TELRAD FINDERS SCOPE

[NESSDIST]

HI,

 

Has anyone installed a Telrad Finders Scope on a Celestron 6SE and if so, where on the scope did you install it and did you purchase the riser as well??  Looks kind of big for such a small tube. Thanks. 

[johninderby]

While the Telrad will physically fit it is really too big and bulky. Most go with the Rigel QuickFinder on a smaller scope as it is more suited size wise and works nearly as well as the Telrad.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/rigel-quikfinder-compact-reflex-sight.html

[Carbon Brush]

Good advice from @johninderby above.
There are preferences on finders, rather than absolute wrong and right answers.
The choice does very much depend on the individual.

When I owned a telrad for a while, I didn't like it and sold it on. Never missed it.
It came on a 10" reflector, so didn't look out of place. But for that scope I preferred a 50mm finder - and some years on still do for that size/type of scope.
I ran both on the scope for a short time, just to make sure.

I have been happy with a Rigel - especially on smaller scopes.
There are other who hate the Rigel and wouldn't consider parting with a telrad.

HTH, David.
 

 

[Louis D]

I've got both the Telrad and Rigel, and each has its place.  The Telrad rings go to 4 degrees instead of just 2 degrees for the Rigel, are thicker, have less parallax, and are easier find in the window.  The Rigel is much smaller, has pulsing circuitry built in, and runs off a lithium button cell instead of two AA batteries.  I prefer the Telrad on my Dobs and the Rigel on my fracs and Maks.  I rarely use finder scopes with anything other than the Maks.  Lately, I've been relying on green laser sights instead of either the Telrad or the Rigel to get on target.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Louis D

[AlexK]

Welcome to the forum, NESSDIST!

If you are pointing with the Telrad directly at your targets exclusively and don't plan to learn using it properly, consider getting a cheap RDF (Red Dot Finder) instead. Telrad main idea is pointing at invisible targets indirectly, for example, by using the TPM (Telrad Pattern Matching) method. I'm using the latter and always having my 12" Dob on my DSO (Deep Sky Objects) targets in under 10 seconds. YMMV.

For the mounting location: I can't understand what's the problem? The 6SE has plenty of space on the OTA to mount it using the mounting cradle provided. Perhaps, you are confusing Telrad with the stock RDF? Telrad supposed to be used as a straight-through optical finder, with your eye as close to its semi-transparent mirror as possible.
 

The key is to have it a bit on the side to avoid bumping into it at the EP in the diagonal. Though some folks are using the diagonal to look from the side (as with a Dob), not from the top. The inner side seems more beneficial for that semi-fork load balancing.

On any MAC Telrad could benefit from a riser piece indeed: https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn104/skip_orrell/064-1.jpg (still on the Telrad stock cradle). So you just raise your head from the EP up and see Telrad reticle.

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by AlexK

[NESSDIST]

Great shot with the Telrad and the additional mount. I have nothing but good things regarding Telrad so it looks like I will head in that direction with the additional 4" mount! Thanks.

[AlexK]

2 hours ago, NESSDIST said:

Great shot with the Telrad and the additional mount. I have nothing but good things regarding Telrad so it looks like I will head in that direction with the additional 4" mount! Thanks.

Sounds like a good plan!
Shots are not mine. Just googled them (saw them some years back). Original public content links are preserved.

[Starslayer]

Having just purchased a scope and having googled wildly I decided on the Telrad. Easily fitted today and although it is a fair size I think it is fine on my 6SE tube.  What I have had an issue with though is aligning it. In the house I can see the rings easily. Outside I have been aligning the stock finder with trees half a mile or so away but with the Telrad I can see nothing unless I pick a closer object and one that is more solid like a roof apex or similar.  Is this normal? I can only assume that things will look much different with the Telrad once it gets dark perhaps?  Time will tell but in the meantime I have replaced the stock finder as shown for daytime practice and until the blessed skies decide to clear one night.  picture attached. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Starslayer
Typos

[wulfrun]

The Telrad isn't very bright, that's normal and expected - it's intended for use at night. You'll find it is plenty bright enough at night and you only need it on a low setting, especially in dark skies. Align it at night, ideally on Polaris so it doesn't move too much as you fiddle.

[Starslayer]

2 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

The Telrad isn't very bright, that's normal and expected - it's intended for use at night. You'll find it is plenty bright enough at night and you only need it on a low setting, especially in dark skies. Align it at night, ideally on Polaris so it doesn't move too much as you fiddle.

Thank you. Will play more when Zeus decides to give us a break in the weather.  Without getting too technical I take it that the telrad works in a different way to the stock finder scope? 

[wulfrun]

2 minutes ago, Starslayer said:

Thank you. Will play more when Zeus decides to give us a break in the weather.  Without getting too technical I take it that the telrad works in a different way to the stock finder scope? 

Yes, you get 3 circular "bullseye" rings at 1/2, 2 and 4 degrees diameter. Centre your target in the inner circle, it's not obscured by a dot. You can use the circles to move a known distance or use them in conjunction with star maps or Stellarium software etc too.

Not sure what you have as standard but it's likely to be an RDF, red-dot finder. As the name implies, you just get a red dot to place over your target. Personally I find them too bright, even on the lowest setting but some people get on fine with them.

[Starslayer]

8 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

Yes, you get 3 circular "bullseye" rings at 1/2, 2 and 4 degrees diameter. Centre your target in the inner circle, it's not obscured by a dot. You can use the circles to move a known distance or use them in conjunction with star maps or Stellarium software etc too.

Not sure what you have as standard but it's likely to be an RDF, red-dot finder. As the name implies, you just get a red dot to place over your target. Personally I find them too bright, even on the lowest setting but some people get on fine with them.

Yes it is a red dot finder and I actually had no issues like some in lining it up. Some have to shim them.  The difference is it is clear against the objects I am picking out a mile and a half away yet the Telrad just disappears in my view at a fraction of that distance. 

[wulfrun]

2 minutes ago, Starslayer said:

Yes it is a red dot finder and I actually had no issues like some in lining it up. Some have to shim them.  The difference is it is clear against the objects I am picking out a mile and a half away yet the Telrad just disappears in my view at a fraction of that distance. 

As per above, it's meant for night-time use so it's not very bright. Try it at night, you'll see it then.

[Starslayer]

I do like how easy it is to pop off the mount.  Hopefully I will have good reason to remove it on 10th June!!! 

[Spile]

I love the Telrad but I did have to deal with it being a dew magnet.