paying £25 to upgrade

While this is true, not all of us need another RACI or 9x50 straight through finder at all. While I agree you should be able to upgrade, the single package probably keeps the costs down.

[John]

While this is true, not all of us need another RACI or 9x50 straight through finder at all. While I agree you should be able to upgrade, the single package probably keeps the costs down.

I think it's a bit like "any colour you like as long as it's black" although I believe Henry Ford is thought not to have actually said that !

I've long thought that dew shields ought to be supplied as standard with maks and SCT's though as dew on the glass at the top end is almost a certainty in a climate anything like ours.

[emadmoussa]

Compression rings should be a standard for any scope over £200 ...thumb screws are quite outdated and pathetic

[Naemeth]

I think it's a bit like "any colour you like as long as it's black" although I believe Henry Ford is thought not to have actually said that !

I've long thought that dew shields ought to be supplied as standard with maks and SCT's though as dew on the glass at the top end is almost a certainty in a climate anything like ours.

Yet, in a desert climate dew shields would be a lot less useful though . 

[emadmoussa]

Yet, in a desert climate dew shields would be a lot less useful though .

But accessories do vary based on country sometimes...

[DRT]

Location-based accessories is where a retailer could add real value.

For example: FLO, a very good retailer in my limited experience, could quite easily have offered the diagonal, better SW eyepieces and perhaps some other stuff as an upgrade when I ordered the scope. A sale or return arrangement with SW would allow the standard extras to be returned before sale.

I would be happy to pay a slight premium on the upgrades rather than have to pay full cost to buy them separatey and be stuck with kit I do not need or want.