Skywatchers 9x50 Finderscope

[oymd]

Good morning everyone. I hope you are all well and safe!

I have a question regarding my 9x50 straight through finderscope.

From looking at the product specs, it seems it is identical to the RACI of the same brand, apart from that small diagonal?

How can I converst mine? What do I need to get and fit?

Many thanks

I want to convert this:

 

TO this:

 

 

[johninderby]

Unfortunately not a practical conversion as you would have to cut down the tube and find a way to fit a prism diagonal to the cut down  tube. Simply fitting a diagonal to the tube won’t work as it can’t focus. 

Much better to sell your straight through and buy a RACI.

Edited March 21, 2020 by johninderby

[oymd]

3 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Unfortunately not a practical conversion as you would have to cut down the tube and find a way to fit a prism diagonal to the cut down  tube. Simply fitting a diagonal to the tube won’t work as it can’t focus. 

Much better to sell your straight through and buy a RACI.

Hi John

Thanks for your super quick reply...

That's a shame...

I thought it can be done as a simple add on...

I would have liked to have BOTH options, u see, the straight through option would serve as my Guidescope when I try imaging, and the RACI option for the viewing sessions, which is mostly what I am doing now!

WHY ARE OPTICS SO COMPLICATED AND FUSSY!!!

 

[johninderby]

I have a Lumicon Superfinder that has a drawtube and can be used straight through or with a diagonal. Don’t know why others don’t do something similar. 🤔

Edited March 21, 2020 by johninderby

[oymd]

That looks nice...

Yes, I agree...and forgive me for going off on a rant here....

I have got into the hobby just since last Christmas....Have been reading astronomy since my teens, but only actually got some gear this very last xmas.

I've noticed that the telescope/astronomy world is somehow stuck in the Victorian age!!

The whole world is using thuderbold/USB-C/or the very least USB3....yet most of Astronomy gear still deals in "SERIAL" interfaces....and having a USB 2.0 connection on a mount is hailed as a luxury!

There is very very little to no intuition or practicality in the products available, for normal prices, and most need modding, adapters, etc from consumers...

Primaluce Eagle/ ASI Air/ Pegasus boxes are hailed as next best thing since sliced bread, when they are utilising a basic concept available in every other industry on the planet, and should be the norm, not the exception.

£3000+ mounts that do not have native WiFi, Bluetooth AND GPS, is pretty ridiculous....I bought an AZ-EQ6 Pro in January...which needed a silly bizzare dongle to have WiFi connectivity...very silly

The whole hobby is about knowing where we are in space, and a £30 mobile phone can give you EXACT co-ordinates, time, location, compass, elevation, cloud cover,  etc...yet a massive 25KGs SCIENTIFIC MACHINE that is supposed to track, and pinpoint thousands of objects in the sky does not know where it is, what time it is, and at what elevation or timezone it is?

The software looks like it was written in the 70's and targeted towards MIT physicists to use....

etc etc...

I rarely see something these days and say...wow...that's smart, intuitive and easy to use..

I realise that the counter argument is that these are mass produced chinese products, but so are laptops, PCs and "SMART" mobile phones...

phew...

my rants over...

[MarkAR]

Great rant, i'm just getting started with my AZ EQ6 Pro and at least that has a USB port.

[MarkAR]

51 minutes ago, johninderby said:

have a Lumicon Superfinder that has a drawtube and can be used straight through or with a diagonal. Don’t know why others don’t do something similar.

My Altair 80mm Maxi Scope is convertible between EP/diagonal and guide cam. Took a few minutes to figure it out though.

[Nicola Hannah Butterfield]

35 minutes ago, oymd said:

I realise that the counter argument is that these are mass produced chinese products, but so are laptops, PCs and "SMART" mobile phones...

It is also a much smaller market, how many Astronomy shops do you see in the local high street compared with mobile phone shops and computer shops.

The hobby is also quite diverse. visual, you don't actually need much sophistication for that, photography this can get very involved and different people have different goals, planetary different again.

Camera's tend to lag a little in terms of modern gizmo's like GPS, thought that has been around awhile now.

The more you lump on things the more can go wrong, start simple understand that then go in the direction you want, not where your told you should be going.

[Second Time Around]

I've got the Antares 10x60 Versascope finder and can thoroughly recommend it.  It comes as a RACI (right-angled correct way up image) but can easily be converted to straight through as it has a huge range of adjustment., It comes with a 25mm crosshair eyepiece that you can swap out for your own 1 1/4 inch eyepiece.  It also has a T2  thread so you can attach a camera.  It's very good value for money at just £145 including the mount.  Go to https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/antares-versascope-10-x-60-guiding-x-hair-finderscope.html. 

[oymd]

37 minutes ago, Nicola Hannah Butterfield said:

It is also a much smaller market, how many Astronomy shops do you see in the local high street compared with mobile phone shops and computer shops.

The hobby is also quite diverse. visual, you don't actually need much sophistication for that, photography this can get very involved and different people have different goals, planetary different again.

Camera's tend to lag a little in terms of modern gizmo's like GPS, thought that has been around awhile now.

The more you lump on things the more can go wrong, start simple understand that then go in the direction you want, not where your told you should be going.

Agreed, the market is much much smaller....but the industry is to blame for this frankly...

Offering the same over and over again....with no future innovation...

The big brands with resources need to innovate and make the hobby much more simple and intuitive and that will bring the younger generation on board, and eventually explode the market from a niche hobby to something that younger people can enjoy...

That would definetely grow the market....

I attended the Astronomy show in London last month, and there wasn't a child in sight....

My 12 year old loved looking through the Nexstar 8SE during xmas, but was disappointed that she could not EASILY interface with it through her phone or laptop, and got bored of it very quickly....

The ASI AIR and similar should be the norm going forward, and not a very expensive add on...

And big brands like Celestron and SW should stop offering pointless products around the £100 mark that serve no purpose but to frustrate the newcomer, and instead innovate on bringing automation into their product line...

My 6 year old receives her maths homework on her Ipad, and my 12 year old has a school laptop....yet using those 2 ubiquitous tools is a very complicated endeavor in the field of astronomy at this point in time...

[johninderby]

And on the subject of needless complexity why isn’t astrophotography equipment a lot simpler to use. 🤔

[Nicola Hannah Butterfield]

48 minutes ago, oymd said:

I attended the Astronomy show in London last month, and there wasn't a child in sight....

My 12 year old loved looking through the Nexstar 8SE during xmas, but was disappointed that she could not EASILY interface with it through her phone or laptop, and got bored of it very quickly....

Maybe that's actually the problem

And big brands like Celestron and SW should stop offering pointless products around the £100 mark that serve no purpose but to frustrate the newcomer, and instead innovate on bringing automation into their product line...

This is nothing new, though I agree, the problem then becomes expensive scopes that put off all starters

My 6 year old receives her maths homework on her Ipad, and my 12 year old has a school laptop....yet using those 2 ubiquitous tools is a very complicated endeavor in the field of astronomy at this point in time...

If you think this is complex, you should have tried getting two hard drives to work on the same computer in the early 90's

Astronomy is not about interfacing with some sort of tech at the lower level it's about learning, I showed my kids the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 impact on Jupiter, long story but the two elder still have an avid interest in astronomy, and that is for the most part with out much input on a daily level from me, (eldest 30 and 28) so they were 4 and 2, and that was with as a simpler set up as you could get , admittedly a largish scope though.

The major problem is light pollution as you know, just been able to see the skies is what is kills interest in many. They just don't see what's there or always looking at the ground or mobile screen.

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by Nicola Hannah Butterfield
spelling

[Louis D]

Wow, all it takes is one off-topic post to totally derail a thread.  I think this technology discussion would be better served by starting a new thread in the Lounge area.  Since I'm a Luddite at heart despite having multiple advanced technology degrees, I have no desire to start such a thread.

As far as finder scopes go, I've been having fun modding a $25 70mm aperture, 300mm focal length scope from ebay for use with a cheap, spare 2" diagonal and 2" widest field eyepiece to see what is possible.  I already had leftover PVC bits and spray paint from previous projects and just needed a couple of nylon screws, a finder dovetail foot, and a cheap ball head to mount it.  The weather's been terrible here the last two weeks, but it looks promising for use as a cheap, richest field achromatic refractor/finder at about 8.5x70.  It's heavier than I'd hoped, so I may end up mounting it on the other side of my alt-az mount using a vixen plate, again that I had sitting around unused.

[Nicola Hannah Butterfield]

@Louis D Sorry I get tunnel vision sometimes. I will withdraw unless something constructive to say.

[oymd]

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

And on the subject of needless complexity why isn’t astrophotography equipment a lot simpler to use. 🤔

Agreed...

[Stu]

49 minutes ago, Nicola Hannah Butterfield said:

@Louis D Sorry I get tunnel vision sometimes. I will withdraw unless something constructive to say.

I actually agree with many of your points Nicola, it should be about the stars not the tech keeping you interested. Also agree though that a separate thread would be a better place for it.

On the topic of finders, I have both straight through and RACI style. RACI is mug easy from a convenience point of view, but straight through actually works much better as you keep both eyes open, and when the object images coincide you are on target.

[Second Time Around]

The problem with straight through finders (of any kind) is that you often have to twist into uncomfortable positions, especially as many of us have bad backs.  Having a neck problem as well, they're very much a no-no for me.

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Second Time Around said:

The problem with straight through finders (of any kind) is that you often have to twist into uncomfortable positions, especially as many of us have bad backs.  Having a neck problem as well, they're very much a no-no for me.

I find exactly the same, having a bad back and neck but if you are able to use them they do have advantages as mentioned. I say that for the more agile amongst us 😉

[fiestazetecmk2]

Yes as said sell it .and buy a raci.

Might cost but we'll worth the cost .

Just do it.

[joe aguiar]

13 hours ago, oymd said:

That looks nice...

Yes, I agree...and forgive me for going off on a rant here....

I have got into the hobby just since last Christmas....Have been reading astronomy since my teens, but only actually got some gear this very last xmas.

I've noticed that the telescope/astronomy world is somehow stuck in the Victorian age!!

The whole world is using thuderbold/USB-C/or the very least USB3....yet most of Astronomy gear still deals in "SERIAL" interfaces....and having a USB 2.0 connection on a mount is hailed as a luxury!

There is very very little to no intuition or practicality in the products available, for normal prices, and most need modding, adapters, etc from consumers...

Primaluce Eagle/ ASI Air/ Pegasus boxes are hailed as next best thing since sliced bread, when they are utilising a basic concept available in every other industry on the planet, and should be the norm, not the exception.

£3000+ mounts that do not have native WiFi, Bluetooth AND GPS, is pretty ridiculous....I bought an AZ-EQ6 Pro in January...which needed a silly bizzare dongle to have WiFi connectivity...very silly

The whole hobby is about knowing where we are in space, and a £30 mobile phone can give you EXACT co-ordinates, time, location, compass, elevation, cloud cover,  etc...yet a massive 25KGs SCIENTIFIC MACHINE that is supposed to track, and pinpoint thousands of objects in the sky does not know where it is, what time it is, and at what elevation or timezone it is?

The software looks like it was written in the 70's and targeted towards MIT physicists to use....

etc etc...

I rarely see something these days and say...wow...that's smart, intuitive and easy to use..

I realise that the counter argument is that these are mass produced chinese products, but so are laptops, PCs and "SMART" mobile phones...

phew...

my rants over...

 I think there too much teck in this hobby now

U dont need a planisphere just use a phone. 99% of every scope is goto. There is almost no more or at least very few none goto mounts now.

There is wifi in scopes, they can be moved by laptop wifi etc

Now theres apps to polar align u dont even have to see Polaris 

Theres apps to tell us when it's clear no need to ho outside and look

U dont even need to look in the ep just sleep a d when u wake up the inage is on the screen

I think we r losing the art of looking, polar aligning, tracking,  finding or star hoping, the mount scope does all that now

To me the nature relaxing part of astronomy is already gone

Joejaguar 

Edited March 22, 2020 by joe aguiar

[fiestazetecmk2]

Well said.that's why I bought my 200p skyliner because its manual.no goto computer driven.just old fashioned astronamy. The way it should be.I can find my way around the sky without a goto or handset.

Got no plans to ever change to goto dobsonion. The 200p is simple cheap.and gets great reviews. 

Edited March 22, 2020 by fiestazetecmk2
More details

[johninderby]

Dobs and manual alt-az mounts are very popular for those that don’t want to use GOTO all the time. 

My manual set up.

[TerryMcK]

6 hours ago, fiestazetecmk2 said:

Well said.that's why I bought my 200p skyliner because its manual.no goto computer driven.just old fashioned astronamy. The way it should be.I can find my way around the sky without a goto or handset.

Got no plans to ever change to goto dobsonion. The 200p is simple cheap.and gets great reviews. 

Interesting looking dob you have there. What are those parts attached to the left hand side of the scope in this picture? I refer to the long narrow objects one attached with a fork to a point near the aperture of the scope.

Are the handwheels standard or something you have retrofitted?

The current Sky-Watcher range doesn’t appear to have any of those attachments

Edited March 22, 2020 by TerryMcK

[fiestazetecmk2]

Hi.I have modified it so that it can be adjusted in alt/az.

Much easier to track .it really is a pleasure to use.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Stu said:

but straight through actually works much better as you keep both eyes open, and when the object images coincide you are on target.

Strange that you mention that, but I started to do that by accident a couple of nights ago - it works too!