Solar filters

[iceman]

Do any of you guys own/use solar filters?

Do you just use mylar/baader film, or do you have a full aperture or off-axis solar filter?

I'd love to get a PST but at AU$950+ they're just not in the budget, so a white-light filter will have to do for now.

I priced a 10" off-axis JMB white light solar filter at Bintel a few months ago, I think it was like $120 which isn't too bad.

What do you have?
Where did you get it from? How much did it cost?
How do you find it? Do you use it much?

I want to use mine not just for my own sunspot observing, but also to teach the kids at my son's preschool (this year) and primary school (next year).

Thanks

[vindictive666]

hi

ive got an solar filter for my 700 mm x 60 mm telescope a few months ago from a australian place called deep sky

http://deepsky.com.au/


i sent them a email telling them what size scope i had and what i wanted and they replied the same day with a price .
57 dollars including postage price naturally depends opn scope size :)



(its (mylar) an white solar filter the glass ones are of course dearer)

they have direct deposit facilities
thats how i bought it

i used it most every chance i got its great :)

i set it up inside the house so i dont make a boo boo and forget to put the filter on and also my finders scope takes an empty photo roll container so iam lucky there :)

just some extra info to line it upon the sun i use the shadow on the ground trick i also take out the eyepiece when i get close and when i get the diagonal full of light i slip in the ep

its a awsome sight when i saw the sunspots for the first time; it still is :)
i keep a drawing of the spots a see

as far as the pst's are concerned theyre a bit pricy in ol aussi land :)

but ive seen somewhere they are coming down in prices cnt remember where all i can remember it was overseas :(

i also check this site out on how close i get with my observing


http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html

i hope this helps

[gbeal]

Hi Ice,
bit tight for time right now, but I use them, and a lot. I use the Baader Astrosolar film, buying it in A4 sheets, from the US or direct from Baader in Germany. Can't remember the price, but it wasn't too dear. Made the cell(s) myself. I normally only use them on the refractors, so 80mm is the biggest, but I may make one up for the Mewlon.
DON'T FORGET TO COVER THE FINDER THOUGH, AS IT WILL PROBABLY BE THE END OF YOUR CROSSHAIR.
I also have an older Zeiss SFO63, designed for the Telementor refractors, and this is glass, and an orange colour, simply gorgeous. If you have the chance try a bino viewer on the sun. Spectacular.
If you need help send me an e mail off forum, and I can/will help with where to go, and how to build. Gut feeling is an off axis mask, and a smaller (so cheaper) piece for the 10".
Gary

[seeker372011]

Hi iceman

I use home made Baader Filters for a couple of my scopes.

I bought the film- 10 cm square for $15 from BATSC in Melbourne- plus a couple of dollars for postage

Used it for the Venus transit and generally for sunspot observing though what with nearing a solar minimum and all the cloudy days we have been having I havent had a lot of use recently

don't use the usual finder-in fact remove it from the scope when aimed at thye sun--made a solar finder-sort of sun dial principle-which works fine

[iceman]

I wanted to get an off-axis solar filter (glass), but neither bintel nor andrews sell them. Bintels only sell full aperture, and at $230 for 10", it's not really within the budget.

Does anyone know of any other aussies shops that might sell off-axis glass filters for newts?

I guess I could try the o/s shops like thousandoaks or something, just not sure how the price compares.

Ultimately I might end up buying some mylar/baader film and making my own off-axis mask out of cardboard or something, it just doesn't look as good that's all.

Is there any visual difference between the glass and the film? ie: is contrast or detail better when using the glass filters?

[iceman]

I've just ordered some mylar baader film, 30cm x 30cm, from Telescopes-Astronomy for $45. I'll make my own cell to hold it, so it's a much cheaper alternative to a full glass filter.

[seeker372011]

just remember to leave the film floppy and wrinkly not stretch it too tight when you make the filter

[iceman]

But floppy and wrinkly doesn't look as good! :eyepop:

Thanks for the advice though, i'm going to use the instructions on the astrophysics site (http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/solar_acc/make_sol) for making my cell.

[iceman]

Seeker can you post details (and photos!) of the solar finder you made?

Thanks in advance!

[seeker372011]

Dont have any photos -but will post when I take some

It was pretty crude though and it was based on the following which I picked up from another forum


quote


On the subject of finders for solar viewing or Photography.

I use a momemade gadget which allows me to zero in on the sun while facing away from it. This way I avoid the usual discomfort when looking at the sun in order to get my finder lined up.

I made this thing from some scrap metal I had around the house and it took at least five minutes to make. None of the dimensions are critical either.

Take an 8 - 12 inch piece of flat steel or aluminum which is nice and stiff, mine is an inch wide. at each end, bend a piece of the metal about 1 inch long up at a right angle.

Into one of the bent up pieces drill a hole about 1/16th to 1/8th dia. centered in the bent up area. That's it !!!

Now, mount this thing on your tube with the hole facing towards the sky end of your telescope and align it with the scope's axis just like you would a finder scope.

I use the piggy back screws on my scope rings.

In use, move the scope until the light beam coming through the hole is centered on the other bent up portion of the device. I got fancy and painted a little Bulls eye on it. You aim this thing by watching the side with the Bulls eye on it. As you get reasonably close, the shadow of the opposite end starts covering the bulls eye and this is followed shortly by the light beam, when it's centered, the sun is in your field of view.



By the way, Coronado sells a nice, fancy version of this for about $ 90.- I believe, for their Solar scopes.


unquote

[iceman]

ah that's pretty darn easy, i'll make my own.. thanks for posting that.

btw, you can use [ quote ] and [ /unquote ] to quote text.. (remove the spaces first).

I started making my filter cell last night from some cardboard I had lying around.. can't wait for the filter material to arrive.. probably won't be here till monday though.. doh! The weekend is supposed to be nice and sunny, too.

[Dave47tuc]

Hi ,
I use a JMB class a filter. works very well. Brought it for Venus transit. As others have said make your own its cheaper. If I had a Newtonian I would have made one.

Best:stargaze:

[iceman]

Nice, I really wanted a glass one but couldn't justify the cost.. $230 vs $55..

The problem is, I ordered the film last thursday and it still hasn't arrived.. supposedly it was sent on Monday (from S.A)..

I was planning to take my scope (with solar filter) to my sons preschool on monday for some daytime sun/moon viewing with the kids, but i've now had to cancel it because the baader film hasn't arrived :(

[silvinator]

I'm not sure if this has already been discussed elswhere but I did run a search on this topic and found nothing. So rather than post a new topic, I'll just add it here as it is relevant to solar filters. I'll apologise anyway if I sound iterative.
I found an interesting article on the S&T website about Meade's acquisition of Coronado, makers of the wonderful line of solar filters and solarscopes we all dream about. The full story is here (http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1375_1.asp).
I checked out the Meade website and the deal has now gone through. You can read the press release (http://www.meade.com/nasdaq/news/coronado2.html) here.
I had no idea that Meade never sanctioned the use of solar filters with their scopes. I wonder what their reasons were.
The coronado website (http://www.coronadofilters.com/) itself has a huge link to another interesting article that explains why coronado was sold off. Apparently, the owner of Coronado has had trouble keeping up with demand and so has decided to use Meade as a way of mass producing their products.
To me, it seems as though they have sold their soul. It really is a shame that the couple couldn't keep up with the popularity of their products. But it is understandable why they sold their company - to keep us consumers happy.
What are everyone else's thoughts on this?
PS: Ice, if you think this belongs in a new thread, just say the word and I will repost it. I just wasn't sure where this belonged...