Sol searcher

[Dom1961]

Just a few questions as I'm thinking of investing in a sol searcher and a solar filter.

Can sol searchers be used on any scope? On FLO it says for lunt scopes

If you attach it using sticky pads, is there any way to align it with the scope like other finder scopes

On Telescope house there is are two different makes of the same thing but a price difference, what is the difference?

Thanks!

[Davey-T]

They are a handy gadget, I've got two, but you can manage without unless you've got some money to spare, they can be fitted to pretty much any scope.

One end is slightly adjustable so needs to be pretty well lined up to start with.

Didn't know there was another make.

Alternately you can stick a couple of screws in the tube rings, hold a piece of white paper behind them and move the scope until their shadows line up.

Dave 

Had a look at TS they are identical so don't know what they're playing at

[Dom1961]

Would the best way be to find the sun in the ep first and then get the finder to show it before sticking it?

[Steve Ward]

Even easier is to use a scrap corner of the Baader film , left over from making your main filter , and using it over your existing finderscope ... 

Personally I've never found that big , intensely bright object in the sky that hard to find by anything other than the shadow-method , certainly not hard enough a task to warrant a pony on a gadget ...   

[Bizibilder]

I just use a piece of bent up aluminium strip (goalpost shaped - if you see what I mean) and one "leg" has a 1.5mm hole drilled in it, the other has a rather posh paper target drawn on it!

[Dom1961]

Even easier is to use a scrap corner of the Baader film , left over from making your main filter , and using it over your existing finderscope ... 

Personally I've never found that big , intensely bright object in the sky that hard to find by anything other than the shadow-method , certainly not hard enough a task to warrant a pony on a gadget ...

So a dedicated finder isn't needed? And I was going to buy a pre made one any way. I thought that it was hard to find one, shall I get a filter first to see how I find looking for it like, if I struggle then I'll invest in a finder

[Steve Ward]

That's what I'd do , if you remove your finder from it's holder , as per Roger's photo , you can hold your hand behind it and easily judge alignment by watching the shape of the shadow cast.

[Luke]

I have never regretted getting the Sol Searcher. It's quite small, compact and solid. I use it with velcro on one scope but I find that a bit of a pain, it's not that well lined up, I must get that one sorted out.

[Steve Ward]

Shadows never lie ... unlike wonky finders ... 

[Luke]

Hey my wonky finder works pretty good   Which is more than can be said for the Velcro one

And my Tele Vue 60 is so small it does not cast a shadow.

[sooot]

If your going to image and are like the rest of us nut jobs then the finder is a very handy and quick solution to setting up and getting the sun in view when the gaps in the cloud are small

[Pig]

I find the Sol searcher works perfectly.... simplicity always does....

[moriniboy]

I bought my Sol Searcher from Telescope House, no difference apart from the price.

As my scope did not have the pre-drilled fastening screw holes  that some Lunts have I got a foot from an old Skywatcher RDF and fastened the Sol Searcher to it, works brilliantly and used my scopes existing finder base.

[johnno]

I made one from a tube, sprayed it matt black and made a bulls eye from a bit of plastic I had lying around, butted it up to the tube rings and surprisingly it's quite accurate .

[spaceboy]

I would save my money personally. For Ha and WL on EQ mount it's an absolute must have but for AZ/ dob mount you can point your scope in the rough direction of the sun and a low power EP will soon pick up the glow from the sun and before you know it you have it centred. If you don't get the hang of it then there are plenty of DIY finder solutions out there that will be a cloudy day project. 35mm plastic film canisters only require a hole in the centre of the cap and a couple rubber bands to hold it on the side of your capped finder scope. Then all you do is line up the circle of light with the nipple in the bottom of the film canister.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have Sol-Searcher on a mounting shoe, so I can mount it on various scopes. Very handy device, much better than the Coronado Sol-Ranger attached to my SolarMax