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Telrad Finder Sight
See it at Amazon.com for $36.94Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
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A MUST have for any amateur astronomer
(5 out of 5) by C. Wells on Mar 10, 2007 (MA USA)A couple years ago, I bought a new Orion XT8 dobsonian telescope. It came with a straight magnifying finder -- WOW was that impossible to effectively use. The very next day, I ordered the Telrad and easily attached it when it arrived. Looking for my targets in the sky instantly became 100X easier and more enjoyable than before.
This product is a must have for any amateur astronomer (and pretty much 100% of all amateur scopes that I've seen among the astronomy club members have one of these affixed). Its not only a must have, but its the very first add-on you will want to do for your scope if you've just bought your first scope. Its far more important than buying lenses, or buying filters, or "go to" controls or anything else.
This product is a must have for any amateur astronomer (and pretty much 100% of all amateur scopes that I've seen among the astronomy club members have one of these affixed). Its not only a must have, but its the very first add-on you will want to do for your scope if you've just bought your first scope. Its far more important than buying lenses, or buying filters, or "go to" controls or anything else.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
OH NO, This thing is HUGE! It Doesn't need to be this HUGE!
(3 out of 5) by M. Zietlow on Nov 28, 2008 (SD USA)The Telrad Finder works very well for what its design to do. My beef with this finder is the enormous size of it. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS HUGE! The unit is 8.5" Long by 4.5" Tall at the sight. When you open the unit to put the batteries in you see a cavernous body of wasted space. I'll need to take my Camera mount off just to fit trhis unit. If your scope is less than 15" long (ie ETX 125 is too small), I would pass this finder up. It's strictly for the BIG BOYS. I did some measuring of the wasted space and it could be re designed down to 4" x 3" with absolutely no loss in optics or finding ability. If you have a small personal telescope, I'd search for RED DOT finders.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Telrad: a great "finder scope"
(5 out of 5) by insinu8 on Apr 25, 2008 (Sunnyvale, CA)As many new astronomers have discovered, finding an object to look at can be the most difficult part in the hobby. Due to the small field of view most telescopes provide, a wider field of view "finder scope" (essentially a small telescope) is used in conjunction with the main viewing telescope in order to find the desired object(s) more quickly and easily. However, this may not provide enough assistance for the beginner and they become frustrated and lose interest.
This is where the Telrad, and other so called "Red Dot Finders", come in. It is not a telescope. It only projects a red dot, or in the case of the Telrad, a series of concentric red circles, into the sky, letting you know where your telescope is pointed without restricting your field of view at all. This provides you with a much better idea of where you ARE looking and helps your get your telescope pointed where you WANT to look. Just move your telescope with Telrad mounted to it until the red circles are projected over the part of the sky, or object, you wish to view and then look through the telescope eyepiece. More times than not, you will find the desired object within your telescope's field of view on your first try. It gets you "into the ballpark".
The Telrad can be adjusted left/right and up/down so it is aligned with the telescope it is mounted upon. This is critical and a good feature.
It runs on a 9v battery which seems to last quite a long time (battery not included). There is a switch which allows the user to dim or brighten the red circles, making them easier to see.
My favorite design feature of the Telrad is that it can be removed from the base (which attaches to your scope with double stick tape) so you can use the same finder on multiple scopes without having to buy a whole new finder. You just buy an extra Telrad Spare Mounting Base for each scope (trust me, once you get into this hobby, you'll end up with more than one!) and move the finder from scope to scope. Some folks don't like messing up their scope with the double stick tape. It depends on what is more important to you; easy to use telescope or pristine telescope finish.
Another good design feature is, unlike many of the other red dot finders, such as the Orion EZ Finder Deluxe Reflex Sight (my second favorite), the Telrad can be mounted to nearly any telescope.
The only drawback I can think of is that the Telrad is on the large side compared to other red dot finders. However, when compared to most finder scopes, it is on the small side.
This is where the Telrad, and other so called "Red Dot Finders", come in. It is not a telescope. It only projects a red dot, or in the case of the Telrad, a series of concentric red circles, into the sky, letting you know where your telescope is pointed without restricting your field of view at all. This provides you with a much better idea of where you ARE looking and helps your get your telescope pointed where you WANT to look. Just move your telescope with Telrad mounted to it until the red circles are projected over the part of the sky, or object, you wish to view and then look through the telescope eyepiece. More times than not, you will find the desired object within your telescope's field of view on your first try. It gets you "into the ballpark".
The Telrad can be adjusted left/right and up/down so it is aligned with the telescope it is mounted upon. This is critical and a good feature.
It runs on a 9v battery which seems to last quite a long time (battery not included). There is a switch which allows the user to dim or brighten the red circles, making them easier to see.
My favorite design feature of the Telrad is that it can be removed from the base (which attaches to your scope with double stick tape) so you can use the same finder on multiple scopes without having to buy a whole new finder. You just buy an extra Telrad Spare Mounting Base for each scope (trust me, once you get into this hobby, you'll end up with more than one!) and move the finder from scope to scope. Some folks don't like messing up their scope with the double stick tape. It depends on what is more important to you; easy to use telescope or pristine telescope finish.
Another good design feature is, unlike many of the other red dot finders, such as the Orion EZ Finder Deluxe Reflex Sight (my second favorite), the Telrad can be mounted to nearly any telescope.
The only drawback I can think of is that the Telrad is on the large side compared to other red dot finders. However, when compared to most finder scopes, it is on the small side.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Telrad Finder
(5 out of 5) by Gary W. Skifstrom on May 30, 2007A great sight for a telescope....along with the Telrad charts...makes finding objects easy,fast and fun.........
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
All telescopes should have a TelRad!
(5 out of 5) by Jodi H. Douglas on May 13, 2007 (Monterey, CA USA)I have used a Telrad ever since the first time learned how to use a telescope more than 15 years ago and couldn't get by without one. I'm amazed that they don't just come standard with all new telescopes. If you don't have one, you are missing out on hours of astronomical enjoyment. I refer to mine as the TelRadical.... Happy (star) Trails!