Homebrew Solar Finder

[Macavity]

Don't know if this has been covered before. But after my initial flirtation with Solar imaging (And nearly "zapping" myself!), I decided to look at the idea of "pinhole" Solar Finders. Here are some NICE ONES (PDF LINK!) - And my own hastily-constructed effort (below). I "sacrificed" a W.H.Smith school ruler as the base - Provides a convenient "slot" to self-align with the OTA. Can't be bothered to battle round local DIY store to get some nicer M5 c/s screws... Coming soon?

The "pinhole" is 1.5mm (Don't know if this is optimum?) and the larger circular hole is covered with "grease proof paper"(?) as a dual sided screen. With a bit of fiddling, probably good to a "Degree or so"(?) - At minimum, this provides some SHARP shadows to align the scope with the Sun, WITHOUT the attendant hazards of looking in the actual direction of the beast...

[dogfish]

Only just seen this. It's answered some questions I had - good idea about the ruler. I've got a WH Smiths near my work so will pop in.

Thanks for posting this, Martin