Astro-Tech Illuminated multiple reticle finder

$69.95

Availability: In stock

This Astro-Tech metal-body straight-through illuminated gunsight-type non-magnifying finder has four different reticle patterns, seven brightness levels, and a two-part mounting base for extra mounting flexibility . . .
Our Product #: ATF
Astro-Tech Product #: ATF
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Product Description

The Astro-Tech #ATF multiple reticle finder is a single-power illuminated multiple reticle red-dot finder for astronomy and daylight terrestrial use. The lightweight and compact Astro-Tech finder features a precision ground reflex lens viewing window with minimal parallax; four different reticle patterns; seven brightness levels; and a two-part mounting base for installing the finder on a variety of telescopes.

Any of four different reticle patterns can be selected by a lever at the rear of the finder. They include a single dot, such as that found in most traditional red dot finders; a plain crosshair; a circle with four short bars that extend out from the edges of the circle; and a dot within a circle.. The reticle patterns are projected on a multicoated optical glass viewing window that's roughly the proportions and shape (but not the actual size!) of a 16 x 9 HDTV screen. When the sky is viewed through the window, the red reticle appears to be superimposed on the sky or daytime landscape. You can choose the reticle pattern that best suits your viewing style and personal preferences. The actual projected reticles can be seen in the feature image below. A rubber cover is supplied to slip over the glass screen to protect its premium coatings when the scope is not in use.

The Astro-Tech finder is CNC-machined from solid aluminum for strength and durability, rather than being molded of fragile plastic, as are most red-dot finders. The finder is anodized a non-reflective matte black. The finder's matte black dovetail base is also CNC-machined from aluminum stock.

The supplied two-piece finder base can be used in either of two ways. The mounting stalk by itself is 13.5mm wide and will fit into the finder mounting bracket provided with most larger Astro-Tech and TMB refractors and into the Antares quick release finderscope bracket, as well as into most other brands of quick release bracket shoes.

If both pieces of the two-piece base are used, the curved base will mount on small Astro-Tech refractors, the TMB-80 refractor, and most William Optics and Stellarvue refractors (all using the 5mm mounting hardware supplied with the base). The underside of the mounting shoe is felt-lined to keep from scratching your telescope's finish.

The two-piece base can also be used on most catadioptric telescope rear cells (using the existing telescope trim hardware that seals the accessory mounting holes located at the 1 o'clock position on the telescope's rear cell). The sharper curvature of the base needed to fit smaller refractor bodies may leave a small cosmetic gap between the underside of the base and a larger catadioptric telescope body, but this will not affect the performance of the finder.

The two-piece finder base is also available separately (our part #ATFB), allowing you to install the Astro-Tech finder on two scopes without having to change the base between scopes. An optional finder base is also available (our part #ATFBV), that will let you install the Astro-Tech finder in a Vixen/Celestron/Orion-style finderscope mounting shoe.

Click-stop azimuth and altitude hex head adjustment bolts allow you to line up the finder with your main scope optics. The adjustments are very accurate, with each click stop equal to 1 arc minute of position change. The appropriate hex head wrenches are supplied for both clamping the finder to its base and making the altitude and azimuth adjustments.

There is a combined on-off switch and rotary brightness level control on top of the finder. The control provides seven click-stop brightness levels, allowing you to match the finder brightness to all lighting conditions and targets, from lining up on the Moon to the locating faint naked eye stars without having the finder brightness overpower the faintest stars.

The finder uses one user-replaceable 3 volt CR2032 lithium camera battery (supplied). Battery charge and battery life are not covered by the finder warranty. Replacement batteries are readily available at Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, camera stores, etc.

Tech Details

Weight 8 oz.
Warranty 1 year

Reviews

Review by:
It may be a bit bright at its lowest setting, but this finder is built like a tank. Very little plastic, very good quality. It's made to fit on gun, so it is not a cheaply made unit. A nice dust cover for the screen. It should work great on my Meade 8- and 12-inch scopes. And as always great service. (Posted on 1/27/2024)
Review by:
This finder enables me to quickly get even dimmer objects centered in my AT80EDT. It was spot on right out of the box. It works much better than a magnifying finder for me, especially since I wear trifocal glasses and have astigmatism. Astro Tech's workmanship and attention to detail really shine through, for example, the clear optical quality glass sighting window and the rubber cover. While I wish the lowest setting wasn't so bright, I was able to get the reticle on a Saturn dimmed by high thin clouds in morning twilight. I'm really glad I bought this finder, and give it my highest possible recommendation. (Posted on 6/2/2023)
Review by:
I bought this finder to supplement the 8X50 optical finder on my AT102ED. It is a decent little finder and it helps to get me into the ballpark rather quickly. It's construction is solid as only an Astro Tech product would be. The lowest setting is a bit bright but it doesn't bother me. The only thing I found out about this finder is that because it is designed for a rifle, the elevation and windage adjusting screws need to be turned in the opposite direction as to what the arrows say. Once dialed in, your good to go. I highly recommend it. (Posted on 6/1/2022)
Review by:
This is a rifle sight complete with a weaver rail plate. It has an adapter to make it fit in a telescope dovetail shoe. Good build quality, and since it's a rifle sight, it will hold its zero and can be used on rifles you may also own.

The only big con: even the lowest setting is too bright for nighttime use and overwhelms even the brightest stars. A great product enhancement would be to let it dim way down like a tetrad or to make it blink. (Posted on 5/17/2021)
Review by:
I bought this to supplement the 6x30 finder that came on my Vixen 90mm refractor and I'm very happy. It's made of well-finished metal - very little plastic on this thing. I did have some problem with wobble at first, but a bit of foam double-stick tape before tightening it in fixed that! Would definitely recommend. (Posted on 9/9/2019)
Review by:
I replaced my spotting scope with this retical and I can tell you it has made star alignment SO much easier. I would highly recommend this to anyone. I'm using it with my Celestron Edge HD 1100. (Posted on 1/15/2019)
Review by:
Love it! Works great for go to mount. Well built! (Posted on 12/31/2018)
Review by:
This finder is easy to mount and use with my AT10RCT. It would benefit from a brightness control and an automatic off to save the battery. Good value. (Posted on 12/26/2018)
Review by:
Only complaint is no auto-shutoff, so I blew through a battery one night that I forgot to turn it off. For the person who complained of a loose fit on Orion scopes, you need the optional finder base that is listed in the description. (Posted on 12/10/2018)
Review by:
Very solid metal construction, and dials turn with precision and click into tight detents. Not at all plasticky like other RDF's I've used. However....... the solid metal construction has the downside that it adds considerable mass, especially to a smaller telescope setup. Also, and this is my biggest beef, the minimum setting of the LED is so bright, especially with dark adapted eyes, that it is difficult to use in dim star fields. I like this thing, but I don't love it. (Posted on 11/26/2018)
Review by:
I chose this RDF for my AT115EDT on UniStar Deluxe/Nexus DSC mount and couldn't be more satisfied unless it could make me a midnight cup of coffee. Many nights I don't even turn the electronic DSC's on and just point and observe via the RDF. I appreciate the metal construction and ease of use. Recommended easily! (Posted on 10/30/2018)
Review by:
I put this on my 80mm short tube apo refractor. When attaching it to the base, there is one thumb screw, and it's hard to get a truly stable fit between the baseplate and the metal platform that holds the red-dot finder. It has some give, even with that screw tightened as far as it will go, so it can wobble and then you loose good alignment with your scope. You can adjust the reddot up and down, and left and right, but doing that is almost pointless with that wobble. Then another huge issue is that the red-dot is way too bright on even the lowest setting, so you have to kind of guess because once you get the target close enough to the reddot, you lose the target.

It'll get the job done if you have a wide-field scope so that all you really need is to be in the general area, but it is almost unusable on something like a Mak-Cas. I would not recommend this to anyone. (Posted on 10/14/2018)
Review by:
Good simple basic illuminated finderscope. Works well and well built. (Posted on 10/8/2018)
Review by:
This is a first-rate finder! Not to be confused with the plastic finders we have all seen, this is a machined metal finder with quality switches and mount. The sighting window actually looks to be optical glass with anti-reflective coatings...and a protective rubber cover. Nice touch.

The ability to select from various finder projections (simple dot, cross hair, circle) is very nice. Bright enough to use in daylight.

Recommended. Buy with confidence. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
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