Rob,
That sounds like the "normal" initial visual results...
I have a Baader and Rainbow Optics ( as well as an ol' GOTO DV spectroscope) which all use small cylinderical lenses to expand the height of the spectrum and make it much easier to see the defined Balmer lines in the brighter stars.
You can get some small cylinderical lens cheaply from Surplus Shed - or the expensive versions from Edmund Optics etc.
Such is life......
|