Sky at Night Magazine

[EIZO]

Home made solar Baader filter just waiting for Baader continuum filter now

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[Aratus]

The only thing I would add is to make sure a gust of wind can't possibly blow it off, or for it to be knocked off in some other way. Make sure that it is fixed to the telescope with some kind of 'engaging' mechanism. Don't rely on friction alone. (I once came within a whisker of losing the sight in one eye with a home made filter, and a sudden gust.)

[Gfamily2]

Which scope are you aiming to use it on?
You seem to have stopped down your aperture somewhat, and if for the Celestron the secondary mirror housing will cause a further loss of light gathering capability. It shouldn't affect the brightness, but it might make a difference to the resolution you can get. Some people use an off centre aperture so you're using the area between the central obstruction and the edge.

Whichever you're using, don't forget to make a cap (or use an offcut of the Baader Film) for the finder.

If you want some advice for getting the Sun in the field of view - You can buy a special Sun finder, which has two discs, the first has a hole in it, and a target on the second one - centre the spot of light on the target and (so long as the finder is aligned properly) you're there.

If you don't have one of those - look at the shadow of the scope on the ground behind the scope, and adjust the altitude and azimuth to make the shadow of the OTA as circular as possible. When you have that, take the eyepiece out and look down the focuser tube (ONLY DO THIS WITH THE BAADER FILTER IN PLACE) You should be able to see the brightness of the sun - hopefully in the centre, but more likely, slightly off to one side. Use the handset to move towards the brightness.

[EIZO]

The only thing I would add is to make sure a gust of wind can't possibly blow it off, or for it to be knocked off in some other way. Make sure that it is fixed to the telescope with some kind of 'engaging' mechanism. Don't rely on friction alone. (I once came within a whisker of losing the sight in one eye with a home made filter, and a sudden gust.)

Been doing this for years so well aware thanks, though I suppose others may not be, mind you I am far from perfect.

[EIZO]

Which scope are you aiming to use it on?
You seem to have stopped down your aperture somewhat, and if for the Celestron the secondary mirror housing will cause a further loss of light gathering capability. It shouldn't affect the brightness, but it might make a difference to the resolution you can get. Some people use an off centre aperture so you're using the area between the central obstruction and the edge.

Whichever you're using, don't forget to make a cap (or use an offcut of the Baader Film) for the finder.

If you want some advice for getting the Sun in the field of view - You can buy a special Sun finder, which has two discs, the first has a hole in it, and a target on the second one - centre the spot of light on the target and (so long as the finder is aligned properly) you're there.

If you don't have one of those - look at the shadow of the scope on the ground behind the scope, and adjust the altitude and azimuth to make the shadow of the OTA as circular as possible. When you have that, take the eyepiece out and look down the focuser tube (ONLY DO THIS WITH THE BAADER FILTER IN PLACE) You should be able to see the brightness of the sun - hopefully in the centre, but more likely, slightly off to one side. Use the handset to move towards the brightness.

No this is for my 120mm Triplet, now doing one for my 60mm tele for my Nikon D5/4s/810s

CAP, why, just remove the finder scope

[EIZO]

almost there, adding black paint and filter

They are kept in place with velcro by the way

P1050707.jpg (46.22 KiB) Viewed 2500 times

[EIZO]

Oh and as I only use red dot finders there isn't a problem

[Aratus]

The only thing I would add is to make sure a gust of wind can't possibly blow it off, or for it to be knocked off in some other way. Make sure that it is fixed to the telescope with some kind of 'engaging' mechanism. Don't rely on friction alone. (I once came within a whisker of losing the sight in one eye with a home made filter, and a sudden gust.)

Been doing this for years so well aware thanks, though I suppose others may not be, mind you I am far from perfect.

I'm not wishing to 'preach' , but I'd been doing it for 50 years when my 'accident' happened. Familiarity sometimes breeds contempt. Also getting away with it 1000 times doesn't stop it from happening once, and 'once' is all takes.

For anyone else reading this thread - 'engage' a solar filter with the tube - don't just slip it on. The 4 hours it took for me to know that my eyesight wasn't permanently damaged was the longest of my life.