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Help with skywatcher 200p


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Hi I have a skywatcher 200P I would like to know which is the best solar filter to use for that telescope 👍

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Edited by O2B3
Help getting the right kind of solar filter
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Baader solar film is considered the best. Yes you get a yellow image with the black polymer film but at the sacrifice of sharpness and contrast. You can make your own solar filter using the Baader film or buy a ready made filter but a lot moe expensive of course.Note that the 5.0 film is for visual use and rge 3.8 for photo use only.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/baader-astrosolar-safety-film-nd-50.html

Instructions. 

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/downloads/dl/file/id/337/product/3007/how_to_make_your_own_solar_filter_for_cameras_binoculars_and_telescope.pdf

Premade filter

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/astrozap-baader-solar-filter.html

BTW the sun is not yellow.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/what-colour-is-the-sun/

Edited by johninderby
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hi, i have the same scope, i use thousand oaks filter foil as i like the the view being a yellow sun. some foils give a white image, i suppose its personal preference. out 1 sheet i was able to make 2 filters 1 for the scope and 1 for the 9x finder scope.

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This thread might be useful, FWIW I have a 200P and made a filter too

and this is an image that I took using my homemade filter and 35mm camera afocally attached to the telescope - the film I use gets an orange sun!!:

Solsm.jpg

Edited by JOC
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Spiles image is a good stt up but note a few sensible precautions in the photo.

The filter it attached inside to tube and I expect would be difficult to accidentally knock off. Secondly, note how the finder is covered, this prevents a disaster with a burnt forehead or accidentally looking in the finder by mistake.

Align the scope using the shadow of the tube.

Good call for asking on here O2B3 about how to do this so you can get the right advice on how to do it safely and let others learn from the thread 👍.

Thanks

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You can allways make a solar filter for your optical finder or buy one. Works great and so much better than a regular solar finder. Such an obvious thing to do surprised that more don’t think of it.

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Edited by johninderby
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I found that finding the sun was a lot harder than you might imagine.   I ditched the optical (star/moon) finder on my telescope and made a shadow finder.   Shadow based finders work really well (and you can easily and cheaply buy or make one and add it with an elastic band to the tube), but a trick I discovered with a 200P ONCE AND ONLY ONCE YOU HAVE THE MAIN SOLAR FILM FINDER IN PLACE was to take all the Eyepieces out of the EP tube and just peep down it to look at the reflected image of the main mirror that you get easily from looking directly at the secondary mirror down the EP tube.  I discovered it was very easy to see the non-magnified image of the sun in the main mirror and in the 8" 200P it just about fills the mirror and with very little fiddling around I found a rough point at the sun using a shadow on the top on the scope as a guide (Get a vertical shadow to lie straight in line on the body of the scope and you are in line, then you only have to move it up and down vertically) and finding the sun was actually quite easily by watching the big orange image sweep across the mirror as I pivoted the 200p vertically.  It's only the two axis movement that causes issues finding things - if you can fix one axis - and a shadow fixes the horizontal - left to right axis - then you only have to sweep the scope up and down until you see what you are after.  Get the sun central and you are spot on.  If you are using a tracking 200P IIRC there is a programme on the handset to track the sun.

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If it remember correctly on the 200p there is a small hole behind the small cap on the end cover which can be covered with filter film for solar viewing ... saves you from having to use the full aperture.

Others might be able to confirm this ?

If so, make sure you do a proper job rather than just selotaoing it on from the inside . The heat metls the glue on the tape, the film falls off and you lose your sight !

Thanks

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