Introducing the Lunt 60mm double stacked solar scope

[h0ughy]

ITS HERE!!!:D:D:D

Finally it is actually here. It was delivered at the usual secret location…..known only to those privileged few….

First I wish to apologise for the camera:screwy: – it is a very old one and I was lucky to get it working (hasn’t been used in 4 years). Also it doesn’t focus very well either, or was I way too excited? Who knows :lol::whistle:

First impressions – it’s in a box – within a box, within a nice sturdy aluminium case!!:eyepop: The etalon and the scope are in separate cases, and were well packed. :thumbsup:

First impression – very solid and well constructed by the look and feel, it’s deceivingly heavy like there are 4 scopes squeezed into the one. It is no where near the lightness of the ED80. It is build like the brick proverbial. Inspection of the coatings revealed nothing to worry about – looks perfect.;)

Will have more information later, as I need to get a mounting plate for the scope before I can really do anything. Oh I am so looking forward to this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) :)

[h0ughy]

and more images:D - and the best news the clouds are clearing:thumbsup:........ must resist urge to get instant divorce:help:.....must wait until weekend to get out:sadeyes:......help:scared:

[xstream]

Congrats. Dave!

I can't wait to catch up and have a bo-peep through it. :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

thanks John, no worries (but your are in Tassie?);)

[Merlin66]

David,
Glad it arrive safely!!
I was lucky with my SM60; Paul Rodman ( AstroPlanner) hand carried it to the UK for me. ( Cost me a couple of kilo of Marmite!!)
So, you have a LS60 single stack and a LS50 double stack configuration, with a B1200 blocking filter. Can the LS50/ B1200 be fitted to another scope of longer focal length? ( What's the thread size?)
Looks like a nice piece of gear! Well done.

[rmcpb]

Wondered why the storms have started again :)

[h0ughy]

at this stage no idea, though i dont see why i cant use it on another scope? there must be some reason?:shrug:

[h0ughy]

what storm:whistle:

[sheeny]

Congratuilations Dave!

Looking forward to the first light report!

Al.

[h0ughy]

you will of course understand that this might take a while:whistle:

[Tilt]

Great looking scope David, you're going to have fun with that new toy :)

Michael

[Omaroo]

Great stuff David - looks like your patience has paid off handsomely. Keen to see some photos of our nearest star. :thumbsup:

[[1ponders]]

Ok so when do you order yourself the DMK41 so you can do full frame images ;)

[h0ughy]

bugger got home and we had a storm - still showery

[h0ughy]

now there is a thought;)

[spacezebra]

Hi David

Congrats on the new equipment.

Secret location, very funny - I thought that you have changed occupations. ;)


Cheers Petra d.

[sheeny]

nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more!:whistle:

Al.

[renormalised]

Nice...very nice:D:D

[casstony]

The LS50 can be used on other refractors but the adapter plate is quite expensive ($300 or so for the ed80/ed100). I opted for two LS50's on an ED80 simply because they were available well before the 60mm double stacked units. I like the portability and clean lines of Houghy's scope.

[Miaplacidus]

Congratulations, H0ughy. Very tasty looking scope. Will be very interested to hear the first light report.

How much are you planning to sell it for? :P

Cheers,

Brian.

[JethroB76]

haha get in line Brian:lol:

[h0ughy]

thanks, yep will be a careful report- might even rope in a few pro opinionated astrophotographers.

yours if you want it, just give me 4k:lol:

[h0ughy]

did you get the bf600 or 1200?

[h0ughy]

yes petra i too have dark secrets:lol: i could never do Al's job, but he could probably handle mine :rofl: after all we are all clowns in the public service:whistle:. thenks for the well wishes:thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Looks a nice scope David. Of note and what I think is pretty important here is the the focus mechanism. My SM60 double stack has a helical focusor which is good but the focusor on the Lunt looks very nice. Second thing that I find attractive is that there is no central obstruction to the Lunt etalons. The band adjuster is there but it does not rely on a pivot point to center like the Coronado's. This means theoretically that contrast should be better overall.

A double stacked version would be good to do a review. I chose the 0.5 angstrom unit for surface detail and increased active region detailing. Although at present the sun is very quiet and not showing much activity.

Nice unit and I wish you all the luck with it. If I lived in your area I would like to see what the baby can do and do a direct comparison between the SM60 and the Lunt.

[jjjnettie]

Finally! Woo Hoo!
Congratulations David.
If you ever need somewhere to stash it, I'll PM you my address.

[Quark]

Damn fine looking instrument there David,

looking forward to seeing some images through it.

Regards
Trevor

[h0ughy]

too late - I already know where you live:scared:

[h0ughy]

I hope so too - i just found out it had a camera tripod hole - so a quick setup for a look on the tripod is at hand

[h0ughy]

LOL no way will i send it down to you Paul:lol: took too long to get here in the first place. as for the focuser here are some better images. I hope to band together Scott Alder, Paul Mayo and Mike Sidonio and get their opinions on this after I have my first drool:D

Also i attatched the etalon for the first time - fits well and screwed onto the main scope very well.

[h0ughy]

have some better shots of the scope here. the tripod adapter in the previous post was not part of the lunt package. the clamshell is very well made. The SOL finder is an extra and i got that from BINTEL

[casstony]

I got both since I purchased the filters individually rather than getting a matched set. The bf1200 is nicer to use with it's wider field. The two unmatched filters work well with a dramatic improvement in visibility of detail over a single filter. The single filter actually provides most of the detail that the double stack does, but the detail is obvious through the double stack whereas you have to work hard to see it through the single filter. Curious to hear your impressions of single versus double stack. A bit more solar activity would be nice.

[h0ughy]

moreactivity would be nice. Looking forward to the Venus transit in 2012

[RB]

Excellent Davo, congrats mate, looking forward to having a squiz next time we get together.

:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

sure thing Andrew:rofl:

[h0ughy]

OK rushed home this afternoon, got it out and then realised - i need 1.25" EP's. i went pale - i knew i had some - just where, LOL i haven't used an eyepiece in years to observe through. well i found a 40mm one (better than nothing. just using the the 40 (OK need to find the others) i was pleasantly surprised - i couldn't see any prominences but i was able to get some surface detail. Very promising

[RB]

Couldn't you find your 9mm reticle?
You probably left it in your guide scope LOL !!!!

:poke:

[h0ughy]

LOL no that was in the 127ED case

[alan meehan]

I had a quick look through this scope yesterday, and i got to say its magic it is very well made and well worth the wait cant wait to put a camera on it,unfortunatly the sun seems to have dissappeared for who knows how long...

[Miaplacidus]

I should know better, I guess, but can you use binoviewers with this Lunt?

[wavelandscott]

New gear looks great.

Can't wait to hear how well it works!

Congratulations...

[h0ughy]

here it is SUnday and the clouds will not let up - looks like it will rain anytime

probably?

when it is good weather and have a good deal of time I will geta report done:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

OK i dropped over the Lunt to Scott Alder this afternoon. he is on holidays at the moment and can really give this scope a test. I have looked through it with and without the etalon - simply stunning details. leaves a PST for dead. Damn fine value for money! with a 60mm coranado up near the 10K mark, this one is simply a bargain for the price. Those that ordered after me - there will still be a long wait - but hang in there it is worth it. The prominence at the 11o'clock mark on the sun currently was superb - i hope Scott is able to capture that? Tuning both etalons is interesting and produced fine/course detail and other features with different tweaking. This is so much fun!!

Scott is taking some DSLR shots now should have them later, but i will be interested in putting the DMK on it to see what can be streamed and staked - that will be a whole new ball game. Heaven forbid i will have to learn some planetary imaging techniques!

[h0ughy]

this example is from Scott Alder with my scope :
Hi
A stack of 3 images thru the Lunt solarscope using the method here, taken yesterday arvo just after Dave left the scope here http://www.allaboutastro.com/Articlepages/hasolarimagingtips.html
Only a quick process this morning, but though the Sun is VERY quiet in white light, theres plenty of action on the solar limb :)
Scott

[RB]

Fantastic shots !!

Bargain and quality, what more can you ask for.

:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

LOL Scotty is having a field day - and teasing the hell out of me, look at what the bugger sent me just now:

"Dave
heres some Q guider images
processed with Registax
Some of the black spots is dust, I could not do a flatfield, but the scope rocks with the monochrome Q guider (which is HA modded as well, has clear glass over the sensor). About 30 low exposure and high exposure frames stacked. Taken this morning Will post on IIS"

well i beat you to it you smart person!!!:lol: this is going to be great!! Here i am stuck at work and he is on holidays having a heap of fun with the scope;) Onya Scott, now i will be getting the scope back soon:whistle:

[tornado33]

Hi all
Houghy has kindly let me his scope for testing.
First image is with my unmodded 450DSLR. I used this method (http://www.allaboutastro.com/Articlepages/hasolarimagingtips.html)

The 2nd image is with my monochrome Qguider, using shorter exposures for the photosphere, longer for the promininces
A few dust spots on Qguider image
Both Etalons fitted to the telescope.
Not bad eh :)
Scott

PS, when Dave wants it back, I wonder if he will believe me if I tell him the cat ate it lol!

[h0ughy]

Somehow i think the cat would have a quick one way trip to the vet:whistle: LOL you posted same time mr Alder;)

[h0ughy]

OK now this opens up a point i have not considered - what monochrome imager will i get to complement this scope? the images shown so far means by far the monochrome imager is king, though you can get some satisfaction from the dslr. any thoughts?

[Merlin66]

You mentioned you had a DMK21 camera.
That's the camera of choice!
Fast frames and good resolution and responce.

[Merlin66]

Paul,
Just read your comments _
"The band adjuster is there but it does not rely on a pivot point to center like the Coronado's. This means theoretically that contrast should be better overall."
I'm sure it must tilt the etalon somehow to get on/ off the band; the internal etalon is not much bigger than the one in a PST.
The SM60 is completely different in that it has a full aperture etalon up front. Obviously the double stack puts a second "full size" etalon in the train, but again this to must be "adjusted"
Can you explain your thoughts on the contrast issue?
For what it is I think the Lunt should give good views and certainly good bang per buck.

[tornado33]

Hi all
Heres todays image. Seeing wasnt as good, the Sun was boiling, but the HA detail on the surface was still evident visually, and came through with the imaging as well. The proms seem to have faded a little overnight.

When tuning, one can see the tilting of the etalons by secondary reflections moving across, but these dont appear when correctly tuned. I think it is best to tune with 1 etalon, then fit the 2nd and tune that in. Trying to tune the first with the 2nd on is too confusing, although with the q guider fitted one can tune by prominence intensity and fine the sweet spot in both etalons.
Note, when first observing with the scope still cold, the tuning tends to change slightly as the scope warms up, thats to be expected and soon stabilizes.

monochrome images definately rule for HA solar work. Focus is a snap using realtime video from the camera on the laptop.
Scott

[h0ughy]

Thanks Scott, I look forward to getting this back later in the week. as per usual you are producing a result that is quite entertaining ;) never would I have dreamt of having one of these, then the PST became affordable, now this little wonder :D.

Somehow must find out about how to take flats etc. I note the "circles" in the stacked images - wonder if that is to do with the tuning? :shrug:

[h0ughy]

i like the idea of the full frame - the 21 would only be 1/2 or a 1/3rd?:shrug:

[Matty P]

Awesome looking bit of kit Dave. :)

The images it is producing look fantastic. All I can say that it is now on the long long list of things that I want, but may never get. :lol:

:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

I thought that Matty, then I was able to get one. Seize the opportunity when its availble;)

[RB]

:rofl:

[Merlin66]

David,
You're correct. I'd need a mosaic of 6 to 9 shots to cover the solar surface with a FL 900mm.
The DMK41 might be the answer; but big bucks!
I like the DMK over the Canon in that I can stack the best images and get good resolution and frame rates....

[h0ughy]

thanks for that - now suffering another cloudy day

[ian]

question for David &/or Scott, or really to any anyone at all :)

i received my LS60THa last week - i did not get the double stack, just the scope. although visually its very impressive -proms & surface details quite clear, i am having difficulty focussing my DSLR, an unmodded 350D. its the usual problem with no enough in-travel on the focusser.

i tried a 2" extension tube but no success. ended up using a 2x barlow between the diagonal and the DSLR which gave the image below which i'm not happy with but thats probably more to do with my inexperience processing solar images. nevertheless, not a prom to be seen in any of my images despite them being there visually. focus was the best i could get looking through the camera view finder.

the upshot is: any advice taking photos with this gear would be very much appreciated. i'd love to be able to duplicate the DSLR photo you posted earlier.

thanks in advance.
ian

[sheeny]

G'Day Ian,

Rather than the 2x barlow, have you tried taking the lens out of the 2x barlow and screwing it directly into the nosepiece on the camera? This should allow you to come to focus without the full 2x magnification. It might help with sharpness of the detail.

The image looks like a good start!:thumbsup: I would hazard a guess that the proms are there, but you might need to over-expose the disc to capture them. To get a solar image with both proms and disc detail is usually the result of multiple exposures and stacking in my experience.;)

Al.

[ian]

hi Sheeny,
thanks for the tip. i did kinda try this in that i tried an eyepiece projection tele-extender without an eyepiece in place - seems kinda like using a barlow without the lens. i'll have to keep experimenting.

i appreciate your thoughts!

[sheeny]

:)Other way around, Ian.:whistle: Don't use the barlow body... screw the lens out of the barlow directly into the camera nose piece. If your problem is not enough "in travel" then the extender or barlow body will make it worse.

Al.

[h0ughy]

should screw the t adapter directly to the diagonal - should get focus easy

[ian]

hi guys,
ah ha!! barlow lens to camera, now i get it ;)

i do have a 'zero profile' t adapter. i'll try that also.

thanks for the tips, its appreciated.