Posts Made By: Steve Sands

Paul,

I have have both the PST and the SM90 system from Coronado. Neither included any type of manual when I purchased them. I received very basic informational inserts only. I don't think a "manual" per-se exists. Others I know who have purchased Coronado equipment have experienced the same thing. :S

Thank you for the replies, Floyd and Bill! It was my understanding that you can not purchase a mirror directly from Carl Zambuto. If that is not the case, I would definitely go that route. I will start sending out inquiries and see where they go. Never a dull moment in Astro Land! The coatings on this mirror were failing so badly, I really had no other choice but to send it off for a recoat. Floyd....I packed it similarly to how you described and they still managed to mangle it!

Uh oh, Floyd! Now you've done it!!! You have challenged the Shipping Gods....give up, you will never win! 8O

My shipping experiences have illustrated that it often isn't a drop or fall that kills the contents...It is that fork from the forklift shoved all the way through the package (happened recently to me), or the tire from the truck that ran the package over! I received a mirror from Meade several years ago via UPS. When they tried to deliver it, the package was smashed entirely flat and actually had truck tire tread marks on the package!!

At least you are giving that CZ mirror of yours a fighting chance!

Hi Don,

Two of us are coming up from Alton, Illinois. We are hoping that the cost of gasoline will be less than $200 8O !!! I am looking forward to getting some observing time in. I hope that the gas situation doesn't keep the attendance down, but I suspect it may.

See you next week!

Steve

Kevin Beebe said:

On the Moonlite, the fine and coarse focus knobs are on opposite sides

Kevin,

When I was at AstroFest a few weeks ago, a vendor selling Moonlite focusers had a model with the fine and coarse adjustments on the same side of the focuser. I was told that they started making them due input from users. I am not sure, but you might want to check with them about a retrofit for your focuser. I am getting ready to do the same thing.I have found Ron at Moonlite to be incredibly helpful and friendly!

I built a 6" f/9 dobsonian solar scope under the direction of John Dobson and we used a 33rpm vinyl record as a bearing surface with teflon. The motion is smooth and even. The only problem that I have experienced is that when I rotate my telescope counter clockwise it plays demonic messages!

My first impression of the Coronado PST CaK is to send it back! Since the day it arrived we have had nothing but heavy overcast, rain, and fog!! I am convinced that our weather has been altered due to its arrival! The poor thing has yet to see the light of day. :C

Thank you for a great report, Don! It doesn't look like Sol will be making an appearance here for a while, so it is nice to hear other experiences. I have a color electronic eyepiece that I won as a door prize a few years ago that I am going to dredge out of the basement and try with the PST CaK (it has never been used). I, also, try to minimize electronics and wiring. Please keep us updated with your PST CaK experiences!

Joe,

I just visited Coronado in Tucson during a trip to see my sister this past Friday. While they were servicing my SM90/ BF30, they were kind enough to set up a PST with the double stack at my request. I have a PST single and the difference on surface features was astounding! The difference is quite amazing, to say the least. The cool thing is that you can tune for both the prominences and surface features since the second filter has a T-Max tuner on it.

Unfortunately, it was so astounding that I ended up purchasing the second filter from Stellar-Vision in Tucson during my visit!! I also got to take a look through the 70 CaK and several other neat toys they made available for my enjoyment.

They are an incredible company with incredible customer service. I watched as one of the technicians was testing a batch of PST CaK's. Each and every filter that they sell gets set up and tested one at a time prior to shipment. When the technician was finished with my SM90/ BF30, he set it up and had me take a look to make sure that all was fine. This is way more information than you bargained for, I am sure, but I can't say enough positive things about Coronado.

They responded to my emails promptly regarding having my filter serviced, went out of their way to get it done while I waited so as to avoid shipment, and could not have been any friendlier (if not a wee bit difficult to locate!).

And no, I am not affiliated with Coronado, nor is this a paid endorsement! 8)

John,

Take a look at the Howie Glatter website. They market a binocular platform for the PST. Also, on page 99 of the April 2006 issue of Astronomy magazine he has an ad which pictures the platform.

Hope that helps!

Steve