Aligning Stuff - finders, scopes etc.

[Macavity]

Of course, this will be "target dependent". But just wondering if anyone had any general (even off beat!) TIPS re. alignment and use of Finders on scopes etc. Y'know, do you spend significant setup TIME aligning your finder(s) with the main scope (be they RDF, RACI, whatever!), with a view to "getting there in one".

Or do you use a more... stagewise approach, with e.g. initially a low power(er) eyepiece in your MAIN scope?

As someone who quite LIKES to align stuff (an*l, I know!) I guess my "tip" would be to use classic 3-point (times two) finder support brackets (rather than "spring-loaded" ones) and screw down hard-ish! If visible, there's a certain satisfaction in aligning objects on cross-hairs and... there it is, in the main scope's (highish power) field. With a little effort (decent dovetails etc.) it seems WELL "within the bounds" to have a setup that RETAINS it's alignment to ~0.25 Deg [TFoV] between sessions.

P.S. As a minor (perennial!) frustration, I do find manufacturers present some real "challenges" with (supposedly) fitting finder bases. Especially if you DON'T want to drill holes in your OTA - Not with my beloved MAK, anyway.

[Vega]

I tend to pick a brightish star and use 25mm to center. If I'm planning on viewing very faint/small objects or doing any photography then I'll then drop in the 10mm or 6mm for added accuracy.

As a side note my 250px finder seems to stay aligned very well between viewing sessions. If I'm having a viewing only session, sometimes I dont even bother checking it. My 120 evostar finder (same size/make) does need checking every time however. (It's probably down to the different way the two scopes are stored)

Matt

[philsail1]

Chris,

I've just bought a TAL100RS (from Steve at FLO). Fantastic scope. Really pleased with it, and I'm halfway through doing a full review and comparison with my Skywatcher 200mm Newt, and Skywatcher 90mm Maksutov. I'll post the review on here ASAP.

However, the TAL 6x30 finder scope has the classic 3 point fixing system. (well there are six points - 3 at each end of the mounting bracket. They act upon two grooved rings attached to the finder scope, so there is no danger of the points damaging the actual tube of the finderscope). The 9x50 finder scope On my 200mm Newt has the modern 2 point + a spring loaded point system.

Personally, I find the 2 point + spring loaded point system much easier to use to quickly align the finder with the main scope.

The Tal's took me a good 10 minutes to get it right - and that's a long time when one's neck is bent at an awkward angle! Of course, once the TAL's finder scope is set up, it certainly feels like it isn't going to go anywhere! It's rock solid.

The 2 point system can easily be "knocked" out of alignment - but it only takes a second to re-align and set the finderscope on the 200mm Newt.

I've not had the TAL100RS telescope long enough to discover if the finder scope does indeed get "knocked out of true", but if and when it does, I would say it will take me longer than ten minutes to set up and align.

Regards,

Philis1

[James]

I tend to use my Hyperion Zoom. I'll set the finderscope so its reasonably close then centre the alignment stars in the zoom and then whizz down to the 8mm setting and centre again.

James

[Vega]

Now THAT is a cool reason to have a zoom EP must resist, must resist

[Macavity]

Belated thanks for some real food for thought. Am going through a "minimalist phase" (re. additional equipment) here, and trying to streamline operations a bit too! Aside: But, at the end of the day, my Orion 9x50 RACI finder is still my "third best telescope" ... so may yet stay.