Lunt solar wedge 1.25"

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by MortonH

Good one, Brian

On the APM website it says "you can screw the ND3 filter directly into the eyepiece connector".

Maybe they've changed the design to allow different ND filters to be used like the Baader version.

The real difference is that the Baader wedge allows both the SC and the OD3 ND to be permanently attached, making it very safe and easy to use. It, though, is only available in the 2" format and has quite a long optical path, about 10mm longer than the standard dielectric ClickLock.

[MortonH]

Originally Posted by Kunama

The real difference is that the Baader wedge allows both the SC and the OD3 ND to be permanently attached, making it very safe and easy to use. It, though, is only available in the 2" format and has quite a long optical path, about 10mm longer than the standard dielectric ClickLock.

And is extremely expensive. If I had that much money I'd get a H- alpha scope.

Will talk to Andrews tomorrow to figure out which version they have (if it actually changed).

Thanks for the link, Matt.

[Kunama]

Point of interest:

There are several ways that these neutral density filters are identified and the filter in question is actually an ND 3.0 which not the same as an ND3. An ND3 filter allows 37.5% of light to pass while the correct ND 3.0 allows less than 1/10th of 1%. An enormous difference. So never substitute an ND4 for an ND 3.0 thinking it is darker, as it actually allows 256 times more light to pass than an ND 3.0.
In fact an ND1000 is the same optical density as an ND 3.0 !!!

To be perfectly pedantic, the filter we use should be identified as an ' Optical density 3.0 neutral density filter ' which has a % transmittance of 0.098%

I must be bored tonight ................

(You can use this at your next science trivia night )

[Joves (Aaron)]

Hmmm... I have the 1.25" Lunt Solar Wedge and it does have the ND3 filter installed. Interesting to read that you apparently MUST use a polarising or solar continuum filter at the eyepiece though. I purchased the Baader Solar Continuum with the wedge, but must admit, I have looked through the wedge without the filter attached. Was a very bright image, but I didn't feel it was damaging my eye. Pretty terrible to think that the instruction manual doesn't advise that you MUST use a secondary filter or permanent damage could occur. I'd be pretty disappointed if I go for an eye test and it is found that I have damaged my eyesight with absolutely no warning on something as potentially hazardous as a solar filter!

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Aaron,
The recommended safe visual solar filtering level is ND3 (i.e. 1/1000 transmission)
Using the Herschel wedge with this level of filter will not cause eye damage.
However, the resulting image may still appear relatively bright and adding say a variable polarised filter or a Continuum filter (added contrast) may make viewing more comfortable.
Hope this helps.

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by Merlin66

Aaron,
The recommended safe visual solar filtering level is ND3 (i.e. 1/1000 transmission)
Using the Herschel wedge with this level of filter will not cause eye damage.
However, the resulting image may still appear relatively bright and adding say a variable polarised filter or a Continuum filter (added contrast) may make viewing more comfortable.
Hope this helps.

+1 .........
I find the SC also improves the amount of detail you see, but does give you a lime green image of the sun. If not using the SC, I usually add a ND 0.9 filter with the 3.0, I don't use the single polarizer.

[MortonH]

No reply from Lunt to my email and my message on the Yahoo forum hasn't been posted yet either...

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Morton,
White light observing and Ha/ CaK observing of the sun are complimentary. They all show different facets of the solar disk.

[Kunama]

and the answer to the riddle is:

Hi Matt,
The Lunt Solar White Light Wedges do come with the ND3 filter
pre-installed inside the wedge assembly. You are able to see it when you
look into the eyepiece tube. We did in the very beginning sell some that did
not have the ND3 installed so that people could use them for nighttime work
but that was years ago. I would recommend asking the dealer double check it
is included by looking into the eyepiece tube for you.
With the ND3 filter pre-installed the Wedge is safe to image or visually
view thru but the image is a little bright. We recommend use a polarizing
filter on your eyepiece because you can then rotate your eyepiece and dim or
brighten the image. You can also use a moon filter or green filter. Please
let me know if you have any other questions.


Thank you,
Rikki Hocking
Lunt Solar Systems

[MortonH]

Thanks, Matt.

I've asked Andrews to open up the box and check exactly what is in there and how it fits together. Waiting to hear back from them...

[MortonH]

Update: checked my emails and I got the exact same response from Lunt.

Andrews just called me and confirmed that the ND filter is not pre-installed but the eyepiece tube unscrews and allows the ND filter to be installed inside it before being reattached to the wedge. So the end result is the same, it's just that it wasn't inserted before the wedge was shipped.

Am proceeding with the order.

[pw (Peter)]

Well done on getting a definitive answer from the horses mouth.

[alocky (Andrew lockwood)]

I found Rikki at Lunt to be extremely helpful, and they certainly looked after me at the time. My understanding was that my experience was largely due to a change in manufacturer and was the only time it happened.
I went to the 2" mainly so I could hang a DSLR off it...
Cheers,
Andrew.

[MortonH]

Originally Posted by alocky

I found Rikki at Lunt to be extremely helpful, and they certainly looked after me at the time. My understanding was that my experience was largely due to a change in manufacturer and was the only time it happened.
I went to the 2" mainly so I could hang a DSLR off it...
Cheers,
Andrew.

I've certainly heard plenty of good things about their products but had no experience of their service. Mistakes can happen to anyone.

I was in two minds over the 1.25" or 2" models, but my little ZS66 will only take the smaller model, and I'm pretty much purely visual anyway. Can always get happy snaps by holding a compact to the eyepiece.

[Joves (Aaron)]

Thanks Merlin and Kunama, that's a relief.

I checked my 1.25" last night after reading this thread and the eyepiece tube unscrews from the diagonal! but the ND3 is permanently fixed to the bottom of it, so seems pretty safe to me if used as a whole assembly. If Andrews are selling them without an ND3 installed, which may not be the case by the way (I'm reading the last couple of replies in a couple of different ways), then I wonder the age of their stock?!

On a side note, completely agree that the SC filter provides nice surface detail. The lime green takes a little getting used to after viewing in Ha for awhile, but within very little time I seemed to look straight past that fact. All in all, they're a cracking little white light wedge!

[MortonH]

Originally Posted by Joves

If Andrews are selling them without an ND3 installed, which may not be the case by the way (I'm reading the last couple of replies in a couple of different ways), then I wonder the age of their stock?!

Good question. I have emailed Lunt again on this point

[MortonH]

Picked up the wedge from the post office yesterday. Unfortunately haven't had the chance to use it, so this is an update on the contents of the package.

The wedge itself came in its hard case, which itself was in a cardboard box with "filters required" hand written on the outside. In their own plastic cases were: (1) a Baader ND 3.0 filter, and (2) an Orion polarising filter. All items appear to be brand new and unused,

The eyepiece tube of the wedge unscrews easily and allows the ND filter to be screwed into the bottom before reattaching the tube to the wedge. There is a stop inside the tube that will prevent any eyepiece making contact with the ND filter from above. So the ND filter is now installed and need never be removed.

I haven't heard back from Lunt on my second query, i.e. is this possibly old stock? Andrews say they only received two units, which does make me wonder if these are older models for evaluation. This might also explain why the package includes a polarising filter and is still cheaper than elsewhere. I am holding off from using it until Lunt tell me what differences, if any, there may be between this one and current models sold by other dealers. If there is little or no difference my inclination at the moment is to keep this one.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Good news Morton , you will be impressed when you get to use it and being able to tune the brightness by turning the eyepiece with PF screwed in is a bonus , good luck and we await first light report .

Brian.

Originally Posted by MortonH

Picked up the wedge from the post office yesterday. Unfortunately haven't had the chance to use it, so this is an update on the contents of the package.

The wedge itself came in its hard case, which itself was in a cardboard box with "filters required" hand written on the outside. In their own plastic cases were: (1) a Baader ND 3.0 filter, and (2) an Orion polarising filter. All items appear to be brand new and unused,

The eyepiece tube of the wedge unscrews easily and allows the ND filter to be screwed into the bottom before reattaching the tube to the wedge. There is a stop inside the tube that will prevent any eyepiece making contact with the ND filter from above. So the ND filter is now installed and need never be removed.

I haven't heard back from Lunt on my second query, i.e. is this possibly old stock? Andrews say they only received two units, which does make me wonder if these are older models for evaluation. This might also explain why the package includes a polarising filter and is still cheaper than elsewhere. I am holding off from using it until Lunt tell me what differences, if any, there may be between this one and current models sold by other dealers. If there is little or no difference my inclination at the moment is to keep this one.

[MortonH]

Long awaited (but brief) first light just took place.

I used my William Optics ZS66 with Pentax XL 21mm, polariser and a very old Celestron no. 56 (light green) filter. If I'd been sitting on a chair I'd have fallen off it! A lot more detail than I expected. Just beautiful.

Changed the eyepiece to an Explore Scientific 82D 14mm and the view was even better.


A few minor ergonomic 'issues' that I found with my setup.

1. The XL 21mm has a rotating eyeguard that is very loose, so trying to rotate the whole eyepiece to adjust the polarisation was tricky.
2. You need to unscrew the filters and re-attach each time you change eyepiece.

These issues will be fixed by the inexpensive 1.25" extension tube I've already ordered from MyAstroShop. I will attach the filters to the extension tube so this will effectively become part of the wedge. Then swapping eyepieces is simple, and the extension tube itself can be rotated to change the polarisation level.

I noticed that Bintel and MAS both sell 1.25" extension tubes. The Bintel one is 35mm in length while the MAS one is 26mm. According to the scale on my scope's focuser, the focus point was around 28mm, so a 35mm extension would be too long.

Since the ZS66 sits happily on a camera tripod, I now have a lightweight and extremely portable solar setup. Very happy!

[mercedes_sl1970]

Hi Morton - sounds good. How does the view compare to, say Baader film or a white light glass filter?

Cheers

Andrew