Sunday, December 30, 2012

Back in the Solar Club and other updates

Well my friends it has been a long time since I updated my blog. An update to the current state of my scope and mount is that I believe I have pushed past the AP load limit on my mount. With the ST80 and SSAG and mounting gear, my scope is pushing around 19 pounds. The stock counterweight bar on the Sirius EQ-G isn't long enough to properly balance with 2 11lb counterweights, so I need to look into a counterweight bar extension from scopestuff. I tried sandwiching a 2lb weight between the 11lb weights, but there is too much slop and it makes balancing the mount difficult. I am kindof at a standstill until I can extend the counterweight bar, or I will have to dump the ST80/SSAG setup. Hoping I can upgrade to an Atlas this tax season.

Another reason for infrequent updates is work has been keeping my highly busy and highly stressed. 12-14 hour days are not uncommon and at the end of the day I just don't have the energy to lug all the gear outside and orchestrate everything to play nice with each other and work properly. I regret it too, as Jupiter is in prime position for imaging and I have let way too many good evening slip by as I was simply too exhausted. I hate my job for this very reason.



The real reason for this update is to let everyone know that I am back again in the h-alpha club. I have purchased a used Coronado PST from a gentleman and it should be here this week. A lot of folks have commented that I will be disappointed with the PST based on my previous experience with the Lunt LS60tha. During a solar outreach earlier this year, I had an opportunity to look through a fellow OKCAC member's PST. With mine setup close by, I was able to get a good handle on the difference in visual performance between the two scopes. I can honestly say that the PST was a very good performer, and that the difference was only slightly in favor of the Lunt 60. I remember thinking to myself that the negligible difference in view certainly did not constitute almost 500.00 dollars in price difference. So while I know that the Lunt I had just barely beat the PST in visual performance, I think the PST will satisfy my solar observing needs for a long time. My only fear is that PST performance can vary from scope to scope, and I hope I get a good one compared to the one I got to use last summer.

Another challenge to overcome before doing any serious imaging is that I have sold off all of my solar gear associated with the Lunt. I will need to purchase or cannibalize another tracking mount and I should probably be looking at another monochrome imager such as the DMK21. I do have a DBK21AU4 that I can use, but due to the restrictions of imaging h-alpha, a monochrome imager is ideal for using full resolution. I really cant wait to look at the sun again, it has been way too long.

Updates to follow more frequently I hope.