Coronado PST, any good?

[Peter Drew]

I use mine on a AZ3, very stable and portable. 

[kirkster501]

Yeah I could. I got an eq5 synscan. I just thought as it's such an teensy little scope I could have a very portable tripod that I could just plonk down and use.

How would tracking work if it was just mounted on a AltAz Tripod - especially if you wan t to do photography?  It would be a pain I'd imagine.  That said, I have not got a Solar Scope so have no idea.  It's something I am interested in though.

[Stu]

I use mine on a mini giro head, works fine as would most alt-az mounts. I don't do imaging and enjoy the portability of it.

Stu

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DaveGarland]

Would this be suitable to attach a PST to an EQ5?

[Uplooker]

Yes - that the job, should be between £10 -£20 max.

Ian

[DaveGarland]

Its £21.99 but free postage. I'll take it Now all I need is the PST itself

[IanWatkins]

I use that exact dovetail mounted on my PST, works fine. Just need to cut a little foam from the case to accommodate it.

I can then just drop it into my SkyTee2 for observing, setup time = 30 seconds. Of course, used to work on my NEQ6 as well for imaging but sold that mount a while back.

Cheers

Ian

[Lee_P]

Hi Dave,

I run the At-Bristol Planetarium (http://www.at-bristol.org.uk/planetarium) and we have a Coronado PST that we sometimes use to safely show people the sun. If you live nearby (your profile says Bristol?) maybe you want to pop over sometime, and we can set the PST up in Millennium Square and see what we can see. You could bring your own eyepieces to test them out too. 

Then again, if you've already decided to get one then maybe a test drive isn't necessary!

  - Lee

[IanWatkins]

What a lovely offer from Lee.

Can I just say, if you do live in the area and have never been to the planetarium @Bristol then it is well worth a trip for this alone. Fantastic facility.

Cheers

Ian

[DaveGarland]

Thanks Lee that's a great offer. If I don't take you up on that before I get my scope, I must make a point of visiting the planetarium. Cheers!

[Joseki]

Hi, I think it's a bit of a funny time for solar scopes right now - Lunt have announced their new 50mm scope, which looks to be priced in a similar range to their now discontinued 35mm model and not much difference to the PST http://www.optcorp.com/solar-telescopes-ha-filters/solar-telescopes.html  Then there's the Daystar Quark http://www.scsastro.co.uk/catalogue/daystar-quark-hydrogen-alpha-eyepiece.htm which is more but a cheap way to get a significant aperture Ha scope (I've put an order in for one and when it arrives will be using on my 90mm frac, hopefully never having to upgrade to a bigger Ha scope - but perhaps a bigger frac).  I wonder how many Daystar's are going to be sold on the basis of being more spouse friendly   (i.e. not another scope, just an accessory).

  btw FLO must have a number of 35mm Lunts in stock and have recently announced they're going to start selling the 50mm model, so perhaps they'll be selling off their 35mm stock reduced sometime .

There are more PSTs on the 2nd hand market though (there's one on ABS at £420 posted right now).

[paulastro]

First off let me say I think PSTs are fabulous.  I have one I bought second hand and it does give wow views.  Two comments I would like to make in addition to those already made.

1  If you get that wow factor depends on expectations.  It won't show you what the best images do.

2  I have use at least a dozen PSTs  (probably a lot more) and they are not all as good as each other.  I'd say that all the ones I have used give good or acceptable views, and only one (in my view) was unacceptable.  You do get ones that are 'above average', and if you do and have used a few, the difference will be quite obvious.  The problem is, the difference is hard to put into words. All but one I have used showed at least reasonable prominences, plage and filaments.  It's only by really trying a few you'd learn which ones are better.

3  Sorry, can't count!  I use a Manrotto 393 gimble type mount on a photo tripod - any good quality tripod will do.  This is effectively a fork mount and it's a pleasure to use.  The mount will also take many small  refractors, including my Megrez 90 at lower powers.  For the PST it is fabulous.

A final thought, the image is MUCH improved with a dark cloth over your head, you wont see the best views unless you use one. 

I think you'll enjoy your PST!!

Regards, Paul

[DaveGarland]

Just my luck. Telescope House are having a weekend sale on PSTs. 20% off! And I don't get paid until the 15th! Gaaaaah!

[DaveGarland]

Ah heck, I couldn't resist that offer and hit go [emoji16] I got the £729 version for 586 including postage [emoji16] £143 saving [emoji2][emoji2][emoji2] That more than paid my overdraft charge. Bring on the sun!

[Lee_P]

Hooray!

[paulastro]

I'm delighted you bagged a PST David, I'm sure you'll be delighted with it.  And at a bargain price too!!   I was observing early am today with my PST, there were some lovely interesting prominences, plage, a few smaller filaments and some lovely 'hot spot's' for a 15 mt period - associated with a sunspot group.

If you want to cheat - that is to see virtually live views of the Sun in HA,  google GONG solar and you'll find the latest images from solar observatories across the world.  It's a great way to see what you're missing if it's cloudy!  In good conditions, you'll see virtually all of the features that are visible in these pictures.

Regards, Paul

PS Here is the link for GONG to save you googling it.

http://halpha.nso.edu/

[Joves]

Great purchase, Dave. A new PST at that price is a fair steal. I'm sure you're going to love it!

Paul, I agree... Under decent conditions, the view through a PST matches the details seen on those GONG pictures nicely. Perhaps not with quite as much detail, but you can certainly match the features shown at the time, that's for sure.

Now to wait for some reports on the Daystar Quark. I've been tempted to hit go on a Lunt Double Stacked and Pressure Tuned LS60 that is for sale here second hand at an attractive price, but the possible views through the Quark in my 76mm and 110mm refractors is holding me back!

[DaveGarland]

Hey great, a hail storm! That means my scope has been delivered and is waiting for me at home. Great to see my luck hasn't changed [emoji2]

[IanWatkins]

Hey great, a hail storm! That means my scope has been delivered and is waiting for me at home. Great to see my luck hasn't changed [emoji2]

And it'll mean it'll be cloudy until nightfall, then crystal clear

[DaveGarland]

Ok I've set it up in the garden at last and what a perfect morning for my first look. It took a little getting used to with the tuning thing but I think I've got there. There's a nice prominence roughly in the four o'clock position which is pretty wispy. My plan for the day is nip to the gym and then chill in the garden with the sun

Thank you all for your bits n bobs of advice and opinions. I appreciate it. My original plan was to buy this at the International Astronomy Show but of course I now have it. So what shall I buy at the show? Hmmmmmm....

[Joves]

A chromosphere Quark and ed120 APO

[IanWatkins]

Much cheaper, some aftersun cream for your forehead

Have a lovely afternoon with your PST. Just like night observing, the longer you look, the better the detail does become. Just ensure you are comfortable, that makes a real difference to viewing.

Shading the eyes/eyepiece also helps dramatically, I'll leave you to discover your own best method for that (I've seen some crackers).

Enjoy, and report back late

Cheers

Ian

[DaveGarland]

Ok I've worked out what to spend my money on at the IAS. An eyepiece! You guys didn't think this thread was over yet did you I've been using my 10mm Delos on the PST, now much as it's a fab eyepiece in my night scope, I find it not so good in the PST. It seems that unless I'm looking straight ahead the sun seems to disappear. If I look towards the edge of the FOV the sun goes? Is there a more suitable eyepiece?

I've read the Baader zoom is very good for the PST, particularly because it has a thread for a t-ring so I can attach my DSLR. But will I still have the disappearing sun problem? Is this a problem of the PST rather than the eyepieces?

If so am I better off sticking with my Televue and putting the money towards a DMK which I understand is better for solar/planetary pics anyway?

Gosh this astronomy lark just keeps creating questions!

Views please.

[Joves]

Hi Dave,

The blocking filter in the PST is quite small/restrictive, so eye placement is pretty critical in observing through it.

Sounds a pain in the backside, but you'll get used to it.

I would think your Delos should be ok. The zoom is a good idea though, as you'll want to view with differing focal lengths, I'd imagine. Personally, I find 12-15mm to show the nicest image for my preference. It allows a very clear view of the entire disk, prominences and all. I find magnifying in too far tends to be pushing the aperture of the scope a little. Still nice views but starts to lose some resolution.

Hope you're enjoying your time in Ha.

Aaron

[Merlin66]

Use a 10mm plossl and save the funds for a DMK camera.....