926 In White Light

[mikestrieber]

Tak FS102/Baader Herschel Wedge/Lumenera 75M

Regards,
Mike

[pizwiz]

Hello Mike,
I love doing solar work, but I didn't think anyone still made a herschel wedge. Did you find it on the Baader website?
Could you give a bit of detail on this "white Light" setup?
Thanks,

Adolph

[mikestrieber]

Hi Adolph,
You can get a Baader Herschel Wedge at Alpine Astro. There are two versions there, one for visual work and the other for imaging. Basically the imaging version comes with some additional filters. The structure is the same. It is quite pricey. You can also get a less expensive version from Markus at APM in Germany. There are some distinct differences, primarily the light trap, or lack thereof on the APM version. This adds some element of risk as the dispatched, unused, solar light is dumped out the bottom of the wedge and can get quite hot. There are stories of motor cabling, etc., melting. Not that it's unsafe but something to be aware of. The Baader version has a light trap that prevents this. I've never seen the APM version but the Baader Wedge is very well made, fit and finish as you would expect from Baader. Also inside the wedge (comes with it) is a Continuum filter that significantly increase contrast. I use the wedge on my Takahashi FS-102. The wedge can only be used on a refractor. The set up is quite nice on the Tak. For the longest time I would argue that Baader Solar Film provides the best white light view possible but now must admit the wedge beats it. The view is quite nice. If you have further questions, let me know. BTW, there may be other vendors that provide these wedges, these are the two I'm aware of.

Mike

[pizwiz]

Thank You Mike.
I use a 120mm Refractor for solar work either with a glass filter or with a Projection screen.
The screen is my favourite for visual work, I can get images of 2 feet in diameter with no problem and they are super sharp. But for Imaging, I find that all the glass and film based filters leave something to be desired.
But I remember the sharp images produced by the Herschel wedge from the time before modern filters became available.
I went to the Baader Web site and had no problem finding it. Luckily I speak German (With a name like Adolph I'll give you three guesses where I am from )
so I could go to the german web-site. The improvements they've made are great. You used to have to be real careful with the old style to keep away from the waste side in order not to get burned.
I want to thank you for the local source, I'll have to get some more info from them.
Thanks again !

Adolph