Rigel or Telrad as only finder???

[alowen]

Evening all,

I'm really not liking my 6 x 30 finderscope that came with my dob, in fact i hate it.

Would the telrad or rigel qf red dot scope be suitable as the only finder on my scope?

I only ask as people seem to use them 'alongside' their other finders.

Im liking the Telrad so far. All i want is simplicity, point and see.

Thanks

Al

[Breakintheclouds]

I used to use a Telrad as my only finder. A lot of people do, I think.

[Chris H]

I use the Telrad and I like it very much. I have a 9x50 finderscope but since getting the Telrad I never use it.

[Llamanaut]

i use the telrad in conjunction with the finder. The telrad gets you where you think you should be and the finder fine tunes what your looking at, occasionally you'll see your target in the finder-scope and it'll be in the centre of the field of view. Id recomend getting atelrad and practise using both... if you really cant get on with the finder then the telrad is well worth the £27, good luck

[alowen]

£27 ???? Where from?

Thanks

Al

[Earl]

where in the uk sell these as i can google any stores

[brantuk]

This one's £38:

Telrad Red Dot Finder

And here's a review:

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2379

[alowen]

FLO - Rigel

Harrissons - Telrad

[russ]

Had the Telrad, loved it. Had the Rigel, loved that too. But now have the William Optics Multi Reticle Finder (and all it's clones) and i prefer that over the other two. It's small and compact and uses the current finder shoe.

[brantuk]

I'm with Russ on that one - the WO is very nice, compact, and unobtrusive

[russ]

I'm with Russ on that one - the WO is very nice, compact, and unobtrusive

The only thing the WO loses out on is the nice FOV circles the other two provide. The WO only has one 0.5deg circle. But i find the single dot my fav anyway.

[Earl]

Where did you get the williams one from i cant find one in the UK :|

[MarkF]

Where did you get the williams one from i cant find one in the UK :|

There are several suppliers here's one

William Optics Finders and Guiders

[Moonshane]

I use the Telrad / Quikfinder (I have one of each) along with an optical finder on both my scopes. as others have said, I get to the right spot approx. with the Telrad, then a bit closer with the finder and then locate the target with the widest angle EP.

[pvaz]

Telrad + wide field EP solve my problems 99% of the time. If you can see a good amount of stars naked eye then the telrad is all you need. If however you're under light pollution then you'll need the optical finder for the final adjustments.

[Earl]

i take it this is a copy of the williams?

Astronomica Red Dot Finder with Base on eBay (end time 08-Jun-10 16:16:31 BST)

[John]

i take it this is a copy of the williams?

Astronomica Red Dot Finder with Base on eBay (end time 08-Jun-10 16:16:31 BST)

Looks just like the William Optics one to me.

Just to be contrary () I'll say that I prefer the Telrad or Quikfinder to the WO-type multi-reticule RDF's. I find the reticule on the latter a bit too bright, even on the minimum setting and the alignment adjustments on the ones I've tried have been rather hit or miss. Perhaps I've not had a good one yet ?.

At the moment I'm using a £12 e.bay RDF on my 6" refractor and I've got it spot on so that, if I get the red spot on an object, it's in the FoV even at 300x !. The red dot on the cheap RDF's is none too precise though (more of a red blob) - but, hey, it works

To address your original question though, I find an RDF on it's own is enough for about 80% of the time but there are times when an 8x50 optical, used in tandem with the RDF, is essential - finding dim planets like Uranus and Neptune for example where the light grasp of the optical finder helps with the final star hopping.

[nicnac]

got an RDF with the little pup and i cant stand it.

the finder on my TAL is fantastic though, can somebody tell me how the telrad would compare??, ive never used one

[robhal9000]

Hi,

Telrad and Quikfinders are 1x mag with 0.5, 2 and (telrad only) 4 degree red circles 'projected' on to the sky. Very useful for star hopping.

Of all the RDFs I like the Baader skysurfer III with it's larger clear window

[brantuk]

Mine came with the scope which I purchased second hand.

[Earl]

I just picker this up

Red Green Dot 4 Reticle Reflex Sight BrandNew UK Seller on eBay (end time 07-Jun-10 17:09:03 BST)

[John]

I just picker this up

Red Green Dot 4 Reticle Reflex Sight BrandNew UK Seller on eBay (end time 07-Jun-10 17:09:03 BST)

That looks great value - how are you going to mount it on the scope ?.

[Earl]

Not worked that bit out yet, but im thinking with a L shaped "thingy " or some velcro

[John]

Not worked that bit out yet, but im thinking with a L shaped "thingy " or some velcro

Check out the Scopes N Skies Astro Boot section - they have some finder feet and dovetail brackets that might do the trick.

[simon84]

Telrad only here, and with using these, Telrad_Messier_Maps and Telrad_Caldwell_Maps I think the Telrad is the easiest finder to use. I love it.