ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS 07782 User manual

Orion®Glass Solar Filters
DANGER! Viewing the Sun through any optical instru-
ment without a correctly inspected and installed solar
filter can cause immediate, permanent eye damage and
blindness!
Solar viewing is safe only if you understand the potential
dangers and follow all directions. Read these instruc-
tions carefully and save them for future reference. Do
not allow children or inexperienced adults to use the
telescope or solar filter unattended.
DANGER! DANGER! Always
use a solar filter AND a light
shroud when observing the
Sun with a Truss Tube tele-
scope! A solar filter will
protect your eye and the tele-
scope when you are pointed
directly at the sun; but if the
telescope is pointing slightly
off axis (off-target), direct/
unfiltered solar energy could
be focused on interior por-
tions of the telescope.
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! Always cover your tele-
scope if you leave it outside during the daytime! An
open telescope, of any design, can burn the telescope
or surrounding areas if an unfortunate alignment of the
telescope and the sun occurs; any telescope will con-
centrate sunlight to very high temperatures.
Mounting the Solar Filter
The inside of the filter cell will either be lined with foam tape or
unlined, depending on the telescope or binocular it has been
designed to fit. The filter should fit just tight enough to keep
from slipping off when the telescope or binocular is pointed
down. If your filter is too loose, it can be custom fitted by apply-
ing the supplied foam tape inserts on the inside rim of the cell.
On some models, you may need only one insert to achieve a
snug fit. On others, more than one may be required. The filter
should not fit too tightly or the optical surfaces may be distorted
due to stress on the cell.
Orion solar filters also feature three equidistant nylon set
screws that, when tightened, ensure a secure fit to the tele-
scope or binocular being used to observe solar activity.
NOTE: Do not solely rely on the nylon thumbscrews to
keep your solar filter safely installed. If your filter is too
loose, please use the supplied foam tape inserts to create
a friction fit. The nylon thumbscrews have been provided
as a “lock-down” safety feature which should be used in
addition to the foam lining.
Using the Solar Filter
1. Check the filter's optical surfaces for any possible
damage before each use. The view through your
telescope should be comfortable and not appear
excessively bright. Stop looking immediately if the view
is excessively bright.
2. Check for any pinholes. Even one bright pinhole
could degrade the image quality. See “Inspection &
Maintenance.”
3. Keep the front of any finder scope covered if it is
not equipped with a solar filter. Better yet, remove
the finder altogether when observing the Sun. An
uncovered finder scope is dangerous to look through.
Even if you do not look through it, unfiltered sunlight
may melt internal parts of a finder scope.
4. ALWAYS use a light shroud and a solar filter if you are
using a truss tube telescope.
5. Aim the telescope at the Sun by moving your tube
assembly until the smallest shadow is cast on the
ground.
6. Allow the telescope and filter to equalize to outside
temperature for at least 15 minutes.
7. Direct sunlight may warm the tube assembly enough
to cause internal heat currents that can degrade image
quality, especially on dark-colored telescopes. Cover
the tube assembly with a light-colored cloth to help
avoid this.
8. If possible, do not view over pavement or buildings.
Viewing over grass will help avoid surface heat
currents.
9. Point the telescope away from the Sun before removing
the solar filter! Removing the filter while the telescope
is aimed at the Sun is dangerous if anyone is looking
into the eyepiece, and can damage the telescope if left
pointed at the Sun for too long.
10. “Ghosting” may occur with some compound telescopes,
such as Schmidt-Cassegrains, which incorporate larger
secondary mirrors in their design. If this is a problem,
simply tilt the filter slightly to move the “ghost” outside
the field of view.
IN 025 Rev. E 06/13
Customer Support:
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89 Hangar Way, Watsonville CA 95076 - USA
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

Cleaning the Solar Filter
As with all optics, clean the filter only when absolutely nec-
essary. Clean only with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and soft
tissue (lens tissue or plain white tissue). Apply a generous
amount of alcohol to the tissue and rub lightly across the
front surface using long strokes. Allow alcohol to bead and
puddle on the surface (10-30 seconds). Lightly wipe dry with
fresh tissue. If filter is excessively soiled, or streaking occurs,
repeat the procedure. Do not clean the back surface of
the filter! Since the coating is on the back side of the glass
facing the telescope it will rarely, if ever, need cleaning if
handled carefully and kept sealed when not in use. The front
surface can be cleaned often without danger of harming the
coating. Loose dust on the inside surface can be blown off or
lightly dusted with dry cotton.
Inspection & Maintenance
Pinholes and scratches are common in all glass solar filters.
Microscopic particles on the glass can not be completely
eliminated in the coating process, and a minute amount of
light transmitted through the resulting “pinholes” will be vis-
ible. Normal usage of the filter will reveal new pinholes and
may also introduce small scratches.
Every effort is made to minimize pinholes in the manufactur-
ing process. The glass is cleaned and coated three times in
the coating process, meaning that the coating is even across
the entire aperture and most pinholes will not be entirely
transparent.
A few minutes spent occasionally touching up any brighter
pinholes will prevent any possible “ghosting” due to scattered
light. Opaquing of the pinholes should be done on the inside
coated surface with a fine-point “permanent” felt marker.
Although it would never be necessary with our filters, as
many as 20 touch-ups per inch of aperture could be done
without loss of resolution or significant loss of brightness.
All filters are tested for safety before shipment. There is no
danger if a few small pinholes or minor scratches are pres-
ent, although we recommend opaquing all visible ones. The
opaquing procedure will not lessen the optical performance.
Light loss is not a problem since only about 1/1000th of 1%
of light is transmitted anyway!
Solar Photography
By attaching a camera body to a telescope, in effect using
the scope as a telephoto lens, you can take striking pho-
tographs of the Sun. Only attempt this if the telescope is
equipped with the proper solar filter.
Solar filters are coated to a neutral density of 5, which reduc-
es the light about 100,000 times. Depending on the aperture
and focal length of your telescope and “seeing” conditions,
you will need to experiment to find the best exposure time
for your equipment.
Do not be discouraged if your first attempts at solar are less
than desired. The Sun is very difficult to image because
of poorer “seeing” conditions caused by unavoidable heat
currents associated with daytime viewing. The highest pos-
sible resolution for any land-based telescope, regardless of
location, is about 1 arc second. Ideal seeing for any location
will be available less than 5% of the time. It may be some
consolation to consider that your results could equal those at
professional observatories, as larger apertures and location
have little, if any, advantage. During bad seeing conditions, it
may help to “stop down” apertures over 5" with an off-axis mask.
One-Year Limited Warranty
This Orion product is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year
from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. During this
warranty period Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted
instrument that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid. Proof of purchase (such as a
copy of the original receipt) is required. This warranty is only valid in the country of purchase.
This warranty does not apply if, in Orion’s judgment, the instrument has been abused, mishandled, or
modified, nor does it apply to normal wear and tear. This warranty gives you specific legal rights. It is not
intended to remove or restrict your other legal rights under applicable local consumer law; your state or
national statutory consumer rights governing the sale of consumer goods remain fully applicable.
For further warranty information, please visit www.OrionTelescopes.com/warranty.
Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
Corporate Offices: 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville CA 95076 - USA
Customer Support: www.OrionTelescopes.com/contactus
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