DIGITALid

11 hours ago, garryblueboy said:

it's under warranty id send it back at what they cost you want a good one but as Knobby said try moving and regressing the o ring 

your image should not fade that means it loosing pressure hopefully just a regrease and o ring placement 

Yeah I'm definitely (unfortunately) opting for a return. I moved the o-ring and could not get the pressure tuner inserted well at all it took a level of force I was NOT comfortable with applying frequently.  Worse yet in the hot sun.  So I put the o-ring back and will be returning the scope.   It idid not improve my viewing at all even then.

5 minutes ago, Tyson M said:

Sometimes all that it takes is a new o ring. If it is preowned and/or has a old o ring , simply changing it is all that is required. A cheap easy fix. 

I hope that's the case.  I'm going to try to move the O-ring right now before sunset.  Thanks.

4 minutes ago, knobby said:

You could try putting the O ring on the 1st slot, and checking for debris in the pressure cell, also spreading the grease in there around evenly might help.

Oh SNAP that sounds like a great idea!  I was looking in there and I did see an orange/red ring and also noticed what appeared to be an empty slot before it.  I see fingerprints in there already and gray smudges.  I am seriously thinking B&H sold me a used one.

This is an image of it right out of the box.  The edge also had a visible chip in the metal.

I took it outside again right now.  Ran through the steps.  Removing the pressure tuner completely and putting it back on.  When I got to as tight as I could go I saw like 2-3 small filaments shooting out of the top of the sun.  But within 10 seconds, they just dimmed to black and all the detail vanished.  (Without me touching the scope at all.)

28 minutes ago, garryblueboy said:

It is a bit fiddly to get results with Lunt but you can see your tuning is working focusing is key also and the right eyepice can make big difference also you don't normally get surface detail and proms together you will find the sweet spot between both keep practicing also are you using a black cloth or towel over your head when viewing makes all the difference my Lunt  60 is almost screwed in mostly for detail my 50 was the same also 

I'll settle for either or.  But I don't have a clear view of the surface detail at all anymore and it seems to start improving right when I hit the bottom of the pressure tuner.  Others online seem to hit that sweet spot with a few lines of thread still left.  I am using a black cover to shield from stray light.  I will keep trying.  Thank you.

11 hours ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Tuning the etalon can be tricky. A prominence (not a flare, and that is quite a sizeable one) like you captured there will show over a slightly wider range than the surface detail in my experience. Focus is also critical. To me, the fact that you could tune the etalon to get a prominence suggests the tuning mechanism is not leaky.

Prominence.  Got it.  I'm still a super noob.  I believe the pressure tuner was all the way in at this point.  The first day I saw a hint of some surface detail but now I can't.  The resistance starts about halfway down and I can't see anything until I turn it all the way in.  I might see a tiny hint of darkness where a dark area would be.  Nothing near what I saw that first day.  I will keep trying and tuning.  I DID notice however when I received it that the tuner had some visible scratches on it and the thread had black and brown particles in it.  I sent a picture to B&H photo and they offered me an RMA.  But I would most likely miss the Eclipse.  I have a predicament now.

11 hours ago, Merlin66 said:

what camera were you using???

I just put my iPhone 7 plus up to the eyepiece to capture that.

I have yet to be able to see anything like that anymore.  I have to turn the pressure tuner all the way down and I don't see any detail anymore.  That photo was taken on the first day.  The second day I couldn't see any detail at all.

4 minutes ago, Live_Steam_Mad said:

Hope you get a decent performing one. Let us know what happens! Have you contacted Lunt to see what they have to say (I see you are in USA) ?

Hey thanks for your reply.  Yes I'm starting to worry I got a lemon.  I uploaded what I was able to see the first day here.  You can see a flare and barely make out some dark areas.

8 hours ago, Floater said:

As a solar observer, I feel your pain, DIGITALid.

However, two things I would highlight:

1) The Sun is very quiet just now - and, unfortunately, unlikely to 'pep up' for some time as we are heading into Solar Minimum. When I first started 'on the bright side' the Sun was very busy, with lots of spots, filaments and breath-taking proms. That is not the case these days. ?? However, Ha always has something to offer and we have just witnessed a very large sunspot cross the surface - which may re-appear if it hasn't decayed too much going round the far side.

2) Don't worry too much about different EPs - concentrate your efforts more on tuning and focusing - the latter is critical and it can be very, very tricky to hit exactly the right spot (no pun). I had a lot of soul searching when I acquired my Lunt, which didn't seem to be performing as well as my SM40. But I got an unusually long session last week and after a lot of faffing around it finally sang to me! ???

Dont despair, you'll get there, too. Just be aware that the Big Fella's having a wee snooze at present. ??

Oh man I hope this is the case.  IF so then it will be no problem.  I can wait and be patient.  Besides we have the eclipse to look forward to.  I caught what appeared to be a minor flare.  Perhaps the same one Cotterless45 up there got.

*I just read that a minimum can be from just a year to 30-100+ years... :*(

I at least want to be able to see granulation.  Which right now, I can't.  The much cheaper Coronado my coworker has gives a great clear view of that which makes my wallet burn.

9 hours ago, niallk said:

- Following this thread with interest: I hope to get one of these at some point.  I've read many threads about the pressure tuner needing to go almost the whole way in, and also about o-rings and re-greasing... some people getting a kit sent out from Lunt.

I hope you get help here, and start seeing stunning views soon!  The impression I have reading up is that Lunt give very good support. Best of luck

Thank you me too.  I've been reading some other forums.  Some folks say there are known recurring issues with an O-ring in the pressure tuner.  I will do more research on this as it sounds like those users are having the same problems I am.

Forum topic on CloudyNights <--Is this allowed???

10 hours ago, cotterless45 said:

Have you tried tuning the echelon ? you'll need absolutely clear sky to get the most out of proms. I got this yesterday with a Lunt 35, in addition there were several  very obvious filaments with surface granulation across the surface. its a struggle starting out and you must be patient enough to get your eye and get adapted to what you are seeing. Moving the view around will hit a sweet spot , don't expect this to be right across the view. let us know how you are getting on, Nick.

Thank you for your response.  The echelon?  I don't believe I did.  All I did was pressure tune and adjust the (I guess helical) focus ring.  I don't get nearly as close a view as you have.  When I use my 17mm eyepiece I see the big orange ball.  In focus, but no surface detail at all.

A quick background.

I had previously spent my fair share of time in observatories and looking through a few telescopes.  As an adult I FINALLY got a 6" Dob that I can view some distant objects with.  It was exciting that first time I accidentally came across the Orion Nebula.  That moment was awesome.  Nothing compared to the goosebumps I got in the hot sun when a coworker allowed me to look through the eyepiece of his Coronado PST for the first time.  I had NEVER seen anything like that.  The detail in the sun was very impressive.

I watched the price on that telescope inexplicably increase and never come back down.  I did my research.  I waited years!  Finally I decided to plunk down the cash for the Lunt LS50THa.  I got the B600 filter because I wanted to be able to take pictures at some point.

I spent about an hour today with a clear sky tracking the sun. (I'm working on saving for a better tripod and mount.)  So far... I am not feeling the $1,000 worth of a view I was hoping for.  I could BARELY make out ANY detail the surface.  When I could, it was only visible in one or two areas.  There was a dark areas on what to me as I faced the sun setting on the West top right and bottom left.  But it did not appear at all like what I saw through the much cheaper PST.  I HOPE its something I am doing wrong.  I tried a variety of different eyepieces.

I hope it gets better.

Thanks for the responses!

1. Great that gives me a great point to start searching.  I do think a gearhead is a better solution for now.  I'm still recovering from that initial purchase price of the scope...

2. It is the helical focuser I did not get the soft touch upgrade.  I was considering one of the orion steadymount adapters to connect my Phone or Canon G9X.  So we can connect the camera to the focuser without the filter? I thought we were never supposed to use it without that?

3. Perfect thank you for your explanation.  I was hoping maybe I could slightly improve the contrast a bit.

Hello,

This is my first post and I need some help and suggestions if you all would be so kind as to provide your much more experienced input. 

I just received my Lunt LS50THa with the B600 blocking filter.  I have some eyepieces that I use with my Orion Dob but after some initial (kind of disappointing) viewing I think I may need to invest or try some other items. My goal is to capture some images I can share with my elementary school age son that is showing interest in astronomy.  (AKA nothing massively pro but still something I can be proud of.)

So three things;

1. I need a tripod and mount solution that won't break the bank.  The Lunt connects to my photography tripod that can easily hold the 6 lb scope but movement/tracking is a pain.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a good and relatively inexpensive tripod/mount that can be used with my small scope?  Or perhaps an adapter that I can use to hold a good mount and have more precise control and still be able to rest it on my photography tripod?
2. I took some lazy pictures just with my iPhone against the eyepiece and I kept getting some concentric circles overlaying the image that are really obtrusive. Any suggestions for alternative eyepieces that will improve both imaging/viewing? I've been able to take some decent moon shots this way without those strange circles.  (The circles are NOT visible just viewing with your eyes.)  It almost looks like when you point a camera at a television.
3. Filters?  I have a neutral density filter that I use to view the moon.  Would that help or hinder viewing/imaging solar filaments?  Should I use a color filter to help bring out those details?

Thank you in advance for your help.