Knob tuning:
If the image lacks contrast, you may need to adjust the center
wavelength of the filter.
A knob is provided to adjust the center wavelength of the filter. Turn the
knob counter clockwise to lower the wavelength towards the blue by up
to 0.5Å. Turn clockwise to raise the wavelength towards the red by up to
0.5Å. Each click of the knob is 0.1Å.
Additional tuning can be performed, just keep in mind that after every
adjustment of the knob the filter must settle in temperature for
approximately 5-10 minutes before your change becomes effective.
Tuning can also be used to observe Doppler shifted features moving
towards or away from you. A feature moving towards you will be brighter
in blue (counterclockwise) wing shift, away from you will be reddened
(clockwise knob tuning).
Energy Rejection:
Concentrated sunlight can create very high temperatures where it falls,
so care must be taken to prevent melted components or fire.
The SolaREDi 66 includes a blocking filter as the first element to receive
concentrated light. It reflects all but red Hydrogen Alpha light back out of
the front of the telescope, preventing heat from building up inside the
unit.
However, if the telescope is pointed off of the Sun by more than about 1
degree, for example when first setting up the telescope or mount, then
concentrated light can fall on the black metal portions of the inside of the
tube and cause localized heating. We do not recommend leaving the
telescope in this situation for more than a minute. We recommend
leaving the front cover on the telescope until you are ready to observe.
Please note, a Herschel Wedge or white light filter cannot be used with
the SolaREDi 66. These filters pass very little light by design and so will
result in an extremely dark image if used with the SolaREDi 66.
