Is it possible for there to be portable H-Alpha solar binoculars?

[Solarscout]

Technology is constantly improving and there are more offerings of solar telescopes available than before. Do you see the possibility of a company like Lunt, Daystar, or Coronado releasing portable H-alpha solar binoculars? What would the main challenges be?

[rsfoto]

The challenge for a Binocular would be to pair two etalons so a better solution would be a singe short telescope with a Binoviewer or Binocular or whatever it is called, behind it.

BTW, I do not think DayStar is not able to do that after the experience I had with them. Rant over

[DeepSolar64]

It’s possible I guess. The etalons would probably be tuned with a shared wheel between them.

Modders surely have done this successfully. Mark!?

[rsfoto]

It’s possible I guess. The etalons would probably be tuned with a shared wheel between them.

Modders surely have done this successfully. Mark!?

Hi James,

The etalons would probably be tuned with a shared wheel between them.

That is the least of a problem.

The real problem is to get two 100% identical etalons if you want an etalon on each side of the binocular, if not the bad one will spoil the view of the better one as you brain will average both views.

IMHO

[DeepSolar64]

It’s possible I guess. The etalons would probably be tuned with a shared wheel between them.

Modders surely have done this successfully. Mark!?

Hi James,

The etalons would probably be tuned with a shared wheel between them.

That is the least of a problem.

The real problem is to get two 100% identical etalons if you want an etalon on each side of the binocular, if not the bad one will spoil the view of the better one as you brain will average both views.

IMHO

. True that!! Commercial etalons are rarely consistent.

[george9]

Here is my 0.3A H-alpha binocular. I made it into a monocular but got to exploit the 15x and image stabilization of the Cannon. Not overly portable, but was fun to put together and view through.

George

[DeepSolar64]

George,
How did it work as a binocular?

James.

[GreatAttractor]

George,
How did it work as a binocular?

As I understand, this configuration works only as a monocular.

But then there's the question: what's the most compact binocular H-alpha setup we could think of, using the components currently in circulation? Maybe something like: take the (discontinued) LS35 etalon, put it on a 9x50 finder, attach a binoviewer at the back?

[DeepSolar64]

Hmm... I am surprised a modder hasn't done a successful Ha binocular, despite the difficulty of finding quality matched etalons.

[Dennis]

What would be the point of using such a small aperture with a expensive etalon? I doubt one would see a lot of chromosphere details for the pricepoint.

[DeepSolar64]

What would be the point of using such a small aperture with a expensive etalon? I doubt one would see a lot of chromosphere details for the pricepoint.

True that! It looks like a Solar Spectrum.

[Dennis]

What would be the point of using such a small aperture with a expensive etalon? I doubt one would see a lot of chromosphere details for the pricepoint.

True that! It looks like a Solar Spectrum.

I mean in general, Georges experiment looks like fun, but i doubt he got the filter just for to use on the binoculars.

[marktownley]

There's quite a few pairs been made - search the mods section.

Challenge will be getting 2 identical etalons.

[Solarscout]

well are there any commercial models available? and viable enough to be affordable, in comparable price range of a PST or less?

[DeepSolar64]

I don’t know of any commercially produced Ha binoculars though WL ones are common.

[george9]

I mean in general, Georges experiment looks like fun, but i doubt he got the filter just for to use on the binoculars.

Yes, exactly, it was just for fun. I mainly used it on my AP155EDF, usually double stacked with a Lunt DSII unit to get rid of the double limb. It worked great. It ran into premature deterioration, and it has been in Mark's shop. I am currently using a Lunt LS80 DSII (sans objective) inside my AP155 and liking it a lot.

It seems to me that the benefit of the binocular is the improved contrast by using two eyes. You don't need to double the aperture as you would for dim night sky objects and there is obviously no parallax. Given the weight and cost, I would go for a single etalon plus blocking filter with a binoviewer behind it. I would want image stabilization to get to a high enough power to make it worthwhile. I am not sure if an image-stabilized binocular could be repurposed for this.

On the other hand, it might be worth having two etalons plus blocking filters just to avoid the hassle of the single etalon, then the image stabilization, then the beam splitter and prisms, then the eyepieces.

You don't need a big etalon if you limit to 15x.

But if it could be built, it would be really nice for quick views.

George