Anyone used a WO 7x50 illuminated finderscope?

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

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 (Roger)]

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 (Chris Malikoff)]

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 (Bryan)]

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.
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.

Bryan

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

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.