solar max 3 70mm

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David Fox
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solar max 3 70mm

Post by David Fox »

Hi again,

Anybody here on this forum use the Solar Max 3 (single stack) ?

Looking for some tips from users of Coronado style tuning. Best practice advise.
I'm new to this scope and having spent two sunny but maybe not great seeing days the only degree of surface detail I pulled at all was the etalon fully CCW with the tilt full on. Got no detail anywhere else.

Not a total nobbie as I can tune the Lunt no problem - but just in case there is a particular knack with this one - manual goes into greater detail on double stacking.

Be appreciative of any suggestions users may have and thanks again.


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Lunt HW 2' on Skywatcher 120ed esprit / Skywatcher 72ed
Coronado SolarMax 3 70mm SS
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DeepSolar64
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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by DeepSolar64 »

I have a SolarMax II 60 and a SolarMax II 90. They are different than the SMIII in that the primary etalon is internal. I had trouble tuning the 60 at first and I removed the tuning peg and rotated the ring which has holes for the peg to be screwed into. When I found by trial and error the right position it came on band. The SMIII uses a tilt wheel on the primary etalon and that cannot be adjusted outside of it's tuning range. I think the secondary etalons ( DS ) on both scopes are the same. They have the tuning ring ( Richview tuning ) and the tilt wheel both. I think the tuning peg setup on mine and the tilt wheel are what Meade Coronado calls T-Max tuners.

Hopefully someone on here can help you more than I can. Someone who owns a SMIII. I just hope you don't have a bad etalon that fails to come on band.

Good Luck

James


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by marktownley »

Curious as to why you bought the Coronodo if you have the Lunt David?


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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by David Fox »

James,
Surface detail starts to show when the wheel is fully CCW and with the tilt full on. Its like backfocus - you feel if you had a tad more movement to the left things would be perfect. I see sunspots through most of the wheel travel but I've not seen any proms yet. I'm assuming if I'm seeing some detail then its a matter of finding the best turns that bring in the various detail. Manual typically just says 'turn the wheel'. I'm also assuming that the tilt button is similar to others and just a mechanical movement or tilt in the optical train. I'd read where the pegs could be moved on the SM2 but cannot see on this one where you could. Hence hoping for a SM3 user to give me some experience suggestions.

Mark,
Bit of a story. Love love love the Lunt, especially @ 60mm, and also the solar quest - great for grab and go but my Lunt's band was at the end of travel, very tight so always had image movement. I put the Lunt in the dome where camera is set up and great now Sun has higher altitude. But still wanted a grab and go and hence my 'daystar scout experience', which was returned as you know. I never had a Coronado and from reading about them tuning was just a simple 'turn of the wheel' (no pressure 😁) and being honest if TS had not got one in stock (& I'd not had a bit of a bonus) would not have gone any further.
Hopefully not jumped from one problem to another.


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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by marktownley »

Are you saying hinge wide open or hinge tight shut here David?


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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by David Fox »

Wide open Mark


Lunt 60tha
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Lunt HW 2' on Skywatcher 120ed esprit / Skywatcher 72ed
Coronado SolarMax 3 70mm SS
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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by David Fox »

No Coronado SM3's users ??


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Lunt HW 2' on Skywatcher 120ed esprit / Skywatcher 72ed
Coronado SolarMax 3 70mm SS
TI Dome / EQ8r / solar quest / Atik & Zwo
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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by marktownley »

Nope, no SM3 users David. I think most people here generally avoid the newer coronado stuff.

If the hinge is wide open that is a lot of tilting you are having to do, i'm guessing the tuned view of the sun is just a band across the disk, rather than the whole disk itself?


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http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Actually we do have a couple of SMIII users. They don't post much. Most here use SMII scopes or the older SM Tuscon stuff.


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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Re: solar max 3 70mm

Post by David Fox »

Thanks all,
Recent experience has made me appreciate the quality & user-friendliness of my Lunt gear.

I know I bought the bottom end of Daystar - so was not the best example!
With this Coronado though you have to work hard with the scope to achieve a level of detail - the Richview, the Tilt and oddly eyepiece projection all require coordination, at different levels, throughout the travel train e.g. a tilt position at one part of the travel will require different movement at another. Anyway a work in progress :geek:

Thanks again,


Lunt 60tha
Lunt 50tha with DS
Lunt HW 2' on Skywatcher 120ed esprit / Skywatcher 72ed
Coronado SolarMax 3 70mm SS
TI Dome / EQ8r / solar quest / Atik & Zwo
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