New mount help please, new member

[FlexScan]

This week my father bought me a PST and Celeston Evolution mount, but I am totally confused.

The mount has Star Sense for the other scope and the Star Sense controller

PLEASE can anyone tell me HOW to align the PST with the SUN.

I have added the Sun to the Solar System menu as advised but when i go to the SS  menu all I get is Moon and Jupiter even thouggh all from Mercury to Neptune are in a separete menu

It must be possible to set up the mount, point it at the Sun, and track it HELP.

 

Thanks Paul

[Stargazer McCabe]

If the mount is anything like a couple of GoTo mounts from Celestron & SkyWatcher that I have used, the ability to send the scope to the Sun is automatically disabled initially.

Within one of the utilities set up menus is the ability to over ride this setting and allow the Sun as a Solar System target...

It's disabled initially so a "nocturnal scope" doesn't get sent to aim at the Sun accidentally with the inevitable loss of sight consequences...

[ngwillym]

NEVER, EVER try to look at the SUN through a telescope without the proper solar filters!!!!!!

And pointing it at the sun will most likely fry the starsense camera.

 

Neil

[Cosmic Geoff]

If you have the downloaded .pdf manual for the Starsense, you will see that it has 'allow Sun' under Database Setup in the Menu, and Solar Rate under Telescope/Tracking rate.  So solar observation is obviously catered for. But for solar observation the SS handset has no advantage over the standard one. 

And what is a PST?

[ngwillym]

Apologies for not reading Op properly - 

i thought he had a celestron SCT not a PST - which of course is a proper solar scope. however, my comment about frying the camera still stands. I have a very large black spot in the middle of my QHY5l - 'cos I forgot to cover my finder last time I did some solar work ;-)

[FlexScan]

18 hours ago, ngwillym said:

NEVER, EVER try to look at the SUN through a telescope without the proper solar filters!!!!!!

And pointing it at the sun will most likely fry the starsense camera.

 

Neil

which is why i said with a PST

[FlexScan]

16 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

If you have the downloaded .pdf manual for the Starsense, you will see that it has 'allow Sun' under Database Setup in the Menu, and Solar Rate under Telescope/Tracking rate.  So solar observation is obviously catered for. But for solar observation the SS handset has no advantage over the standard one. 

And what is a PST?

Personal Solar  Telescope CORONADO

[alanjgreen]

17 hours ago, ngwillym said:

Apologies for not reading Op properly - 

i thought he had a celestron SCT not a PST - which of course is a proper solar scope. however, my comment about frying the camera still stands. I have a very large black spot in the middle of my QHY5l - 'cos I forgot to cover my finder last time I did some solar work ;-)

I agree with this comment. Make sure you LEAVE THE LENS CAP ON the starsense camera. if you try to use it to align to the sun then be prepared to have to buy a new one! (focusing the sun to a point is a dangerous passtime and care must be taken )

You will need a 2 stage process

- 1. find the sun using the PST and the PST sol ranger sun finder

- 2. use the mount to track the sun

 

You need to buy the Coronado "sol ranger finder" and attach it to the PST (you may have one that came with the PST?). Use this to find the sun with the PST and either manually move the mount (by unlocking the clutches and pushing/pulling the mount) or just manually use the direction buttons on the hand control.

https://www.astronomics.com/coronado-sol-ranger-sun-finder-solarmax-telescopes_p14865.aspx

https://www.telescopehouse.com/solar-observing/solar-telescopes/coronado/coronado-solranger-solar-finder.html

Once you have the sun visible in the eyepiece OF THE PST then (and only then) enable the side-real tracking using the star sense handset. Do not go into the starsense alignment procedure and do not take the cap off the camera. Just press the "BACK" button to cancel the initial automatic alignment once the handset starts up. Go into the Telescope menu, then Tracking...

Note that if you cannot get the proper PST sol finder, then there is a televue part available at FLO, "sol searcher" (that you could mount onto the PST possibly you may need the "televue finder footer" but google how other people have done it?)

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/lunt-solar-accessories/tele-vue-sol-searcher-for-lunt-solar-telescopes.html

http://www.televue.com/pdf/literature/Sol-Searcher Instructions.pdf

https://www.telescopehouse.com/accessories/finderscopes/televue-finder-footer.html