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Why upgrade from Red Dot to Telrad?

Matthew Neale

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Avocette

Avocette

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Not everybody 'raves' about them! Telrads are like a good quality red dot finder where the dot has been replaced by three rings scaled at 0.5°, 2° and 4°. If you like 'star hopping' to find an object they can be useful. They are prone to dewing up and are not small or lightweight. For my Dob I prefer the combination of a red dot finder (for rough pointing) followed by a RACI 9x50 finder scope for fine tuning, both when necessary in combination with an azimuth setting circle and a Wixey Elevation angle meter.

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Physopto

Physopto

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If the scope is painted in decent quality paint or some such covering the Telrad base will not damage the finish. If you need to remove it use some of the thicker Dental Floss. It cuts through the foam easily. Then you just rub the remainder off with your fingers. I have repositioned mine several times when altering the scope ring positions.

Derek

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John

John

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I use a Rigel Quikfinder which has 2 circles rather than the 3 of the Telrad and it has a smaller "footprint" on the scope tube than a Telrad. Combined with an 9x50 right angle, correct image finder, it gets the job of finding stuff done rather well  :smiley: 

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DRT

DRT

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I have both the Telrad and Rigel Quickfinder and prefer the Rigel.

Both are prone to dew, but this can be easily solved at no cost by making a small cardboard box covered with tape which you can slip on and off as and when you want to find something.

The sticky pads used to fix them to the tube definitely do not damage the paintwork of your OTA and can be removed as described above or with nail varnish remover or WD40.

Both of these are far superior to any red dot finder I have looked through, but admittedly I have never looked through one that wasn't just the standard cheap stuff that supplied with some scopes.

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John

John

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The multi-reticule finders are also quite popular but I find that their projected reticule is just a bit too bright even on the lowest setting. The Telrad and Rigel Quikfinder brightness can be adjusted down to virtually nothing. I guess this is because the latter were designed by astronomers for astronomers rather than developing as daylight gun and bow sights as the multi-reticule finders have.

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niallk

niallk

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Personally, I think the Telrad is ugly and clunky. Yet, the main reason why I don't have one is that you have to stick it to your tube. That can't be good for the paint / coating!

Ha ha, true - they do look a little clunky perhaps, but imho they are well designed and work beautifully. I like them so much, I have two - it helps that they are very low cost! There is a mod to shorten them, and they look dinky: as cute as a button to my eye :) - below is a link to an example:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/181652-telrad-mod/

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brantuk

brantuk

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I have Rdf, Raci, and Telrad and the benefit of the Telrad is that it doesn't obscure the object in the way that an Rdf does. Both are non magnifying and both can be used very effectively - but for tiny objects in dense star fields you may be more comfortable and/or accurate finding an object by not obscuring it with an Rdf.

I personally find Rdf's easier to use on shorter fl scopes and prefer Telrads on my dob. When I want the finder to magnify the object I'm looking for (eg when it's not visible to the naked eye) then I use the Raci with cross hairs. It's largely a personal preference - but I agree that, effective as they are, aesthetically, Telrads are a bit big and ugly. Hth :)

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Matthew Neale

Matthew Neale

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Thank you all for the input, I currently have the finderscope and red dot on my dob. However, I'm having trouble keeping the base fixed in place. Then in turn the dual mount is of kilter. That and I find the finderscope is prone to movements too.

Yes I like to star hop so sounds good in that sense, I too have found the rdf is far too bright for some objects.

I see that some people mount small refractors on top, is that to replace a finderscope but also give wider views too?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

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employee2-4601

employee2-4601

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I removed the RDF from my Celestron AM130EQ and haven't looked back since. Yes, the Telrad looks like a large and ungainly object, but I've found it's far superior to the standard RDF the Celestron bolts onto their cheaper scopes. The biggest advantage with the Telrad, as people have said, is that it's fantastic for star hopping. It's also very easy to calibrate. Once I had mine set up, I found accuracy was far greater than with the RDF.

I've read some people's comments that they don't like having to stick multiple base plates onto their scopes to move the Telrad depending on how the scope ends up aligned (assuming Newtonian on an EQ mount). I've not had this problem. I only use one base plate and, as the scope moves, I simple loosen the OTA rings and move the scope back to the proper orientation for comfortable viewing (though you have to be careful that you don't muck up the balance of the OTA - trial and error taught me about that one!)

If you've got the cash to spare (£30 isn't a huge amount compared to what I've spent on other equipment since embarking on this hobby), I would definitely recommend getting a Telrad. I can't speak for the Rigel variant as I've never tried one, though I've read nothing but glowing reviews about them.

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Matthew Neale

Matthew Neale

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Well that certainly sounds like I'm making a good investment. Size doesn't bother me, it's going in an 8" 1200mm newt switching between dob and eq6 so I'll have plenty of room :-)

Know what you mean about rebalancing, I had the astromaster 130eq and that was a fine art to balance that haha

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

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Alma

Alma

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Telrads are like Marmite; you either love them or hate them.     Having had two of the darn things fail on me in succession I'm now firmly in the latter camp.  

My favourite unity finder of all time is the Baader 40mm Sky Surfer V -  essentially a gun sight RDF but pretty much dew proof and solidly constructed of metal - everything the Telrad is not.

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BlueAstra

BlueAstra

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I've not used the Telrad since I'm not really a visual observer. I find a small RDF sufficient for syncing or manual pointing. I originally used a SW RDF but found it difficult to use. You had to get your head in just the right place. I now have two sets of these, specifically the Starwave RDF and Kendrick dew heater. They are small, lightweight and easy to adjust. They are much easier to use than the SW RDF, with a much wider viewing angle.

_MG_1728_zpsc15b4024.jpg

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Demonperformer

Demonperformer

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Hi Matthew

FWIW, I "upgraded" because I found the rdf that came with my SE scope to be absolutely useless. I just could not see the red dot with all the streetlights with which I have to contend. The only thing I needed it for was the original alignment, and so spent several years using a "wixey". I finally took the plunge (after getting a lot of great advice here) and got a telrad. Life has never been easier. Since starting to move into NEQ6 territory, I have also found it can be used as a substitute polarscope (sort of), saving me from having to contort myself into impossible positions to view through said polarscope.

In an act of blatant self-publication, here are a couple of threads that detail these experiences:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/245640-telrad-tick/

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/254175-using-the-telrad-as-a-polarscope/

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clarkpm4242

clarkpm4242

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A very good quality RDF doesnt need upgrading I am happy with my gun sight RDF but not the SW one.

Alan

I started with a Telrad.  Moved a Rigel Quikfinder, easier to use as further away from scope tube.

I now only use an RDF   :)

Some prefer to supplement a unit power finder with a finder scope, especially if suffering from light pollution.

I find the RDF and low power eyepiece is enough (assuming a fast scope that gives a wide field of view).

Cheers

Paul

P.S. My RDF does have a dot, cross and v. small circle options.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I like the fact that the Terad rings define a scale on the sky. I find this incredibly useful. Such and such an object is three degrees from Vega, the Telrad circles are 4, 3 and 0.5 degrees respecitvely. Bob's your uncle. I also like the Telrad because both of mine have been reliable (the older being about 16 years old, I think.) And I like the proper batteries. Watch batteries are a real pest.

Olly

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clarkpm4242

clarkpm4242

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I like the fact that the Terad rings define a scale on the sky. I find this incredibly useful. Such and such an object is three degrees from Vega, the Telrad circles are 4, 3 and 0.5 degrees respecitvely. Bob's your uncle. I also like the Telrad because both of mine have been reliable (the older being about 16 years old, I think.) And I like the proper batteries. Watch batteries are a real pest.

Olly

I think this shows that there are many ways of baking the cake (star hopping)  :)

Apart from a very rudimentary sense of scale I work on patterns.  'The object is 2/3rds along a line from this to that star', 'it forms a right angle triangle with those stars', 'extend the line between those stars by a half' etc. then point with the RDF.

Ask a question of 2 astronomers and get more than 2 answers...

...cheers

Paul

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