C6rrules

Well it’s got foibles . There’s the unlovable sliding focuser tube held by two plastic screws. Hmm takes a bit of getting used to . The helical focuser is ok , but seems to be 1:20. 
Arrived in a delicious black case , going to be fun taking that though the airport.

The etalon adjustment is dead easy going from zero to a light touch of pressure as the plates are moved . Don’t overdo it . I marked a small pencil line of excellent position . 

The supplied 18mm Coronado ep gives a stunning view . At higher mags there is unexpected softness to the views . There is also a band of excellence which without solar tracking crosses the disc.
After closing the aperture, err , BLOWN away . 
I was for years using a 35mm Lunt and loved the views . But , here’s the bang for bucks ! 
Compare looking at a tennis ball with a football . With a 13mm ep , the view fills the field with dark filaments , the chromospheric net , bright spots and oh those proms ! That’s what you pay for !

I’m just and observer , the dark art is beyond me . If you love solar and a simple manual tuning , go Solarmax!

clearer skies ! Nick

Looking for a cheap cover for mounts that could double us in use . 
Found a chiminea cover for £8. Just fits the mount and omg . 
Stuck my head and shoulders in it and an essential for solar observing . Didn’t realise it was silvered inside !

Should be advertised as a mount : solar observer shroud !

Clear skies ! Nick

Yep , I use a polarising filter and marked the sweet spot for those contrasting views. 
it certainly gets very addictive, for our health , I’d suggest a long peek every so often!

clear blue skies ! Nick

My Solarmax 60 ii has various quirks . Let’s no go to the plastic bolts holding the “good game “sliding focuser.

Amongst which is the comment that visually , the whole surface is not showing detail .

With the etalon set to prom and filament detail , turning off tracking allows a narrow band of “excellence “ to glide across . 
Hmm a bit challenging if you’re sketching !

I then experimented with aperture reduction . 

Firstly with a bit of card .

I then measured the diameter of the ota . The blue plastic top of Cadbury’s drinking chocolate is about right size . 
Three lids  later (!) just cutting around a thin line on the underneath , I found the exact fit .

About 2/3 circle was drawn on the lid and a careful cutting out ( old scalpel !) carried out . 

Pushing on the lid and observing:

Err wow ! One heck of a load of contrast and the whole disc detailed with tracking on . 

Have a go ! I’m a great believer in frac aperture !  Oh , many hot chocolates later !  
 

Clearer ( and blooming drier ) skies ! 
Nick.

Really dramatic , Nick 

Dramatic in white light and Ha action ! 
Clear skies , Nick

Last few days have given superb white light views.some efforts to show the amazing changes from 1st May -5thclear skies ! Nick

Here’s Carrington’s flare sketch , so you know what to look out for , Nick 

Dodged clouds for an hour to get this , just gone bananas ! 
Nick

Great report . Showed our son the delights of spring . M44 got half of it in a 40 mm (x25) ep. La Superba was cracking ( dooh).don’t get hung up about Tegmine , it can be fickle with seeing . Even moving it around the fov might split the peanut .

Carry on that chap ! 
clear skies ! Nick

Still going great guns ! Clearer skies ! Nick 

How is the double stack visually ?

White light sol gave amazing views of AR 3615. Just masses of spots and pores . Little in Ha under fleeing clouds ! 
Clearer skies !

Nick

Could be , from what I gather , flares show as white on Ha.
Just reminded me of iron filing lines produced by a magnet !

clear skies ! Nick

Well I’ve been mulling over this for some days . I’ve trawled through some complex papers on umbrae .
 

There were exceptional seeing conditions and at x100 the view was perfection .that allowed me to sit and draw . The fine umbrella filaments were like a set of eyelashes , which I’ve never seen standing alone .

I can only assume that magnetic fields have caused linear cooler lines . Quite magical .

Any thoughts ? Nick.

Using fracs for more than a few years , I’ve never come across a used one that looked smudged or cloudy .

There’s always the enthusiastic cleaner who can leave a flint looking like Brillo .

There’s also the fungi growers , pernicious little beasts with their coating eating acids. 

looks like the securing ring has been graunched on and off . 

It’s a shame , I’ve a 90M and a 102SP , both punch well above their aperture.

send it back 

Nick

Superb pictures ! 
Nick

Blooming awful pics ! Shaking phone !
 

By eye there were just lines of sharp eyelashes ! Some days white light rules !

clear skies ! Nick 

Some wonderful detail and what a huge collection of spots , umbrae and penumbrae. The edges are almost eyelash like !

Just a Herschel wedge and an Altair solar contrast booster . 

Wonderful to sit and watch . At one stage it looked like a fish , ending up in a fountain of plasma . Lots heading off into space . 
Clear skies ! Nick

On going and changing rapidly !Enjoy ! Nick

Moved in September 

Loads of security and house lights here , folk don’t use curtains or blinds . Think they’re scared of the dark . A few well placed throws on washing line poles and almost there !

Advancing in age , I took a punt on an eq3-2 and SW 120 achro on fleabay for £150. Guy lived right behind the rail station in Derbados . The north leg faced south and the alt was set at 40 degrees . There were 3 faint marks on the dovetail. Receipt said 4 years old . 

The objective ring was over tight . I like a point of doublet rattle !

Can’t do better than add my notebook .Very surprised at the views , especially closing down the aperture .

Kicked off with the double cluster . Pleased to see two clusters of coloured marbles !

Theta Aurigae is a good  tester, giving marbles with closing the aperture. Jupiter looked stunning , but lost seeing as it crossed above the town. Bode’s showed up as did as setting M31.The early ISS pass and a low pass later added to the evening . 

Very surprised how easily zeta Cancri split at x200. Some struggle with the 102.

A great acro, fitted her with a dual focuser , dew strip and Rigel finder. Not too heavy and enough light grasp .

Clear skies ! Nick .

Wow ! Such an overwhelming welcome . Tech has gone haywire this end ! Senior moments include , forgetting passwords and accounts and the unmistakable fight between old man and tech. 
all has not been lost as observing with the fracs has continued. Apart from the endless cloudy nights !

I did a talk for groups of primary kids at the club . Quite amazed , first question “do you think that we exploited space ?”  
 

Here we go ! Whole multiverse to explore ! Plenty intelligent life here !

Nick

Here’s a little gem. I had one a few years back , solar minimum was coming . I sold it to Peter at Todmorden ( a dream visit) . Just picked up another which shows up the current hectic activity.

It’s 35mm at 400mm ota. 25mm gives the whole disc. I use a single polarising filter which gives better contrast . There’s a bit of refocus between the disc and proms . Granulation , filaments and spots show up well . A 15mm tv plossl gives great views . 
it’s ideal for grab and go as it requires no power and there’s a wee wheel for tuning up front , easy . 
I’m not into photos , but I took this through the same set up a few years back . In the meantime back to the drawing board .

Well worth looking out for , as are clear skies ! cotterless45 Nick.

Best advice please , she’s f4 , not a drastic problem for deep sky . I know that OO Newts can be odd sometimes . My old 200 f6 would focus with a 13mm Nagler unless it was well up the focuser . Same oddity with binoviewers.

Looking at coma , any advice would be great , 

clear skies, Nick aka( cotterless45)