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Wa-hey! My new Coronado PST


lukebl

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Hi all,

It was sunny today, so on an impulse I went out and got myself the Coronado PST I've been promising myself from WEX. Good job I went when I did. I rang up this morning to check the price and if they had it in stock (£499 and yes, in stock), but when I got there the price had gone up to £599 like everywhere else. Fortunately they honoured their price and I got it for £499.

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Open the box, on the tripod and watching prominences in seconds.

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BRILLIANT! Having only looked through a solar telescope once before, I was pleased to see how crisp and clear the sun was for an entry-level solar scope, with some nice prominences on display. I found my 9mm LER Skyatcher eyepiece gave a much better view than the stock 20mm lens. I quickly slapped on my IMG132e, 2x barlow, and captured a few frames. I know I have a lot of new stuff to learn here, and the image is a bit rubbish, but I'm quite pleased for a first hasty effort!

Full frame (1280 x 1024) and only managed about 140 frames at 4 fps,

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Nice one. I love my PST, sure you'll be very happy with it

I mainly use an 11mm TV Plossl in mine, occasionally a 9mm BGO as I find often that is a little toomuch mag for the conditions. Having said that, it's so cold at the moment I'm sure the daytime seeing is much better than in summer.

Enjoy, and keep posting the images

Stu

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Sorry for ps but it's been a horrendous day in Surrey with complete overcast rain/thunder/lightning/snow but you've had a nice sunny day??? but weathersat shows Norfolk the clear hole in the middle of weather system @ http://www.metoffice.../latest_IR.html

Yes, it's been a gorgeous sunny day here in Norfolk. If it hadn't been sunny I would probably have put off getting the PST till later in the week, when I would have had to pay £100 more! Still partially clear, and hoping for another view of Panstarrs.

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You've just bought yourself a life of pain Luke. All the time your at work and you see the sun shining you will be cursing and wishing you were at home. :p

Unless you can follow DrRobin and take the pst into work with you. :grin:

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Yes, indeed! I'm in the process of getting an old Vixen 80M and will slowly gather what I need to do the mod.

Undecided as to whether to use my lovely PST or buy a second hand one to take apart.

Stu

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In the case of the LS35 I can just unscrew the etalon to use inside an ST80 tube (with suitable optics surrounding it). I can always reassemble the LS35 and the ST80 if the results disappoint. In the case of the PST, I think the entire black box can be unscrewed from the tube, and used in a mod, allowing the PST to be reassembled in the same way.

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yes, tis true, you can take the pst apart and use the etalon in a large variety of scopes, and when you have had enough, put it back together again. I already paid a fortune for a Lunt LS60 ha which gives fantastic views and will give fantastic images, but I can't resist the temptation to put the pst into a 6" scope. Not because I need to, but just because I can.

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That appears to be a bit like a how long is a piece of string question I'm afraid.

I think you can do a stage 1 relatively cheaply. To make it worthwhile, probably a minimum 80mm aperture so I think you need the following:

PST (duh!)

80mm f10 or greater scope, ideally with 2" focusser

ERF to fit over the front objective

Baader seem most recommended, 90mm would do the trick

Adaptor to fit the PST black box to the focusser

The ERF is probably the most expensive bit, 375 euros for 90mm

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p3246_Baader-D-ERF-90mm-Energy-Rejection-Filter---Solar-Observation.html

The most complicated but seems to be getting the etalon positioned at the correct focal distance and working out if you need to shorten the tube or not.

I'm thinking about doing this and just trying to familiarise myself with the process so am definitely not an expert!

Merlin66 has a document which is very helpful in explaining the process of both stage 1 and stage 2 mods. He can email them to you if you ask.

Cheers

Stu

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Yes, that's correct but you are then into (presumably) cutting slots in the tube to put the ERF inside? For me currently I will go with the simpler option, although more expensive.

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Yes, that's correct but you are then into (presumably) cutting slots in the tube to put the ERF inside? For me currently I will go with the simpler option, although more expensive.

I asked Peter that same question, but the answer is that the slots are not needed. This may depend on the type of ERF. A dichroic (interference) filter will reflect the unwanted energy, whereas a simple coloured filter will absorb the energy. In the former case, the energy should pass largely back through the objective. I am tempted to place a thermometer inside to see what the temperature will be doing. In my case the (dichroic) D-ERF will be at a very short distance from the objective (as it is a 75mm filter in an 80mm scope). Most energy should leave the system.

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Interesting, that makes life easier.

How do you fix the ERF inside the tube, sounds fiddly to do correctly and with no risk

Stu

I am working on that :D

A colleague of mine has a very extensive workshop, including a lathe, so I was thinking of machining a filter mount which fits inside the tube. TS also have a machining service, but I do not know the cost of that (probably cheaper and more fun to do it yourself, especially with an expert helping you).

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PST modding seems to be a deep and dark subject with a lot of variation on the theme. The D-ERF is one of the most expensive parts, and fitted to the front is the easier and more expensive option. Using a smaller D-ERF fitted inside the tube is cheaper and this method can be be used in various other scopes as well. The larger blocking filter needed for imaging is the other expensive part. Then there are the other expensive bits that you might want to buy as well. Then there is another bigger scope to try out........and so it goes on.

The cheapest method is the stage 1 mod which only requires the D-ERF and a spare cheap F/10 achromatic refractor, although others can be used successfully

Welcome to the light side. :grin: .

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