Engineered for performance and versatility, the Alpine Astronomical Baader ClickLock Mirror Star Diagonal builds on the success of their Maxbright diagonal with improvements across the entire platform.
Its mirror is treated with their proprietary multi-layer dielectric coatings, which are thermally stable to resist the warping and distortion many mirrors suffer from as they heat up from the light and IR/UV radiation striking the surface. To make cleaning easier, especially in the field, the mirror is also treated with ultra-hard scratch-resistant coatings that protect the surface and further ensure clear and sharp views. When used in conjunction with front white-light or H-alpha solar filters, the thermal stability becomes an important benefit for observation and imaging.
The eyepiece holder also gets an upgrade to the proprietary 2" ClickLock holder. This unique eyepiece mounting system is superior to conventional mountings. Unlike compression ring and set screw holders, the ClickLock system uses three long roller bearings to hold the eyepiece firmly centered in place without marking or marring it, while eliminating the wobble and off-axis tilt. A simple 20° twist locks and unlocks the clamping system for fast eyepiece changes even while wearing gloves. There is no need to fumble with small set screws or for using excessive force and torque to hold the eyepiece in a fixed position.
The 2" nosepiece has a safety kerf (groove) cut into it to firmly lock it in place and to resist the tilt that is common if the focuser's clamping system isn't quite centered or misses the primary kerf. The nosepiece is threaded on both the front and rear to accept standard 2" eyepiece filters. Install a filter on the front to make changing it easier, or on the back (inside the housing close to the mirror) so as to not add any optical distance. The nosepiece can be removed to reveal standard Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT) visual back female threads that allow the diagonal to be directly screwed onto the scope's back for a solid and secure connection. S58 dovetail threads are also provided to make the diagonal compatible with the Diamond SteelTrack focuser. Direct connection is superior to using the nosepiece as it shortens the optical length being added to the system to preserve back focus while providing a stronger mount.