Fixing a brand new, multiple reticle finder

The patience of amateur astronomers amazes me. It seems to me they put up with a lot of so-so gear from manufacturers and they're continuously coming up with fixes for things that never should have been sold the way they were.

A case in point is a classy-looking - and expensive - multiple reticle finder I bought recently. I suspect this thing is really made for the gun market as a sight and is intended, therefore, to be used in daylight. But this makes it much too bright for practical astronomical use. I didn't know how to fix this, so I went on the Cloudy Nights forum, asked, and in just a few hours had a wonderful and effective solution from another amateur. I'm posting the exchange here, from Cloudy Nights, or you can read it at their site where you'll also find a helpful picture.

My post :

For the record, I love my Astro_Tech 66 and my Astro-Tech Voyager, but my love affair with the Astro-Tech multiple reticle finder is only skin deep - it looks nice on the AT66, but it seems like it was designed for day time use. It is simply incredibly bright - at least mine is - even at the lowest setting.And this is a serious drawback. It absolutely overwhelms all but the brightest targets, making them difficult or impossible to see.

Anyone else bothered by this? Anyone know any way to tone it down? As far as I'm concerned the dimmest setting would be the brightest I would ever use and that only in twilight.

For the record, I find this little unit has several highly-touted features that I could care less about - like the multiple reticles. Yes, they're there - but a single red dot works fine for me and I can't see where the reticles add any thing special? A Telrad this ain't. And I don't like having to use an Allen wrench to line it up with your scope. And every time I go to turn it on I end up loosening the battery cap which is essentially part of the same knob. In fact, I don't find that knob easy to use and I found the setting for various reticles awfully stiff - but then,as I said, I don't care about these.

But all of this can be forgiven. It's the right size for the AT66. It looks spiffy. And it's easy to look through - but it is just too darned bright. Maybe I could sneak in a less powerful battery?

The key response:

My multiple pattern red dot finder is also too bright for use at night time. Here is how I fix mine. With a small screw driver I removed the cover on top of the LED housing and insert a small piece of exposed black and white film in front of the plastic window to cut down the intensity of the LED. It is of the correct brightness now.

K W TONG

My reaction:

errific suggestion. I'm off to do it now! Ehhhh . . . what's "film." Just kidding - thanks, really. And thanks for the picture.

Wow! Hey, K. W. Tong - it works! You just turned a pretty expensive - and virtually useless - device into something that works as advertised!! It took me about half an hour to find some old 35mm film, find the screws that hold the housing on, take it off and then . . .

1. I wasn't sure where you meant to put the film, but I cut a long, thin strip that goes behind the vertical window. (I should mention - this whole operation is definitely a bright light, tweezer, and magnifying glass procedure for me. And I worked over a paper plate to catch and keep the screws as they came out.)

2. I was careful to make the strip the right length so the housing holds it in place.

3. I tried one strip and it was too dark. Under simulated dark-sky conditions I could not see the reticle at all until I got to click 4. My assumption is that uses more power, and besides, it doesn't give me the range of choices.

4. The next strip I put in was too light, so I choose a kind of milky, inbetween one. Ahhh. . . the Goldilocks solution! Looks perfect for a dark sky at the first setting - but even in daylight on setting 7 I can still see the reticle.

5. Bonus 1 - I don't think I made the strip quite wide enough, but this is a help. As you move your head into position you first pick up the reticle at full brightness - makes it easy to know you're on the right track. Then when you get your head lined up in the right position, the film dims the reticle to a usable level.

6. Bonus 2 - I think I'm now going to appreciate the choice of reticles, though I need to try this under the stars, of course. But get these things dim enough and things like the circle-dot pattern may actually be useful.

Thanks again.

Hint to retailers: Fix this sucker, advertise it as fixed, and you'll have an edge. I can't imagine anyone wanting to use it this bright. Even with a Mag 1 target mine was difficult to be precise - I guess it was acceptable for "go to" folks trying to find two alignment stars - but for push-to it just doesn't cut it. And even when doing a two-star, I'd prefer it be dimmer.

It's great we have the Internet to solve problems this way - but we really should hold the manufacturer's collective toes to the fire more.