What one to buy

[Dave scutt]

Hi all.

Which solar scope is better. 

Solar Scout SS60-DS 60mm  or.

Lunt 40 b600.

Maybe this bit should be in the imaging section but could I use my ZWO120 mc s with either of them.

Thanks dave 

[Peter Drew]

I have experience of just the Solar Scout, but I would favour the Lunt based on the better company support and not having to fuss with heating times and adjustments of the Solar Scout.  It should be possible to image with either.    🙂 

[Dave scutt]

Thanks Peter. 

I have no experience only using a solar film at the moment. 

What do you mean by heating times and is there anything else I should know.

Dave

[johninderby]

Had a solar scout and sold it on as I got fed up of the heating times. Had a Lunt 60 and not needing to heat the internal element meant it was ready to use instantly and no mucking about. Of course the Lunt 60 is much more expensive but found it a pleasure to use.

BTW the Quark part used in the SolarScout is a bit variable in quality as it is the cheap end of the range so might be necessary to exchange the scope to get a good one.

Saying that many are happy with their SolarScouts but I would prefer the Lunt but that would just be my personal,choice.

[Peter Drew]

2 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

Thanks Peter. 

I have no experience only using a solar film at the moment. 

What do you mean by heating times and is there anything else I should know.

Dave

The Solar Scout, in keeping with other Daystar solar telescopes, uses a solid mica etalon, the mica has to be heated to achieve its required band pass.  The equipment to do this is included with the purchase.  It takes around 10 minutes to come up to temperature for the basic setting plus a few more if subsequent retuning is undertaken.  This interrupts the grab and go potential.  Another aspect that concerns me is that another poster has reported that best images are obtained by stopping down the 60mm to less than 40mm.     🤔

[Dave scutt]

I've noticed the lunt is an f10 .

And the daystar solar Scout  is f15.

Would an higher f ratio give better views 

[Dave scutt]

Thanks John. 

Don't know how I missed your post , Peter's post came up first🙄

[Elp]

Personally I'd go for the Lunt with the largest bf diagonal you can afford (larger number the larger the aperture inside the diagonal). It'd be a spontaneous purchase if I were to visit the US due to it being cheaper there.

[Floater]

Don’t know anything about the Solar Scout so cannot comment.

The Lunt 60 I have (bf 1200) is very good and I would recommend it.

I have also owned three Quarks, one of which was excellent and I kinda miss it. (I believe the quality control problems have been sorted out now so might be another option, albeit they still have temperature considerations.) 

My first dedicated solar scope was a Coronado SolarMax 40 and I loved it. However, I got it during a solar maximum phase and that, plus being new to solar viewing then, may have played a part in my delight with the scope. Hard to quantify that now.

To sum up, the Lunt will be a good investment and whichever way you go, enjoy the bright side 😎😎

Edited June 26, 2022 by Floater

[Highburymark]

10 hours ago, Dave scutt said:

I've noticed the lunt is an f10 .

And the daystar solar Scout  is f15.

Would an higher f ratio give better views 

Good question. The Lunt’s air spaced etalon works well at F/10. The Solar Scout would work better at F/30 and above - the same as Quarks. That’s why some imagers stop down the aperture, even though resolution is affected. Solid mica etalons are designed to work with slow systems. But with fast focal ratios, surface detail is lost. That’s not to say that all Solar Scouts are bad - but it is a compromise with the design that’s worth being aware of before making a purchase.

[IB20]

Are the Lunt 40s better than the Coronado PSTs?

[Elp]

Possibly similar as they're both 40mm aperture, the Lunt you have the benefit of buying a choice of bf diagonals so imaging can be slightly easier. The PST has the benefit of the double stack option, don't know whether there's a 40mm DS Lunt module. Like all solar products especially at the lower price range etalon qualities vary, thus resolvable visible quality can vary. Two identical scopes will show different detail levels. The FL of 400mm for both scopes also allows full disk viewing. With a PST, if you want even more detail you can use the back end (via some work involved) with a slower acro refractor 100mm aperture plus and do a stage 1 or even a stage 2 mod to really see that surface granulation.

Either way some at Lunt Solar have the prior experience having also worked at Coronado so you can get a feel for their pedigree in their product. Coronado scopes hold their own as it's a tried and tested technology which revolutionised amateur solar astronomy.

[johninderby]

From the APM website.

Over this time APM has expanded its Telescope products to include large observatory class Reflectors and mounts in addition to our famous range of Refractors. We have also been involved in the development of Solar Observing equipment such as Coronado and Lunt Solar Systems, whom Markus Ludes is a founding partner.

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by johninderby

[Carbon Brush]

There are quite a few threads on SGL covering solar choices. Recently I have become aware of the technical articles on the Lunt web site.

https://luntsolarsystems.com/category/technical-articles/

I appreciate that they are not going to say 'you would be better buying something else'. But having read a few, I have been interested and feel better informed.

My own (barely educated and ill informed) opinion is that pressure or tilt tuning has to be a better method of etalon adjustment than heating.
Heating means slow retuning.
Assuming of course the different etalons are of similar quality - however quality is defined.

HTH, David.

[Elp]

While you're waiting for a quark to heat up, it acts like a white light filter until it gets up to temperature so you can still use it while you wait, it's just not as instant as a mechanical one.

[Ags]

On 26/06/2022 at 12:07, Peter Drew said:

The Solar Scout, in keeping with other Daystar solar telescopes, uses a solid mica etalon, the mica has to be heated to achieve its required band pass.  The equipment to do this is included with the purchase.  It takes around 10 minutes to come up to temperature for the basic setting plus a few more if subsequent retuning is undertaken.  This interrupts the grab and go potential.  Another aspect that concerns me is that another poster has reported that best images are obtained by stopping down the 60mm to less than 40mm.     🤔

I do enjoy my Scout most when stopped down to 43 mm for contrasty surface detail and for imaging, but the full 60 mm is great for viewing prominences in detail.

Edited June 28, 2022 by Ags

[Highburymark]

On 28/06/2022 at 00:15, Elp said:

 

Either way some at Lunt Solar have the prior experience having also worked at Coronado so you can get a feel for their pedigree in their product. Coronado scopes hold their own as it's a tried and tested technology which revolutionised amateur solar astronomy.

Indeed. David Lunt started Coronado in the 1990s, and was responsible for making Ha solar scopes affordable to amateurs. After Coronado was sold to Meade, David’s son Andy started Lunt Solar - and he’s still running the company today. 

[Nigella Bryant]

Love my Lunt 60mm double stack, got it second hand. I did replace the blue filter because the scope was seven years old when I got it and replaced the O'rings on the pressure tuner and gave the pressure tuner a re-grease. Had trouble free observing and imaging even though it's ten years old. I did buy a rotator for the double stack for ease of clocking the double stack unit.