Baader Sky Surfer III Red Dot Finder # SSIII 2957300

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. The short base works best for large tubes. It includes two mounting slots (for screw mounting) and may also be attached with double sided foam tape (not included). 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.

Please note that this is a basic budget item. It is made of ABS plastic. The battery is held in place with a metal clip and there is no battery cover. The dot is more like a little asterisk (*) and not a sharp point. We open the seal on each one of these and inspect the item upon arrival to ensure that it is not DOA. For those wanting or expecting higher quality, please consider the Baader # SSV red dot finder instead.

Baader part number SSIII or 2957300.