Robert Schell Reviews

You would think finding the sun would be easy, right? Big ball of fire in the sky and all that. Well, after using a Coronado H-alpha filter with my Pronto for several months, I realized I was wasting quite a bit of time just finding the sun. Yes, I used the standard shadow method and a low power eyepiece. Sometimes Id be right on within seconds and sometimes (usually when other people were watching me!) it would take several minutes to capture the sun. Everytime I had to reposition the scope, I had to start over again searching for the sun. So, OK I need a solar finder. When I first spied photos of the Sol-Searcher, I imagined it as being much larger than it is and that deterred me from considering it. After more research, I realized it was smaller and might just work well for me. The Sol-Searcher is perfectly integrated to work on a Pronto and several other TeleVue scopes. Although the mounting block is plastic, it seems completely rigid and durable. It really is small enough that you can leave it installed all the time and it doesnt impair storage or tranport of the scope. The projected solar disc is just slightly smaller than the white screen, so use and alignment is very easy. With slight adjustment to the Sol-Searcher (hex wrenches included!) I can get the sun dead center in a 25mm eyepiece within seconds whenever I want to setup or move my Pronto. At a cost of $25 for a TeleVue accessory, this is a bargain and the time and frustration saved is more than well worth it. If you spend any time at all with a portable scope looking at the sun, do yourself a favor and get a Sol-Searcher.