Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

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sdeep
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Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by sdeep »

I have read a lot of forum posts here, on Star Gazers Lounge and on Cloudy Nights.
I still have no clue what I should get.

Experience - Complete beginner, I have Celestron Binoculars and Skywatcher-127 with a Go To Syncscan. These are just used casually.
Based in Scotland.
I have used a Coronado PST a few years ago and really liked it, I want to get into Hydrogen Alpha viewing only.
I have £1300 budgeted, this will be my only Solar scope, I will not be upgrading or looking to spend another £1300 or more in addition later, I have other expensive hobbies.

Do I get:
1. Coronado PST at £800, see how I get on, spend the rest on double stack later.
2. Lunt 50 B600 at £1300, possibly get a Lunt zoom eyepiece later. Use 25mm eyepiece for now.
3. 100mm? refractor and a Daystar Quark at a similar £1300

I have looked into used PST or Lunt 60 etc but they seem to come up rarely enough, I'd rather just buy the above new.

Reading the forums, the posts tend to go off topic around this type of question hence why I still don't know what to get and my only post here, a dedicated forum!
Thanks for taking the time to help.


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by Montana »

Only because I love mine and I haven't used any of the others (apart from a Quark for three months and that was enough)

Coronado PST double stack any day :hamster: great for visual, easy set up, very quick and light and great for imaging too. Great all rounder :)

Alexandra


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by marktownley »

Welcome to the forum!

DS PST would be my advice.

Mark


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by Highbury Mark »

Welcome to the forum.
First - don’t ever buy the Lunt zoom. It’s way overpriced, and you can do better for far less money.
The Quark is still cheaper than £1300 if you shop around. Most U.K. retailers right now it’s £999. Quality is very variable though. You might be left disappointed.
Alexandra and Mark know what they’re talking about, I’d prefer a double stacked PST to a single stacked Lunt 50, but let me float another option. There’s a new Lunt 40 on its way, and if Lunt get it right, it should eclipse the ageing PST. Don’t know U.K. pricing yet, but hopefully it will be competitive. And with an external double stack filter if you want to upgrade. I’d give Lunt a call and find out when it’s arriving.


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by sdeep »

Ah, I did not know about the new Lunt 40!
It does look interesting.
Lunt website says Spring 2021 to the US, so maybe mid 2021 in the UK.
Hope it is competitively priced compared to the PST.
Though assuming it comes in at around the £1000 mark with a B600, I might still go with the PST double stacked.

Thanks for the advice about the Lunt zoom too!

I wonder if I can wait though! Maybe considering the current weather in the UK, that shouldn't be a problem.


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by EGRAY_OBSERVATORY »

Hi there,
Whilst the advice of Mark T. and Alexandra are perfectly correct, an alternative could be the Lunt 60 Ha scope for a start, but means to save-up for a new one would be more advisable. (Our Sun will be there fore a long-time yet)...

You mention your other scope and you have a 25mm E.P., but I would imagine you will likely have other E.P.'s - where between 10mm and 25 would also be useful for the 60mm version. Good cheaper Zoom E.P.'s are available from UK suppliers etc., and useful but not essential..

With your Syncscan mount, you will then have the basis for good visual Solar-observations in Hydrogen-Alpha.

I certainly could not advise the Lunt 50 B600 as being as good as the Lunt 60mm + a BF1200 Blocking Filter, but your budget will dictate and depending upon how serious and how much you will use one...

The 40 that Highbury Mark mentioned - is unlikely to be better than any 50 0r 60 Solarscope and the DoubleStack Etelon is a possible future consideration for giving better contrast (with a user learning-curve) , and usually quite expensive, but not necessary for starters.

Any Birthdays - coming-up soon ???

For Sun-spots in White-Light observing, you can of course make or get ready-made Solar-filters for your Skywatcher-127...

I have the Lunt-60mm Ha and Calcium-K scopes, (both with FeatherTouch focusers and B1200 Blocking Filters) as well the Lunt Hershel-Wedge for WL and all for imaging and visual... Plus a number of other scopes and filters for WL viewing... Also the Skywatcher AZ-EQ6GT + Syncscan and computer control. No problems with that make over around 10-years...

Good Luck with your decisions and I hope our comments can assist you well...

Terry


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by Highbury Mark »

With all these products, shop around. For example, Tring Astro is consistently the cheapest outlet for Lunt scopes in the U.K. £871 currently for the LS50. There are sometimes promotions on particular scopes, particularly in Germany. Bresser - the Lunt importer, or TS (Teleskop Service). Check Astrobuyandsell, used Lunts come up often.....


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by Carbon60 »

I don’t think you’d go wrong with either the PST or Lunt 50 (or Lunt 40) to get you into Solar Ha for visual or imaging. Double stacking is better than single for more contrast and that ‘3D’ appearance to filaments and filaproms, but if you want to get into H-alpha solar on a small budget, then it sounds like the PST should be your choice. Double stacking can be done later, when you get hooked....but by then it will be too late and you’ll want a Lunt 60, or 80, or 152.... :)

Stu.


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by LEGV »

Hi, i have the pst double stacked, really nice, but i don´t know if the price of the single stacked is similar to the Quark chromosphere, go for it. You can use any refractor, even achromatic with this filter.

My images in the pst are great!!!, always you will read about getting focus with it, but i dont think like a problem.

By other side, the lunt 50 i thing give you images at 0.7 A, and the pst single stack do it at 1.0, thinking in this i believe the lunt will give you more information of the chromosphere (the pst double stack works at 0.5 A)

Good Luck with your choice!!! and enjoy it


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Re: Beginner Ha - PST or Lunt 50 or Daystar Quark with dedicated scope

Post by sdeep »

Thank you every one, the advice has been very helpful.
The advice around what I was wanting the scope for was key.

I would have got the PST double stacked in the end.
However I have ended up buying a used Lunt 50 double stack from Astro buy sell for £100 over my max budget.
Just need to wait for some clear days now!


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