Finderscope - to remove or not to remove

[Pixies]

Hi,

My new finderscope has arrived and it is considerably larger than the little plastic 6x30 that came with the Bresser dob.

Up to now, I've been lifting the scope in and out the back door with finder attached, and keeping it in a quiet corner of a room when not in use - with finder attached. However, I'm now nervous I'm going to whack the finder {on the door | with my head | with a small child} when moving it outside. I'm loath to take it off for storage and realign it each time, though.

Does anyone have a cunning solution they use to add some kind of protection to the finder? I'm thinking of trying to fashion something out of the various bits of plastic packing material I have knocking around the house just now.

[Guest]

I usually just keep mine attached, but I don't have anyone else in the flat with me.  Your mileage may vary.

[dweller25]

I would leave it attached and just take extra care

[johninderby]

I just leave it on but I don’t have to carry it up or down stairs or through narrow doorways. 

[Waldemar]

pick the telescope up in such a way that the finder is closest to your body. In that way the chances of bumping it are minimal.

[Pixies]

3 minutes ago, Waldemar said:

pick the telescope up in such a way that the finder is closest to your body. In that way the chances of bumping it are minimal.

Except with my head!

Seriously, thanks everyone. I'll just have to try to avoid being my usual clumsy self!

[John]

My finders come off my dob when it's not in use and go back on when I put the scope out. Mostly they stay aligned but sometimes I re-adjust the optical one on Polaris. I like it to be pointing precisely where the scope is even when a high power eyepiece is in the scope.

If you leave the finder on the scope and bump it even slightly when moving the scope, it will need re-aligning anyway.

I think that is why finders have quick release bases ?

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, John said:

My finders come off my dob when it's not in use and go back on when I put the scope out. Mostly they stay aligned but sometimes I re-adjust the optical one on Polaris. I like it to be pointing precisely where the scope is even when a high power eyepiece is in the scope.

If you leave the finder on the scope and bump it even slightly when moving the scope, it will need re-aligning anyway.

I think that is why finders have quick release bases ?

I only remove mine if it's going in to the back of a friend's car and then, the OTA is in the original box.  Since lock down, that's not happened, so it's stayed on the OTA.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Guest
added info...

[John]

I think this is one of those "do what works for you" matters

I think the original poster has bought a rather meaty finder scope (60mm ?) so it's going to be quite a projection while it's on the scope:

If it gets a real clout the finder mount could possibly twist the tube wall ? - I've seen quite a few newtonian tubes where that has happened and the tube is slightly deformed where the finder mount shoe screws onto it as a result. One of the reasons that I remove my finders when the scope is not in use.

 

[Pixies]

12 minutes ago, John said:

If it gets a real clout the finder mount could possibly twist the tube wall ? - I've seen quite a few newtonian tubes where that has happened and the tube is slightly deformed where the finder mount shoe screws onto it as a result. One of the reasons that I remove my finders when the scope is not in use.

OK - you've persuaded me to see how it goes removing it!

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Pixies said:

OK - you've persuaded me to see how it goes removing it!

After reading about John's experiences, I think I'll do likewise!

[John]

Just now, Pixies said:

OK - you've persuaded me to see how it goes removing it!

If the mount for the finder is well designed it should slide on and off the scope and store while maintaining it's alignment accurately with the main scope. I use a similar 6 screw finder mount on my 130mm refractor and it holds the finder in alignment really solidly.