A few years ago i jumped in and bought one of the first lunts available when they were offered for a "special " price. since getting it i have only used it a few times - and that was visual and very brief. I think i have used the lunt only 4 times since having it. well now i think i have used it more in the past two weeks then the whole time i have had it. i am imaging with a DMK41 mono and the dust moates are ruining the potential for the gear. I cleaned the corrector lens on the surface of the objective, the dmk, then i moved onto the BF1200 - OMG i nearly died. at this stage it is far too late to have it sent back to lunt to have it repaired but i cleaned it with the BINTEL corrector lens goop - jungle juice for the optics that stuff. it helped a bit but overall this BF diagonal is stuffed - i will put up with it for now for the transit but i will need to get it fixed. in the meantime i need to learn how to process with the crud i have
i will be honest - i never looked at the diagonal as it had the barrels on it and it was sealed in the box and bags - and i only had it out a few times. it has sat literally stored for a few years. so really i am to blame that i didnt extract a digit and really go over the gear in a thorough manner. i still have a qhy10 BNIB waiting to go on my C11 hyperstar - that i got about two years ago now - i hope it works.
but as for the lens you see - its utter CR@P and i will be taking it up with the supplier next week
This is well known problem and has been discussed at length on the Yahoo Lunt forum.
IIRC, there was a batch of early filters that had sealing problems around the edge of the glass that allowed the coating to get contaminated.
Lunt replaced the units in the US under warranty.
This is well known problem and has been discussed at length on the Yahoo Lunt forum.
IIRC, there was a batch of early filters that had sealing problems around the edge of the glass that allowed the coating to get contaminated.
Lunt replaced the units in the US under warranty.
Andrew
thats great news - but i bought mine over 3 years ago - i wonder will they still honor that?
thats great news - but i bought mine over 3 years ago - i wonder will they still honor that?
I would think if they want to retain their reputation they should at least assess it and if it has the problem, replace it. Personally, as a buyer looking around for a Solar Filter I find what you describe very concerning.. I think I will strike out Lunt on my list along with Coronado...not many manufacturers left other than DayStar.
well to prove the point further that it is the blocking filter - look at the composite image and you will see a slightly diagonal "horizontal line" that exists on the cr@p filter lens which has transferred to the image and i have photoshopped out the moates
Gday Hans
I have to say i havent heard of this problem recurring.
It sounds like it was one bad batch at the very beginning.
(Like the PSTs with brown filters that rusted)
My B1200 is over yrs old now and shows no sign of breakdown
and my PST has the blue objective and also shows no degradation.
Gday Hans
I have to say i havent heard of this problem recurring.
It sounds like it was one bad batch at the very beginning.
(Like the PSTs with brown filters that rusted)
My B1200 is over yrs old now and shows no sign of breakdown
and my PST has the blue objective and also shows no degradation.
Andrew
I must admit that I have given the Lunt brand another look. For around $2500 I could get a Lunt LS60 Tha/PT/B1200. What is the warranty on Lunt scopes? DayStar offer 5 to 10 years.
The same thing happened to my B1200 blocking filter last year, I think it was about 3yrs old as well. I sent an email to Rikki Hocking at Lunt with some photos asking for suggestions on how to clean it. She told me to send it back & they would clean it or replace the glass. I was amazed at the turn around time, it came back looking brand new within a couple of weeks with no charge even though I had no proof of date of purchase. I couldn't fault their customer service & would recommend Lunt equipment in an instant. If you have an issue with your supplier contact Rikki & she will sort it out for you.
I must admit that I have given the Lunt brand another look. For around $2500 I could get a Lunt LS60 Tha/PT/B1200. What is the warranty on Lunt scopes?
The website still quotes 5 years, and thats whats on the paper warranty card that came with my unit as well.
The PT unit really does make a nice evenly tuned field relative to the tilt tuner in my PST ;-)
