“LASER POINTER as a FINDER” - Benefits/Hint & Tips

[Davekyn (David)]

Hi, I’ve been learning to use a Heavy Duty version of the Alt/Azi 3 mount and find I have to be sure to positing my scope between the tripod legs correctly in order to avoid the scope from being obstructed, when viewing near the zenith. I also have to adjust a screw on my ED80 and rotate the focuser which would otherwise get tangled on the mounts extending slow motion control knobs. The Diagonal also needs adjusting at times for the same reasons.

I’ve been learning to live with some of these frustrations & find once set up at the right height, that one can end up quite comfortable with a chair nested alongside the eyepiece...but once again....that’s with having had the scopes focuser, diagonal & tripod legs all aligned with each other in mind. Having done this a few times now, it’s pretty much becoming second nature to do all this at once, and less of a pain in the butt, however dropping to one knee and aligning myself up with my red dot finder can get very uncomfortable when attempting to find targets along the zenith!

I don’t really have time to adjust my schedules to view targets at the meridian in order to avoid such issues & was wondering if others out there, could tell me about their experiences using a Laser Pointer for a guider as I am hoping to at least shorten the amount of time I spend as a contortionist under my little refractor aiming at the zenith.

I’ve seen and own a laser pointer (all be it 10Mw) and am very impressed with what they can do, especially in dark skys. I know it’s no secret that they are being used as guiders but wanted to discuss their use to alleviate getting into uncomfortable positions as I have already mentioned.

Is it indeed much easier with a laser fitted & sighted to simply move your scope into position, and get reasonable accuracy without having to constantly get under your setup? Would be good just to flick on the finder when others ask "Where is it again!"

Some discussion on this would be very helpful. Example...Benefits/Battery life/Power Saving Techniques (expected time of use-reccomended time of use)/(why do alkaline seem to run better in mine that rechargeable?)/issues turning on & off units with only the push and hold button/mounting options/what size or powered units are good for what/Laws...ect...
Cheers
Dave

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

okay, to answer a few questions, you can purchase a laser pointer mount i think from either york or bintel for 20 - 30 bucks.

Why your alkaline makes your laser brighter, because they output more Voltage than rechargeables.! it depends on how crafty you are but there is a thread in the projects and articles page that deals with keeping your laser pointer on without holding it, but a bit of a quick think about it should see you with a operating solution!

Yes they are good but remember at star parties make sure nobody is imaging, you might just get a bit of cursing otherwise! and to keep them away from planes and what not (common sense)

[batema (Mark)]

I have a 30mW green laser and on some occasions while using the schools 12" Dob have hand held the laser and adjusted its direction so I can see the end in the finderscope and the keeping everything in the exact position(leaning my hand on the dob while holding the laser(could that method be anymore not exact)) rotate the dob to the position of the sky I want to locate something and almost always find what I want in the eyepiece. How long was that sentance? I find this paticularly useful for faint objects that do not show in the 9 x 50 view finder but are there in the eyepiece. eg galaxies. An actualt laser mount would be very useful for the dob or other non goto mounts but make sure no one is taking photos when doing this.

Mark

[Davekyn (David)]

Thanks guys,
can't stay long, have to get up in 6 hours...all good points. Thanks for the tips, I'll be sure to track that down Brendan. I'm a bit of a loaner, so wont have to worry about others taking shots & I'm pretty good at spotting things like plains and the like before they cross my path

Any others out there using a laser for a guide scope???

[turbo_pascale (Rob)]

I have a green laser on my mount, but rarely use it. I have my setup in a shed and permanently mounted, so once I'm aligned, unless something goes desperately wrong and I have to re-align, I never use it. Mainly, I use it if someone comes over and I give them a rough idea where we're pointing, then show them in the scope.

You could always buy a right angled finder scope, which I find far more useful. Any you don't need a restricted weapon's permit to legally use one!

https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Images/Stock/6877.jpg

Turbo

[Davekyn (David)]

Yea I guess,
I have never really been a fan of my right angle finder on my Dob, as my red dot one has been very acurate. However looking at my reasons as to why I thought about using a Laser in the first place...I could use correct image right angle finder in conjuction with a laser in order to achive the quick location of targets without ever having to get into those uncomfortable postition many of us with refractors find ourselves in.

I located a laser bracket at Bintell and will also chase up a smaller version of my Dob's right ange when I get more $ in my account, + will be sure to let you know if in fact it becomes a viable alternative with regards to ease of use and comfort.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Big tip.....don't purchase the laser pointer featured in last Nov's "Sky at Night" mag. It's rated at 5 megawatts (it's a typo on their part...they meant to say milliwatts). That'll 'cure" a lot of things, like...passing planes, recalcitrant and annoying neighbours, street lamps, car headlights, overflying satellites, pesky aliens and a raft of other things too numerous to mention.

On second thoughts....buy their whole production of laser pointers. We could all do with one like that!!!

[Lee022]

5 MegaWatts yeah probably need a substation just to run it.lol

[Davekyn (David)]

Apparantly somewhere or other, I heard somthing about using a ground based laser, to decintergrate all the space junk orbiting Earth. Maybe I heard wrong though.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by Davekyn

Apparantly somewhere or other, I heard something about using a ground based laser, to disintegrate all the space junk orbiting Earth. Maybe I heard wrong though.

It's possible....maybe they were testing the GBL by mounting it in a pointer and testing it out by selling it to the public

Seriously though, they could do it. You'd have to have a laser powerful enough to penetrate the atmosphere without diverging all over the place or being dispersed by water vapour/clouds, dust etc. The beam would have to be very strongly collimated.

[Davekyn (David)]

It was on some kind of Documentary and I also believe they mentioned it was a project that some Australians are involved in. I think they can already target objects as small as a soft ball, however need to further advance the tech before using the laser to burn into the objects.