Interesting new CaK product coming out

Just saw this announcement from Lunt!!!

"We are proud to announce new CaK diagonals that will work in most
telescopes under 100mm aperture. We have two versions, the B600CaK &
the B1200CaK. The B600CaK is a Calcium K module in a 1.25" diagonal
with 2" nose tube that will give a full disk image on scopes that are
less than 600mm in focal length. The B1200CaK is a Calcium K module
in a 1.25" diagonal with 2" nose tube that will give a full disk
image on scopes that are less than 1200mm in focal length. The
maximum aperture is 100mm anything larger should be apertured down to
100mm. Larger aperture scope will cause damage to the module which is
not covered under warranty. Failure to use properly can result in
severe eye damage. The cost of these new modules are listed below.

B600CaK - $599.00
B1200CaK - $849.00"

<2.4A apparently which matches the bandwidth that Coronado were using & No ERF on the front end.

I think I may order one of these as I've missed the boat on their h-alpha systems altogether. They haven't delivered any filters yet but are already booked out till spring 2008 :shock:

Trev

Yea, I'm think I might get one of these as well. Very interesting product. I've just asked Markus in the lunt yahoo group to clarify some questions I have regarding it.

Wow, you're quick on the draw as always Michael - just saw your posts on Yahoo

I just asked Markus a few questions re the CaK diagonal.
Below are the questions followed by his answers:

* What level of protection is there to the human eye with this CaK filter used in a 100mm scope?
> UV and IR Blocking

* Outside of 393nm, what percentage of light is let through the filter for UV, IR and the remainder of the visible rays?
> None

* Is the limiting factor of the filter based on heat load or on optical density for protection of the human eye?
> its a gues only. Put your fingers at the focuser where is the entrance in the UV/IR Blocker . In the Tak FS 102 at this place is
was very warm, little hot, but not hot enough to burn fingers even after long time. We would need to measure the head on diffrence scope apertures at the right point in the focuser , then we could say very clearly starting at this aperture starts a real risk. We have not done it yet , to many other things to do, but with 100 mm we are at the very safe side.

* When the UV and IR rays hit the CaK filter, where do they go - are they reflected or absorbed?
> reflected

* Is there any risk of the blocking filter fading over time due to excessive exposure to the sun like it can do with some Ha blocking filters?
> no, if there would be such risk, we would not offer it this way

* How would the brightness of the image in the Lunt CaK filter in the 60mm scope compare to the brightness of the image in the Coronado PST CaK in your opinion.
> The Coronado Cak scopes have a dimmer image then our Cak Version, clearly diffrence

So, interesting answers.

With those answers I'm sold! I doubt Markus would market something he didn't truly believe in.
The only question now is availability - I've posted a question to their Yahoo group about it.
I only hope my eyes are CaK sensitive as I've never looked through one before - if not I can always image with it.

A response from Rikki

We have the B600CaK ready to ship next week. The B1200CaK will be
about a month out.

Good news.