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First Light with Daystar Quark (Chromosphere version).


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Can I say at the outset that this is my first foray into Hα observing so I have no comparisons that can be made with other solar scopes. I have a APM 100/800 and wanted to be able to use it both during the day and at night. Other options I had been considering would cost in the region of £3000 by the time I had bought all the necessities so the Daystar Quark seemed a good option given its pricing.

An IR/UV cut filter needed to go before the diagonal so I put that in and the Quark in the other end of the diagonal and was reading to go. The Quark needs to be powered (an AC adaptor + lead is supplied). I plugged it in and waited for the light on it to turn from red to green.

On first light, I have to say I was very impressed. I could pick up filaments, sunspots and prominences straight away. The chromospheric network was also clear. The Quark has an adjustment control on the side that allows a variation of 0.5Å either side of the centre line to help if required to bring out more detail.

I was surprised by the amount of detail I could see and had a thoroughly enjoyable day transfixed and observing the Sun. I knew it was very active but it was just great being able to see it. My highlight was a group of 4 prominences of varying types.

Would I recommend the Quark? Hell yes.

Simon

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Simon,

Great to see you bought one :smiley: I find having dual observation capability makes a huge difference to this hobby. Ying & Yang :grin:

We should meet up at some point soon to do a side by side comparison between the Quark and the Lunt, I am sure some folk would be very interested to know the outcome.

If your interested let me know and we can turn the dark site into a light site for a couple of hours.

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Hi Shaun,

Yes I'd like that. We'll keep an eye on the weather. Weekends probably best. Have you got a link to your solar scope?

I have sent you some pictures.

If anyone else has some questions, ask away. There aren't many reviews on the Quark yet.

Simon

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Hi Luke,

I have just used a standard 40mm and 32mm Plossl so far.

The manual recommends Televue Plossl's- 40mm, 32mm and 25mm.

All my current eyepieces 22mm and above are 2" and therefore not suitable for the Daystar Quark.

Interesting it also states "Naglers, zooms, radians and other fast eyepieces typically perform badly on Daystar Applications"

As I said, I have no reference point for solar but was very impressed with the current configuration.

Like night seeing, daytime seeing can also vary so I will need a bit more time with the Quark to get a more rounded opinion but first impressions are very good and I don't regret my purchase.

Simon

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Thanks, Simon. I have got Tele Vue Plossls ready for when my Quark arrives, but I'm intrigued by how much of a difference they do or don't make!

I have a 60mm h-alpha scope, but I was looking to have something to give me a bit more resolution now and again, My best option seemed to be a 90mm SolarMax etalon, and I might have needed a new blocking filter, so the cost would have been around £3,000 to £4,000. That was too much for me for my needs. Just as I was starting to accept that I would not be able to do the larger aperture stuff, I heard about the Quark :laugh:

I can't wait to get it! Hope you get plenty of sunshine to give it a good blast :laugh:

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Hi Luke,

I had come to the same conclusion as you. I was looking at £3000 as an alternative so the Quark Daystar seemed worth a punt. You never know with new kit.

I was advised that by someone who had tested both to save my money as he hadn't noticed a huge amount of difference. I plumped for the cheaper option. I can always add the Televue's later if necessary.

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Hi Joseki,

I bought mine from Astrograph.net the same place as I bought my APM from. I don't know if it was any cheaper or more expensive. I had to pay up front and wait for the production run. It appears to be in demand so you'll have to wait a while.

Simon

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My bad, Simon, I meant Plossl versus another design type, like a Panoptic 24. I had been thinking about adding some Plossls anyway as I had nothing with a longer focal length than 25mm.

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Ok, thanks Simon, I've not seen Astrograph.net before.  It's the same price there as SCSAstro.  I ordered mine mid-May and they have already taken a 50% deposit (in the small print), so hopefully I'm in the queue.  I was hoping to get one of Daystars 3rd batch run too, so it's good to know they've reached UK suppliers now. 

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I am looking forward to posting my thoughts, Simon. Eyepiece-wise I suppose it might be fun to try my 40mm Celeston E-lux versus the 40mm Tele Vue Plossl. And I am thinking it would be fun to set up a small frac and Quark side-by-side with a SolarMax 60 to see how they compare with similar aperture, before I try my bigger fracs.

Hi Joseki and Luke,

It will be really good to hear what you think of the Quark when it arrives and any views on the eyepieces you test.

Simon

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