Philipdo

4 hours ago, Steve Ward said:

Baader film is perfectly fine on any kind of 'scope , just remember that the ND3.8 is for imaging only , ND5.0 for visual ... 😉

I think the OP was questioning if the 200 mm pre-made Baader filter in a holder would fit the diameter of the Skymax 180 OTA

1 hour ago, seven_legs said:

thanks for that, i was thinking about the Baader ASTF: AstroSolar Telescope Filter OD 5.0, i think 200mm OD Filter would be the right size, not sure.

great image by the way.

Thanks for the appreciation! I'm not quite sure this filter fits the SkyMax 180 tube. I made my own filter housing. If I were you I would ask Baader about its suitability for the scope.

I have a SkyMax 180 that I use frequently on the sun. Ik think it represents a sweet spot: Big enough to capture fine details in the sunspots and granulation and not to big to be hampered to much by mediocre seeing. Make sure to use the Baader solar film, not a glass filter that will strongly reduce resolution. You could use a full diameter glass filter only if its made of perfectly plane optical glass.but you don't want to know the price.... When you want to image make sure to obey the 5X rule: pixel size X 5 should approximate the focal ratio of the scope. In the case of the Skymax go for a camera with a pixel size of appr. 3 micrometer. 3 X 5 = 15 which accords to the f/D 15 focal ratio of the SkyMax 180. Personally I get quite satisfactory results with the ASI 462 MC (pixel size = 2.9 micrometer)

Philip

I covered my 180 MC with a layer of a Reflectix-like material, a thin camping mat ( dense foam backing with reflective layer on one side). since I do not like the shiny looks of this material, I've put a second layer on top, a black yoga mat. I left the primary mirror cell exposed since it is much thicker than the thin walled tube of the OTA and does not radiate heat as much. This took care of any potential heat plumes inside the scope. The dew shield is also in black foam and slides over the heating strap around the meniscus cell.

Philip

My pride and joy: Skymax 180 on a Losmandy G11 Gemini II.