DayStar Solar Scout SS60-DS 60mm

[Solar B]

It all comes down to experience & trying as many different set ups as possible.

I 've 14 years of HA experience and I'm still experimenting , so could write a book on it

The Scout like the quark but unlike all other configurations has its BF to the front and

the etalon to the rear giving a 16mm window at the diagonal , it is a very convenient 

package as is almost grab n go , however like the quark is quite seeing dependant ,  EP 

selection , tuning and focusing are critical also.

If going down the Quark route then a 2" Baader 35nm filter is all the ERF you'll ever need 

 well up to 150mm and is much more effective than a standard ur/ir cut.

But for your first foray into the HA world it's hard to beat the PST ! a common 

misconception is that it has a 5mm BF it's actually a 6mm  and from memory only the

very first were 5mm (2004) , i 've had numerous PSTs and discussed them at length 

but reckon that the best ever were from the beginning of the 2nd gen 2006/7.

In conclusion a modern second-hand one would be a great investment imho.

Brian 

 

 

 

 

 

[johnturley]

54 minutes ago, Solar B said:

 

If going down the Quark route then a 2" Baader 35nm filter is all the ERF you'll ever need 

 well up to 150mm and is much more effective than a standard ur/ir cut.

 

Brian 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it the Baader 3.5 nm Ultra Narrow Band H alpha filter that you were referring to, its not promoted as being suitable for solar work

www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-filters/baader-ultra-narrowband-35nm-h-alpha-filter.html

John 

[Davey-T]

20 minutes ago, johnturley said:

Is it the Baader 3.5 nm Ultra Narrow Band H alpha filter that you were referring to, its not promoted as being suitable for solar work

www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-filters/baader-ultra-narrowband-35nm-h-alpha-filter.html

John 

This one

http://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Products/AGBPHA35-2

Dave

[johnturley]

6 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

This one

http://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Products/AGBPHA35-2

Dave

Thanks Dave I assume that its the  Baader  35 nm   Dielectric Coated Filter not the H alpha filter that you would use, and its placed in front of the Quark.

I would still though be bit nervous about using it with my ES 127 allowing unfiltered direct sunlight to pass down the OTA and I definitely wouldn't risk it with my Esprit 150                     

John 

[Davey-T]

5 minutes ago, johnturley said:

Thanks Dave I assume that its the  Baader  35 nm   Dielectric Coated Filter not the H alpha filter that you would use, and its placed in front of the Quark.

I would still though be bit nervous about using it with my ES 127 allowing unfiltered direct sunlight to pass down the OTA and I definitely wouldn't risk it with my Esprit 150                     

John 

I use one with my 152mm refractor, no front mounted ERF.

Dave

Edited December 16, 2019 by Davey-T

[Solar B]

The 35nms are mini Baader D-ERFs

Exactly the same coatings so no probs

Brian 

[Highburymark]

2 hours ago, Solar B said:

The 35nms are mini Baader D-ERFs

Exactly the same coatings so no probs

Brian 

Didn’t know that Brian - very useful bit of info. I managed to pick up a 100mm erf cheaply secondhand for my refractor but this sounds like an excellent option 

[Solar B]

The best option is to go for an externally mounted ERF though Mark as on the better 

days you will experience some turbulence within the OTA using an internal ERF.

The Quarks by themselves up to about 100mm are fine as the highly polished mirror

finish of their BF reflects most of the energy , a member on another forum managed 

to partially melt a plastic drainpipe via this process.

I think most importantly though they are best not used with triplets , cemented or 

oil spaced lenses without an external ERF imho.

Brian 

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by Solar B

[Rusted]

An internal D-ERF has the capacity to refocus the hot, unfiltered, converging beam from a large objective to cause a fire in the dewshield.

Ask me how I know this?   Cardboard aperture stop anybody?   Flames in your dewshield?    It could happen to anyone!

Especially me! 

[Stu]

46 minutes ago, Rusted said:

An internal D-ERF has the capacity to refocus the hot, unfiltered, converging beam from a large objective to cause a fire in the dewshield.

Ask me how I know this?   Cardboard aperture stop anybody?   Flames in your dewshield?    It could happen to anyone!

Especially me! 

I can verify that this is true! I had a 150 f5 Skywatcher refractor with internally mounted DERF, and was experimenting with foam aperture stops. I obviously had too much tilt on the D-ERF and the focused beam hit the foam, causing a hole to burn through. No fire fortunately, but a lesson learned.

[Rusted]

11 hours ago, Stu said:

I can verify that this is true! I had a 150 f5 Skywatcher refractor with internally mounted DERF, and was experimenting with foam aperture stops. I obviously had too much tilt on the D-ERF and the focused beam hit the foam, causing a hole to burn through. No fire fortunately, but a lesson learned.

We are not alone! 🤣

[Solar B]

Externally mounted ERFs normally have 

a 5 degree tilt , internal 🤷‍♂️ none at the 

the diagonal however 🌚

Brian 

[JBracegirdle]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I decided to go with the Daystar Scout 60 DS. I thought the combination of price, and that it is an compact unit swayed me.

It's arrived and looks great, sadly it came with clouds 🙄 so I 've not tried it yet.

There is one thing I can't work out. There are two thumb screws, one clearly is to hold the eyepiece, but I'm not sure what the other does. It's on the top near the Bullet finder. I thought it was for focus lock, but it doesn't seem to change the friction of the focuser. Does anyone know what it does?

[Solar B]

It’s a non-critical part not sure of its 

purpose either apart from perhaps being 

able to mount another finder ?

Rem to have the tuning white line mark

at an directly opposite centre position to 

the LED and then try 1 or 2 clicks 

anti or clockwise from there / in 

experimentation.

 

Brian 

[daslolo]

On 15/12/2019 at 07:32, Highburymark said:

through 4” frac the views are breathtaking. 

alright, that's all I wanted to know

Anyone using binos on the scout? The quark? My PST one eyed is awful, two eyes it's hypnotic so at least I know that side of the optical train.

[Geoff Lister]

On 28/02/2020 at 00:12, daslolo said:

Anyone using binos on the scout?

I wondered the same, so I have just tried my binoviewer and a pair of Celestron 32mm Plossls in my SS60. Yes, it is possible to use  a binoviewer, but:-

(1) I could not achieve focus with the binoviewer in the 90 degree diagonal.

(2) Without the diagonal, the EP position means you are looking directly towards the Sun, instead of downwards. I found the (now, upwards at about 20-ish degrees, and worse in the summer) viewing position, literally, a pain-in-the-neck, even with a range of viewing chairs/stools.

(3) It was very difficult to get the exit pupils aligned, so most of the time I only had an image in 1 eye.

Others may have a more friendly setup but it did not work for me. I will stick with 1 eye + floaters.

Geoff

[daslolo]

17 hours ago, Geoff Lister said:

I wondered the same, so I have just tried my binoviewer and a pair of Celestron 32mm Plossls in my SS60. Yes, it is possible to use  a binoviewer, but:-

(1) I could not achieve focus with the binoviewer in the 90 degree diagonal.

(2) Without the diagonal, the EP position means you are looking directly towards the Sun, instead of downwards. I found the (now, upwards at about 20-ish degrees, and worse in the summer) viewing position, literally, a pain-in-the-neck, even with a range of viewing chairs/stools.

(3) It was very difficult to get the exit pupils aligned, so most of the time I only had an image in 1 eye.

Others may have a more friendly setup but it did not work for me. I will stick with 1 eye + floaters.

Geoff

Thanks for trying this out.

(1) Binos are tricky and the scout looks like it would have a limited back focus. I spoke with the people at Daystar about binos and they told me the Denk and the Teleview work with the scout. My guess is the Denk works because of the power thingy which is a barlow so give it a try with the smallest magnification barlow you have. When I had a PST I needed a 1.85 barlow in the nose of the Astromania binos (the high end).

(2) the good thing is UK sun is hardly a danger  

(3) is very hard to get right. The thing that made me abandon mod is just that, and when my eyes gymnastic would somehow get both eyes working then it'd be like peeping through a keyhole (not that I would know what it is like)

[Rusted]

2) THE SUN IS ALWAYS A DANGER! EVEN AT LOW ALTITUDES THROUGH CLOUD!

I tried both TS GPCs, 1.5x and 2.5x, with my TS binoviewers.
Eventually I settled on a 1.25" WO 2x Barlow nosepiece for binoviewing in my 150/8 PST H-a mod.
Sharp and relatively inexpensive at 47 Euros online and worth every penny in my experience.

My original TS binoviewer was badly misaligned and caused eye strain and dizziness.
It's replacement was excellent and very comfortable to view through.
Allowing instant merging of the images without conscious effort.
I mostly used 32mm and 26mm Meade 4000 Plossls. 
Not the 40mm! Which have tunnel vision and far too long eye relief for binoviewing.

[Geoff Lister]

2 hours ago, daslolo said:

(1) Binos are tricky and the scout looks like it would have a limited back focus. I spoke with the people at Daystar about binos and they told me the Denk and the Teleview work with the scout. My guess is the Denk works because of the power thingy which is a barlow so give it a try with the smallest magnification barlow you have. When I had a PST I needed a 1.85 barlow in the nose of the Astromania binos (the high end).

(2) the good thing is UK sun is hardly a danger  

(3) is very hard to get right. The thing that made me abandon mod is just that, and when my eyes gymnastic would somehow get both eyes working then it'd be like peeping through a keyhole (not that I would know what it is like)

(1) I use my x2 Barlow when using my binos with Newtonians, but my Maks (fortunately) have enough focal range not to need the Barlow. The optical path length of the binos is similar to that of a mirror diagonal, so, for my refractors, a Barlow is unnecessary. I may well try my SS60 with a diagonal + Barlow + binos to see if I can be more successful than I was in (3) below.

(2) The SS60 requires clear sky, at least in the region around the Sun, so even winter sunlight is strong enough to do damage. Stray light reflections are more of a nuisance if looking in the general direction of the Sun.

(3) I find that, even with a diagonal and 32mm Plossl, it is much more difficult, using the SS60, to get the solar image in line with my eye, than using a similar setup with any of my other OTAs, including white light viewing with a solar film filter. I tend to start with my eye about a foot away, move my head around until I can see a red dot in the EP, and, keeping the dot visible, bring my head towards the EP. With the SS60 and binos, I closed eye2, lined up the view with eye1; then whilst trying to hold my head steady, closed eye1, opened eye2 and adjusted the binos to get the image in eye2 - at which point I had lost the image in eye1. I repeated this process several times without being able to get both eyes working together.

Geoff

[daslolo]

21 hours ago, Rusted said:

2) THE SUN IS ALWAYS A DANGER! EVEN AT LOW ALTITUDES THROUGH CLOUD!

I tried both TS GPCs, 1.5x and 2.5x, with my TS binoviewers.
Eventually I settled on a 1.25" WO 2x Barlow nosepiece for binoviewing in my 150/8 PST H-a mod.
Sharp and relatively inexpensive at 47 Euros online and worth every penny in my experience.

My original TS binoviewer was badly misaligned and caused eye strain and dizziness.
It's replacement was excellent and very comfortable to view through.
Allowing instant merging of the images without conscious effort.
I mostly used 32mm and 26mm Meade 4000 Plossls. 
Not the 40mm! Which have tunnel vision and far too long eye relief for binoviewing.

What binos do you have now?

[Rusted]

9 hours ago, daslolo said:

What binos do you have now?

The replacement T-S. 

[Geoff Lister]

On 02/03/2020 at 09:23, Geoff Lister said:

I may well try my SS60 with a diagonal + Barlow + binos to see if I can be more successful

Yes!

It is still a challenge, and the eye relief means that I have to back off slightly, so some form of eye shade is required to see the (slightly) dimmer view; and the extra magnification means that I cannot see the full disk. An observing stool/chair is definitely necessary to help keep your head still. Now all I need are a few sunspots to aid sharp focus.

Geoff

[richard ashbee]

On 14/12/2019 at 15:37, johninderby said:

I had a 60mm Scout and found it poor for visual. It’s at it’s best for imaging.

Always liked my PST when I had one despite the sweet spot. It was just nice to use..I’ve looked through a few PSTs and never seen anything remotely as good as in that vid.

what camera did you use with the Solar Scout - thanks

 

[Geoff Lister]

I use my GPCAM V2, with SharpCap running on the laptop. The challenge is to get enough shade around the laptop's screen to see the fine detail, and so optimise focus, scan rate and camera gain. I have found the best way is to stretch an old bath towel from the back of the screen across to over my head.

Others may have a more elegant method for viewing a laptop in bright sunlight.

Geoff

[chops]

Has anyone managed to get a binoviewer working with a Daystar Scout SA60? Apologies in resurrection of an old thread but, similar to your experiences, I’ve only managed a ‘straight through’ configuration: with a William Optics Binoviewer and WO dielectric diagonal and the SS60, I can’t reach focus and, by goodness, the view is so much more pleasant through binoviewers, but as @Geoff Lister says above, literally a pain in the neck and difficult when aligning in a direct plane to the sun. Plus the concern about eyepieces or binoviewer dropping out of the scout unless the knurled nuts are roared up tight... all makes it much simpler to use a single eyepiece with a diagonal. But, by thunder, I wish I could binoview with a diagonal. 
Any joy anyone?