finder scope

[rory]

hi all. had a few hours of scanning the heavens last night. saw saturn for 1st time ,and was fantastic. m42 was another to behold.

however,even though im starting to get a better with the naked eye at finding pointer stars and some conselations, i cant home in on any objects due to the finderscope that came with my celestron .

its a red dot style ,cheap plastic thing. the main problem is it just blinds your view when you try and use it.

so without a finder im struggling to taget an area.

im already about to get a wider e/p to help, (30-32mm)

but was wondering can the setting circles on the e/q mount be used in anyway( ive not used them at all)

secondly any advice on finders and brackets to attach them would be great.

if anyone else has a celestron astromaster 90mm ,have you managed to use the red dot binder....i mean finder

thanks...

[barkis]

Setting circles would be very useful if they were a decent size. Unfortunately they are too small, and fiddly, and you would probably be more frustrated using them, that the RDF you have.

Can the intensity of the RDF not be reduced in some way?

A filter over it of some kind, to reduce the glare.

What about one of these instead. Although there are more elaborate ones, but not cheap.

http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=SWFinderscopebracket

Ron.

[rory]

dont think so barkis, the instructions say use with both eyes open ! i really need somthing that i put my eye to i think.

telescope im so happy with for the money, but the finder is frankly unusable.

[John]

I'm guessing you have one of the Celestron Astromasters ?. Edit: of course, you have said that it's an Astromaster 90 - ooops !

The red dot finder on those is poor - I see lots of complaints about it on here. My advice would be to add a Rigel QuikFinder to your scope(the base on those sticks to the tube do no drilling needed). The Telrad is even better but is a large device for what it does.

First Light Optics sell the QuikFinder:

Finders - Rigel QuikFinder Compact Reflex Sight

I know it's more expense but without a decent finder finding objects is going to be a real chore at best and there will be many that your scope would give a nice view of, but you just won't be able to find !.

I guess Celestron had to cut corners somewhere to hit the price point they were aiming at with the Astromasters but not providing a half decent finder is a poor economy in my book.

[vulcan]

I have the Celestron Red Dot finder on my NexStar 6se and I'm quite happy with it. The rotary swich near the back is also a brightness control so, if it is too bright, just turn it back a bit until it is barely visible.

[John]

I have the Celestron Red Dot finder on my NexStar 6se and I'm quite happy with it. The rotary swich near the back is also a brightness control so, if it is too bright, just turn it back a bit until it is barely visible.

The finders on the Nexstars are fine. Not the same ones as the Astromasters have, unfortunately

[Hawklord]

dont think so barkis, the instructions say use with both eyes open ! i really need somthing that i put my eye to i think.

telescope im so happy with for the money, but the finder is frankly unusable.

Once you've lined up the finder, being able to move your head slightly back, one eye gazing through the finder, the other at the star/sky. After some practice you're able to see the finder spot and the star superimposed when it's moved to the correct position. That's why its helpful to have both eyes open.

I've got a Baader Sky surfer III and it's the best finder I've ever used!

[rory]

I have the Celestron Red Dot finder on my NexStar 6se and I'm quite happy with it. The rotary swich near the back is also a brightness control so, if it is too bright, just turn it back a bit until it is barely visible.

thanks for the help. yours is a superior finder, mines not the same.

[vulcan]

You can get a decent Celestron or Baader red dot finder for just over twenty quid.

[rory]

what about telrads , any good for novice ?

[Herbig]

Speak to the guys at FLO, they are very helpful and won't try to sell you something unsuitable.

Pete