Solar B

I tried one with a PST some time ago but the difference was very minimal plus I'm not a fan of adding filters to an EP unless necessary .. since it's only one wavelength I doubt it would/should have an affect at all ? Brian I think they are referring to white light in the blurb as opposed to to Solar ha.

Some good limb action currently ... with more activity on the disk leading from the larger of the prom groups ... appeared better visually DS than SS. Brian

I've owned 3 x LS60s .... 2 x 50mm stacks and an LS50 and didn't like any of them so yes I'd rather be castrated 😅 Brian

No fair enough Rusted your engineering prowess is undeniable .... I've only really tried a magi max in the holder with a bino viewer before but the images of the Denk and Siebert correctors in situ i've seen looked ok , I guess I'm going on the fact that the EP holder is housed vertically and cannot be rotated like a diagonal but the volume that holds the EP is ultimately the same as any 1.25" ? Brian

Understood Peter 😃 both Siebert and Denkmeier did offer dedicated correctors for PST bino viewing ... however I have never achieved it but it would be good and I do think that the regular PST EP holder would be adequate "Rusted" even with the corrector in place 👍 Brian

Yes it would , but bringing a PST to focus with a binoviewer will/could be an issue. Brian

I'm referring to the Baader film options of ND 3.8 for photographic use and 5.0 for visual .... when using any filter always proceed with caution obviously but you will be able to get some idea anyway as you near the EP , the Solar Cont filters can help with displaying a bit more detail and are very useful for focusing but they must always be used in conjunction with an objective filter or Herschel wedge. Brian

The key question ... is the front mounted etalon obstructed or unobstructed ? my guess at 40mm is unobstructed. Brian Oh and should potentially offer the most affordable dual externally mounted etalon option since the LS 35.

The film will also most likely have less of an impact upon your scope optics however if purchasing for visual use you will require the ND 5.0 option. Brian

I am a huge PST fan (I own 2) and I recall that the PST binos were all the rage about 10 yrs or so ago and have tried them and they were good but it was an instrument that I couldn't take seriously and you were restricted to that BF size what is better and much more comfortable/portable imho would be an SM60 with a binoviewer (BF10/15). Many years ago Coronado produced a Canon IS bino with 2 SM40s / BFs integrated into them (for short period of time) Markus Ludes went one better and mounted a pair of SM60s onto a pair of Kowa Highlanders ! I have even seem an image of a CAK PST binos to. Brian

Well I thought I’d finish of Coronado Christmas with a most unusual set up for this evening 😅 Brian

Thanks Mark ... no the SMII & SMIII are vastly different scopes ... early days but I'm obviously testing them alongside each other , however the III does have the preferred configuration of 2 externally mounted etalons and you know how heavy that can be 😀 Brian

Well tis the 25th of June 🎄 😀 Brian

Hi Folks Have enjoyed the ST2 for about 4 yrs now however I’ve noticed recently when manual tracking in Azimuth it’s been of to an angle a bit and not parallel, I think it’s ok in Alt or isn’t as noticeable ... looks like I may need to disassemble it but will need your help with that. Thanks .... Brian

I honestly do not find the Morphi unattractive at all and I’m big on aesthetics as I do my observing during the day 😎 a truly stunning EP to use & behold is the Vixen SSW (even better In the flesh) I can’t think of any more appealing than them 👑 Brian

C6 I thought you were talking about a Celestron 😅 , I best stick to Solar As for specs , have dropped and scratched many pairs (ave life expectancy 3 yrs) Brian

Agreed the 1.25" Lunt is fine at 120mm , it will get hot but I'm sure it's well within it's parameters ... enjoy the 🌞 Brian

It was / is good as a series but doesn't compare to the 1999 BBC series of the same title , if you’ve not seen that one then your in for a real treat ! Brian

Ingenious counterweight system 👍 when I've used my 127L (v rarely) I've mounted it on the top SkyTee saddle with the counterweight underneath I reckon I'll keep my 127L for the time being until I can have a look at the reddish thing that's making a return and no ones got a bad word to say about them 😃 Brian

The mirrored finish of the Quarks BF will reflect most of the energy back up the OTA I certainly wouldn't recommend using a triplet without a full aperture ERF and they're a big no no with cemented elements as I've seen images of those melting ! But as stated air spaced etalons are the best way to dip ones toes , I'm moving away from solid etalons again and its somewhat of a relief ! Brian

The regular UV/IRs imho are not adequate as an ERF , the 35nm Baaders are actually mini D-ERFs so are more than adequate right up to 150mm in my experience. However if your not used to Solar HA then I wouldn't recommend a Quark as your first foray as they can be very hard work given the mags your dealing with , EP selection is critical and they often do not make for relaxing views , thus many give up upon them. I'd opt for a regular air spaced scope to begin with and see how you get on with that first. Brian

Coronado used to say it will take 6 months to train your brain to 656.3 nm & thats Californian weather , the equivalent in the UK is approx 2 yrs here's the thing i'm not joking. Brian

Thanks John , well that explains it then and was all i needed to know hope to see Les back on here perhaps ? It's just a great name 😅 Brian

Does any one recall someone by this pseudonym many years ago on UKABS ? I don't know why but I was just thinking about him or her recently (perhaps an SGL member) Back from the good ol days of Venturescope , Scopes n Skies & Green Witch ect 😃 Brian