Solarmax 70 Telescope or 90mm filter?

[Alan French]

I'm trying to decide whether to spring for a better H-alpha setup. If I do take the plunge, I am wondering whether to get the 70mm Solarmax telescope or a 90mm filter for my little Stowaway 90mm f/5. Obviously, the 90mm will provide more resolution, but how significant is the difference?

Clear skies, Alan

[Ralph Marantino]

I asm sure Barlow Boib would agree with me that the 90mm is the way to go

[Ralph Marantino]

I am sure that Barlow Bob would agree with me that the 90mm is the way to go,I have used both and the single 90mm is way better.Say hello to Sue for me I bought her book and enjoyed it.

[Alan French]

Originally Posted by Ralph Marantino

I am sure that Barlow Bob would agree with me that the 90mm is the way to go,I have used both and the single 90mm is way better.Say hello to Sue for me I bought her book and enjoyed it.

Sue says "Hi" and thanks!

Hmmm. Perhaps we should just borrow the Bob-o-scope.

Thanks for the advice. I am leaning a bit toward the 90mm, both because of the improved performance and because it avoids having yet another telescope. Still not quite sure about taking the plunge....

Clear skies, Alan

[gpiepol]

Hi, Alan! Here are some things to consider:

I don’t recall seeing a way to tune the SM70. The 90 will come with a TMax tuner. It’s a great feature for a Ha scope to have.

With the SM70 coming in at .8Ǻ and the SM90 at .7 Ǻ you’ll get slightly more disk detail from the 90.

The Stowaway at f/5 will have a slightly smaller image scale than the SM70 scope at f/5.7. It might not make a big difference in the eyepiece but if you plan on imaging, every pixel counts.

Is there an adaptor for the 90 to fit on a Stowaway? If Coronado has to make one for you the wait could be months.

Both are great filters in my book. You see fantastic details on the disk and with proms too. For SM70 images see Gary Palmers site at www.solarminimum.com.

Bottom line: determine your budget and buy the largest aperture, lowest bandpass filter you can afford. I’d suggest the 90, myself.

I wrote a simple article on this subject at Meade’s website. It may require you to log in:
http://www.meade4m.com/articles/archive/4M_gpiepol_1150834392.html

I hope this helps.

Enjoy the sun,

Greg Piepol
http://www.sungazer.net

[edwincjones]

Another optionl-for the price of the SM90, you could get a MS60 double stacked. The advantage of the dedicated MS is you do not have to change the filter and save time and risk of dropping. You may lose a little between 90 to 60mm but gain with the double stacking.

If you ultimate plan is to DS the 90mm, forget about this suggestion.

ed jones
MS90 DS