RACI Illuminated Finderscope

[Charic]

Ok, after owning no less than two Telrads, its apparent that their of no use to me unless I wear glasses to focus  on the rings?
Im also hearing on so many occasions how much better a RACI  Finder scope is over the standard straight 9x50 finder that Sky-Watcher supplies.

So here are the questions.

* For anyone out there that is unable to focus on the reticules without glasses, have you ever tried an illuminated finder, and were the reticles in focus/ easier to focus on?
* Are these illuminated RACI's dimmable like the Telrad.
* Does the corrected image  view 'rotate' when the finder is rotated about its axis? ( The disadvantage of the straight through finder is getting behind the eyepiece, which is inline with the scope, when mounted the far side of my focuser (standard fit) but its my assumption that the RACI  has an easier to reach eyepiece, but does image rotate as I rotate the finder diagonal into a position that is nearest to my eye from my focuser seated position, or does the finder eyepiece need to be 90° away from the scope, if you get my meaning? 

Questions may seem daft, but bare with me!

[Ricochet]

It doesn't matter which way the RACI eyepiece is pointing. Being able to angle it to the most comfortable angle is the entire point. However, the 90° angle makes the initial alignment more difficult and so they work best in conjunction with a red dot/circle finder. If you can't use a RDF to get the initial alignment you might find one more difficult to use than the straight through variant. 

[Davesellars]

Definitely use a Telrad or the like or even a simple RDF for the initial alignment on a star then go to the optical finder.

personally I never use the illuminated functionality of my RACI.  It pretty obvious where the centre is even if it's very dark.

[Charic]

7 hours ago, Ricochet said:

It doesn't matter which way the RACI eyepiece is pointing.

Im trying to figure this out? ......In most sales images the RACI is displayed with its eyepiece in a vertical position with regards to the bracket that the finder scope sits in. Approach the finderscope from the rear, look down into the eyepiece and the image should be corrected.

If I were to fit a RACI to my scope I would want to rotate the finder, so that the eyepiece points towards my focuser, the direction of my seated position
Looking into the finder scope from this angle/position, my assumption that the image has to be rotated by 90° from the previous statement, or am I missing something? 

 

 

[Ricochet]

31 minutes ago, Charic said:

Im trying to figure this out? ......In most sales images the RACI is displayed with its eyepiece in a vertical position with regards to the bracket that the finder scope sits in. Approach the finderscope from the rear, look down into the eyepiece and the image should be corrected.

If I were to fit a RACI to my scope I would want to rotate the finder, so that the eyepiece points towards my focuser, the direction of my seated position
Looking into the finder scope from this angle/position, my assumption that the image has to be rotated by 90° from the previous statement, or am I missing something? 

 

 

That you have also changed the position you are viewing from by 90° so that the image you see still makes sense with respect to the scope. 

[Charic]

Ok......the proof's in the pudding?

I bought a RACI finder scope to assess its use on my Dobsonian.
Its an 8x50 and when I look down into the eyepiece, normally from the rear of the finder, it truly displays a RACI Image, as displayed in the first image.
However,  when viewed from the side of the finder, essential whilst sitting aside the Dobsonian,  you'll notice  in the second image that the image is rotated by 90°  the image is not fully corrected for my needs when taking into consideration the vertical plane. 

No good for my needs,  especially on a Dobsonian, but on a Refractor, it will work just fine.

[Ricochet]

Am I right in that for the second picture you have left the finder eyepiece in the vertical position and are simply looking down into it from the side of the telescope? Rotate the finder so the eyepiece is horizontal and the image will rotate by 90° to counteract the 90° you have rotated yourself by. 

[Charic]

Ricochet........spot on!
I further discovered this was the case after I mated the finder to the telescope whilst observing Jupiter, with both eyepieces now facing the user.

Like you say, when horizontal the image is correct, but with  any other angle the image is still offset, and will be a rare sight to see the Dobsonian horizontal.
 I also much prefer using both eyes when locating my target, so the RACI doesn't work for me on the present scope.

So many folk have recommend the RACI, so I had to test one for myself.  Must be a personal thing, but I'm not sure it was designed specifically for the Dobsonian.