You gotta get one of these things....

[hubblebubble]

My observing sessions have just been massively improved with the recent purchase and fitting of a Telrad finder.

Before I would struggle for ages to find an object I was searching for, sometimes taking a few sessions before I could track them down trying to star hop with my finderscope.

Now using the Telrad I can put the scope in the right position straight away.

You look through it and it shows the normal night sky without magnification, with a super imposed red target so that you can point your scope at the right place using a star map.

All this for under £40!

[beamish]

They're greeeaat !

PS get yourself onto AstroBoot at Scope'n'Skies, Telrad dew cover for 3 quid- be sharp !!!

[John]

The Telrad or the Rigel Quickfinder are really the best RDF type finders you can get - I've got the brackets to put an optical finder on my scope as well as the Telrad but in reality the Telrad on it's own is enough 95% of the time.

[Psychobilly]

I think I shall lbe buying one of them for my Portable setup then....

Peter...

[Chris H]

My Telrad is mounted on a 4" riser, I find it makes siting with it just that little bit easier and in winter my cheek does not come near the cold and frost covered tube.

[ollypenrice]

Brilliant things and very reliable. Our oldest one must be ten years old. The circle gives a sense of scale - 4 degrees - which is so much better than a dot. (Bit like analogue watches which, unlike digital ones, show you all the times that is not as well as the time that it is. Well, I know what I mean!)

Olly

[pvaz]

I said this a couple of times before but there's no harm saying it again: I could live without the high end EPs, the filters and all the rest. The telrad however is essential and should be a standard equipment on any scope IMO.

[Moonshane]

totally agree with all this. it's one of the most important items in my case.

I also have a Rigel Quickfinder which I use on my refractor also good but if you have enough room on your tube I think the Telrad edges it.

[Daveb3650]

Any Links ?

[Moonshane]

Any Links ?

Finders - Rigel QuikFinder Compact Reflex Sight

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/97659-review-rigel-quickfinder.html

Telrad Red Dot Finder

I'd recommend the AA battery option for those who forget to turn off the thing after an observing session

[Red Alert]

I was looking at getting one of these for a while, just picked one up yesterday (thanks wingman ) and have to say it does look very cool, cant wait to try it out along with starmap pro on my iphone that has a telrad fov, nice and easy.

[LukeSkywatcher]

When i fly (observe) i fly by the seat of my pants (no finderscope or RDF). I basically star hop. If i think i have gone too far one way i go into reverse.

Maybe i am a sadist. I like making the hunt as difficult as possible. Its very rewarding though when after anything between a few seconds and a couple of days when you finally set eye on your intended target and you have had fun along the way stopping off at anything of interest along the way.

How does a Telrad differ to a standard RDF?

What is the view like through it?

[pvaz]

When i fly (observe) i fly by the seat of my pants (no finderscope or RDF). I basically star hop. If i think i have gone too far one way i go into reverse.

Maybe i am a sadist. I like making the hunt as difficult as possible. Its very rewarding though when after anything between a few seconds and a couple of days when you finally set eye on your intended target and you have had fun along the way stopping off at anything of interest along the way.

How does a Telrad differ to a standard RDF?

What is the view like through it?

Instead of a single dot you get 3 circles at fixed distances that allow you to estimate the distance from bright stars and pinpoint the location easily.

If you print a scaled overlay telrad sight, you can then overlay it on your atlas and it's even easier to define your star hop strategy and then mimic it with the real thing.

[SteveL]

I had a telrad on my NS8GPS, C11, and currently have one on my 190MN. I have a quikfinder on my Borg77. I prefer the telrad, but not by that much...

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thanks for that Paulo. It really does sound like it is a much better system then the standard RDF............which can hamper your search by blocking out your target. There can be no mistaking your target if it is inside of 3 points/circles. The military use a similar system to triangulate targets. I think they call it the "triangle of death".

Basically it means you aint gonna miss your target.

Sorry......i digress.

[onmehedson]

Try this handy stellerium tweak to use in conjunction with the Telrad..

Telescope Reviews: Simulating Telescope in Stellarium

(2nd post by Bluemoon)

Works a treat!

[AlexM]

Definite "yes" to Telrad. Beats red dot by a country mile in my view.

[Wurzil]

Another thumbs up for a telrad/quickfinder - I sometimes get through a whole session without taking the lens caps off of my finderscope now. The rigel may look hideous and cheap looking, but it is the most useful thing ive bought - I just look at stellarium and work out whereabouts my target is supposed to be, then move the scope to that area and pow!

[robhal9000]

Hi,

I have 2 quikfinders. Can I vote twice?

[yeti monster]

They're greeeaat !

PS get yourself onto AstroBoot at Scope'n'Skies, Telrad dew cover for 3 quid- be sharp !!!

Thanks for the nod towards astroboot, I didn't need a dew shield (as I made one out of the carboard box that my Telrad came in, plus duct tape, of course), but managed to pick up a few must have bargains whilst browsing.