Very interisting post

Frankenscope? Let's see it!***be advised that NOTHING in this forum has been safety tested and you are reading and using these posts at your own peril. blah, blah, blah... dont mess around with your eyesight when it comes to solar astronomy. Use appropriate filtration at all times...
Post Reply
User avatar
Bill Edelen
Ohhhhhh My!
Ohhhhhh My!
Posts: 122
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Location: NJ. US

Very interisting post

Post by Bill Edelen »

Please check out the post on cloudy nights site called ....Fixed focus solar scope....
Interisting concept..


User avatar
swisswalter
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 17948
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:28 am
Location: Switzerland
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: Very interisting post

Post by swisswalter »

Thanks Bill


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch

from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa ;)
User avatar
GUS
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 1298
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 12:03 pm
Location: Katoomba,NSW,Australia
Has thanked: 102 times
Been thanked: 213 times

Re: Very interisting post

Post by GUS »

Saw it yesterday, Interesting.

GUS.


User avatar
marktownley
Librarian
Librarian
Posts: 42272
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Brierley Hills, UK
Has thanked: 20435 times
Been thanked: 10245 times
Contact:

Re: Very interisting post

Post by marktownley »

Interesting indeed!


Image
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!
thesmiths
Almost There...
Almost There...
Posts: 1054
Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:13 pm
Location: London, England
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 1487 times

Re: Very interisting post

Post by thesmiths »

I tried to look at the attached images but you now have to be registered to view them. That's rather annoying. Can someone repost here?


User avatar
swisswalter
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 17948
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:28 am
Location: Switzerland
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: Very interisting post

Post by swisswalter »

hi Douglas

copy paste does not work. I'm sorry, but there is no difference to my helioscope I'm working on (see old post)



Posted 03 September 2014 - 12:53 AM


When growing up in the upper Midwest, I found observing limited in the winter by the cold. I was intrigued by fixed focus instruments that allowed the observer to stay indoors, such as Oscar Knab's fixed focus refractor that appeared in the July 1970 issue of Sky and Telescope.



After retiring to the Las Vegas area, winter cold was no longer a problem, but solar observing in direct summer sunlight presented a different set of comfort issues. Using advances in technology in the four decades since Oscar Knab’s refractor, I built a fixed focus solar telescope that allows me to stay shaded while observing the Sun.



The heart of the instrument is 3.1 inch diagonal mounted on a slightly modified ETX 70 mount. The diagonal feeds a 60mm f/11 refractor with a solar filter mounted before the objective. I had to trim the mount's plastic piece that connects the declination bearings to accept the 3.1 inch diagonal.



The attached pictures show the fixed focus refractor. The black objective of the refractor is covered by grayish insulating material, as is the black ETX mount. This reduces solar heating. It may have made sense to paint the wood white, but I'm partial to stained wood.



At first I tried a straight through eyepiece configuration (without a diagonal), but found the configuration with a diagonal as comfortable and more versatile if I want to use the solar telescope on a normal mount.



I have another 60 mm refractor set up for H – Alpha viewing, but after two decades the DayStar filter died, so I am contemplating a replacement H – Alpha refractor.

Solar viewing in the summer is now much more pleasant.



Jay


Attached Thumbnails
FixedSolar1.JPG
FixedSolar2.JPG
FixedSolar3.JPG
.


Like This

.
Quote
MultiQuote
Report
..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



#2 bob71741



Apollo
*****

Posts: 1021
Joined: 16 Feb 2008


Posted 03 September 2014 - 01:37 AM


Nice job Jay!! I've done something similar, but not as elaborate as yours as I kept tweaking it looking for the final design. Now that the monsoon is almost over and the great weather comes to the desert SouthWest for the next eight months, I'm inspired by your work to complete mine. I have an ETX-60 that I was going to use to mount the flat, but quit on it because I could not figure out a way for the ETX to move the flat automatically at the proper rate to track the sun. Did you find a way, or do you manually move it?



bob



Like This

.
Quote
MultiQuote
Report
..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



#3 optinuke



Sputnik
-----

Posts: 30
Joined: 26 May 2014
Loc: Las Vegas, NV area


Posted 03 September 2014 - 05:42 AM


Bob,



I should have mentioned that the fork and scope are aligned along the polar axis and the eyepiece points toward the north pole. This greatly simplifies tracking, since the flat can be driven at the normal lunar, sidereal, or solar rate. I just use the simplest handpad...no need for the Autostar. It can be used in either normal northern hemisphere tracking or intermittent manual following in RA.



If I was going to use this type of setup for nightime viewing and wanted computer-aided finding with the Autostar, the Azimuth (RA) ratio would stay the same, but the Altitude (Declination) ratio would have to change by a factor of 2 since the angular rate (degrees per step) has doubled in declination only. I haven't done this so I don't know if you would double or halve the normal ETX ratio (not sure of the units it is expressed in).



While simplified tracking is a plus for the single-flat heliostat, the downside is that as the sun gets further south, eventually the whole objective isn't illuminated. To me this isn't a big deal - there is plenty of light - but this does happen in winter when it's cooler. I can still mount the OTA on a normal mount and be in the sunlight for warmth.



The minor axis of the surface of the flat should coincide with the declination axis. The attached pics show a little more detail without the insulation. The second one was taken during a pre-construction mockup with a smaller flat. The flats are mounted on plywood rectangles and are height-adjustable. I can provide additional pics if needed.



By the way, while the mockup with the small flat provided proof-of-concept, it was a pain getting everything aligned and finding the sun. With the completed fixed-focus scope, everything stays aligned and it's easy to acquire and track the sun.



Good luck on completing your version. I'd be interested in what you come up with, so please post some pics when it's ready.



Jay


Attached Thumbnails
Fixed_ETXdrive.jpg
FlatOnETX.jpg
.

bill1234 likes this
Like This

.
Quote
MultiQuote
Report
..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



#4 Hegerberg



Mariner 2
*****

Posts: 204
Joined: 24 Oct 2008
Loc: Atlanta Ga


Posted 03 September 2014 - 01:54 PM


optinuke, on 03 Sept 2014 - 05:42 AM, said:



Bob,



I should have mentioned that the fork and scope are aligned along the polar axis and the eyepiece points toward the north pole. This greatly simplifies tracking, since the flat can be driven at the normal lunar, sidereal, or solar rate. I just use the simplest handpad...no need for the Autostar. It can be used in either normal northern hemisphere tracking or intermittent manual following in RA.



If I was going to use this type of setup for nightime viewing and wanted computer-aided finding with the Autostar, the Azimuth (RA) ratio would stay the same, but the Altitude (Declination) ratio would have to change by a factor of 2 since the angular rate (degrees per step) has doubled in declination only. I haven't done this so I don't know if you would double or halve the normal ETX ratio (not sure of the units it is expressed in).



While simplified tracking is a plus for the single-flat heliostat, the downside is that as the sun gets further south, eventually the whole objective isn't illuminated. To me this isn't a big deal - there is plenty of light - but this does happen in winter when it's cooler. I can still mount the OTA on a normal mount and be in the sunlight for warmth.



The minor axis of the surface of the flat should coincide with the declination axis. The attached pics show a little more detail without the insulation. The second one was taken during a pre-construction mockup with a smaller flat. The flats are mounted on plywood rectangles and are height-adjustable. I can provide additional pics if needed.



By the way, while the mockup with the small flat provided proof-of-concept, it was a pain getting everything aligned and finding the sun. With the completed fixed-focus scope, everything stays aligned and it's easy to acquire and track the sun.



Good luck on completing your version. I'd be interested in what you come up with, so please post some pics when it's ready.



Jay





Hi Jay,



I really like the way you used a ETX 70 for a heliostat. Great job.



Regards



Bruce



http://www.sunguntelescope.com



Like This

.
Quote
MultiQuote
Report
..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



#5 bill1234



Viking 1
-----

Posts: 766
Joined: 21 Apr 2011
Loc: NJ, USA


Posted 03 September 2014 - 02:21 PM


Very interesting...Same concept as the GONG telescopes. :flowerred:

You should also post this on...Solar Chat ....they would also apriciate this.




Edited by bill1234, 03 September 2014 - 02:32 PM.


Like This

.

Bill E.

:uhhh:
Lunt LS80t,LS60f,LS60t,LS35
ES 102 APO,Lunt Herschel Wedge
Celestron cpc 800
CG-5,Vixen porta, Twilight II
PGR Chameleon mono

Quote
MultiQuote
Report
..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



#6 icecreamcat



Vendor (Skybender)
-----

Vendors
Posts: 172
Joined: 13 Nov 2013
Loc: Illinois usa


Posted 03 September 2014 - 09:53 PM


I have seen this done with the meade 12" quartz drive. I Do not understand why more people are not doing this for dedicated solar scopes.





I know ed byers is trying to get one of these fired up into a 8" f/30 refractor for solar before he leaves earth.


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch

from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa ;)
Post Reply