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Altair 10x60mm Right Angle Finder - worth the money???

Adrian23

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Adrian23

Adrian23

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I'm looking to upgrade my basic straight through finder for my SW ED80. I've only had it a few weeks and I'm already sick of trying to contort into strange positions to use the supplied finder.

I'm drawn to this Altair RACI not only because it comes with an adjustable-brightness illuminated reticle (which is also on my wish list) but it also can double as a guide scope for AP ( as I'm starting off in AP, guiding is something I'll be considering soon, I'm sure, so I'm looking to "future-proof" my kit).

Does anyone have any experience of this scope as a finder and/or guider and therefore is it worth the rather large £169 price tag?

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alan potts

alan potts

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I have the Baader version of this and it cost me more than you are quoting. The objective seems decent enough but the prism and eyepiece that Baader placed on the back, and I stress this is different to yours, was not something to write home about. I use this small scope with a Meade 1.25 inch prism and a TV eyepiece and it is very good with the changes. Now I know this dose not answer your questions but looking at it Altaiir Astro ( sound like a good outlet) seem to have changed it some what, I hope for the best. Why not talk to the shop, tell them what I have told you if you want and see what they have to say.

Alan

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swag72

swag72

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I have this finder guider and I really do rate it as both. It's really useful to be able to swap the role of the little scope. From an imaging perspective, it works well as a guider and as you only have one relatively small scope in addition to your main scope it certainly helps to cut down on the weight on the mount.

I used to use mine all of the time, but now that I have a camera with an off axis guider I guess it will be redundant for a guider, but I will still use it as a finder scope.

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brantuk

brantuk

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It's great as a finder - and great as a guider - though I find that the guide rings could do with a little "beefing up" for a little more stability. But then I tend to be a bit heavy handed with nylon tipped screws - I could do with some delicacy training lol.

Otherwise it's very good all round - I have the 12x60 which has a very nice objective - like a mini scope in it's own right. As Alan suggests - give them a call - I've had loads of stuff from Altair and Nick and Ian give a very good pre sales and after sales service. :)

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Sleepy Kiki

Sleepy Kiki

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Another thumbs up for Altair RA finder guider package. I use mine primarily as a guider with a lodestar and its been great but its nice to switch it to a finder with illuminated eyepiece. Well worth the money  :smile: 

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brantuk

brantuk

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@Kiki - where did you get the extension tube for the Lodestar please? I can't find a tailor made one anywhere to fit the finder/guider thread? Or did it work ok with the adjustable focusing tube upgrade? :)

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bambuko

bambuko

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I have it and like it, but...

You can read about my experiences here

I have solved the problem with eyepiece, but focuser still occasionally rotates under the weight of the illuminated eyepiece :huh:

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tingting44

tingting44

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ive had mine a month or 2 now and at 1st it was quite hard for me to figure out all the bits and pieces to use that came with it lol (coming from the stock SW 9x50 finder) but after i got my head around the ins and out's im in love with it, one serious bit of kit that does the job its designed for perfectly :)

Finder

14252299034_39b1041a7d_c.jpgAltair 60mm (Finder) by tingting44, on Flickr

Guider

14065999018_315cba0b55_c.jpgAltair 60mm (Guider) by tingting44, on Flickr

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Sleepy Kiki

Sleepy Kiki

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@Kiki - where did you get the extension tube for the Lodestar please? I can't find a tailor made one anywhere to fit the finder/guider thread? Or did it work ok with the adjustable focusing tube upgrade? :)

Hi, that's a good point about the Lodestar and AA helical focuser. I had to get one of these for it to reach focus

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/adaptors/low-profile-125-nosepiece-c-threads.html

Just screws onto the end of the Lodestar

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Adrian23

Adrian23

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Just checked my SW 80 ED DS Pro - the shoe is moulded onto the scope itself so it can't be removed [emoji22] I don't much fancy the idea of having to glue the shoe onto the tube ... I know the SW shoe that's on will accept the Altair finder by itself but it only has one tightening screw so may not be secure enough for guiding ( but fine for finder mode I guess).

Has anyone any experience of using this finder as a guider using the one-screw stock shoe that comes with the SW 80 ED (or similar)???

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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tingting44

tingting44

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Just checked my SW 80 ED DS Pro - the shoe is moulded onto the scope itself so it can't be removed [emoji22] I don't much fancy the idea of having to glue the shoe onto the tube ... I know the SW shoe that's on will accept the Altair finder by itself but it only has one tightening screw so may not be secure enough for guiding ( but fine for finder mode I guess).

Has anyone any experience of using this finder as a guider using the one-screw stock shoe that comes with the SW 80 ED (or similar)???

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ah that sucks a tad, im looking to get an 80ED also :( guess you cant drill into the frac's like you can with the newts either :(

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Macavity

Macavity

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I think they are pretty the same as my onetime (APM?) 60mm finder from Telescope Service?

If so, a fine enough thing. The only review on the web (You'll need google translate probably!): 

http://www.nauka.rk.edu.pl/w/p/recenzja-szukaczo-guidera-60mm-teleskop-service/ :)

The only other rumour... that the 60mm finder was significantly better than the 80mm version.

But not overly surprising, maybe - Better to buy a "real" 80mm achromat for the price / weight?

As an electronic finder, I needed a slightly shorter focal length for my small / budget cam chip.

But the idea of a 10 degree, 60mm *visual* finder, even if the exit pupil were around 1cm... :cool:

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Steve-G

Steve-G

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I'm looking to upgrade my basic straight through finder for my SW ED80. I've only had it a few weeks and I'm already sick of trying to contort into strange positions to use the supplied finder.

I can't offer any opinion on this particular finder, having never seen one up close & personal, but can share my experience of RACI's in generally - I hated it! I was having the same issues as you, crawling around in uncomfortable positions to use a 'straight through' finder so thought a RACI would be the answer. Having borrowed one from a friend for a couple of nights, I actually found it harder to use. I still ended up in awkward poses as I was having to look down the length of the scope to roughly guide it into position. The RACI was definitely more comfortable to view through but I found it a little disorientating when trying to locate a target. I suppose it's due mainly to being a beginner with a poor knowledge of whats's up there. I'm sure the more experienced of you can easily identify what you're looking at with only a quick glance so navigating around comes easier for you.

Maybe I'll give one another go at a later date but for now I still prefer my straight through finder, despite the occasional contortions required to use it. It just seems a more natural way of locating targets. Well, for me at least.

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Sleepy Kiki

Sleepy Kiki

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How did you attach the guider scope to that little piece of dovetail bar? Are there screws on the under side of the mounting rings to do this?

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Hi Adrian

I used the original bolts and rings that come with it to attach it to the dovetail bar. I drilled a couple of holes in the bar because the two that were pre-drilled and supplied with the ED80 were too close together for stability.

The hardest part was finding the right bolts to screw onto the white SW tube rings

Here's a pic of underneath the dovetail. Hope that helps!  :smiley:

post-28786-0-30763400-1401113369_thumb.j

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