Highburymark

Interesting comparison from Dave. The other thing worth mentioning is that I remember the Pentax zoom being considerably more expensive than it is right now. If you don't mind the weight and fov, it's clearly a nifty option.

2 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Sadly ive no XW's in my possession currently. Im really enjoying some of the simpler, smaller gems that are floating about. When i bought my Tak i sold all my Televue eyepieces. The XW's were my most used eyepieces, so i kept hold of them as they were purer than any of the Televues, and more comfortable to use. One evening i was visiting a friend with my Tak in hand, but id only taken my binoviewer, as we were suposed to be observing the moon and planets. As it happened, we had opportunity to do some shallow sky observing, but as I had no low power eyepieces with me, my friend loaned me a Meade plossl ( I think it was 26mm but can't be certain). I was appalled that he'd even offered the Meade eyepiece to me and complained loudly at the insult. He laught as he knew my views about Meade in general. However, the eyepiece was a real gem, showing a clarity and peppered stardust quality I hadn't seen for a very long time. It was only a 52° apparent field but its real field was still large enough to frame the double cluster with plenty of room to spare. I hate to admit it, but that cheap little Meade plossl thrilled me so much that I decided to go retro and use simpler eyepieces (not Meade) to see if they meet my needs. So far so good! ?

Until 2013 my eyepiece case consisted only of Meade plossls. Used with a much loved 4" Mak, they were superb. It was only when I bought a solar ha telescope that TeleVue plossls showed a distinct improvement. Sadly I lost that collection of Meade plossls - still miss them. Sorry for derailing thread - but Mike's words struck a chord

34 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

I did of course mean Nagler zoom LOL.

I really hated Delos  (and Ethos) on the moon as they had to my eyes at least too much lateral chromatic aberration.  Not so with Delites (or Plossls / Panoptics).

Quite like 'Mahler zoom'! 

11 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

Delites are awesome. That said a move from a Mahler zoom 3-6mm  to equivalent Delites would be expensive!

There's a purity on the moon in particular I find Shane. I wonder if the coatings are any different to Delos?

Much as I was hoping for a couple of pairs of socks, these two beauties were a very nice birthday present today ?

Have found Delites stunning on moon and planets - these will offer 185x and 247x in Tak 100, or up to 166x in Equinox 80 for travel - and maybe a bit of white light solar. Completes move from heavier EPs to a single case of lightweights. And sky looks clear tonight!

44 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Glad you're enjoying you LS60DS Mark I've had mine since they first came out and always been pleased with the views.

My tuner is also screwed right in nearly.

Tried bino viewers but can't get on with them, I think it's my eyes.

On the O ring subject they're probably imperial size being made in the USA.

Dave

Thanks Dave - good to know they are as enduring as they are well built - how long is it since they came out? 10 years?

After 12 different sessions with this telescope, some conclusions:

- From this experience, it is possible to have disappointing single stack performance, yet excellent views double stacked. I only presume that this is because my external and internal etalons are very well matched. 

- With my previous Lunt, the tuning of the external DS filter improved definition and sharpness of filaments and surface features, but on this scope, it has transformed them. Getting the tuning right on the external unit has been the single biggest contributor to the improvements I've enjoyed over the past couple of months. 

- Having to screw the pressure tuner all the way in is not ideal, but I'm used to it now. The main thing is I'm able to go through the bandwidths - from white light to proms and surface detail. I do wonder, though, if some tuners fail to deliver sufficient pressure to see the full range of solar features. I don't think the new o-rings, by the way, have made any difference to pressure levels with this scope. 

- The (old model Newtonian) Baader Steeltrack focuser is a great upgrade for anyone who intends to image or binoview with the LS60. The stock Crayford is ok, but not robust enough to carry heavy loads.

- I've been so impressed with how much magnification this scope can take. Enjoying great views at 77x cyclops with Pentax XF zoom, and slightly higher with binoviewer. 

Finally, I hope this thread may be of interest to others considering a LS60. I'm very happy with mine.

18 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

Either that or a shorter Fl scope?

I've got my eye on a sw 130p/650...

Like your thinking - instead of buying more eyepieces, just buy new telescopes to fill in the gaps.?

2 hours ago, John said:

Ain't that the truth !

I have one empty eyepiece case at the moment - it's whispering "fill me, fill me" from the corner of the dining room.

Maybe time to try binoviewing for the fourth/fifth/sixth time John? Otherwise how are you going to fill the other EP case? You can't just leave it there empty ?

5 hours ago, Floater said:

Solar binoviewing going well enough, Mark, thanks. And I’m glad you’re enjoying it, too.

I decided against replacing my Moonlite focuser and took the route of using longer EPs to help manage the magnification. I also picked up one of the WO 2x nosepieces which were on offer from Astroboot. That was a good purchase, I think.

I’m using TV 25mm plossls, mostly. I found the cheap 30mm plossls are usable - once I discovered where to put my head! The eye relief is enormous and I have to float above them.

Altogether happy enough but I would still put myself in the ‘learning’ category ... ?? 

Glad to hear it, and agree about the learning curve. I had to return the first Steeltrack focuser, but the new one is working very well. Maybe not quite as well engineered as the Moonlite. I'm using 15mm and 20mm TV plossls and 25mm Fujiyama orthos - similar eye relief challenges but the views are stunning

5 hours ago, Doc said:

I  bought it many years ago from e-bay, it was sold as a case to hold a record player deck/DJ equipment.

Nice - though dangerously large for us eyepiece addicts. 

On 16/11/2017 at 14:41, Doc said:

Here is mine, it consists of the entire Delos range and of course the 31mm T5. 

 

 

Nice big case Doc - where did it come from?

On 12/09/2017 at 21:07, Floater said:

Looking good, Mark. I'd be very interested to hear about your binoviewing experience with the new set-up. I'm currently battling with my Lunt 60 and WO Optics BVs. I'm strongly attracted to the idea of binoviewing and spurred on by those who rave about it. But focus is an issue (2x Barlow or PowerMate only), balance can be challenging and trying to find EPs which don't produce unmanageable magnifications is ongoing. ? (Bought a couple of cheap 30mm Plossls but a complete waste of time!)

I'm also aware that some folks say they just don't get on with binoviewers. I'm trying to stay out of that group ... ??

Just wondering how you're getting on with solar binoviewing Floater? I've found the LS60/Steeltrack focuser/WO binoviewer with 1.6x Barlow combination to work very well at usable magnifications.

There's a new Baader binoviewer coming in the spring - sounds like it will be a premium product but half the price of the MkV. My plan was save some pennies for that but so enjoying the WO that may just hold on to this one.

On 11/11/2017 at 05:04, Davenn said:

Hi Paul

I see it was the 20th Oct when you posted. I wonder if you have made a decision ?

I agree with the recommendations of the other responders. As I was in the same situation as you back in September ... which way do I go, PST or LUNT ?

I finally decided on the LUNT and purchased the 60THA with a B1200 (12mm) blocking filter.  I initially tried it with the B600 (6mm) and was a little disappointed

with the view ( small image size). The shop has a B1200 sitting on the shelf and so we tried that and it was a doubling in size of the solar disk image .... so much easier on the eyes !!

There isn't going to be a lot of difference between the 50mm and 60mm aperture of the scope, so if you cannot afford the 60, then go with the 50mm.

But the Blocking filter size IS going to make a huge difference visually and I would highly recommend it to you

 

I also bought the Lunt 7 - 21.5mm zoom eyepiece, and in hindsight, that was a wise decision at the time, instead of just using one of my fixed focal length

eyepieces I already had at home.

 

 

Regards

Dave

 

Just to be clear, the blocking filter size does not change the magnification of the telescope. It affects the field of view. Larger blocking filters show more sky around the solar disc and are useful for imaging and binoviewers. But agree that wider blocking filters do make observing more comfortable. I used to have a 4cm bf and ergonomically it wasn't the easiest set up for long observing sessions

Just a quick update on progress - which because of weather and work has been slow. Attached pic shows the two o-ring sizes I bought - with 4mm and 5mm cross sections. The 5mm one is too big for the LS60 pressure tuner - impossible to reattach the piston . The 4mm is very close - if not identical to the stock o-rings. Had a brief session today with a new 4mm o-ring fitted to the first groove on the piston. May have been a marginal improvement in single stack views - would need longer and more thorough test to be sure. Also added a Baader ND filter which slightly increased contrast. Double stack views continue to be very good indeed. 

Have to say I am loving this telescope. It allows me to use binoviewers and zoom EPs up to 75x with amazing sharpness under good seeing conditions. So it feels like a more substantial upgrade than I was expecting. 

1 hour ago, Nojus said:

So cool collection ,must be an another Range Rover here  

Thanks - no Range Rover though. In fact no car at all. Much prefer telescopes and eyepieces to cars.

I really didn't like the two Celestron prisms I've had - stock units bought 4 and 2 years ago - upgrading to decent dielectrics and Baader prism made a significant difference in brightness and contrast

5 minutes ago, GavStar said:

Double stack filter arrived today together with the rotator as recommended by Alan. Hoping for lots of sun this weekend to try out the double tilt tube approach.

 

Congratulations Gavin. Very much look forward to hearing how it performs.

Not enough clear sky today to try single stack with new o-rings. Only had a few quick glimpses as the sun disappeared behind the trees, so kept the double stack filter attached. Focused. Ramped up the pressure tuner. And the views were glorious. 

The massive prom that has been dominating the solar disc for the past few days was still showing beautiful detail. Lovely filament - like egg white in hot water - but darkly contrasted against the background chromosphere.

Frustrating to have such little observing time. But really fantastic views today - with TV plossls and Fujiyama orthos. I will continue to experiment - and report back when I've tested different o-rings. But the more I use the scope double stacked, the happier I am. It suggests that the original o-rings are working properly, and that its underwhelming single stack performance does not diminish DS views. 

26 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

My LS60 DS with pressure tuner refused to tune a while ago after I hadn't moved the tuning for some time, I took the tuner apart and cleaned and reassembled it using red brake grease cos I already had some and it seemed to have a high temperature operating range and be nice and sticky.

Obviously this is not the recommended grease but it has been working OK for 6 months since.

On the screwing right in question, mine has always required screwing nearly right in, the instructions from Lunt are a bit confusing as they say to start fully out and wind in slowly until tuned which wastes a considerable amount of time as every one I've seen has required screwing nearly right in.

Dave

Thanks Dave. The instructions could certainly be improved!

Btw - I think the recommended grease is 100% silicone. But sounds like you've found a suitable alternative.

Very interesting - makes perfect sense. You clearly have a well developed routine. Have seen a couple of reports recently from solar observers who say warming up time is important. This is something I've not really done properly yet. Thanks for replying - all adds to the bank of intelligence.

New o rings arrived - speedy service from Simply Bearings in UK - with different cross sections to try out the next time the clouds part.

1 hour ago, John said:

I've been doing a lot of reading on HA solar scopes recently and one thing that has really struck me is the variation in performance reported between individual units, of all brands and designs. I wonder, if you lined up half a dozen examples of the same scope model and viewed through each one under the same conditions, same magnification etc, etc, whether any of them would be exactly the same ?.

Edit: It also occurs that maybe, if you repeated the excercise on another occasion the results would differ again ?

 

 

What you say appears to be true John. No two of the same solar ha model are the same. In fact they seem to be remarkably different - as is obvious from a couple of the posts above and the years of experience I had with the LS50. That's the nature of the technology. And there are so many other variables - seeing, warming up the scope, adjusting focus and the pressure tuner, eyepiece choice, whether the o-rings are holding pressure, magnification, sweet spot manipulation, adjusting the tilt on the double stack, clocking the double stack - any of these can change the result. So you need to be thorough in your testing until you can be sure that the only differences from session to session are purely down to seeing and atmospheric conditions. Everything else is up to the observer.

3 hours ago, SkyGibbon said:

My tilt tuned 60 puts out outstanding views, single or doubled. I almost sent my scope to lunt to have a PT retrofit, but after all the little complaints about the PT models, I am glad I didn't.

How would you describe what you can see single stacked? Are proms, filaments and active regions all clear? How do they compare to double stacked views? It would be interesting to know. While certain differences are to be expected from scope to scope, it may be that buying tilt tuned is a more sensible option if you don't intend to add a second etalon?

Based on my experience of two Lunt pressure tuned scopes, both have been disappointing single stacked, both have required the tuner to be tightened to the very end of the brass cylinder - and both are capable of great views double stacked. Trouble is not everyone can afford that. And if single stack views are poor, does that mean the double stack views I'm getting could be better? I'd like to find out.

Emailing Lunt for new o-rings has thus far been unproductive. So have ordered some of my own from a UK supplier. I've gone for a pair that should match the Lunt o-ring dimensions, and another pair with a slightly wider cross section. Will be interesting to see if the larger ones make any difference (or if they'll just make it impossible to reattach the pressure tuner). Will report back.