Starpointer universal red dot finder

[Ladydeb]

Hi everyone, merry Christmas Eve!! The skies are lovely and clear where I am! I have a couple of questions that anyone could kindly take a look at? 
 

my starpointer arrived today, I thought (maybe stupidly) it was just a case of attach and go, but it doesn’t seem the case, I’ve managed to get it so I can correlate where the red dot is near to a star but it’s not exactly on the star - is that how it should be or should it be lined up? Secondly, which (or combination of which) would be the best lens(es) to look at planets at their best? I have: 

Barlow 3x3

h12

k20

sr4 

Using one of the smaller ones (h13 or sr4 I can’t quite remember) I can see mars but to be honest, not massively, it still just looks like a star! if that makes sense. I’m definitely looking at Mars  😂🤦🏼‍♀️😂🤦🏼‍♀️

Edited December 24, 2020 by Ladydeb

[DaveL59]

Hi there and welcome to the forum and a Merry Xmas eve too.

For the RDF there should be 2 adjuster wheels which you can tweak the aim left-right and up-down so that you can get the star under the dot to correlate with the eyepiece view. It is far easier tho to do this in daylight on a fixed target such as a reasonably distant street lamp (which you can also do at night) or a building/aerial. Reason being is that it won't move while you are making adjustments where a star/planet will do.

As for magnification that will be largely dependant on seeing conditions but always good to start with the 20mm for lowest magnification then work up to the 12. The SR4 sadly aren't usually very good when supplied with modern scopes (which do you have by the way?) and you may find the view is better with the 20 and x3 barlow, perhaps the 12+x3 barlow. That would depend too on the quality of the barlow which may not be too great - is it a plastic bodied one?

For Mars, it is quite small as are all the planets but you should be able to see it is a larger orange-ish disc compared to a bright dot that stars appear as. More magnification may tease out a little detail but how far you can sensibly go will depend on the scope being used too. Ideally an upgrade to better eyepieces would give a better experience but again Mars would still appear small.

Have you taken a look at the "what can I expect to see" thread? It gives a pretty good idea of what to expect when using a scope, sadly a crash to reality for many new scope owners who are taken in by the pretty images on the ads and box. At least it may help correlate your views to what you perhaps hope to see 🙂

 

 

[Ladydeb]

Ah Dave, thank you so much for your help, that’s really informative, I hadn’t seen that thread so I will have a look, thank you so much xx 

[Alan64]

This is the OP's kit...

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/celestron-powerseeker-660-21041-ar-463187696

...a 60mm f/11 refractor.

I would suggest quite a few items to enhance the refractor's performance: a 32mm and a 12mm Plossl, perhaps a star-prism diagonal, and a quality 2x-barlow. 

[Alan64]

The original red-dot finder bolted on two studs rising up from the telescope's tube...

If your new finder is the same as or similar to this one...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/celestron-starpointer-red-dot-finderscope.html

That's a replacement for a bad finder.  You remove the old one from the mounting stalk, if possible, then attach the new one.

If that's not the finder you purchased, we will need to see which one you did get.  Then we'll go from there.

[Ladydeb]

16 hours ago, Alan64 said:

This is the OP's kit...

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/celestron-powerseeker-660-21041-ar-463187696

...a 60mm f/11 refractor.

I would suggest quite a few items to enhance the refractor's performance: a 32mm and a 12mm Plossl, perhaps a star-prism diagonal, and a quality 2x-barlow. 

Thanks Alan, 

I will have a look at getting some different lenses. 

[Ladydeb]

15 hours ago, Alan64 said:

The original red-dot finder bolted on two studs rising up from the telescope's tube...

If your new finder is the same as or similar to this one...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/celestron-starpointer-red-dot-finderscope.html

That's a replacement for a bad finder.  You remove the old one from the mounting stalk, if possible, then attach the new one.

If that's not the finder you purchased, we will need to see which one you did get.  Then we'll go from there.

Yep I think this is the one I’ve bought, I’ll double check when I get home, thanks for your help xx 

[Alan64]

This is the area on your 660 in question...

The red-dot unit is fastened to its mounting stalk, and with that screw on the side of the unit most likely. 

If the stalk is missing, let us know.

With these entry-level telescopes, the manufacturer is going to provide a good telescope.  In the case of the 660, that refers to the doublet-lens at the front of the telescope...

That's one of my own 60mm refractors.

However, the eyepieces and accessories that come with these kits oft fall short of one's expectations.  The images will only be as good as the weakest item, the weakest link, inserted into the light-path of the telescope, whether an eyepiece, diagonal or barlow...

 

The atmosphere plays a part in that, too.  At times, it can make one think that there's something wrong with the telescope when there isn't.

[Ladydeb]

Hi everyone, 

so tonight I think I’ve sorted it! I’ve been lining up the red dot with teddy bear eyes and fairy lights 😂😂 and it’s where it should be thanks everyone for your help, now I have to wait for a nice night to put it into practice xx 

[Moonshed]

We can only hope that poor teddy didn’t get too traumatised by finding a bright red dot aimed straight at him 🤣

[Ladydeb]

11 minutes ago, Moonshed said:

We can only hope that poor teddy didn’t get too traumatised by finding a bright red dot aimed straight at him 🤣

Hahahahahahaha, I know! I said to mum, stay still let me see if I can your eye 😂😂 she said no