Orion 2" Filter Wheel

[casstony]

The filter wheel and Baader M48/T2 adapter arrived today and it mates quite well with the William Optics diagonal, reducing the length of the light path compared to using a 2" eyepiece holder on the wheel.

The filter wheel has M48 (2" filter) threads on both sides of the body, a 2" screw-in nosepiece, and a T2 adapter with locking ring on the other side. The WO nosepiece attaches to the diagonal with M48 threads; removal of the nosepiece allows the wheel and diagonal to be close coupled with the Baader M48/T2 adapter (part # T2-29).

Negatives:
- the nosepiece supplied with the filter wheel is too short to safely hold the wheel, diagonal and eyepiece. I replaced it with the nosepiece from the WO diagonal which has the same M48 threads, though they're not perfectly matched and it doesn't screw all the way in - it's still secure though. Another option would be to attach a barrel extension to the supplied nosepiece.
- the T2 threads on the rear of the wheel have a clear aperture of 38mm which isn't ideal if you're using eyepieces with wider field stops.

I have more gear on the way to mate the filter wheel to a GSO diagonal giving about 46mm clear aperture.

[Visionoz]

Tony

Is the FW being attached to diagonals mean that they are for visual filters rather than imaging?

Cheers
Bill

[casstony]

It is for visual use Bill, mainly with my C11. It will also reach focus with some refractor/eyepiece combinations depending on available back focus and position of the eyepiece field stop.

Orion does not market this filter wheel for visual use but when I started looking around at the dizzying array of adapters I realised it could easily be used visually.

There are a few different diagonals the wheel can be attached to or you can get a 2" eyepiece holder from Agena Astro.

I'd been thinking about a filter slide/wheel for my nebula filters but wasn't happy with the Lumicon version since the filters are not enclosed.

It's very nice to be able to quickly change between UHC/OIII or no filter.

[Visionoz]

Aaaah! Very good idea for visual use - I thought initially that it was a bit strange to use with a diagonal for afocal imaging but suppose it is practical!!

Good innovation!:thumbsup:

Cheers
Bill

[casstony]

I managed to connect the filter wheel to a GSO diagonal resulting in a 44mm clear aperture. It was difficult though due to poorly manufactured parts from Baader.

Baader SCT threaded rings screw into either side of the diagonal body to connect various parts, but both of the rings are too large in diameter and they weren't even identical to each other. I used an angle grider with wire brush and a sanding stone to reduce the diameter of one ring; the other was so oversized I had to cut through one side with a hack saw after which it was still a tight fit.

The end result is good and it's a very useful piece of gear, though the project might have been easier using a Baader clicklock diagonal (assuming you managed to get one of the smaller sized sct threaded rings).

With the ability to quick change filters I'm finding nebulae/nebulosity that is otherwise invisible in my light polluted conditions.