TELRAD TELESCOPE Finder Sight LED Reflex Scope - Any good?

[NightLaw]

Hello All,

I have recently bought a SW 6" Dob and now also have a 9mm Orthos (Japan) EP to go with it....(Thanks Mike).

I'm looking at TELRAD TELESCOPE Finder Sight LED Reflex Scope as it has been recommended to me, is this an ideal match for my Dob or are there alternatives you all swear by that will asist me?

Cheers

Keith

[arad85]

I swear by my telrad, but on a 6" scope you may well need to kneel on the floor to use it properly. I find red dot finders (of which the telrad is a type) far easier to use than finderscopes.

[Doc]

Best finder EVER in my opinion.

[Peter Drew]

Telrads and red dot finders are OK if you are already familiar with the sky as they only point you in the right direction. My preference is for an optical finder that will show you the object although, IMO, a 50mm aperture finder is the minimum for best results. Opinions are very divided on this issue, I would recommend trying out a few options if possible before coming to a decision.

[Ant]

I used to have a Telrad, it was IMO the best finder I ever owned...

Ant

[Ford Prefect]

I agree, telrad is the way to go, I have two:) You may also want to consider getting a dew heater for it as the glass does dew up.

cheers Jon

[pvaz]

As I was the one that made the initial suggestion that prompted this thread I'm a bit suspicious to talk about it.

I printed the scaled telrad circles on one of the inicial pages of pocket sky atlas, on to a transparent sheet so I can overlay it on the charts. Knowing the circles have fixed diameter of 0.5, 2 and 4 degrees of arc I measure the distances from the object I want to observe to the closest brighter stars on the chart. Then I mimic the process using the real telrad against the night sky and most of the times I get the object spot on.

I have both the telrad and the original 9x50mm finderscope side-by-side, and sometimes I need to peek in the finderscope to do the final adjustments.

As Peter said the finderscope is also useful, you can try it too and see how it goes before you decide if you need the telrad.

There are other options available:

Rigel Finder draws 2 circles instead of 3, but is more compact and better looking.

And lots of standard red dot finders that draw a single dot. This IMO won't be as effective cause you wont be able to measure distances with them, but they do look better. Some examples here:

Finders - Baader 30mm Sky Surfer III

Astronomica Red Dot Finder with Base | Finders & Pointers | Accessories | Astronomica

BSA 30mm Red Dot Sight | Finders & Pointers | Accessories | Astronomica

[NightLaw]

All,

Thanks for the opinions, yes Paulo was the person who suggested the unit and my opinion is it reads well and should do a job.

The great thing about this forum is I can get the opinion of many who have used it rather than jsut reading up on it.

As the opinion is pretty much the same, although opinions can differ (again great thing about the forum) I take it all on board and look at what I belive is right for me.

This is all a learning curve so taken peoples knowledge that is infinately more than mine is priceless.

Thanks again and keep em' comin'.

Cheers

Keith

[pvaz]

Indeed. Taking as many opinions as possible helps making the right choice for your needs and thats one of the things I also love on this forum.

If you search the forum you'll find a thread I posted a few months ago asking if there was an easy way to point the scope at an area of the sky.

Back then Mick suggested the telrad and thank God he did! Best extra I ever bought!

[SlipperySquid]

Well I have just bought the Rigel Quickfinder from FLO with the extra battery holder.

They are great for zipping around the skies and landing them in the area you want, but I find it hard on faint stars to know if you are centered or not and then revert back to the finder scope to see if I am zero'd in which sort of negates the need for the red dot?

But for putting you in the correct area and then fine tuning the Rigel is great.(also for bright starts etc).

One thing about the Rigel though is that it looks and feels cheap! and I had to resolder the connecting wires for the battery mount as soon as I took it out of the box!

Pro's for the Rigel : Smaller footprint than the telrad

Stands higher then the telrad

Has the ability to set the reticle to blinking mode.

Cons : Build quality

I can't comment on the telrad though!

[M110]

I love my telrad and with some not too advanced electronics skills (soldering etc) you can add a dew heater for under a tenner (see topic here).

Also finder charts for all the messier objects can be found here

Definitely recommended

regards,

Alex