Baader Herschel Wedge advice

[Pig]

Thank you Mark, your advice is very much appreciated.

My brother has a binoviewer for sale, I might cadge them off him

[Luke]

I have to admit that I am liking white light more than I expected! We got a Herschel wedge as a "nice addition" to our H-a scope but some days I prefer the white light view. Of course they do different things and work brilliantly together.

I know it's no help Shaun, but having now observed with a Lunt 60, I have to say it beats any white light observing I've done hands down - very hard to avoid the temptation I must say .

[Luke]

Shaun, I have the Solar Continuum before the ND filter with my Baader wedge, and, like you, have the SC after the built-in ND with the Lunt. It seems fine to me, the view is still good and I find the ND being built-in quite convenient. The Baader is nice for swapping to other ND filters for imaging, but in some ways it's a bit of a pain too, with more chance for dust to get in.

Must take a photo of the two wedges together, the Baader is like a double becker bus compared to the mini Lunt 1.25!

PS Were the skies any good your way last night?

[Stu]

Thank you Stu ...again If I was a woman I would wed you

:-), funny :-).

Glad to be able to help.

I do love the views through the wedge, with either 76 or 106 scopes, and like others often view with Ha and white light together.

Long term, a stage 2 PST mod is in my plans, probably with a Lyra 102 or TAL 100.

Stu

[Pig]

LoL @ double decker.

The instructions show the BSC filter before the ND3 but after the wedge !!!!! bit strange but I will leave it alone. Maybe its just for imaging as it also details a camera.

The skies were very bitty last night so I didn't bother, I woke up this morning to try and catch a glimpse but not much improvement.

Tonight is supposed to clear so I am off over to the dark site to try the Pronto in darker skies

[Pig]

:-), funny :-).

Glad to be able to help.

I do love the views through the wedge, with either 76 or 106 scopes, and like others often view with Ha and white light together.

Long term, a stage 2 PST mod is in my plans, probably with a Lyra 102 or TAL 100.

Stu

I think I will go for ready made Stu, its just a question which make to chose

[Luke]

The Baader instructions say no filters before the wedge. It does have a filter thread but they say it is a no go, it's there because I think it is used on other items that use that component of the wedge.

Ah so maybe I did not miss great skies last night. Hope we get some clear tonight. I looked for but couldn't see the aurora the other night, sob!

[Pig]

The Baader instructions say no filters before the wedge. It does have a filter thread but they say it is a no go, it's there because I think it is used on other items that use that component of the wedge.

Ah so maybe I did not miss great skies last night. Hope we get some clear tonight. I looked for but couldn't see the aurora the other night, sob!

The views are very good as it is so there is no need to change it.

I will try what Qualia recommended for a bit of fun and to mix it up a little

Is there any chance we will see the aurora from here ?

[Luke]

I took a snap of little and large! It's a bit like Type 1 versus Type 6 13mm Nagler!

re: the aurora, I don't think there is an alert for tonight. It would be great to one day see it from home, we saw it from Kelling one year, under darker skies. Might help myself to a slice of Orion Nebula followed by a dash of M81 and 82 Looks like hopefully there will be at least a few hours of clear around these parts. Fingers crossed!

[Stu]

It is a bit of a beast Luke :-).

When do you use the Baader? What advantages does it have over the Lunt, is it just for larger aperture scopes?

Stu

[Luke]

The main reason we have two Herschel wedges Stu is so that I can take one (the Lunt) to work with me for solar lunch with my ED80.

For me the pros of the Baader are:

• To my eyes it gives a slightly better view. I don't think there's a lot in it, but for me the Baader edges it.
• It connects more solidly to the scope. This may partly be because the 2 inch connectors on my scopes have three screws versus a single screw for the 1.25inch connectors.
• I like the finder on the back of the Baader - you can see the solar disc illuminating the back panel.
• The Solar Continuum can be placed in front of the ND filter, which supposedly gives a slightly better view.
• You can easily change the ND filter for imaging (the ND3 of course should be used for visual) to help keep a fast shutter speed. Whether this makes a real difference I haven't tested myself. I think it's good for capturing airplane transits though

My pros for the Lunt are:

• For me, nearly as good optically as the Baader, for a lot less money.
• The built-in ND filter means I just image with the ND3 anyway and don't potter around changing filters. Ideal for quick imaging sessions at lunch. Can't be messing around with filters when there may be H-a to shoot as well! Less chance for dust to get in as well if the ND filter stays put. And using the same filter for imaging and visual means I can have a quick look as well.
• It's a lot lighter than the Baader so is nicer to use on my mini giro mount, which is very sensitive to balance.
• Much more compact so easily fits into my ED80's case.
• Much shorter light path. I had no trouble imaging at prime focus with the Lunt. With the Baader, to get prime focus imaging I had to get an adapter that replaces the click-lock.

It is a bit of a beast Luke :-).

When do you use the Baader? What advantages does it have over the Lunt, is it just for larger aperture scopes?

Stu

[Stu]

Thanks Luke, great explanation.

Think I'm happy with my Lunt. One thing I did add to mine was a self centering 1.25" to 2" adaptor which I leave on it permanently. I was never quite happy with the way it sat in a standard 1.25" adaptor as it used to slip out by a couple of millimeters but now it is much more solid.

You can see it here between the wedge and the focuser.

Stu

[Pig]

Wow that is a big one, it reminds me of how big a pint glass looks compared to the tiny half pint glass

Lovely clear skies at our dark site tonight  and freezing cold