Finder Sight

There are an astonishing number of ways this finder is superior to the 8x50 right angle corrected finder that came with my Dobsonian telescope. Let's run down them. 1. This is a straight through finder, meaning when you look through it, you're looking along the same direction as the telescope tube. The right angle finder makes me feel lost. 2. This is a reflex sight, which takes virtually all guesswork out of knowing exactly where your telescope is pointing, compared to a finder that magnifies and makes you feel lost. 3. This is a reflex sight, which means you can use this finder with both eyes open. No more squinting, and it's easier to see dim stars this way. Also, when the finder dews over, it can still be used this way, since your brain will overlay the rings from the dewed up Telrad on the night sky you're seeing with your other eye. There are accessories and solutions to fight dew, but you may never need them if you learn to do this. Once an 8x50 finder dews over, it's useless until you warm it back up. 4. This is a reflex sight, which means it doesn't turn anything upside down. 5. Stellarium has a Telrad overlay. 6. This finder is very lightweight and comes with everything you need to mount it on the telescope, no tools required. 7. This finder stays dead-on after adjusting it, even after putting it in your car, traveling, even removing the finder and putting it back on does not affect the accuracy of the finder. Adjust it once and forget it. 8. The brightness of the rings is adjustable. This is a crucial feature because this finder works best when the rings are about the same brightness as the stars you're looking at. Unfortunately this finder isn't one-size-fits-all. It's rather large (though lightweight) and mounting it on a small refractor may be a different story than on an 8" Dobsonian. And it requires 2 AA batteries, but trust that they will last a very long time even if you're an ardent astronomer. I waited far too long to add this accessory to my telescope and it has already made it possible to find several targets I would've struggled to find with the 8x50 finder. It's very likely you'll be able to find more stuff with this than with an 8x50 finder alone. Don't wait too long to get this!

Here's the short version: This finder scope is amazing and worth every penny. Long version: I got a Celestron 114EQ as a birthday gift and I could basically find the moon. Anything else was an exercise in patience rather than astronomy thanks to 'finder' scope on the 114EQ. The first time I turned on the Telrad I was dumbfounded by how much easier it was to operate and adjust. For anyone wanting to spend more time looking AT objects instead of looking FOR objects, get this finder scope. My backyard has several street lights shining onto it and I'm surrounded by pine trees that completely obstruct my line of sight. I have to frequently pick my scope up and move around to different parts of the yard for line of sight which previously killed the whole experience for me. But the Telrad lets me move anywhere, acquire my target in about five seconds and keep on viewing. If you're looking for a replacement finder scope you cannot go wrong with this guy. Other thoughts: The finder scope is large. Especially on the 114EQ the base will not fit on the tube without modification (the base is long enough that it has to cross over the tube mounting rings). I debated what to do but in my impatience I just used a miter saw to cut a section out of the middle of the base and put the two base pieces on either side of the tube mounting rings. The finder scope only attaches to the base at the very front and back of the base so I wasn't very worried. It worked fine. I believe Telrad sells risers and/or extra bases if you're worried about cutting the base due to space constraints. Thankfully, the finder scope runs on AA batteries as opposed to the Klingon watch battery in the 114EQ's standard finder scope. Which is good because my standard 114EQ finder scope died in one night of use because I forgot that I left it on. The Telrad is much easier to check for on/off and the batteries are much easier to replace. Before purchasing I read some complaint(s) about how the power switch arm for the Telrad has an unnecessarily long sweep, say 360 degrees, but you only get useful sight illumination out of the last <90 degrees. Even if you want to pick at straws and actually complain about this 'problem' after an hour or so of use I actually appreciated how faint you can make the projects site rings. Again, I live in the suburbs with several streetlights shining into my backyard but even after finding some shade and adjusting to as much night vision as possible you can really go after faint stars or planets by making the scope rings very dim and not overpowering your target.

I have an 8-inch dobsonian with an 8 x 50 finder scope. Trying to get the tube on the object using the finder scope has been difficult for me. This Telrad bullseye makes it much easier to acquire an object. I align the Telrad, look through the tube and the object is usually in view. If not, I just refine with the other finder scope. Easy Peazy. The Telrad is easy to mount and use!

good engineering, its simple, effective, and intuitive, it may not win a beauty contest nor is it made of the best materials, but its top notch in functionality pros: - dead simple to use and calibrate - large field of view because of the sizeable reflector glass - its simplicity makes it easy to modify, its not difficult to understand how it works or access/replace its components - takes a relatively short amount of time to align it with the scope once you get a feel for the 3 adjustment knobs - power lever on the right, the brightness on the reticule is very variable, no issues of it being too bright in the lower ranges, its basically a potentiometer cons: - size ( it could be a bit shorter if the power source was replaced with something else ) - obviously the finish could be better, looks like a homemade affair

Good item, but after using for a few months, I prefer a simple red dot finder scope.

Been using the Telrad design on my scopes since the late 1980s. Like a mousetrap - once you have a design that works well and is simple to use - why mess with it? Tried another type of reticle finder on once of my SCTs and came back to the Telrad. It's the 'standard' for a reason.

After fighting with a cheap stock finder scope, I followed the recommendations of several members of my Astronomy Club and bought the Telrad. I will never go back to a finder scope. It was very quick and easy to mount on the optical tube of my 130mm Newtonian telescope and it is extremely easy to align. I did the initial alignment during the day sighting on a distant object. Final sighting was done at night on Rigal. It holds alignment well and. is easy to realign if you need to. Batteries last a long time as long as you remember to turn off the finder at the end of your observing session. My only wish is they offered a smaller unit the used smaller rechargeable lithium batteries rather than the large pair of AA batteries. Some folks I have suggested they try a Telrad find it challenging to mount on their small refractor scopes. It allows me to quickly align the scope on any visible object by looking through the reticule plate panel either from the rear for objects low in the sky, or through the top for items high in the sky. I particularly like that you can easily adjust the brightness of the sighting circles to match sky conditions and your own preference.This finder has made observing a pleasure and not a task. I have used other finder scopes and red dot finders, but all they do is reinforce my decision to mount a telrad on my telescope.

Works Like a charm. I have five different finder scopes and this one is the best so far. Super easy to use. Aligns real quick. Bright, large target in the view makes it easy to see where you are pointing. I had it lined up and ready in less that 1 minute. Basically pointed my scope to Jupiter and centered it in the eyepiece. Tweaked the three adjusting knobs on the finder to align and good to go. Way easier to align that other sights I own. Same simple method as used to center the primary mirror on a Newtonian/reflector. Spent the next few minutes just randomly star hopping and every time I hit the center FOV. Very impressed as to how much easier it was to locate night sky objects. I spend an extra 10 seconds at the end of viewing to remove the finder from my scope. Next time it's used it still stays good without having to adjust a thing. The base fits easily and quickly to the scope by simply using the supplied sticky pads. This to me was a little disappointing, but some people may prefer it that way. Anyway, I chose to not use the sticky pads and instead screwed the base onto my scope. The base (and sight) are made of plastic which made the mount easy to drill. Quickly removed my existing dove mount from the scope, drilled a couple of holes in the Telrad base, and screwed it onto where the dove mount used to be. Sight is also powered by 2 AA batteries which I think is great. Pretty much every household has a handy pack of AA's going around. Very quick and easy to replace the batteries if your sight loses power. Now if my sight died and I was to look around the house for a pack of CR 2032 batteries (which most other sights use) then I would be up the creek. Also the sight does seem quite large when you first open the box. Comes in at 8 inches long, 5 inches high (including the base) to the tip of the viewer, and 2 inches wide. In comparison I would say that it is around twice the size of an EZ finder II. Although it does seem big it is light in weight. Have not tried it on my EQ mounted scope but I think it would not effect the counter balance. Except for my little dislike on the sticky tape mount method I overall love this sight and would recommend it.