TeleVue Sol-Searcher Solar finder for TeleVue and Lunt scopes

$45.00

Availability: More on the way

The TeleVue Sol-Searcher finder helps line up TeleVue and Lunt refractors on the Sun for daytime solar observing . . .
Our Product #: TVSOL
TeleVue Product #: SSF-1006
 

Product Description

It may sound funny to say you need a finder to find the Sun, but the TeleVue Sol-Searcher makes finding the Sun quick and easy, without any danger of going blind should you look in the wrong direction.

The TeleVue Sol-Searcher is a plastic pinhole finder for lining up solar filter-equipped TeleVue refractors and Lunt solar scopes on the Sun for daytime solar observing. It slips into one of the dovetail grooves cut into the TeleVue and Lunt mounting rings. Hex-head bolts hold it securely in place in the dovetail. It is very light in weight, and you can leave it in place permanently without affecting the scope's balance. However, you can remove it quickly if its dovetail groove is needed for another purpose, such as mounting a piggyback camera adapter.

The Sol-Searcher has a respectably-sized circular hole in its front plate that lets an image of the sun fall onto its back plate. To use it, you stand off to one side of the Sol-Searcher with your back to the Sun. While observing the position of the Sun's image on the back plate, you adjust the telescope's position until the Sun's image falls on the circular white panel in the back plate. Once it does, the scope is pointing at the Sun. It's that simple.

Due to its dovetail mounting design, the Sol-Searcher can only be used with Lunt and TeleVue-style mounting rings.

Tech Details

Weight 3 oz
Warranty 5 years

Reviews

Review by:
Makes finding the sun in my scope very easy. (Posted on 10/17/2019)
Review by:
A special-purpose item to be sure, but does what it is designed for very well. Fits securely onto a Lunt solar telescope, but also fit onto an 80mm white light refractor during the 2017 eclipse. If mine went missing, I would definitely get another one. (Posted on 12/11/2018)
Review by:
Some of our friends have home-made gadgets for getting the Sun into a telescope field of view. We had just bought a nice Lunt, and since we spent so much on this fine dedicated solar telescope, why not get a proper finder? So we purchased this, and I am so glad that we did. We do day time outreach a lot with the Lunt, and this finder saves us time, and it looks so much more professional that a home-made medicine bottle finder. (Posted on 12/5/2018)
Review by:
This is a product so simple that I wondered about cost/performance - until I tried it!

It's a great, sturdy, elegant sun finder. I like that for outreach I can show kids how to align a small Ha scope with this and then spend more of my time explaining how to get the best view in Ha and white light and conversing, and less of my time aiming the scope.

Fits great on Lunt scopes(and appears to fit older SV clamshells?) (Posted on 8/4/2017)
Review by:
Everybody needs one of these! Come on, what else can you buy from TeleVue for $30?Seriously, this is a neat little solar finder. I use it on both my white light and H-Alpha scopes and it makes finding and centering the Sun a breeze. I especially like it for outreach when I'm using my DM6 and Unistar mounts, which don't have tracking. There's enough adjustment (by rotating one disk with respect to the other) to accommodate off center brackets and attachments. It just works, and it works well. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
Review by:
Such a simple device, but that is what makes it great. I often set up my telescope with a sun filter for outreach, and it can be very frustrating to finally get the sun in the viewfinder using the old shadow technique only to have the scope immediate knocked off target by the first person who looks through it. Now, with the Sol-Searcher, I can have the scope pointed back in the right direction in moments.

I would recommend this item in a heartbeat. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
Review by:
I have had this solar finder for 11 months and am very impressed. I first saw one in use during the Venus transit in 2012 and knew I had to get one. The finder makes finding the sun easier than using the shadow method alone. The Sol-Searcher is well made and a welcome addition to my accessory case. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
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