Should i lose my finder for the telrad?

[Dave In Vermont]

Very nice! A perfect tool - assuming that device works well.

Thank you, BritAngler!

Dave

[BritAngler]

31 minutes ago, Dave In Vermont said:

Very nice! A perfect tool - assuming that device works well.

Thank you, BritAngler!

Dave

I use mine pretty often, but then I also use one of several RDF's or the standard 9x50 finderscope that came with my SkyWatcher 200P, depending on what I'm wanting to look at. One thing I'd suggest to anyone using a RDF, Starpointer Pro or Telrad - buy spare batteries!

John

 

[JOC]

Britangler I've been looking at all these finders and must admit that the one I consistently like the look of is that Celestron Starpointer Pro.  In fact when I read about them all I can't see how the 'brick' that the Telrad is appears to be better on a scope than the Starpointer Pro. (though I'm happy to be corrected).  However,  In deference to my bank balance I feel I must continue to experiment with my new Stkywatcher RACI for the time being, but if I continue to find star finding with it difficult I'm going to get one of those dual mounts and the Celestron Starpointer Pro. which I think seems the best of all worlds and put them both on the telescope.  At the very least I'll look as though I've got 'all gear' even if I've still got 'no idea'  LOL 

[Charic]

1 hour ago, BritAngler said:

One thing I'd suggest to anyone using a RDF, Starpointer Pro or Telrad - buy spare batteries!

Never had a problem with the Telrad, having owned two.
Even left on after a few days, still good to go.
 

[Charic]

1 hour ago, JOC said:

.............'brick' that the Telrad is...............

I've  had two bricks? the first got chopped, quite successfully by its new owner, take a peek here https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/207665-telrad-v-rigel-advice-please/#entry2216473
I think the Telrad excels with the  graduated Bulls Eye Reticules over a single red  dot, but have not tried other finders.

[JOC]

Charic - the Celestron star pointer pro also claims to display two red circles which it claims can be used for star - hopping.  I'm sure a user could probably reason out the distances that each represented.

[Stu]

2 hours ago, JOC said:

Britangler I've been looking at all these finders and must admit that the one I consistently like the look of is that Celestron Starpointer Pro.  In fact when I read about them all I can't see how the 'brick' that the Telrad is appears to be better on a scope than the Starpointer Pro. (though I'm happy to be corrected).  However,  In deference to my bank balance I feel I must continue to experiment with my new Stkywatcher RACI for the time being, but if I continue to find star finding with it difficult I'm going to get one of those dual mounts and the Celestron Starpointer Pro. which I think seems the best of all worlds and put them both on the telescope.  At the very least I'll look as though I've got 'all gear' even if I've still got 'no idea'  LOL 

The Starpointer Pro was not reviewed particularly well here:

I would probably opt for a Rigel finder if a Telrad is too big

[Gary170782]

4 hours ago, BritAngler said:

Or as I said in an earlier post, if you don't want to mess about with cable ties, double-sided tape and sticky pads, there's the Celestron Starpointer Pro that just slides into a standard finder shoe....

Not a half brick

I do like the look of the celestron, and I'm currently looking at the difference between then both. As already stated on here, it comes with the double red ring for star hopping so I'm not sure if there is actually any difference between them besides fitting. Celestron could be the way to go. ?

[Gary170782]

Change of heart. Well after doing my research and reading all the comments, I've decided on getting the Rigel QF. I've read plenty of reviews on all mentioned and think this will suit me Better. The celestron has mixed reviews but I liked the look of it, the telrad and rigel have similar great reviews but I feel they'll be less messing around to do with the rigel. 

Thanks for all the advise and help, and fingers crossed for clear Manchester skies.

[rockystar]

16 minutes ago, Gary170782 said:

Change of heart. Well after doing my research and reading all the comments, I've decided on getting the Rigel QF. I've read plenty of reviews on all mentioned and think this will suit me Better. The celestron has mixed reviews but I liked the look of it, the telrad and rigel have similar great reviews but I feel they'll be less messing around to do with the rigel. 

Thanks for all the advise and help, and fingers crossed for clear Manchester skies.

Clear skies in Manchester! Good luck with that one.

Heaton Park Astro are doing a telescope workshop this evening, if you need any more advice - you can take it along and someone will be able to help; I won't be there tonight unfortunately (i'm only allowed out every other Thursday, and I got my Astro Soc fix last week)

 

[BritAngler]

I've not had any of the problems mentioned in that review of the Starpointer Pro. I guess it all comes down to personal taste in the end, and my tastes do not extend to cable ties, sticky backed plastic and a Blue Peter badge

John

 

[Gary170782]

50 minutes ago, BritAngler said:

I've not had any of the problems mentioned in that review of the Starpointer Pro. I guess it all comes down to personal taste in the end, and my tastes do not extend to cable ties, sticky backed plastic and a Blue Peter badge

John

 

Hi John

 

That was one of my main reasons for changing my mind on the telrad, that and I didn't want the glue to never come off should I ever take it off. Went for the rigel QR as simply more reviews for the product. 

 

Gary

[JOC]

I have to confess that I like to keep nice shiney new toys as they are too.  I am not given to drilling, sticking, painting, sawing on in other ways modifying things that could result in indelible changes that I might want to undo one day.  Hence something that makes use of existing brackets holds more attraction for me.

[Charic]

There are no clues that any Telrad has  ever been mounted to my telescope, except a photograph.
The 1st Telrad was mounted using their very secure M3 adhesive strips and white tie wraps (belt and braces for my scope due to the extremes from warm/freezing) don't want anything to come loose! 
The second scope used the  same method of application, only with a lesser quality double sided adhesive tape, as this unit was bought second hand.
Telrad base plates can be purchased for less than £10 uk, you could leave the base in-situ, for example when transferring the finder unit between scopes, or if your concerned about stripping the paint layer off when removing the original base M3, then leave the plate in-place!
I'm sure a good member here mentioned dental floss as a tool for M3 tape removal (fishing line works too) and for me WD40 will remove any residue left by the gluing medium. 

[Buzzard75]

I know this is somewhat of an old thread, but I just purchased a Telrad to replace my piece of junk red dot EZ Finder II. I knew the Telrad wouldn't fit the standard dovetail foot, so I started looking for adapters and found this.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/B2XBM4ED3/dovetail-foot-for-telrad

Short of buying something that already exists like the Scopestuff adapter or something someone else has 3D printed, I'm thinking I can DIY it. All it should take is trimming a section of the Telrad base slim enough to fit down through the slot of the dovetail, trim another section that will fit in the bottom of the dovetail either in front of or behind the slim section, slide it into place and then mount it like that. Not having it in hand, I'm wondering if the base is simply wide enough to drill a couple holes in it and swap out the dovetail shoe. Even easier.

Thoughts?

[JOC]

Buzzard75 that's err... quite expensive!  I got a 3D mounted dual Skywatcher foot (which I realise isn't a telrad with its unique fitting) adapter off ebay all the way from Poland for £8.50 so it might be worth checking the prices of a 3D printed alternative of what you are after before you buy the object in your link.  My 3D printed adapter is just great.  I use it with a RACI on one side and a small Skywatcher red dot finder on the other.  I don't even bother about trying to align the RDF too much - I can get it nearly there, but then run out of adjustment, but I find if the star is in RDF it is also well and truly in the RACI and off I go - if I don't have the Goto running I've gone from not finding my target in 1/2 hour to being on it in <30 seconds with that combination.

[Ricochet]

10 hours ago, Buzzard75 said:

I know this is somewhat of an old thread, but I just purchased a Telrad to replace my piece of junk red dot EZ Finder II. I knew the Telrad wouldn't fit the standard dovetail foot, so I started looking for adapters and found this.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/B2XBM4ED3/dovetail-foot-for-telrad

Short of buying something that already exists like the Scopestuff adapter or something someone else has 3D printed, I'm thinking I can DIY it. All it should take is trimming a section of the Telrad base slim enough to fit down through the slot of the dovetail, trim another section that will fit in the bottom of the dovetail either in front of or behind the slim section, slide it into place and then mount it like that. Not having it in hand, I'm wondering if the base is simply wide enough to drill a couple holes in it and swap out the dovetail shoe. Even easier.

Thoughts?

The Telrad should come with self adhesive pads for the Telrad baseplate. Keep the existing Synta finder shoe for a 8/9x50 RACI finder to compliment the Telrad.

[Chefgage]

I know this is about the telrad but how about a rigel quick finder. I got one and mounted it on top of the supplied finderscope of my 200p dob. Works perfectly as they are now both together.

 

[Buzzard75]

3 hours ago, JOC said:

Buzzard75 that's err... quite expensive!  I got a 3D mounted dual Skywatcher foot (which I realise isn't a telrad with its unique fitting) adapter off ebay all the way from Poland for £8.50 so it might be worth checking the prices of a 3D printed alternative of what you are after before you buy the object in your link.  My 3D printed adapter is just great.  I use it with a RACI on one side and a small Skywatcher red dot finder on the other.  I don't even bother about trying to align the RDF too much - I can get it nearly there, but then run out of adjustment, but I find if the star is in RDF it is also well and truly in the RACI and off I go - if I don't have the Goto running I've gone from not finding my target in 1/2 hour to being on it in <30 seconds with that combination.

Yeah, it's definitely expensive for what it is. I didn't buy it and didn't plan to really. Just something I came across. My red dot finder always somehow manages to be off more and more as the night goes on. I can set it at the beginning of a session and by the time I'm halfway through, it can be off by so much that whatever I target with it ends up being on the edge or just outside the view of my eyepiece. I don't understand why it would end up being off like that. After I set it, I never touch it again. It doesn't make any sense and it really is a piece of junk. I'm going to look at the Telrad base when I get it, but I think it's something I can modify and then I don't have to spend any extra money at all, just a little time and effort.

1 hour ago, Ricochet said:

The Telrad should come with self adhesive pads for the Telrad baseplate. Keep the existing Synta finder shoe for a 8/9x50 RACI finder to compliment the Telrad.

I'll probably get a RACI eventually, but right now I need to replace my red dot with something and I haven't researched RACI's enough to decide what I want. The red dot stopped working the last outing and replacing the battery has had no effect. I don't plan on getting rid of the shoe, I plan on using it with the Telrad if I can. Then when I get a RACI, I'll just get one of those dual dovetail mounts and put both on there.

That's my plan anyway.

[spillage]

Why not just use a few zip ties. I just use one on either end and it has stayed put for over 6 months now. If I need to remove it then snip off the ties. No mark no mess no hassle. I needed you can unscrew the existing mounting for the standard finder to make room.

[25585]

On 8 January 2017 at 23:39, Putaendo Patrick said:

Find a place for both! Telrads have no magnification but are absolutely fantastic for getting you into the ball park. Then the magnified finderscope comes into its own.

Eventually you might want to replace the basic finderscope with a RACI (right angle correct image) which is a lot more comfortable to use.

 

On 9 January 2017 at 11:17, BritAngler said:

Alternatively, if you don't want half a brick stuck to your 'scope with sticky pads, you could try the Celestron Starpointer Pro. It does the same job as the Telrad, fits into a standard finder shoe, and doesn't look like a brick

John

 

It's not too heavy to slip using heavier duty velcro which can be bought with self adhesive backing. 

[Buzzard75]

So I have a truss type dobsonian. Which means, I have a short tube section that the secondary mirror is housed in. This makes fitting the Telrad base a bit trickier than for someone who has a full length tube or a refractor. I actually have two problems. One, the Telrad base is actually too long to fit between the rims of this short tube assembly and won't actually sit flush on the tube. There's actually a gap. Trimming the base lengthwise to fit between the rims means I would risk not being able to secure the Telrad to the base because I'd have to cut into that section on both ends significantly just to get it to drop down between. Second problem, I have my truss connections that get in the way of the base mounting and the Telrad itself.

So, I went with my original plan to trim the Telrad base to fit the dovetail. I have a narrow section that drops down in the dovetail and then I slide it in the dovetail to that slightly thicker section. This actually solves both my problems. It moves the base forward so it doesn't interfere with my truss connections, or vice versa depending on how you look at it. Second, mounting in the dovetail raises it up a bit so the front actually rests on the front rim of the tube and the back is secured in the dovetail making it extremely steady and secure.

My cuts aren't perfect, but she fits and it works! My only concern now is the Telrad itself. The body is made of plastic, including the feet. I noticed the screws already leaving marks in the feet of the Telrad after tightening it down. Just have to be careful not to tighten it down so much.

 

[Astro Imp]

Nice workaround Buzzard, it's not a beauty show, what works is good. Well done.

[Stu]

Nice job!

If it's cloudy you could maybe try making a shortened Telrad

 

 

[25585]

The appeal to me of a Telrad is its stability. 

All it needs to stick to is a geometrically suitable curve. So DIY make a shoe from a section of pipe to stick or screw it to. You will then be able to make fixings to the shoe to go round your OTA. Small ratchet straps are one possibility. Also the Telrad will be swivel-able to change its position.