Celestron Illuminated RACI Finder Scope

2024-09-17T14:20:20

I would highly recommend this product. The finder scopes which come with most new Celestron telescopes are the simple red dot finder type and difficult to use with a Cassegrain scope without standing on your head. I would have rated the overall experience better if they had shipped the correct item. Unfortunately I received a very nice telescope bag rather than the finder scope. They are working on correcting the mistake.

BRUCE M.

2024-04-23T17:36:16

For me this was a must have. Added it to the 9.25 and my life got easier. Great craftsmanship and optics! Illuminated works great as well as the focus and ease of pointing. No more stooping etc. at times I enjoy the views through this as much as the main scope.

Patrick V.

2020-03-24T17:43:46

I have not installed it yet, as my CPC 800 Deluxe HD has not been ordered yet. I have, however, viewed through it and it is quite remarkable. The variable intensity reticle is a plus. I'm sure it will be a great addition to the scope.

Bradford I.

2019-07-24T09:25:08

My rating is low due to the lack of instructions of the Celestron® Illuminated RACI Finder Scope. Also, NO Technical Support From Celestron®. Not even how to install the three LR1130 batteries in the illumination unit. It took several tries to get the unit to light up. It seems to have good quality and well built. Clear and sharp optics.

William Z.

2018-05-16T04:12:23

This RACI makes finding stars much faster and easier. Very adjustable and stable.The unit is well made with all of the parts fitting together with good tolerances. built in focus adjustment is on the eyepiece. Much better than my "red dot" finder which covers the star I'm using. I don't get many days to use my Nexstar 8SE and this speeds up alignment. I would have given 5 stars but it didn't come with instructions.

Charles S.

2018-02-01T08:34:45

I really like the metal construction. The 90° eyepiece makes it a lot easier for me to find what I want.

William K.

2016-09-21T00:34:44

As Angela B noted, the illuminated reticle is either off, or too bright. I also found a manufacturing defect, and don't know if it is just the one I got or not. I bought it with a new C 9.25 inch SCT on Advanced VX mount a month ago. I never could get the collimation right; a star would stay about 15% off to one side of enter when I used the two regular screws. I tried loosening the two screws that hold the base to the scope and twisting it. That 15% off was the best I could get. The only way I could get a star near-center was to leave the two adjusting screws loose; not a good option. After a few days messing with it, I found a temporary solution. I cut off a piece of a SCUBA-spare rubber strap about 15x15mm, and stuck it between the "fixed" screw and the finder, With that, I was able to center a star in both the main and finder, with the other two screws tight. I consider this a temporary fix. A copy of this goes to Celestron, and I expect them to fix the problem before my warranty runs out in one year 11 months. BTW, I'm no newbie; I bought a Celestron 8 in 1975. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in ourselves, but in Celestron's stars". - Shakspeare, paraphrased.

JOSEF P.

2016-05-14T12:44:21

I bought this for use on my C11Edge, mainly for the convenience of the right angle feature, and the illuminated reticle. Several negatives: It fits only the particular finder mount supplied on larger Celestron SCTs. The diagonal uses two hard to operate screws for locking in position, which are too easily confused with the three screws used to collimate the scope. The diagonal can easily fall out of the tube if one loosens the screws too much. And the illuminating light seems to have only one level - very bright. Too bright. I much prefer the Orion/Zhumell/Synta 8x50 RACI finder on my old 10" Dob.

ANGELA B.

2016-04-28T15:59:12

Nice finish and workmanship especially for the price, but no instructions for installation or use; at all. I've been tinkering with telescopes for years and figured things out easily enough. For less experienced users the lack of instructions could be a hassle.

MIKE F.

2014-04-29T21:00:00

Couldn´t figure out how to focus the main optics. No manual here to help, either. Another user taught me how to focus: you have to hold the front lens cover and unlock the very, very, very tight knurled locknut. Then it was a piece of cake. After focusing, it gives very sharp images. It has a decent field of view and good quality images. One minus side is that there´s almost no extension over the lenses, so lot´s of stray lights enter the main optics. I´ll use a cardboard tube to make an appropriate shield. You´ll also need an allen (internal hex) key to adjust the aim once or twice. Very nice and quick to release dovetail base. All in all, a fine product, with no instructions. Hence the four instead of five stars.

att F.

2013-08-12T21:00:00

This thing can sometimes give me better images than my C8 telescope! It was fairly easy to install, the only hard part was figuring out how to get the thing to stay in place. Also, one of the adjustment screws cannot be turned by hand. Otherwise I'd give it 5 stars. The illuminated reticle is FANTASTIC. It's one of those things where you wonder how did you live without it.

JUAN J.

2013-06-18T21:00:00

Bought this for my Celestron Nexstar 8SE and received it today. It comes complete with mount, batteries, no instructions or mounting screws. It is a 9x50 finder in case anyone wanted to know. It is quite well built and heavy. It has for me a heavy mount, not plastic but metal. The cross hair lighting is controlled with a potentiometer, not a step type switch. Mounts fairly easy on the 8SE tube. Only issue was mounting it with the Celestron mount for the camera. The camera mount is plastic and I had to grind off some of the plastic to install both the finder and the camera mount at the same time. After a little work they go together just fine. I do not think the weight carrying ability of the camera mount was compromised. Visually it makes the 8SE look like a real scope unlike the cheap finder it comes with, which was very awkward for me to use. I am looking forward to using this finder for a long time. Adorama's price and delivery, as usual, was excellent. Hope this answers some of the questions as the advertising for this is extremely limited!

Just R.