PST has arrived

B&H, chagrined at making me go down to NYC to pick up a PST that wasn't in
stock last week, called me back two days ago to tell me that they were getting
a shipment of five in and they would send me one with no shipping charge. They
sent it UPS yesterday and it arrived today at 1:57 PM. I got it up and
running, trying it with and without the SM40 stacked on it. Tuning was
somewhat of a chore...the tuner was not smooth at all, but after much tweaking
I got it right where it has to be. Nice plage, gorgeous filament and a sweet
set of prominences graced my view in significanltly less than optimal skies.
There were many cirrus clouds with a smattering of ragged cumulus obstructing
my view most of the time. The bracket that I had made to attach the PST to my
Borg alt-az head needed some adjusting, but it fits fine and the slow-motion
controls work well. The FOV is quite restricted due to the internal BF5, so
being able to slo-mo the scope is pretty much required for frustration-free
tracking. Was it worth it? For $500 to give me somewhere between 0.6 and 0.5
A bandpass, I should say it was. The image is in most ways quite an
improvement over my Tak FS-60C / SM40 combination. It's no Bob-O-Scope, but it
does the trick.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

"Mark Rosengarten" wrote in message

..........The bracket that I had made to attach the PST to my
Borg alt-az head needed some adjusting, but it fits fine and the
slow-motion
controls work well.

What did you use for rings? Mine will be here tomorrow.

Ed T.

Mark Rosengarten wrote:

Tuning was
somewhat of a chore...the tuner was not smooth at all

That is a surprise, Mark -- assuming you mean the tuner on the barrel of
the PST. Mine is extremely smooth, more so than the focuser.

Phil

That is a surprise, Mark -- assuming you mean the tuner on the barrel of
the PST. Mine is extremely smooth, more so than the focuser.

Mine has rough catching points. It's not smooth at all, but I can get it to
where it has to be and leave it there. I guess it is within tolerances. It is
definitely not quite up to the quality of the other two PST's I tried where the
tuner is concerned.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

What did you use for rings? Mine will be here tomorrow.

Aha! Didn't use rings. I took the Borg alt-az head, the Takahashi aluminum
adapter block and fashioned an L-bracket that attaches to the aluminum adapter
and the bottom of the PST. It works great. I just wish my tuner worked
better.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

I just nailed down the problem...the tuner is smooth as long as I don't stop.
There is a little play in the tuner. I will have to adjust my use accordingly.
The tuner ring has play in it that I don't think it is supposed to have.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

"Mark Rosengarten" wrote in message
...
That is a surprise, Mark -- assuming you mean the tuner on the barrel
of
the PST. Mine is extremely smooth, more so than the focuser.

Mine has rough catching points. It's not smooth at all, but I can get
it to
where it has to be and leave it there. I guess it is within
tolerances. It is
definitely not quite up to the quality of the other two PST's I tried
where the
tuner is concerned.

I think you may have a problem... mine is also very very smooth.

Mark Rosengarten wrote:

What did you use for rings? Mine will be here tomorrow.


Aha! Didn't use rings. I took the Borg alt-az head, the Takahashi aluminum
adapter block and fashioned an L-bracket that attaches to the aluminum adapter
and the bottom of the PST. It works great. I just wish my tuner worked
better.


Could be it will loosen up with use. But I would ask Coronado about it
(e.g., Bill Dean at the PST Yahoo Group).

Phil

Mark Rosengarten wrote:

I just nailed down the problem...the tuner is smooth as long as I don't stop.
There is a little play in the tuner. I will have to adjust my use accordingly.
The tuner ring has play in it that I don't think it is supposed to have.


Fore and aft play?

Phil

Fore and aft play?

When I turn it one way, there is a little play, then when I turn it the other
there is also a little play. I will have to learn to adjust it in one smooth
continuous motion.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!