Red dot alignment

[kevin1]

Hi peeps I wonder if anyone  can help me  I've  set my red dot alignment  up in the day using a chimney pot in broad daylight  using a 25mm super wide  eyepiece  on my skywatcher telescope.  Thus i centred the pot dead centre in my eyepiece, then I lined up the red dot dead centre. The problem  I'm having is on the evening i was trying to view the planet Venus,   when I pointed the red dot direct at the  planet the telescope eyepiece was miles out from the planet. Could anyone help me on this matter where I may be going wrong being a newbie. Any help would be most grateful. 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @kevin1 and welcome to SGL. 

• Q. How far away was the chimney pot?
• A. Ideally you need something about 1-2miles/kms away i.e. TV/radio mast, wind turbine, etc., will do; (same applies for aligning a traditional telescope finderscope too); and start with your lowest power e/p first.
  Also, you need to setup/use it with one eye so the red dot is projected on the sky and not be focusing your eye on the RDF body; if that makes sense. TeleVue, (and other brands), recommend 12-14inches/30-35cms minimum for their Qwik-Point (QBT-1006) RDF. When I purchased mine from Venturescope, many years ago; I did ask Ninian Boyle about eye placement and that it is what he told me. 

Edited April 13, 2020 by Philip R

[Neil H]

Hi I found with red dot finder if you move your head the dot moves as well , so keep both eyes open but try and get your head in the sane position every time  I used to rest my cheek against the telescope

[Ricochet]

The red dot can only point right at the centre of the window so it is only parallax compared to the edges of the RDF that could make it appear to move. The stars are so far away that the dot won't move compared to them. 

 

To the op, your mistake is aligning during the day on an object that is too close. You should use something (like Venus) at night to realign the RDF. 

Edited April 13, 2020 by Ricochet

[Waldemar]

Well, if you can get Venus in the scope, why not center the RDF on Venus, while you're there anyway?

The chimney was probably to close, or you did not look through the RDF from the right position.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Waldemar

[kevin1]

Thanks  for the advice guys I will try it this evening on Venus itself rather than keep trying on the infamous chimney pot 

[Chefgage]

I align my red dot finder (actually a quick finder), with a church spire that is only about 1/4 mile away. This gives me very good results. I agree with what has been said if, if you do not look through the red dot finder at the same angle each time the illuminated dot/circles can move off centre.

[Peter_D]

To improve accuracy, start with your lowest power eyepiece (25mm) and align the RDF with the telescope. Now insert a higher power eyepiece (e.g. 10mm) and repeat the process. This should really help to have excellent alignment when you go to observe later on.