Anyone used a WO 7x50 illuminated finderscope?

[Omaroo]

For $170-odd bucks here in Oz, this looks like a nice bit of kit. Has anyone tried one of these before?

It's an erecting, see-through scope which half satisfies my desire to stay away from a right-angle finder - which I loathe. It has a 5.2 deg FOV which is reasonably generous too.

Anyone?

[Satchmo]

Looks like the ideal finder:) The illuminated cross hairs would be worth the extra money alone. The down side is that the apparent field of the eyepiece is only some 37 degree so it s going to be in the `looking down a drainpipe' catagory but this might not matter so much for a finder.

[rogerg]

I've used one now and then. Haven't given it a close inspection, but was a pleasure to use at a glance.

[Dennis]

I have one on my WO 80mm ED II and here are some issues I discovered:

The finder scope stalk attaches to the WO bracket.
The WO bracket is attached to the rotating focuser of the WO 80mm ED II with a single countersunk socket head cap screw.
The focuser-attached bracket straddles the rotating focuser AND the fixed OTA.

Issue 01: When you rotate the focuser, the bracket scratches the non-rotating OTA, in particular the elevated name plate that carries the name/model of the OTA.
My workaround: I cut a thin, curved, aluminium spacer and mounted this under the bracket/rotating focuser common footprint.

I e-mailed WO about this issue some 6-8 months ago, so they may have addressed it by now?

Issue 02: The LED illuminator is a non-standard thread so it will not accept other illuminators which I have found to be interchangeable on my other finder scopes. It looks like a fine 8mm thread. The batteries drain very quickly when you accidentally leave the illuminator switched on – and you will do this, I assure you!

Issue 03: The FOV appears somewhat narrow, although this is but a minor gripe.

Issue 04: The single countersunk socket head cap screw came loose once so I had to re-tighten it and re-align the unit. Without the shim, this might well “lock” the rotating focuser against the non-rotating OTA?

Having said all of that, it is optically very good and the cross hairs are excellent – very fine unlike some of the hawsers I have seen in other finders. The unit is very lightweight compared to some of my other finder scopes which weight more like anchors from the Kittyhawk.

Based on the $170 price you quoted, I personally would purchase the unit again, for my WO 80mm ED II, despite the above issues that I discovered along the way.

It is nice to use otherwise.

Cheers

Dennis

[Omaroo]

Thanks Dennis. Wow - Issue #1 is a doozy, but I can only imagine that they would have picked up on that by now too. I plan to use one on my C8 so the problem won't exist.

Other than that - sounds good. Battery life doesn't worry me either as I manage to turn finders off between slews.

Thanks again
Chris

[Louwai]

I've had one of these as a finder on my C8 for a bit over a year. Have been extremely happy with it. Very crisp & clear images.

Then one night I was carrying the unit back inside after a few hrs of observing. A slight miscalculation of the sliding door space & the WO finder hooked on the door frame.
The quick release mount let go & the finder fell 1.5m to the concrete. :sadeyes:
It's now stuffed.
It's usable, but chips in the lenses are clearly visable when looking through it & the image is now blurred.
The nylon tips have also broken off the ring support screws.
I was extremly disapointed & I will buy a replacement. This one was outstanding until the accident.:doh:

Bryan

[Omaroo]

Thanks Bryan. Sounds like you miss it....:(

I think I'll get one for my C8 - which has that 'orrible 6x30 dickie little unit on it as standard.

Cheers
Chris

[Stephen65]

I have one of these for my FLT-132, it doesnt have the mounting issues on that scope that Dennis described. Basically its got high quality optics, nice thin crosshairs and does everything its supposed to do well.