Finderscope for Nexstar Evolution 6

[tosh66]

Hi all,

I have just bought the Nexstar Evolution 6 and this is my first scope. After trying it out last night I struggled with the red dot finderscope, It seems very arkward for me to use. Can anyone suggest a better finderscope for this scope.

I will only be able to use the scope at weekends(work) and need quick setup because of young grandchildren. I looked at the starsense camera as this looks very easy to align the scope but would it not be suited to this scope. Thanks tosh66.

[laudropb]

Hi. I would try the telrad or Rigel finders. I personally use a Rigel but in conjunction with a RACI. This gives you a naked eye finder and a magnified view. I find the general area with the Rigel and the exact location with the 9x50 RACI

[tosh66]

Cheers laudropb, I looked at the Rigel, what 9x50 RACI do you use with it? and is it easy to mount two finders on one tube or do you swap them over. Thanks

[sdkfz181]

Can you describe what you find difficult about using the red dot finder? Am I correct in presuming you will only use the finder for SkyAlign, then use Go To after it is aligned?

I understand StarSense is out of stock, and will not be available for a couple of months.

[tosh66]

sdkfz181 yes thats correct. I seemed to do better with eye one shut but the manual said to align with two eyes, I had a couple of failed skyalign attempts restless grandchildren getting cold come on grandad we want to look at the stars.

[andrew63]

I would think a small visual finder scope attached would do the job quickly - and more accurate fix than the red dot type. You could check with FLO which which fit best for your telescope, you might need a finder base to replace the RDF one.   

I'm sure the grandchildren will love the views - especially saturn !

andrew

[sdkfz181]

It took me quite a lot of practise before I became reasonably quick at it. I think the red dot finder is good once you get the hang of it. Avoid sighting stars which are too high in the sky. Do not set the tripod too low. Both of which will have you grovelling on your knees and cricking your neck to look through the red dot finder. Better the children stand on a step/stool to look through the eyepiece.

I cheat by using SkySync, which takes the hassle out of entering the time, date, and GPS coordinates.

As others have advised it is quickest to use the auto 2 star align, once you can identify two stars.

I suspect that if you keep at it, by the time StarSense is available again you won't feel the need for it!

[kurtz9]

I combine the stock red dot with the celestron 9x50 RACI.... this way I only have to contort myself for about 5 seconds to get whatever in the FOV of the RACI, then I can center it there, and then center in the EP to hit align.... repeat a second time (or a third if using sky align instead of 2 star) and I'm done.

[ronin]

Just in case, especially as you say tried to an RDF use with one eye shut, the idea behind a red dot is that you look at the sky in the distance not at the red dot "assembly". Many try to look at the instrument and then it does not work right. Which is I suspect why they say both eyes open.

If you can try out a couple of finders before you decide. Say this as many like and recommend the Telrad, I tried one and just could not get on with it. So they do not work for everyone, they certainly did not work for me. :grin:

[tosh66]

Thanks all for the advice, I'll try again this weekend with the RDF see if I can get on better. Think I'll try setup in daylight. Cheers