· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar General Astronomy >> General Observing and Astronomy Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | (show all) Old Rookie sage Reged: 09/05/08 Loc: North Central Ohio Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: HellsKitchen]       #5672017 - 02/10/13 09:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Telrad and 7x50 RACI finder. Got to have both. Edited by Old Rookie (02/10/13 09:29 AM) Post Extras:       drbyyz sage Reged: 11/04/12 Loc: Summerville, SC Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: HellsKitchen]       #5672018 - 02/10/13 09:34 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Telrad to get to the closest bright star 8x50 or wide field EP or combination of the two to star hop to my target. Will most likely be investing in a RACI finder soon as the straight thru is starting to bother my neck. +1 on the talk about proper alignment. If I'm going to be doing any serious observing I make sure I can put a star dead center in the eyepiece at at least 100x. You want to be able to trust your finder and not go slewing around blindly. More often than not, the object was just outside the EP and you'll end up 2 constellations over in the wrong direction. Post Extras:       City Kid Carpal Tunnel Reged: 05/06/09 Loc: Northern Indiana Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: JayinUT]       #5672032 - 02/10/13 09:40 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I prefer straight through optical finders. I have a Starbeam on my NP101 but the only reason I find it acceptable is the large FOV I can get through the scope itself. For me, right angle finders are useless unless paired with a Telrad or such and I don't want two finders on my scope. Post Extras:       lamplight Pooh-Bah Reged: 09/18/12 Loc: west central MA, U.S. Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: City Kid]       #5672089 - 02/10/13 10:16 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Stellarvue 10x60 (F60M2) on SCT which as has been mentioned , provides its own beautiful widefield views. It's a fast scope and has good eye relief with glasses . I love it if you can't tell. Whenever I have an audience I have them look through both this and the EP as both are great. It's also more stable and precise to align than my orion raci. It's really awesome I'm sorry I sound like a commercial. THEN I saw they came out with a 2" straight through focuser ($50) that you can use on this finder .. So I ordered one with the straight through for my DOB (not delivered yet) . So you can switch from 1.25" EP (5.something fov) raci, to straight through non correct image 2" EP/focuser. It's pretty cats meow. Post Extras:       Fuzzyguy sage Reged: 12/21/11 Loc: Colorado/Kansas Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: lamplight]       #5672123 - 02/10/13 10:47 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Interesting thread, thanks for posting it. I have both a straight through finder and a Rigel (similar to a telrad). Lately I've been using the finder scope (stock Celestron 6x30) exclusively. It's very easy to find a bright star to start the hop and with it's 7* FoV, it shows a pretty large piece of the sky. The stars you can easily see match up well with charts in my PSA. When I get close to my target, I switch to the scope and finish the hop through the EP using a more detailed chart if I need to. Post Extras:       Old Rookie sage Reged: 09/05/08 Loc: North Central Ohio Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: Fuzzyguy]       #5672742 - 02/10/13 05:36 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I was reading these posts and came away quite surprised. People use a finder without checking that it's aligned? Once I set my dob up there are two things I do before I observe. I collimate the optics and once it starts getting dark, I align the telrad and optical finder. I can't imagine using either tool without aligning them first. Post Extras:       Raginar Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/19/10 Loc: Rapid CIty, SD Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: JayinUT]       #5672768 - 02/10/13 05:53 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Telrad. My only finder (8x50mm) is repurposed as a guidescope at the moment. I never enjoyed using a finder... magnification was either too much or not enough and I never had an illuminated one so finding the crosshairs was a pain. My telrad is awesome! Post Extras:       FlorinAndrei scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 09/28/10 Loc: California Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: JayinUT]       #5673107 - 02/10/13 09:29 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Telrad or any other 1x finder is useless in a zone with lots of light pollution. So at home I use a 5mW green laser, plus a 9x50 RACI. If the sky is dark enough, then a 1x finder makes sense. In that case I use a Telrad, especially when the 5mW GLP might annoy other observers nearby. Post Extras:       newtoskies Pooh-Bah Reged: 07/15/12 Loc: SE Ma. Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: CelestronDaddy]       #5673679 - 02/11/13 09:30 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Dob abd XLT102 both with the stock 6x30 straight through finder. Rigel with two mounts ( not yet mounted on the dob) A RACI when I get a 10" dob and maybe the Telrad. Post Extras:       Starman81 scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 03/06/08 Loc: Metro Detroit, MI, USA Re: What Finder Do You Use? [Re: newtoskies]       #5673931 - 02/11/13 12:04 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have a few: Telrad, Rigel Quick Finder, 8x50 RACI, a Multi-Reticle Finder (MRF) and a standard red dot finder, but I use the MRF the most. It maintains alignment, has the best ergonomics for where I can place it and view through it on my 8" dob and rarely dews up. To spice things up, I acquired a RACI and would like to use that in tandem with the MRF or a red dot finder attached. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | (show all) Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 3 registered and 11 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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