V-Ger

Thanks for your reply Elp! I was thinking what you have already said in that a Refractor is possibly the only way to go! An 8 inch stepped down with the coronado setup might be feasible? Unless the central obstruction causes issues with a Etalon? V'ger

Hi all -my first article here so be gentle! 🙂 I've been looking at options outside of buying another scope (something like a Coronado pst/ Lunt etc) to view the sun in H-alpha, and would rather utilise what I already have! Currently I have a deforked meade etx125 and a C8 (ioptron cem26 mount). What are my options for doing this ,and has anyone here got the same quality images through a Mak/schmidt cas, as they would through a Refractor? I'm talking strictly visual use only here! I was looking at a erf (energy rejection filter) such as this... https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/instruments/telescopes/baader-planetarium/triband-sct-schmidt-cassegrain-based-multi-purpose-telescope-for-sun-and-deep-sky.html Which is way out of my budget!! coupled with possibly this... https://www.365astronomy.com/daystar-instruments-combo-quark-h-alpha-eyepiece-chromosphere-version or something to step down either scope with an off axis erf... https://www.robtics.nl/en/filters/5355-daystar-front-erf-filter-offaxis-63mm-for-c8.html or something machined to accept this combo with off axis? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/coronado-solar-telescopes/coronado-solarmax-iii-60mm-richview-solar-and-blocking-filter.html I've looked on CS site with no luck! Any input is appreciated!! Clear sky's to you all! V'ger (Mario) p,s it's easier but generally more costly (and less visible) to keep buying accessories for your scopes than buying more scopes when dealing with your other half! 😁

And another view...

Hi @RT65CB-SWL Thanks for the welcome! I was in the same boat as yourself in that I couldn’t find any suitable rings. This led to an eye watering wallet bashing thanks to some PrimaLuce 150mm rings that I got from 365 Astronomy. https://www.365astronomy.com/primaluce-lab-145mm-plus-tube-rings I measured the outside diameter of my ETX125 and got a measurement of 146mm OD. I thought there would be a little leeway so ordered the 145mm rings. Thanks to a website mixup, the owner (A Guy called Zoltan who was very helpful), called me to say that even though their website said the 145mm rings were in stock - they weren’t! Instead he recommended the 150mm rings which meant that I would had to lose 4mm somewhere! This turned out to be a good call. I used some strips of my dew shield which I cut to the same width as the rings. I then placed the strips on the top of the scope instead of all the way around, so the bottom of the scope rests on the ring felt. This provided a secure fit without any movement. I did begrudge paying £286 (yes you read that right) for some machined Aluminium ring but they are very good quality and there is very little options out there. I like the various mount options also. I do like the "Fast APO refractor look" that they provide! If you go the "ready made" route - try to get rings 2-4mm max larger that your scopes OD. It's a shame BCF Astro engineering no longer trade - they used to make loads of Accessories for the ETX range. Good quailty also! Apologies to the OP for straying off topic - If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have bothered to try to keep the ETX's original mount going. It would have saved me alot of money also. There are so many good options out there now. All the best!

Hi Sheffield Col, I just joined this forum so hello to all! I had the same problem and got a 2nd hand controller which didnt last long! As RT65CB-SWL said above - it is a good scope let down by a poor mount! In the end I bit the bullet and deforked it. Got myself a new visual back from https://wegatoptical.com/ in the US, and bought a iOptron cem26 mount. Telescope is now on a mount it should have had all along. Also the world of decent 2" SCT accessories becomes open to you. (I broke the Camera port on mine also). All the best