does anyone here have a laser pointer for their scope? if so would a higher priced laser pointer say from Office Depot work just as well?

I don't see why not...

Chuck

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Chuck Reese
CDIP Certified: Nebula, Galaxy, Solar System, Stars & Clusters Imager
CDIP Mentor: Nebulae & Solar System Categories
For information on the Certified DSI Imager Program, see:
http://autostarsuite.net/forums/1427/ShowForum.aspx

If it's a green one. I don't think red laser beams are all that visible pointing into the sky. Get one with a stays on-stays off switch, not just momentary. I think many are momentary only. If you plan on using it in winter I'd recommend one that uses lithium batteries, alkalines don't last long in freezing temps.

If you know you're gonna use it a lot, and price isn't a concern, I'd get one from an astronomy supplier already mounted in adjustable rings. There are a couple out there but I don't remember who has them. Adapting any old random pointer into a collimatable finder beam can be a pain in the butt.

For portable operations a green laser finder is great for manual pointing, coarse alignment etc. but I've found with my permanent setup that I rarely use it anymore unless I totally lose alignment for some reason.

...........Mike

http://autostarsuite.net/photos/mike7mak/

LX200gps 7" Mak
Takahashi FS78
DSIpro, DSIpro2
41deg 50' N
73deg 44' W

well put, thanks Mike :)

If you get one, you should get a High Power Green Laser. I have a high quality one that I picked up from Thinkgeek.com. It is a lot more powerful than some of the ones I see at the local Star Parties. The reason I am pushing a more powerful one is that most of the cheap green lasers aren't much better than a cheap red laser. You can't see them past 20 feet. The more powerful one goes on for light years, or it seems. Not to mention the Wow factor for the people that are looking to see where you are pointing to. I use mine primarily at Star Parties here in Los Angeles at the Griffith Park Observatory.

Another thing to remember is that most lasers are rated for x amount of hours of operation. If you use it a lot then over time you may need to get a new one. But as was stated before, make sure you have spare batteries on hand in case you just happen to go battery dead. :)

I would agree if you need a laser to point out things for a group then higher power is a good idea. Mine is low power (don't remember the exact mwatts) and it's not easy to see unless you're standing right behind it. As a finder beam for a scope however I've found there's a bit of parallax (the apparent aim point shifts when you move side to side of the beam) and to precisely point at a star you need to sight down the beam anyway. So for that application low power is probably adequate and won't burn up expensive batteries.

...........Mike

http://autostarsuite.net/photos/mike7mak/

LX200gps 7" Mak
Takahashi FS78
DSIpro, DSIpro2
41deg 50' N
73deg 44' W

I use an 8mW pen-style pointer mounted on the 'scope using a bracket from Astro Engineering (www.astro-engineering.com) - look under Observing aids. 

The pen pointers are available by the bucketful on eBay.  Try to find one where you can change the batteries by undoing a small cap on the end.  That way you don't have to demount it (and lose alignment) to change batteries.

One note about use at low temperature.  The green laser diode that these pens use will stop working at temperatures less than about 5 deg C. This is due to the physics of diode-pumped solid-state lasers.  Below about 5 degrees, it stops being a laser and turns into a bright green LED. I've found mine works down about 2 deg C then gives up. 

Steve

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Steve Markham