It seems everyone offers some type of low-cost red dot finder these days. The relatively low cost and intuitive ease of locating objects make these finders the perfect companion to telescopes, large and small. Baader Planetarium has taken this basic concept another step forward. Finding objects in dim star fields or light polluted skies is now easier than ever. The Sky Surfer III offers several advantages over the typical low-cost red dot finders. The extra-large 30mm optical aperture, and improved optical quality delivers a much larger undistorted view and razor-sharp red dot. Unlike many red-dot finders, the Sky Surfer III incorporates optimized anti-reflective lens coatings which deliver proper locator dot brightness with virtually no image dimming. One other new feature you will really come to appreciate is the extra-long lens housing, which acts as a shield to effectively prevent dewing.
Mounting and adjustment of the Sky Surfer is simple. Elevation and Azimuth adjustment is accomplished by turning the two knurled adjustment knobs. The red locator dot intensity is adjusted by a knurled adjusting knob. Attachment to your telescope is also straightforward, with all necessary parts included. Simply attach a base to your telescope, slip on the finder, and tighten the two dovetail clamp screws. Three bases are included (see the Sky Surfer V image below). The short base works best for large tubes. It includes two mounting slots (for screw mounting) and may also be attached with commonly available double sided foam tape. The taller base fits smaller diameter tubes (as well as large tubes using the included spacer plate) and the slotted holes accommodate the factory hole pattern of popular SCTs. The third base fits the Vixen finder dovetail standard used on many import refractors. Each Sky Surfer includes a replaceable 3V lithium battery for extra long life.
Skysurfer III, Mod. 2016 with separated double length housing – to be used as for rough solar alignment.
The unit features a wealth of adapters to also mount onto tripod heads beside every spotting scope and onto every pair of binoculars with a dedicated bino-bridge-adapter. As of now, all scope-adapters included in the scope of supply of SkySurfer III are available also as separate products. Please note a detailed manual under the tab "Downloads". For use as shadow-tube, please note our safety instructions at www.astrosolar.com
SkySurfer III LED Red Dot- and Solarfinder
The the diverse adaptation possibilities, the large dew-cap and the additional function as solar finder, it will help to find your targets in the sky quickly with many telescopes or spotting scopes. The high-quality coating allows you to see also fainter star. The SkySurfer III can be mounted on a variety of devices. By loosening the two screws a) slightly, you can slide it onto the dovetail of the adapter you need. Then tighten the two screws by hand. You can now attach the adapter to the respective device.
Size (LxWxH) : 160 x 35 x 65 mm, Weight: 94 g.
