jabeoo1

The Lunt 50 moonlite should be back on track once they have finished making the Nitecrawlers

There is a tiny chance I may catch one glimpse of this, it seems that we are near 100% cloud here in the south. This hobby does my head in sometimes

You will get the chance with the clear days! Always TV plossls these days in all my scopes!, I regularly view with the 25mm, 20mm, 15mm & 11mm. (So x14, x17.5, x23 & x31). I find this range covers it all from full disc detail all the way to more diluted scaled up active regions, prominences and filaments. The front etalon surface lens needs to be 180 - 270 degrees offset to the rest of my set up to really bring it all out. I have read much info on this since you pointed out the 'clocking' technique to me. Thanks ! I want to try and come up with an elegant solution to buffer the slop which occurs when backing off the filter. I have some ideas and if they ever come to a reality I will let you know. The other option is to get it machined from scratch but its going to be around £120. I am currently waiting for the CNC machines at Moonlite to become free from the current production run. I am really looking forward to ditching the stock focuser & getting some fine tuning in to eek it all out. The Borg option also looks sleek! I will get the details up ASAP....

After plenty of learning curves, lots of fiddling & questioning the capability of the filter, I have now proven to myself beyond doubt that its very very good indeed. Once you use the scope in DS mode you won't want to go back. Seeing conditions here on Tuesday were really excellent, the Sun has become a little livelier lately & features on the disc have sprung into action. The filters performance was finally allowed to really show off. The level of clarity was astonishing. This is truthfully a brilliant bit of kit & highly recommended !

The instructions that come with the filter are minimal, getting the most out of the unit will come with use but below are some tips that I wish I had known earlier: 1) Get the scope focused & tuned optimally in SS mode. 2) Screw the filter on ALL the way. 3) Attempt desirable view inside the 'sweet spot' & using the LS50C's dial obtain the brightest view. If view is still bland even when inside the so called sweet spot: 4) CAREFULLY undo the LS50C by 1/4 - 1/2 turn whilst observing the textural changes of the solar disc. This technique has proven worthwhile to me and was recommended by Lunt directly. It is not in the instructions. The front rejection filter is set into the unit at an angle so rotating this can change the view drastically. I may experiment with the orientation of the OTA in the clamshell so that when the LS50C reaches its fully screwed on position the orientation of the filter is at its optimal instead of backing it off. 5) When loosening the filter be sure to hold the unit at the base (Black). If held around the red casing it is able to unscrew from the base plates as it has its own separate thread. Not a good idea! 6) I think after using this unit for some time there would be no reason to set the scope up in single stack mode before the other steps, However I have found that step a logical part of the process. I hope this may be of help to anyone interested.

Achieving fine views in a solar scope seems like an easy enough task. After all you have the grand total of ONE control, or TWO in the case of double stacking, well THREE if you include the focuser... Easy then I suspect & 'instant gratification'. Its not really always that easy to say the least. When combining the variables (please do excuse the pun), it can feel like something is stacking up against you (I will get my coat). Once again I have just been cloud dodging before being denied another session of any length to climb the strange learning curve in Ha equipment. Its easy though isn't it ? In the daytime compared to the cold dark nights? At least you can see your equiptment and don't lose stuff and trip over plant pots or get freaked out by the sudden cat fight. Answer: No its not always that easy. So you have the focuser, 2 etalons & the unique 'sweet spot' to find with the current ever-changing weather. The instructions are so sparse that they require the user to think on their seat. You can start to worry a little as to whether your Ha gear acquisition was worth it, especially when that 'extra' item that screws on the front of your telescope is the same price as the telescope! Blimey I think, I could have got a 2nd scope & attempted to make a bracket for some single stack binoculars instead !!! (theres a thought ) Getting out that last extra 20% in performance is rarely proportional to cost & Its that extra final improvement in some ways can go least noticed, yet can remain most burdening on mind and wallet. It started feeling absurd when comparing the current view in the eyepiece with others from memory, but it was right there this morning. The view had little in comparison to the view I was used to in Single stack mode. A very smooth ball, finely detailed & beautifully contrasted. It was less 'noisy' looking than ever before, much more refined and much more detail was squeezed into the areas I was previously familiar with as voids of detail or contrast. Everything seemed perfectly still and crystal clear and all that was 3 minutes before the the first of the thickening layers of cloud smudged it away. This extra performance in this set up really does transform the capability of the scope. It transforms the views very significantly & much more than I expected. Only the other day I was mumbling to myself as I was being denied any improved views, that maybe this double stack thing is more geared towards astro photography than visual. They are precise tools, that require the user to enjoy the learning curve to maximise their performance with mostly patience and mild experimentation. With this in mind the rewards are quite remarkable. Now where is that sun?

please do use the thread to say what you have experienced........ I have had a very limited time with it, cloud dodging that is. I don't feel in a position right now to do a fully balanced review on it yet, as the time spent is too thin on the ground. All I can say so far is: The image is dimmer (expected!). What would be the brightest regions associated with the active regions are somewhat reduced in intensity with the DS on. The detail appears finer and more compact in any given area through the LS50C. When single stacked the brightest - darkest range (excluding black sun spots) is quite a wide, in DS mode the brightest - darkest seems a noticible 'narrower range'. I have had promising glimpses where the whole solar disc appears to become more 3-dimentional looking. The filaments appear to take on a different 3D form and 'hug' the curve of the suns surface. I am really trying to get used to it still to be honest, I find the tuning knob a bit weird as it functions to me at its most useful at the end of its travel (when the disc is at its brightest). I am unsure at this stage if the 'sweet spot' changes in any way when double stacked. The sun at the moment is quite uniform (other than the 3 or so active regions) so even though the texture of the general surface looks different in DS mode it remains difficult to judge or make comments on the overall clarity of the full disc. Please do let me know how you are getting on with it!

This sounds really promising Highburymark. Can't wait to hear more from you or anyone else for that matter. I am eager to get an early morning sunrise to myself soon with a coffee in hand. Let us hear more as you discover the benefits of this filter.

Excellent, I look forward to your report. Please do feel free to put it in this thread & don't worry about pre-empting my report, I will be interested to hear what you find as soon as you get the chance to use it (even if it is ahead of me). I look forward to comparing notes & discussing findings etc. Do you image and/or observe? I only observe by the way.

Happy to updating anyone following or interested in the thread. The original focuser has now been measured and scrutinised by Ron at Moonlite. The plans are ready to go so a precision focuser can be made to fit the Lunt 50. Once the original focuser hits the door matt I will crack on with using the LS50C and get some info out there on what its like. I have been missing the Ha viewing so much it makes me appreciate what I am missing, how did I ever not have a solar scope? I do wonder. Can't wait to see that fat old sun again.

Not a great deal cheaper with all the usual extras on top, being in stock was the clincher. I am patiently waiting for the focuser so I can get 1st light. The clouds here have been almost blanket so any real opportunity so far would have been scarce. I will try and write a thourough review comparing visual use in single and double stack mode as soon as I can. Also a moonlite should be big step up from the stock one. More to follow.

Anyone attending the Welsh Brecon October meeting will be more than welcome to plenty of viewing time.

The USA.

I am well excited having just got my dirty mitts on this beast. Reviews to follow but given the cloud cover here that may be some time. Also given my focuser is currently in the USA being measured up for a Moonlite upgrade we are going to be some time but a double review will be up here ASAP.

YES!

It is mate. It still performs the same as day 1 & after 15 months use I still have not found the need to check the collimation. i guess thats testament to the design. Note the truss rods on the sides are attached to the outer and inner parts of the corner hooking points, the front and rear trusses are attached on the same side of the hooking points.

Dob or Newt / same thing ??

Brilliant, I glanced the picture and thought those aren't Mak's, then i looked again and saw the baby shivering in the triple dob shadow.