10 Self modified solar scopes I DIY/use.

[superiorstream]

Hi,All
Any one object to me putting photos of my SOLAR astro gear here?They are ALL modified instruments;and actually I would like to put it in DIY sector;but they are dangerous to DIY too because if you do not know COMPLETELY what you are doing,you can get irreversible blindness in less than 1 sec during your testing process.I for example,completely burn out not less than 2 compact cameras(mainly due to invisible to eye radiation like concentrated UV and IR radiation) during the testing process.;while partially damaging a few.So dont ask me how I it done but what it does will be indicated.If anybody object I will not upload the photos.Thanks.

[yltansg]

Hi Mr Chia,

In these 2 years, I have tried out a few things. Many ended in failure while some turned out ok. I can appreciate the time and effort involved in testing out ideas. It would be glad that we can learn from you.

You are right to point out the precaution we need to take when doing Solar obs/imaging. We shouldn't stop learning and sharing stuff related to the Sun because of the risks. From my experience in these 2 years, it is safe if adequate care is exercised. Hence I would like to suggest that you indicate the safety precaution needed as you share your DIY/use experience with us.

Looking forward to seeing them

Alfred

[Gary]

Hi Mr Chia. No objections from me for putting them in singastro. I think you should still put them in the DIY forum for topic relevance and ease of search for other potential Solar DIYers. You can still mention the dangerous and safety precautions in your posts there. Thanks in advance for sharing the fruits of your research and experimentation for free and for the benefit of the public.

[cataclysm]

Yes pls share it with us!
Got this interesting site to share, this guy has an ingenious way to boost the aperture of his solar scope on a budget. Yes potentially can be dangerous, and he did emphasise it in his blog.
http://www.davidcortner.com/slowblog/20120817s.php

[superiorstream]

Hi,
Gary--Thanks for the word of encouragement.;and thanks to your help all these while for uploading my photos.The first 4,showing my 4 Ha scopes,with different bandwidth for different purposes will be submitted to you and hope you can put it up for me.After that I will describe the use I put each one to.Thanks again.
Alfred---Thanks for the encouragement and yes,it takes lots of patiences and I need to try again and again before the real 'commissioning' of each scope.Each scope is the work and sweat of many hours of testing under the hot tropical sun.;sometimes I spent the WHOLE afternoon(when the sky is clear) under the sun to test the scopes.
Catalysm--Thanks for the encouragement and yes,what that guy doing is indeed dangerous.;he relay on ONLY ONE filter--no wonder it get so hot!I for one ALWAYS use SEVERAL filters.This way,the heat is distributed to several locations to be dissipated away and the chance of a heat-cracked filter is eliminated.Example,the 540nm 6 ins or 80mm scopes has a total of 11 filters.Of course ,this is tedious as much much more testing is needed.Moreover,as my criteria is--what I see is what I get---the visual part require much more precaution in the UV and IR regions and sorry to say,thats the region that burn my cameras!By the way,I always look at your deep sky photos with admiration.Thanks again.

[wucheeyiun]

Dear Chia...please post your solar scopes on this thread ... it will be interesting ...

[Gary]

Mr Chia's solar telescope modifications can be found there in the DIY subforum:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=11474

We should continue our conversation there.