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  #21  
Old 26-09-2010, 01:12 PM
sandusky (Des)
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yes bracket is still on tube
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  #22  
Old 26-09-2010, 01:56 PM
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Originally Posted by sandusky View Post
yes bracket is still on tube
That's good, it's simply a matter of finding the required finder then. What size finder does the scope use?
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  #23  
Old 26-09-2010, 02:29 PM
sandusky (Des)
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hi, bracket diameteris 30mm. when i measure length of tube it's 830mm appox distance between mirrors is 730mm , why would u call it 900 focal length. sorry if i sound stupid but i'm new to this game. thanks for your help. des.
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  #24  
Old 26-09-2010, 02:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandusky View Post
hi, bracket diameteris 30mm. when i measure length of tube it's 830mm appox distance between mirrors is 730mm , why would u call it 900 focal length. sorry if i sound stupid but i'm new to this game. thanks for your help. des.
Yep that is a 900m focal length. Sounds liek the finder would be either a 5x24 or 6x30, but I'm not familiar with the scope so not sure. One thing you could try is take the scope to Bintel and see if their 6x30 finders will fit.

When buying a star diagonal for my refractor, I took the scope in and they were happy to let me try the diagonal with my scope before I bought it.
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  #25  
Old 26-09-2010, 03:37 PM
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irwjager (Ivo)
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If you can afford/justify it, definitely get a (quality) replacement finder like pgc hunter suggests.

I still maintain the 40mm eyepiece at 22x could be a more cost effective/versatile alternative though. People use binoculars with higher magnifications than that, without finders.

I don't know how much you paid for your scope, but the price of a higher grade 5x24 replacement finder, which you don't typically re-use when you upgrade to a bigger scope, comes awfully close to the price of a new 114mm DSE no-name equivalent scope (CrazySales, DealsDirect, etc.).

If you ever want to upgrade to a better scope, you can still use the 40mm eyepiece. Note also that the difference in quality between the cheap Huygens design eyepieces that typically come with these scopes is most of the time very very bad (and usually not appropriate for the capabilities of the optics - too high magnification, just so they can claim '675x zoom !' on the box). If your eyepieces are labeled H or SR this is another very compelling reason to choose investing in an eyepiece, rather than a finder.

My educated guess is that the finder that's missing is one of those typical plastic 5x24 models, which, frankly, isn't that useful (I actually got two of these 'cheap' scopes with said finders - the poor optical quality and small aperture makes it kind of hard to find anything but the brightest stars). You would've probably been frustrated with the standard finder anyway.

That said, you're welcome to have one of my 5x24 finders (it's from a Celestron scope) - just send me a PM if you think you can use it.

Best,
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  #26  
Old 26-09-2010, 05:02 PM
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mswhin63 (Malcolm)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandusky View Post
hi, bracket diameteris 30mm. when i measure length of tube it's 830mm appox distance between mirrors is 730mm , why would u call it 900 focal length. sorry if i sound stupid but i'm new to this game. thanks for your help. des.
That is at least a better option, it is not barlowed. I must admit it is really hard to know what is the best finder and other things. It is much an individual choice.

For me considering back when i got my first one (SEBEN - Barlowed) I would have bought accessories that could be transferred to my next scope. So some of the items mention by Bojan is a good choice as they are lifetime products that can either be transferred or easily sold.

Good views.
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  #27  
Old 26-09-2010, 07:47 PM
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ZeroID (Brent)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandusky View Post
hi, bracket diameteris 30mm. when i measure length of tube it's 830mm appox distance between mirrors is 730mm , why would u call it 900 focal length. sorry if i sound stupid but i'm new to this game. thanks for your help. des.
Hi and welcome Des. You're where I was about 8 months ago with an dodgy DSE 114 f5 Newt and not much else. I bought a 20mm GSO Wideview ($49) a 12 mm Plossl ($29) a 2 x Barlow ($39) a red led finder ($39) and been enjoying ever since. Sure it's not the flashest, best scope in the world but if the mirror is reasonable and you can start to find your way around the sky like I am then go for it. Aperture fever comes later as I have found out. I only paid $50 for the scope and it cost me about $150 for the eyepieces etc. Haven't regretted it yet. In fact just starting to really enjoy it.

The 730mm between mirrors needs to be added to the distance from the diag to your eyepiece lens, about 170mm more obviously, because the light path has to take right turn so you can see it through the focusser.

A 20mm GSO will give you a magnification of 46x which in a good wideview is a nice usable size (imho) for scanning. Add the 2 x Barlow and you effectively have a 10 mm at 92 mag which will give you a dimmer but acceptable close up of the object. They are the combination I use most of the time and if you ugrade your scope later they are still quite useable.

If you've got a pair of binoculars to scan the skies before you hunt for them on the scope it is an immense help. You'll be surpised at what you can see and it helsp you get familiar with the recognisable groups.

Enjoy and learn.
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