Large Solar Viewer/Eclipse Viewer (LSSV)

Large Safe Solar Viewer (LSSV)

In 2024 I used TR Richardson's design to develop this version of the Large Safe Solar Viewer. TR was a great help with selecting lenses and I owe the success of the project to him. Please share and support his work in any way you can!

https://richardsont.people.cofc.edu/safe_solar_folder/index.html

I used PETG for my model and it worked great. PLA may not offer the needed flexibility to hold the lenses. 

Please reference TR's page for the LSSV for more information on available lenses: choosing lenses:  https://richardsont.people.cofc.edu/safe_solar_folder/large_image_SSV.html

I purchased a very large objective lens from TR for my design. It's a 127 x 700 objective lens and produces a very large clear image. Even the uneven surface of the moon was visible during transit. It was an amazing way to share the eclipse with a group and safe for the younger ones in the group!

The barlow lens I used is a DCV 38.5MM X -26MM: https://www.surplusshed.com

The linear adjustment was modified from this model: https://www.printables.com/model/132253-rack-worm-linear-slide

Check out the surplus shed for kits and other lenses: https://www.surplusshed.com/category/Solar 

The printed parts mount to 20x40 extrusion, I then used t-nuts to secure them with M3 hardware. Tapped a small piece of aluminum for the tripod mount. The barlow mount has a removable printed part that I glued to the center of a piece of foamboard and glued on some foil to prevent burning as the sun will inevitably drift from the center. At the end for the rail, I mounted another white foamboard for the projection. Everything should line up nicely for a great image once focused properly. The pictures show better detail of how it was assembled. Comment with any questions and I can provide more detail.