Will the Daystar Ha filter work with my refractor?

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Jordan Konisky
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Will the Daystar Ha filter work with my refractor?

Post by Jordan Konisky »

I’m thinking about a Ha filter for Solar imaging and need advice. For CaK imaging, my setup is a SW ED100 refractor fitted with a Lunt CaK B1800 diagonal module. I normally mask down to 50mm for full disc imaging at f18. For higher mag I leave off the mask, decrease the ROI, and use a 2X Barlow which again gives f18 viewing. The ZWO 1600mm is my imaging camera. This setup works well for me.

The DayStar Quark looks promising to me, but I am not sure how well it would integrate with my SW100 ED. As I understand it, the DSQ has a built-in 4.3X Barlow lens so when matched to my f9 100mm ED100 (unmasked) would yield f38.7. My question, then, would this combo work well with a wide-open aperture of 100mm? Would I need to mask the aperture down a bit?

The Daystar info page states that full disk viewing is possible with refractors up to 450mm. My ED100 has a focal length of 900mm, so presumably simply plugging in the filter module will not give me a full disc. Am I understanding this correctly. Do I then have to mask down the concoction to 50mm yielding f77.4? Is there some compromise that would be workable?

And finally, perhaps the Daystar simply won’t work with my refractor. Should I be considering another brand of Ha filter more suitable to my situation? Your suggestions would be very welcome.
Jordan


Jordan -
SkyWatcher ED100 Refractor with Diamond Steeltrack Crawford Focuser
Celestron CG4 Equatorial Mount
Daystar Quark H-Alpha Chromosphere
Lunt CaK B1800 Filter Module
Lunt White Light Solar Wedge
ZWO ASI174MM, ZWOASI1600MM Cameras
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JochenM
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Re: Will the Daystar Ha filter work with my refractor?

Post by JochenM »

Hi Jordan

Is the ability to do full disk imaging/viewing an absolute must and/or priority? If so, I would look at other options instead of a Quark. A Lunt LS40 or LS50 would probably be the better choice around that same price point.


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Jordan Konisky
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Re: Will the Daystar Ha filter work with my refractor?

Post by Jordan Konisky »

Thanks, Jochem

I guess my main interest for Ha imaging is proms. Got my Lunt CaK for surface detail.

Jordan


Jordan -
SkyWatcher ED100 Refractor with Diamond Steeltrack Crawford Focuser
Celestron CG4 Equatorial Mount
Daystar Quark H-Alpha Chromosphere
Lunt CaK B1800 Filter Module
Lunt White Light Solar Wedge
ZWO ASI174MM, ZWOASI1600MM Cameras
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