10" Cannon At The Ready....

[Stu]

7 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Seem to me has been a balanced disccussion of the pros and cons of both brands and no one one is disputing the Skywatchers are value for money. 

So please lets try to get along together. No need for any acrimony. 🙏🏼. 

Then let’s stop the ‘Skywatcher are old hat, buy a Bresser’ drum banging all the time John and all will be well.

For the record, the Bressers look like lovely, well thought out scopes which I’m sure I would enjoy using.

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

Looks like that elastic band is going to snap.  It's rather perished looking!

😱😱

[cloudsweeper]

^^^^Yes @merlin100 - that's my next job.  It's a good solution to the weakness of the Rigel's adhesive pads, but ordinary bands aren't very durable!

Doug.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

^^^^Yes @merlin100 - that's my next job.  It's a good solution to the weakness of the Rigel's adhesive pads, but ordinary bands aren't very durable!

Doug.

I suppose that the Rigel is top heavy? Not having a large surface area for the self adhesive pads to bond to is going to be a nuisance.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Guest

[Stu]

7 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

^^^^Yes @merlin100 - that's my next job.  It's a good solution to the weakness of the Rigel's adhesive pads, but ordinary bands aren't very durable!

Doug.

Have you found them to be a problem Doug? I think mine have always stuck on fine with no problem. I recently used some of those pads from DIY stores which are for the stick on hooks and which have the pull tab to remove them, it was all I had to hand but they seem to work perfectly ok.

I guess cable ties are another good semi permanent option?

[cloudsweeper]

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

Have you found them to be a problem Doug? I think mine have always stuck on fine with no problem. I recently used some of those pads from DIY stores which are for the stick on hooks and which have the pull tab to remove them, it was all I had to hand but they seem to work perfectly ok.

Yes Stu - after a while, on going to the Dobhouse, I'd find the old Rigel lying on the - ahem!! - carpet.  😉

Doug.

[Guest]

I've saw some metre long black cable ties that would do the job. They'd blend in with the rest of the black and white theme. My only concern would be getting the tension right, as you'd not want to distort the tube!😟

[John]

17 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

I suppose that the Rigel is top heavy? Not having a large surface area for the self adhesive pads to bond to is going to be a nuisance.

The Rigel is a very light unit. I've found that the pads work fine but my scope is stored indoors. If it was stored outdoors / garage / shed I would find something stronger. There is a hole in the finder base section so it can be screwed to the tube if you have a convenient hole. There are strong 3rd party pads available from DIY stores.

When I'm not using the scope I always take the finder unit off it's base. You can clip them on and off easily and pop then back on again without disturbing the alignment.

I've used Rigel Quikfinders for the past decade now and I've been very happy with them. I have had Telrads as well and those are great as well.

 

 

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Yes Stu - after a while, on going to the Dobhouse, I'd find the old Rigel lying on the - ahem!! - carpet.  😉

Doug.

Oops! Sure you can find some decent pads from somewhere, perhaps 3M or similar which are stronger?

[johninderby]

I somply drilled a hole and bolted the Rigel base on. Fed up of picking it up off the floor. 😁

 

 

Edited April 4, 2020 by johninderby

[John]

6 minutes ago, John said:

...I've used Rigel Quikfinders for the past decade now and I've been very happy with them....

 

Actually I've used one Rigel Quikfinder for the past decade. They are more robust and long lasting that they at 1st might seem.

[mikeDnight]

16 hours ago, cloudsweeper said:

The fracs and cat have had good airings lately, so I though I'd have a change.  Had a preliminary look at the Moon (high east, light sky) with the 20/100 Myriad.

Sky promises to stay quite clear, so I am keenly waiting for darkness.

Clear skies all.  And stay safe!

Doug.

That's one of the nicest looking Dob's I've seen, with perhapse the exception of the rigel finder, knicker elastic and pop bottle. I'm not sure about the price difference between the Bresser and other makes, but the Bresser looks to be very well designed.

Edited April 4, 2020 by mikeDnight

[cloudsweeper]

Yes, the Rigel is great - light, high, small footprint, easy to use.

Anyway, the falling-off problem: it might be difficult to get sufficient (and not excessive) tension with cable ties.  Drilling a hole is easy of course, if really necessary.  But just now, Mrs. Sweeper has produced some wide-ish elastic straps from a sewing box, so we'll see how they go.  (No, not knicker elastic!  😄)

Doug.

[johninderby]

There is a Thingverse file for printing a Quikfinder to Synta type base. File on Thingverse is misspelt as Ridel not Rigel. 🙄

ScopeStuff sells it as well.

Edited April 4, 2020 by johninderby

[Stu]

9 minutes ago, johninderby said:

There is a Thingverse file for printing a Quikfinder to Synta type base. File on Thingverse is misspelt as Ridel not Rigel. 🙄

ScopeStuff sells it as well.

Was just about to post these pics up of something I put together out of spare parts and which works surprisingly well so I can use it in various scopes. The 3D printed version should do the trick nicely. With a dual bracket adaptor you could mount an optical finder alongside it.

[johninderby]

Have often wondered why Rigel doesn’t supply a Synta type base as well as the regular one with the finder. 🤔

[cloudsweeper]

Update......

Drilled a small hole in the middle of the baseplate, secured that with a self-tapping screw (head no problem, as the bottom of the Rigel is open), then applied a dab of matt black paint.  First shot - ready for drilling; second shot, job done, and note also the improved RACI dust cover!

Thanks everyone for suggestions and encouragement.  Keener than ever to put the Dob into action now!

Doug.

[Stu]

Nicely done Doug, that will do the trick.

In a delicious irony, I just found the Telrad had fallen off the 12" dob I recently acquired for my club. I was lying there on the floor as if to say 'I told you so!' 🤣

[Ships and Stars]

Love the dob! I have a telrad on mine but have to mount it around the tube. A Rigel has a much smaller footprint, so considering going that route. Dig the raci dustcover as well! A really nice scope you have there👍

[jetstream]

On 04/04/2020 at 07:01, cloudsweeper said:

Thanks everyone for suggestions and encouragement.  Keener than ever to put the Dob into action now!

Great scope!

I have had issues with the Rigels baseplates too- in the cold the adhesive tape comes off. I now use 100% silicone adhesive and let it sit for 24hrs to cure. Not one of my bases -4- come off now.