KSON RDF Finder - eBay £8.00 - Dead on Arrival

[haitch]

Add me to the list of bargain huners - RDF arrived today and I thought it wasn't working either until I went somewehere dark.

I've got another brand in the same style already and I think I'm going to like this better as it's only ever possible to use the other on setting 1 at night whereas this should give me more of a usable range depending on how dark adapted I am.

A couple of things I've noticed are the coatings on the glass don't look as good and the glass seems to have a curve that magnifies the reticle quite noticeably as you move back from it. Will have to how it goes in the field.

[russ]

Mine seemed quite bright just holding it under the desk, I think I just picked up a dew shield for it on Astroboot for 3.99 instead of 7.99, looks the same as the one on the scope teknix MRF which is the KSON RDF by the looks of it. Also bought the pedestal which should just slip in my Skywatcher finder quick release shoe for now.

When you have worked out how the dew shield fits and stays in place, please let me know. I bought one too and for the life of me can't see how it stays put.

[Midpoint]

I recently purchased one of these as well after reading this thread as I wanted a more compact finder to fit in my eyepiece case. I was quite impressed with how sturdy it feels too.

So... (stupid question incoming) What's the best way to attach this to a Nexstar 6e? The rail the original Celestron finder attached to is smaller than the KSON was designed for. I'm at a bit of a loss as to exactly what I'd need to buy to be honest.

Thanks,

[MarkF]

When you have worked out how the dew shield fits and stays in place, please let me know. I bought one too and for the life of me can't see how it stays put.

Russ,

My plan is to put a strip of the soft side of velcro along the inside of the dew shield along the bottom both sides. Then squeeze the dew shield until its a tight fit, the soft velcro will protect the finder from scratches and hopefully enough friction to keep it in place with the slot on the left resting against the right adjustment bolt. After all once on you won't be throwing it around too much.

Just can't find any velcro kicking around ATM to try it.

[russ]

That sounds a good plan Mark. I'll pop down B&Q and grab a roll of Velcro. I need some for a homemade dew shield anyway.

[Gadget]

I just scrolled down to page 2.

To mount it get one of these (also mentioned in an earlier post)

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/finder/mrf/dovetail.html

and a dovetail mounting shoe.

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/finder/universal-finder-mounting-shoe/quickrelease.html

Then if you don't want to drill holes in your OTA you can get a universal mounting plate that just sticks onto the OTA with foam tape and the mounting shoe will bolt onto that.

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/finder/universal-finder-mounting-plate/universal.html

John

Hi

Could anyone tell me which one of these fittings if any would fit on to the finder bracket of a c9.25 OTA please

Thank you

Kev

[johninderby]

Telescope House sells a Synta type dovetail shoe that fits an SCT.

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Dovetail_Base_for_SCT.html

Then the dovetail foot from SnS

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/finder/mrf/dovetail.html

You might be able to find a cheaper alternative to the Telescope House SCT dovetail shoe. Just make sure it looks like the Telescope House one which is "flatter" than the common dovetail shoes and has slotted screw holes so that it will fit an SCT properly.

John

[Gadget]

Thanks John

Just want to make sure that I don't order anything that's not the the right size as its difficult to see how big these things are just looking at pics

Just want my RDF on there as soon as poss as don't like using the straight trough finder that's on there after using a RDF that was on my SE

But the finder bracket that is on the 9.25 looks huge compared the little kson RDF

Kev

[johninderby]

The Celestron finder mounting bracket is big and is a one off. There's no other finder in the world that fits it. The Telescope House bracket (about 2" square) fastens on to the OTA using the same two screws that hold the Celestron bracket on. Then of course you can fit any other Synta finder to it as well as the RDF.

John

[panzanella]

A cheap alternative would be to mount the unit onto the existing finder bracket with a Jubilee clip. Pictures here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/107815-new-rdf-8-off-ebay-2.html

[SpookyKatt]

A cheap alternative would be to mount the unit onto the existing finder bracket with a Jubilee clip. Pictures here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/107815-new-rdf-8-off-ebay-2.html

Hehe I think thats a great idea re the jubilee clips and its how I plan to mount mine.

Kathleen

[Gadget]

Thx guys

Your jubilee clip idea gave me a slightly different idea

And it works a treat and is rock solid on there and the cable ties actually slip through the RDF and cos plastic don't mark anything

Just wish I had some black ones laying about

Kev

[BlueAstra]

I feel left out - I haven't bought one!

[panzanella]

Gadget, can you still get you eye close enough to the finderscope EP to see the field stop?

Another slight disadvantage is that every time you collimate the finderscope, you'll need to recollimate the MRF. I think that would annoy me.

[Gadget]

Hi Panzanella

Yes can still see through finderscope ok just wont be using it now only left it there because the RDF sat nicely on the end of it

Just couldn’t get on with the straight through finder

Kev

[MarkF]

That got me thinking, I can actually velcro it onto the metal tube of the finderscope holder of my Evo 120 and use 1 tie wrap to secure, the velcro would prevent lateral twisting and the tie wrap would hold it firm and secure. Bonus being that any finderscope adjustments wouldn't affect the RDF Finder, leaving the finderscope eyepiece free too.

[MarkF]

That sounds a good plan Mark. I'll pop down B&Q and grab a roll of Velcro. I need some for a homemade dew shield anyway.

Done it Russ and it works a treat, nice snug push fit now.

[Specman]

Hi,

I just purchased one of these finders off ebay but having trouble fitting it to my Celestron Nexstar 4SE. I know the KSON finder fits a Picatinny 20mm gun scope rail and my guess is that the Celestron rail is 11mm.

Will one of these adaptors do?

GunTuff WEAVER MOUNT PICATINNY SCOPE RAIL TO 11mm GTPA4 on eBay (end time 20-Aug-10 16:58:49 BST)

Does anybody know the exact size of the Celestron finder scope rail?

Clear skies

Mark

[JohnC]

Just picked up one of these and thought it was duff. As discussed by others it just turned out to be very dim.

Removed the battery cover and scraped some of the anodising off where it contacts the battery +ve. Greatly improved the brightness. All patterns visible in normal room light from setting 2 upwards.

Maybe of help to others.

A great little finder for the Megrez 72.

[John]

Just picked up one of these and thought it was duff. As discussed by others it just turned out to be very dim.

Removed the battery cover and scraped some of the anodising off where it contacts the battery +ve. Greatly improved the brightness. All patterns visible in normal room light from setting 2 upwards.

Maybe of help to others.

A great little finder for the Megrez 72.

I'd be pleased if the LED was a bit dimmer TBH - I've tried a number of these and found all of them too bright for nighttime use on any but the lowest setting - try that in daylight of course and you think it's not working !. I guess this over-brightness is because of their origins as gun sights.

If you try a Telrad or a Quickfinder their brightness is more suitable for nighttime use IMHO and infinately adjustable from nothing to a little too bright.

[Specman]

Hi,

I just purchased one of these finders off ebay but having trouble fitting it to my Celestron Nexstar 4SE. I know the KSON finder fits a Picatinny 20mm gun scope rail and my guess is that the Celestron rail is 11mm.

Will one of these adaptors do?

GunTuff WEAVER MOUNT PICATINNY SCOPE RAIL TO 11mm GTPA4 on eBay (end time 20-Aug-10 16:58:49 BST)

Does anybody know the exact size of the Celestron finder scope rail?

Clear skies

Mark

Hi all,

Just for your information it was as I suspected, the above finder has origins as a gun red dot reflex sight. It fits the Picatinny 20mm gun scope rail and the above type of adaptor converts it to fit the smaller 11mm rails.

Just as an aside, my KSON sight seems to work in reverse to everybody elses, 1 is the brightest and number 7 is the dimmist! I thought it was broken during daylight as I couldn't see anything at all on the highest settings until I figured it out. It works perfectly.

Clear skies!

Mark