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Having trouble getting my body in the contorted position to use the finderscope

berrymoss

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philsail1

philsail1

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Hello "berrymoss" (and a warm welcome to Stargazers Lounge - if you are a new member)

I take it you have a "straight through" finderscope?

All I can say is "yes, I'm afraid you do have to be 'double jointed' to use one of these finders sometimes!"

However, (as you must know) you can obtain (as I have done on my Newtonian scope) a "right angled" finderscope, which is much easier on the old back! (but sometimes not quite as easy to use as a straight through, to actually finding things!).

You could also try a "Telrad" reflex finderscope. I don't know much about these, but I believe you can see a reflection of the stars in an angled mirror, which makes for easier finding - I'm sure someone else will soon give you some more insight into using one of these.

Best wishes,

philsail1

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MikeP

MikeP

Posted
Posted

Same problem here. GEM mounted Newtonians seem to make it worse because the rotation of the OTA can put the eyepiece and finderscope in some quite odd positions.

When I had a 10" SkyWatcher, the easiest solution was to rotate the OTA in the tube rings but that didn't help much with a straight through finder. As philsail1 suggests, a right angled finder is better but I found that a red dot finder is easiest of all.

With an RDF you just crouch down next to the mount and look up at the sky / RDF with both eyes. The red dot is kind of superimposed on the sky and you just slew to put the red dot on top of your target. You'll see what I mean if you try it.

Good luck.

Mike

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jgs001

jgs001

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I have that RDF and find it really easy to use. Much easier than the finder scope that came with my scope. What you don't get with it, is the ability to see objects that are too dim for seeing by eye, but it'll certainly get you in the right area. I've used it to find M1 and M81 and M82 amongst other things.

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Viking

Viking

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I have the same one, but you can still end up almost "standing on your head" to catch a glimpse of the red dot.

I read up on the telrad and understand that it goes a long way to solving the problem. I bought one in April but still haven't used it yet. The other plus point to the telrad is the finder charts that are available on the internet. I bought mine from Rother Valley Optics. FLO didn't stock telrad.

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/categories.php?sub_type=telradproducts&type=telfinder

John

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James

James

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I currently have a right angled finder on my scope - just as soon as I get the time I'm going to mount an RDF as well. That way I should get the best of both worlds and be covered more or less whatever position my scope ends up in.

James

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mightymonoped

mightymonoped

Posted
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Oops, posted this to another thread earlier by mistake - Tony

I would highly recommend the Skywatcher 9x50 right-angled, erecting finderscope (available from FLO)

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=sw9x50raefinder

This finderscope is fully adjustable, very bright and clear and easy to calibrate/align with your scope. Also, like an RDF, it will show you the sky in it's proper orientation.

I have an RDF for rough and ready alignment of visible object, but tend to use this finder more as it's way more accurate than the RDF when it comes to aligning an object to capture on a webcam and is also a damn sight more comfortable to use.

Tony

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Talitha

Talitha

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The red dots work beautifully, but there is a bit of difficulty when the GEM rotates it to an odd position. Does anyone have experience using a laser as a finder? From what I understand, you don't need to look along the laser's tube in order to use it.. you can stand upright and just look at the sky. It might be something to consider, but I imagine there are a lot of safety issues involved, too.

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thing

thing

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If you're looking all around the sky during your obs then I can't help you, but I tend to stick around the same constellation/bit of sky (usually the one that's clear of cloud....) when I'm observing. So what I do is point the scope at the constellation or where it's going to be in an hour or so, then rotate the tube so that it is in a really comfy position eyepiece and finder wise. Then I do the set up.

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MikeP

MikeP

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Carol,

I bought a green laser and it is fantastic for pointing to show things to beginners - it would work brilliantly as you surmise.

Sadly, the Gatwick flight path is only a mile or so north of me and I have no desire for gentlemen with machine guns to interrupt my observing.

Mike

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Astronut

Astronut

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Lazers would make a great finder but they don't go down well at star parties or near airports and flight paths - you'd get lynched :clouds2:

I just got delivered one of those Baader RDFs (shown above) from aunty FLO (thanks Steve) but I'm debating how to fit it. There are no screws, bolts or nuts supplied but it does come with various brackets and mounting shoes (one of which I can't figure out any use for - it's roughly square with 2 screw holes and a very slight curvature on one side with no obvious means of attaching anything to it).

I think I'm going to temporarily mount the new RDF (with appropiate bracket) on my existing 9x50 finder's holder (between 2 of the 3 adjustment screws) with some double-sided tape and see how it goes. I could quite easily remove the existing optical finder and just fit the RDF to the existing finder shoe with one of the supplied mounts but I like the convenience of having both an RDF and an optical finder.

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Reggie

Reggie

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Posted

I've got an RDF on my celestron 6SE and in EQ mode it's a bit of a pain sometimes mainly anything near zenith, I've been wondering whether I can get a shoe so the celestron RDF fits onto my WO zs66 as I'm not so familiar with the widefield views of stars that I get in the 66 yet. For the 6SE I could setup the tripod so its a bit higher but then I run the risk of introducing wobble in the image at the slightest touch :)

btw. I note that a lot of people use both eyes to line up their stars in the RDF, I always find this to be less than accurate for myself and only use one eye, do I need to see an optician? :clouds2:

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Tim

Tim

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Hi, I also use both a RDF and the little finder that came with the Celestron. I use the RDF when the OTA is at an angle I cannot assume, and when I know the position of the object in the sky.

On a couple of occasions I have aimed my green laser at the spot where the DSO is, and then slewed to that position, in fact, that was the only way I could find M81 (I have bad LP) in my 12" dob.

Think I paid about 25 quid at a star party.

TJ

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EA2007

EA2007

Posted
Posted

I found this to be very useful.............

Obtain a green laser pointer and shine it through the viewfinder scope, this way you can stand by your scope and see where it is aimed at.

I tried it the other night and was smack bang on M27, 57, 31 and 92. So give it a go, saves bending over etc etc.

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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Posted

I replace the 6x30 straight finder that my scope came with, with a 7x50 RA finder. I put a RDF between the finder and the focuser. I use the RDF to get in the right area, then fine tune with the 7x50. I can use the RDF to get right on to bright objects. I use a little, bright mirror held at 45 degrees to the RDF to line up on things near the zenith, then, again, close in with the 7x50. The 7x50 gives 2 degrees more FOV than the 9x50.

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