[deadsimple (Ash)]

Hi all,

I received delivery of a Lunt 60mm PT, rushed home and had a fairly bad first light. Perhaps near sunset is a bad time for solar viewing, but I could not see any detail despite sweeping with the focusing knobs and pressure tuning knob as per the included instructions (there are meant to be some fairly visible solar spots at the moment). Just saw a massive red blur (with 15mm plossl). Will try again in the morning.

Some other problems that I was hoping to ask advice for:

1. The eye-piece side of the blocking filter glass isn't perfect. Seems to have a scratch right in the centre. See pic #1. My bulb blower and lens cloth did nothing. Would this be much of a problem or should I send it back? The surface is a dust-magnet and hard to clean. Also what's up with the residual glue?

2. With the blocking diagonal removed, the glass at the inside of the telescope seems very ... dirty/hazy when looked at from an angle. See pic #2. Is this just a deceptive quirk with Ha filters? My ED80 is 100% transparent and clear from all angles.

3. The front glass has dust or something on the inside. Pic #3. Again my ED80 is perfect in comparison.

4. The focuser tube has two long lines/scratches on either side. Pic #4. I noticed this on my ED80 as well (see Pic #5). Is this an issue with either scope?

Apart from the matching lines on the focuser tube, my ED80 looks pretty much perfect and dust-free in comparison, even after several nights of viewing (I received that scope a few weeks ago).

Does anyone have a similar Lunt scope and can provide some advice?

Thanks

EDIT: Granted, some of these dust/haze problems can only be seen if I shine a torch into the glass. Normal visual checks look ok (and the scratch looks even more minor). Then again the ED80 is perfect even with a torch check at all possible angles ..