DayStar Solar Scout SS60-DS 60mm

[catburglar]

On 27/03/2021 at 19:39, chops said:

Has anyone managed to get a binoviewer working with a Daystar Scout SA60? Apologies in resurrection of an old thread but, similar to your experiences, I’ve only managed a ‘straight through’ configuration: with a William Optics Binoviewer and WO dielectric diagonal and the SS60, I can’t reach focus and, by goodness, the view is so much more pleasant through binoviewers, but as @Geoff Lister says above, literally a pain in the neck and difficult when aligning in a direct plane to the sun. Plus the concern about eyepieces or binoviewer dropping out of the scout unless the knurled nuts are roared up tight... all makes it much simpler to use a single eyepiece with a diagonal. But, by thunder, I wish I could binoview with a diagonal. 
Any joy anyone?

I was wondering about binoviewers with the DS-SS60 and came across this: https://uk.telescope.com/Telescopes/Orion-Premium-Linear-BinoViewer-for-Telescopes/rc/1306/p/130875.uts?keyword=Binoviewer....A bit too expensive for an experiment though?

[chops]

Goodness, a zero backfocus Binoviewer... thanks @catburglar - it looks like an amazingly useful bit of kit... would love to turn the Dobson into a binoview too... but ... I've *only just* bought the WO binoviewer.. so don't feel I can justify £430 ... you first!
Please do post up if anyone owns the Orion Premium Linear BinoViewer for Telescopes

[Highburymark]

On 08/04/2021 at 21:43, chops said:

Goodness, a zero backfocus Binoviewer... thanks @catburglar - it looks like an amazingly useful bit of kit... would love to turn the Dobson into a binoview too... but ... I've *only just* bought the WO binoviewer.. so don't feel I can justify £430 ... you first!
Please do post up if anyone owns the Orion Premium Linear BinoViewer for Telescopes

There are lots of reviews on Cloudy Nights - binoviewer forum

[catburglar]

It’s not so much whether the binoviewer is any good- I’ve seen a few reviews and looks like it is. The real question for me is how much does it add to the viewing experience?

Solar is trickier than I’d imagined it would be- excluding ambient light and finding critical focus on low contrast details specifically. 
 

It seems that binoviewers split the audience- some love it and others are less convinced.

If I tried a typical binoviewer and didn’t get on with it, then I know I’d be able to sell it on at a relatively smalll loss. But I think for most people the additional premium for the Orion might be a tough one to swallow for a used item, so the loss is likely to be higher.

[chops]

On 10/04/2021 at 18:57, catburglar said:

It’s not so much whether the binoviewer is any good- I’ve seen a few reviews and looks like it is. The real question for me is how much does it add to the viewing experience?

Solar is trickier than I’d imagined it would be- excluding ambient light and finding critical focus on low contrast details specifically. 
 

It seems that binoviewers split the audience- some love it and others are less convinced.

If I tried a typical binoviewer and didn’t get on with it, then I know I’d be able to sell it on at a relatively smalll loss. But I think for most people the additional premium for the Orion might be a tough one to swallow for a used item, so the loss is likely to be higher.

I find a binoviewer a revelation and viewing much more natural - night or day, but it's too uncomfortable for sustained use when the erecting prism can't be used, so these will be tempting when I can justify it in future. However some of the reviews on Cloudy nights aren't wholly complimentary, hence trying a Orion Premium Linear Binoviewer on the Daystar Scout SS60 first would be rather good. Fingers crossed star parties can start up again this year.

[Geoff Lister]

On 27/03/2021 at 19:39, chops said:

Has anyone managed to get a binoviewer working with a Daystar Scout SA60?

I have just been viewing the Sun with my SS60 + standard diagonal, Revelation binoviewer and a pair of 32mm Plossls. I could not achieve focus, so I unscrewed the black lens unit from my Celestron X2 Barlow, and screwed it into the nose-piece of the binoviewer, in place of a filter. I then had plenty of focal adjustment range. It was not as easy to get a good inter-pupil adjustment for both eyes as it is during night use, but certainly worth a bit more experimentation.

Geoff

Edited April 22, 2021 by Geoff Lister

[chops]

On 22/04/2021 at 17:19, Geoff Lister said:

I have just been viewing the Sun with my SS60 + standard diagonal, Revelation binoviewer and a pair of 32mm Plossls. I could not achieve focus, so I unscrewed the black lens unit from my Celestron X2 Barlow, and screwed it into the nose-piece of the binoviewer, in place of a filter. I then had plenty of focal adjustment range. It was not as easy to get a good inter-pupil adjustment for both eyes as it is during night use, but certainly worth a bit more experimentation.

Geoff

Thanks Geoff, I couldn’t achieve focus with the 1.6x Barlow adapter supplied, so I shall have another try with other lens options, although the joy of having the entire disc in view will have been lost, it’d be much better than nothing for sure.