Diagonal on finder scope

[Historyman]

The diagonal on the ep on my Skywatcher Skytravel 102 means that my poor old bones do not have to bend in awful places. But they do have bend in that way when looking through the straight through finder scope. Can a diagonal be fitted to a finder scope, and if so, what is a good/the best one and how does it fit?

Mike

[madMARTINmarsh]

I asked the same question, apparently it is not possible to attach a right angle adaptor but you can but finder scopes with right angle eye holes.

[bladekeeper]

The main issue with connecting a diagonal to a straight-through finder scope is the focal length of the straight-through finder. You've got too much length present to bring the eyepiece end to focus.

You can get around this by sawing off a portion of the tube to account for the length of the light path in the diagonal, but then you have to re-thread the tube or determine other means to attach the diagonal.

It can be done by the intrepid amongst us, or by those with the proper tools and skillset. Most of us find it an easier undertaking to simply purchase a Right Angle Correct Image (RACI) finder scope.

This one ought to do nicely: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finder ... scope.html

[Ozypic]

Yes I feel your pain. Wet knees or rolling around on the ground is no fun thats for sure. I also tried to avoid the cost of one. I bought the one with the illuminated cross hairs and it is quiet good, but the feild of view isn't as good as the red dot finder. You might just have to put it out there ..... it's dads day soon or a birthday perhaps ... even xmas isn't that far off . Good luck . Phill

[pakarinen]

I'd suggest a RACI. Then not only do you not have to perform any physical contortions, you don't have to do any mental ones either. (Well unless you're using flippy-floppy finder charts...)

[BamaDon]

I've added a green laser pointer onto my scope.

It is intended as a rifle scope. I purchased a rail at a sporting goods store, fitted it to the scope, then put the laser on that.

Usually you can use either a switch on the back of the laser, or a switch at the end of a coiled wire, allowing you to put the switch anywhere you like.

Then when you turn the laser on, you can quickly center a bright star in your finder. Then use your RACI to star hop.

NO BENDING OVER!!! At least for my 12.5" dob.

[Thefatkitty]

Hi Mike,

It can be done for sure, though most would just find another solution. Still, I had a few diagonals from .965" fittings, and a few straight-through finderscopes. With a bit of creativity, I now have 3 RA finderscopes for less than the price of one.
Granted, they are all only 6X30, but for me they work just fine.

This is the basics of it. You will have to saw off part of the finderscope after first finding out the length it needs to be. I take it apart, put the objective on a ruler with the diagonal, use the front part of the finderscope (the piece with the crosshairs) and adjust the objective and diagonal until I get focus. I take the measurement between the two and cut to that. When cutting the finderscope, I recommend you adjust the objective at the front so that it is in the middle; ie the threaded part. This way you have forwards and back travel to make the final adjustments.
You might need some shims to make it all fit. Any plastic container will do; you just have to find one with the right thickness. I have yet to glue any of them together; they all have a tight fit, plus I can swivel the diagonal for comfort. In three years, not one of them has ever fallen apart

For cutting the focuser, I highly recommend using a metal hacksaw with a fine blade (aluminum) and a hose clamp to keep thing straight while cutting. That might have to be turned once or twice during cutting.

Pictures are worth a billion of my words

foc1.png

foc2.png

Image2.jpg

Image3.jpg

Image4.jpg

foc3.png

Hope this helps; though again, most people would find another solution. I'm just too much into home-made...

Best of luck and all the best,