Quick and dirty DIY Heschel Wedge

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
andreahaku

Quick and dirty DIY Heschel Wedge

Post by andreahaku »

Hi everyone,

to make an Herchel wedge you don't need a particular prism but you can use one of those that are inside 90° prism diagonals.

Here's a quick and dirty DIY Herchel Wedge that you can do simply by using one of those prism diagonal.

First you need a prism diagonal like this:



The you have to dismantle it and here is what you'll probably got:



Now, prepare to put things together but in a different way. The diagonal side has to be used to reflect light (it'll reflect only around 5% of it). The rest will be reflected on the back of the wedge.





Now you can use the bottom of the diagonal to "lock" the prism, like that:



And you're done :) Free... if you already have a diagonal prism :D

Certainly is not the best Herschel wedge of the planet. But it's good enough to test the difference between using the wedge vs Astrosolar or similar.

You can refine it by using a box. I used a flip box for that and that way performances are very very good:



But, I have a friend that makes some spectacular Herschel wedges with professional performances, very solid and incredibly cool in their "steampunk" look.

Here's a 1.25" version:



I used it in the past but now I have and use that beauty:



A 2" Herschel Wedge he made for me that is my preferred one. It has a 2" variable polar filter that you can tune simply by turning the round top of the wedge. Works like a charm.

Spending only a fraction of commercial ones.

I hope you like them ;)

Andrea


User avatar
marktownley
Librarian
Librarian
Posts: 42269
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Brierley Hills, UK
Has thanked: 20424 times
Been thanked: 10243 times
Contact:

Re: Quick and dirty DIY Heschel Wedge

Post by marktownley »

Some fantastic solar DIY there Andrea! Thanks for sharing it with us!


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!
andreahaku

Re: Quick and dirty DIY Heschel Wedge

Post by andreahaku »

Thanks Mark.

One thing for those deciding to try it: remember to use some ND/polarized filter as 5% is still too much and is dangerous.

Usually I use variable polarized filter so that I can easily adapt to (almost) any weather condition... well the Sun must still be visible :D


Pedro

Re: Quick and dirty DIY Heschel Wedge

Post by Pedro »

Hi Andrea:

This a fantastic mod with off the shelf equipment. Thanks for sharing, Great idea.

best regards
Ciao


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: Quick and dirty DIY Heschel Wedge

Post by swisswalter »

Hi Andrea

great mod. Thank you for sharing and have fun


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 ;)
alex
Im an EXPERT!
Im an EXPERT!
Posts: 235
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 4:39 pm
Location: Poland

Re: Quick and dirty DIY Heschel Wedge

Post by alex »

Thanks for sharing Andrea! :)


Post Reply