Three Nights with Skysurfer V

[Sunshine]

 Having used the Skysurfer V for three straight nights I thought I would review this red dot finder. Let me start by saying that over the years I have used just about every single red dot finder under the sun with the Telrad being the most loved and functional finder, especially in the dark where making adjustments can be more challenging. In this regard I still do believe the Telrad is the ugly king of the RDF’s it’s ease of use and reliability is about as intuitive as one can ask for. Having said this, it has found its match in the Skysurfer V, opening the box for the Skysurfer one immediately notices it’s build quality and, Baader’s attention to detail. Packed nicely with one battery  in the unit and an extra in a little ziplock baggy, manual,  and a microfiber cleaning cloth, one immediately gets the impression their money was well spent.

Mounting hardware includes a dovetail bracket, dovetail fitting and riser which screws onto the dovetail fitting. Let me say one thing about each and every part (excluding the caps which are plastic and rubber) there is no plastic to be seen on this finder, not even the riser which is a common plastic part on every other RDF I have seen. This RDF feels like it could just as well be fine on a  rocket launcher.  There was one challenge I encountered while mounting the dovetail base on my Tak, this is an issue I can almost guarantee will not repeat itself on other scopes. The mounting base has a slight curve on the bottom while the area on my Tak where the bracket would mount was designed flat to accept a Tak bracket, this is devious of Tak as it can only be meant to force one to buy their own finders. As a result, the entire bottom of the Baader base does not make contact with the flat area where the tak bracket would fit, not an issue as there are two bolts which hold it Uber tight anyway.

Once mounted I couldn’t help but to notice how solid the whole thing is, it is on there and I mean SOLID! I realized just how big it is. When assembled in its full form it measures 8.5 inches, by full form I mean with the dew shields on both ends on. this is where it gets interesting, you have the option of using it with both dew shields one on either end or just one on the front as I use it or, if you don’t want dew shield on at all you can simply unscrew them and the u it can be shortened to just 5.5 inches. One neat thing about this is regardless of how you use it the rubber caps can be removed from the shields and reattached to the main body as images below show. For daytime and solar use Baader was thoughtful enough to include a pinhole on the front cap and a transparent rear cap with a target making it a great solar finder. Once mounted, adjusting it is easy but this is where my only real gripe come in. This is a finder where the dot itself is adjusted within the finder and not the finder itself moved in any way just like the Telrad where the target is moved and not the Telrad itself. Adjusting the dot requires a slot screwdriver or a coin as the manual states, I’m sorry! Say what? this could have been done better with a thumbscrew or something just like the Telrad, easy to adjust. Having said that, once adjusted I cannot see how it would get knocked out of kilter, it is that solid!.

Both up and down red dot adjusting  screws are under protective metal caps which I guess are to keep moisture out. As for the red dot itself which is the most important of all (if the dot is too bright at night then all the build quality and esthetics goes to heck) it is simply a red dot but, it is adjustable 10 times. There are some online whom have said the dot is too bright, I feel they may not have known about the wheel on top which on its lowest setting is such that one would strain to the point of myopia to see the red dot. It is so dim on its Lowest setting that although I could see it, it required me to use my hand to completely block out the background sky. Number 3 on the wheel is perfect, the faintest of naked eye stars are not overwhelmed yet just bright enough to see comfortably. 

Once aligned I had a great time using this finder, it just feels and works like it should for the price, it is versatile in its ability to be changed in length according to ones needs and as mentioned before, it is Uber solid and might I say cool looking. Austin powers would like the Telrad, James Bond would like the Skysurfer type cool. As much as I love the Telrad and all it’s ease of use, I feel it has been toped by a finder which I wish did not require a screwdriver or coin to adjust but if that is the only gripe then the Baader has much more going for it. Forgot to mention, the battery is a CR2032 which fits in the brightness adjustment wheel on top, it also requires a coin or such to open.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Sunshine

[Captain Scarlet]

I agree about both the telrads and the baaders. I now have 2 Telrads and 2 SkySurfer Vs, each mated to a particular scope. As far as pure RDFs go, the SkySurfer V is in a class all its own. Very military.

M

[Sunshine]

51 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

I agree about both the telrads and the baaders. I now have 2 Telrads and 2 SkySurfer Vs, each mated to a particular scope. As far as pure RDFs go, the SkySurfer V is in a class all its own. Very military.

M

I’m going out on a limb saying your telrads are on dobs and or SCT’s and your Skysurfers on fracs? It’s what I would do as telrads don’t look right on fracs.

[JeremyS]

10 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I’m going out on a limb saying your telrads are on dobs and or SCT’s and your Skysurfers on fracs? It’s what I would do as telrads don’t look right on fracs.

Didn’t I read recently that Telrads on fracs had been outlawed?
Or was it just on Tak fracs? 🤔

[JeremyS]

Great review @Sunshine. Thanks.

Ive had a SS V for a couple of years and never realised you could shorten it like you describe 👍🏻
Perhaps I should have read the instructions….

You are right about it being a totally different beast to the SS III which is more like something you’d find in a packet of cereal. Make you wonder why Baader didn’t dispenser with the SkySurfer name for it.  Perhaps something like the Panzer V? 🤔

I wonder what happen to the SKySurfer IV.

[Captain Scarlet]

10 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I’m going out on a limb saying your telrads are on dobs and or SCT’s and your Skysurfers on fracs? It’s what I would do as telrads don’t look right on fracs.

Close. Yes the telrads live on my two newts (not dobs but similar enough) each with its own 4” riser; and the SSVs each sit on a Mak. My frac has a weird APM/LZOS finder-boss which only takes its native set of rings, and I haven’t dared drill new holes yet, so I don’t have any 1x finder for that.

M

[Sunshine]

33 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

Close. Yes the telrads live on my two newts (not dobs but similar enough) each with its own 4” riser; and the SSVs each sit on a Mak. My frac has a weird APM/LZOS finder-boss which only takes its native set of rings, and I haven’t dared drill new holes yet, so I don’t have any 1x finder for that.

M

An APM/LZOS frac, oooh nice! I would love to have a peek through one, I hear they are top notch.

[Space Hopper]

I've used the SSV for years and wouldn't be without it.

My own sits on the altitude axis of my alt-az mount on a simple 90º bracket. I like it there, as its less vulnerable to me knocking it

and if i use a different OTA its just one thing less to mess with.

You are correct about the dot adjustment being a pain : a simple thumbscrew design would be so much better and easier.

TS also do their own similar version which is alot cheaper.

 

[Barry-W-Fenner]

Great review and enjoyable read. Baader seem to have a reputation of producing high quality products with generous extras for a mid range price.  I purchased the ss3, Although not on the level of the excellent ss5 it is another fabulous Baader product.  👍

[Alan White]

Nice review, thank you.
Typical in that it tempts me to spend some cash on one, while busy saving for a new mount.
That does truly look well made.

[Sunshine]

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Nice review, thank you.
Typical in that it tempts me to spend some cash on one, while busy saving for a new mount.
That does truly look well made.

It would not be keeping with amateur astronomy if we were to save for just one item at a time.