Where to Mount a Telrad on a 10” Dob

I have a 10” Orion Dob and was wondering where to mount a Telrad. I first thought about making a bracket to hold the Telrad and then mounting it in the factory dovetail base that is used to hold the stock 9x50 finder. However, now I’m thinking about mounting the Telrad (with the sticky tape) next to the factory dovetail base so that I can use both the Telrad and the finder. Does it make sense to have both? Alternatively, I could remove the factory dovetail base and mount the Telrad in its place (top center of the OTA). Finally, should I mount the Telrad as close as possible to the front of the OTA? Any comments and / or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance and Aloha from Hawaii, Paul

>However, now I’m thinking about mounting the Telrad (with the sticky tape) next to the factory dovetail base so that I can use both the Telrad and the finder.
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Paul: That would be my suggestion. My 10 inch GSO DOB was setup like that when I bought it used and I have been very happy with. The combination of the Telrad and a magnifying finder is a powerful, it allows you great flexibility, particularly if are dealing with light pollution.

Jon

Try having your buddy hold the telrad to the tube while you look through the eyepiece, and then the telrad, and then the eyepiece, and the telrad, and so forth. Is it a comfortable transition. Just decide where you want it by what makes it easy for you to move from eyepiece to telrad.

I would try to keep both the telrad and the magnifying finder.

Alex

Hi Paul, here's where I put it on my 10 orion.

Bob

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Hello:
You should keep the finder scope with the telrad. I find having both of them to be very useful. I'd mount it as close to the front of the scope as possible, so that it's easy to look tnrough the telrad then the eyepiece without moving around a lot. Also, the closer to the front of the tube it is, the higher up it is and thus easier to look through. You may need to add some weight to the back of the scope as I did.

Aloha from the Big Island
Mike Connelley

The Telrad is very easy to align to your telescope so the easiest place to put it, is going to work out fine. Try the suggestion with the bungee cord, I think you will find that inside or outside of your existing finder the telrad will get the job done just fine. Congrats on the purchase, you are going to love it once you start using it.

Thanks for all the great responses. Just out of curiosity, what is the optimal viewing distance between your eye and the Telrad window? Thanks again, Paul

Here is where I mounted mine on the 10" XTI.

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