Lunt LS60THaPT + LS50FHa

[durr]

My new Lunt arrived this morning from Stay Focused who were superb and have been very helpful throughout the process. The telescope is a lot heavier than expected and I have put a sol ranger finder and large dovetail to secure it to my NEQ6 mount. The workmanship is fine, the paint job excellent, lenses very clean and knobs and dials are all working nicely. The morning started out clear and still was when the van man rung my bell with the scope, by the time I had unpacked everything the clouds had rolled in. So I can’t give an appraisal of the optics just yet. The scope comes in two cases which seem fine for the job and will come in very handy for transportation. The scope is double stacked with the LS50FHa screwing on to the end of the scope. I like the metal caps which screw on and are very well made.The only thing which needed some attention was the 10 - 1 focuser which was a bit stiff but I have tweaked it a little and now it’s ok. All I need now is for our local star to peep through the good old English cloud layer. Steve

[durr]

[ATTACH]40068[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]40069[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]40070[/ATTACH]

[NickH]

Good luck!

[NGC 1502]

Hi Steve, I expect you've read my short review on my clubmates Lunt 60 with

D/stack, with good conditions you will be blown away by the solar disc detail.

Yes, I agree the L60 is heavier than I expected. I was also impressed with the

supplied custom made cases, takes me ages to make a fitted case that I'm

happy with.

Good luck with the clouds ! Ed.

[durr]

Thanks Ed,Yes that's the problem at the moment clouds and more clouds but we should get some sun soon. I did have a look through a lunt 60 and was surprised at the quality of the view and that was one of the reasons that I chose Lunt. The rest are seriously over priced or go rusty after a while. The focuser was a bit stiff but the allen key quickly solved that problem and now nice and smooth. I am hoping to do some photography later on and hope to put up some images eventually. My friend has a double stacked 40 Coronado which gives very good views of the sun and we are also hoping to rig that up with a camera soon. Steve

[Merlin66]

"The rest are seriously over priced or go rusty after a while"

I'm not sure about the over priced comment; the rust problem with the PST ERF's disappeared years ago... NONE of the recent build show any problems.

Ken

[durr]

Ken I think they are overpriced and I know that there are still scopes going rusty today. I agree that the later models will be fine. The Solarview 60mm Double Stack Etalon was about £7500 which seems an awful lot of money to pay for a scope that size, and I seriously doubt whether the view will be £5000 better than the Lunt. Steve

[NickH]

£5000 better...I agree, but better for sure... in every instance I have seen.

[durr]

Nick, having said that, if solar viewing and science is your hobby and passion then yes maybe I can see someone spending that amount. My last motor bike cost me £6000 and will be junked in a few years. A solarscope will probably be around at the end of this century.

[Merlin66]

Other than the early PST objective ERF and blocking filters, I haven't seen any of the front etalon filters ( SM40/ SM60 etc) suffer from rusting.

I have and use a double SM60 Ha filter set-up and I can assure you it didn't cost anywhere near 7500gbp - expensive...yes but an excellent performer.

If the Lunt can demonstrate similar performance, then it is a very cost effective Ha scope.

[durr]

Ken, just out of interest how much does the double stack 60 cost? I tried to buy one but could not find anyone selling them. The solarview was the only other one and that cost £7500 which was way too much. I have read on the cloudy nights that people with the sm40s had suffered from the rust problem but that was some years ago.

[NickH]

Durr...I am not slating it, in fact recently I have seen two Lunts which are very very good indeed...and justification of the extra several thousand pounds comes down to build quality (an Aston Martin vs Mondeo argument is the best analogy still, both will get you from A-B, one is built to exceptionally high standards, the other very high..)..

I hope your scope delivers as well as it should..

[durr]

Nick thanks for that I just got on the defence mode after splashing out £2500. And yes you are right about quality. I am just going to enjoy what I have and hopefully have some fun whilst learning about this new toy and what it can reveal. Steve

[NickH]

I am sure it will be good...

Sadly they are not all like that...David Arditti, sent out some images taken with his Lunt a few days ago...my exact response to him (and he's a pretty damn fine imager) were "shocking...send it back"...

He sent me the LS50 link I have posted (the one with the Zeiss scope modded to 150mm-200mm), which to me would just make it even more of a reason to send his back

[durr]

Nick, I am thinking of getting a zoom for visual work maybe the Baader, Lunt or Orion what are your thoughts please. Steve

[NickH]

Not being into visual as muc as others, I will defer..

The Televue I suspect would be a good option

[johninderby]

I use the Pentax XF 6.5-19.5 zoom with my Lunt 60. I cant tell the difference between this zoom and a Baader ortho for sharpness and contrast in the Lunt. The magnification range is also a good match for the Lunt and it's not too big or heavy. It just seems to be the perfect solar eyepiece and It's the only one I use now.

It's not much more expensive than a Baader zoom but is definitely worth the bit extra. I've used the Baader zoom, and while it's very good, it's outclassed by the Pentax for solar observing.

John

[Merlin66]

Durr,

I ended up buying mine s/h through AstroMart, as I couldn't find any others either.

My set-up is different inasmuch as it's two SM60 etalons mounted together with T-max adjusters on the front of my ED80 with a BF15 blocking filter. So no "built-in" etalon type situation.

Tuning the pair can be a real PITA but when done correctly - majic happens.

The total cost was less than 3000gbp all up.

Ken

[durr]

Thanks John I will check this out. Ken, I was thinking that tuning them to perfection will be hard but like you say it will be worth it. The price you paid was excellent for such a telescope. I have just bought the BAA book on the sun and how to observe so that should keep me busy for a while.Steve

[Merlin66]

To allow fine adjustment of the etalon from the eyepiece I used my "patented" Vegemite lid 20:1 reduction adjusting mechanism;)

I'll upload a photo...

This allows me to tune the T-Max knob on the rear etalon in steps of less than 0.5 degree. I usually find about 10-12 degree difference in the T-Max knob position for the proms v's the best contrast on the disk.

Only downside to the double stack is the reduced amount of light getting through at around 0.4A bandwidth - increases the minimum exposures.

Ken

[Merlin66]

Steve,

Like John, I use the Pentax zoom (XW 8-24mm) - it outperformed all the others I tried (Baader/ TV/ Meade)

Ken

[durr]

Thanks Ken, I’m seriously thinking of the Pentax zoom now maybe at the end of the month when payday arrives. The veggie solution is a masterpiece and a pic would be appreciated. I did add a solarsearcher from teleview which should make finding the sun easier, my mate has a 40 double stack mounted on a vixen porta and finding the sun is not quite as easy as I thought. Jack can find the sun in a matter of seconds he just lines the shadow up and makes it look so easy. The double stack is superb, when we put in the cemax barlow and the 12x eyepiece the prominences where incredible. Steve

[Merlin66]

Here's my SM60 double stack arrangement on the ED80pro with the Pentax XW Zoom.

Ken

[NickH]

Nice...the Pentax option seems a winner, thanks guys...that's a help for me too!

[johninderby]

The Pentax XF 6.5-19.5 zoom is about £200.00 and the Pentax XW 8-24 zoom is about £350.00. As a general all-round eyepiece that will be used for all types of observing the XW is a bit better, but it's much larger and heavier. For solar observing the XF is just as good as the XW and has a more useful range of magnification.

John