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Daystar Quark Hydrogen Alpha Eyepiece


Zakalwe

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For big apertures, you would still need an ERF, otherwise the system would certainly get way too hot, I would say

Daystar are showing an ERF mounted in front of the diagonal in their literature for apertures >80mm. Apparently it's been seen in use on a 10" SCT in the blazing Sun all day. The secondary was very hot, but it didn't fail. Not too sure that I'd be willing to take the chance on that!

It'd be interesting if it allows a single-stack to be double-stacked. £800 is a lot cheaper than a second Etalon...

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I'm interested in what the guys on SolarChat have to say but as far as I can see the drawbacks are likely to be the bandwidth (not specifically quoted) and focal length of the resultant system. That said it does look like an interesting development, particularly in regard to double stacking.

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I'm following that thread with interest. Swisswalter reckons that a Quark partnered with an 80-100mm refractor would make a better starting point than a 60mm Lunt.

Interesting times.....hopefully we'll see a bit of a price war that'll bring narrow-band solar imaging/viewing into more people's reach!

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The chromosphere Version seems very impressive. Shows Incredible surface (disc) detail.

Tho the prominence Version seems a bit dissappointing with showing real detail on the prominences so far.

So far the drawback tho, is that you need to buy both Versions to really have a Complete solar Scope experience. Still setting you back £1600 all together.

EDIT: I just saw this post from Sean from Daystar in the CN thread, With some usefull comments:

Hi Everyone,

This is Sean from Daystar Instruments. Just wanted to clear up a few points on the Quark:

1. It does not need an ERF if you are using a scope smaller than 80mm. From 80mm to 150mm, we recommend using an 2" UV/IR filter (we use Astronomik's) in front of the diagonal. Above 150mm, please use an ERF. If you are using a small scope less than 80mm that is tracking the sun all day, then we also recommend a UV/IR filter in front of the diagonal. All this is for refractors with front lens assemblies. If you have back elements, like the Petzval design or any other type of scopes (ie SCT), then you will need a front ERF to protect the telescope.

2. The Quark works well visually or by camera just by putting them into the 1.25" rear of the Quark. I used an Image Source camera on Friday and got some great shots. I will post them soon.

3. The Chromosphere version is between .3 and .5 angstroms bandpass, but will not only show surface, but prominences as well. The Prominence version is between .6 and .8 and shows surface detail as well. The difference is that each filter does it part better, but it does not exclude the other.

4. The Quark is tuned by temperature, so needs a power supply of 5V 1.5amp. A small battery pack will run it for a day or two. It won't work off of standard computer USBs as they are only about 500ma, but it won't hurt the computer if you plug it in. The Quark's light will turn red and it will just not work instead of damaging anything.

If anyone has questions, feel free to inquire sean@daystarfilters.com

I will create and post a video about everything later this week to help make things clear.

Sean

-----------------------------------------

So if I read this correctly and you don't want to fork out £1600 right away, then the Prominence Version is actually the one to buy first as better alrounder, as it seems to operate between the .6 and .8 angstroms like most dedicated solarscopes do ?

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Just like other wedges.. I'd not risk using it on a pezval design without a front ERF.

Which is exactly what Sean from Daystar is saying in bullet 1 of the text he posted on CN, which I copied in my previous post here in this thread. :)

Only front lens design refractors up to 150mm won't need a ERF (just UV/IR cut filter in front of diagonal).

Everything above 150mm and all other type scopes with rear-lens assemblies like Petzval design, SCT's, etc will need an ERF.

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Thanks, Guillermo, for the very interesting info from Sean, that answers a few questions. Hmmm, I was already having a hard time figuring out what the next solar upgrade would be. It just got harder or easier, I am not sure which way yet :grin: :grin: I like the flexibility of a regular solar scope/filter, but I like the performance for the price of these Quarks, I think there are some fantastic images there for the cost of the "eyepiece." The 4.2x Barlow is a bit of a complication, I think I would be attempting about 3.8m focal length with my current 100mm or 120mm scopes - a bit optimistic under standard viewing conditions perhaps?

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Thanks, Guillermo, for the very interesting info from Sean, that answers a few questions. Hmmm, I was already having a hard time figuring out what the next solar upgrade would be. It just got harder or easier, I am not sure which way yet :grin: :grin: I like the flexibility of a regular solar scope/filter, but I like the performance for the price of these Quarks, I think there are some fantastic images there for the cost of the "eyepiece." The 4.2x Barlow is a bit of a complication, I think I would be attempting about 3.8m focal length with my current 100mm or 120mm scopes - a bit optimistic under standard viewing conditions perhaps?

I am in the same boat and don't have a solarscope yet. The announcement of the New Lunt 50Pt pressure tuned solar Scope for basically the same price as the Lunt35 Deluxe isn't making the decision any easier.

Tho seeing the initial surface disc images taken with the Quark chromosphere version, they blow away the Lunt and Coronado scopes when it comes to detail. That kind of detail you normally only see in very expensive systems. Which I think is very much worth the sacrifice of full disc view. Unbeatable for that price, when you already have a suitable Scope.

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I am in the same boat and don't have a solarscope yet. The announcement of the New Lunt 50Pt pressure tuned solar Scope for basically the same price as the Lunt35 Deluxe isn't making the decision any easier.

Tho seeing the initial surface disc images taken with the Quark chromosphere version, they blow away the Lunt and Coronado scopes when it comes to detail. That kind of detail you normally only see in very expensive systems. Which I think is very much worth the sacrifice of full disc view. Unbeatable for that price, when you already have a suitable Scope.

The US prices look very attractive. $899 with the BF600 :eek:  Thats a big saving over the L60 with BF600.

"Tho seeing the initial surface disc images taken with the Quark chromosphere version, they blow away the Lunt and Coronado scopes when it comes to detail. That kind of detail you normally only see in very expensive systems."

If you are referring to the images that Walter put up on the SolarChat site, then I'd be wary of making pronouncements like that just yet. The images are good, very, very good in fact. But you've got to factor in that they were taken with a 102mm Takahashi and a Grasshopper 3. Thats a £2500 scope and a £1000 camera.

Stick a Grasshopper 3 onto a Lunt L100 and then make the comparison. Or have a look at Jim Lafferty's images http://scopetrader.com/jimlafferty/?page=411

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Just had a rethink. The chromosphere version has a bandpass similar to a double-stack etalon. Putting that in my ST80 would give me full-disk capability at 80mm aperture, No ED glass or the like is needed, because you are working at a single wavelength, so no chromatic errors occur. The only thing I do wonder about is whether the F/4 scope does not widen the bandpass compared to an F/8 (it should!).

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I am happy with my solar scope as it is. However, if it will give the same effect as a double stack system maybe it will drive down the price of the Lunt 50 & 60mm DS modules. 

Now that would be a bonus :smiley:

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The US prices look very attractive. $899 with the BF600 :eek:  Thats a big saving over the L60 with BF600.

If you are referring to the images that Walter put up on the SolarChat site, then I'd be wary of making pronouncements like that just yet. The images are good, very, very good in fact. But you've got to factor in that they were taken with a 102mm Takahashi and a Grasshopper 3. Thats a £2500 scope and a £1000 camera.

Stick a Grasshopper 3 onto a Lunt L100 and then make the comparison. Or have a look at Jim Lafferty's images http://scopetrader.com/jimlafferty/?page=411

I think an Equinox 120 would give the Tak102 a run for it's money when it comes to solar imaging and is half the price.

And what is the cost of the Lunt L100? :eek:

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Hmm, my understanding was to go as narrow in band as you can for good prominence detail. I used to have a .8 daystar manual tune and while good , I'd like better nowadays. Why would you not just buy the chromosphere (narrowest) version and be done ?

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The optical design of the quark got me thinking. What they have essentially done is put the etalon in at the rear end of the optical train, rather than at the front as in the LS35 and many Coronado scopes, or in the middle, as in most Lunts. This is perfectly possible if the distance between image plane and rear element of the tele-centric lens system is sufficiently large.  It also got me thinking along "LS35 Mod" routes again. Why not put the 35mm ERF in front of my B1200 blocking filter diagonal, and put a tele-centric system (like my PowerMate or TeleXtenders) behind it. You could even cobble together a (non achromatic, no need for it) tele-centric of sufficient size from old objective lenses of a pair of bins I have lying around, and a simple negative lens (can be small). Place the etalon with its tilt tuner behind that and attach the helical focuser from the LS35 behind it. Due to the larger blocking filter, full-disk images could be obtained for much larger focal lengths (so I could use the APM 80mm F/6 easily, but bigger scopes are also possible). This would not give the narrow passband of the Quark (which does seem more attractive now), but it might be a relatively cheap experiment to set up (I have most if not all components).   

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