Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

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wannabeastronomer
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Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#1

Post by wannabeastronomer »


Hi, after an 8 year break from using my astronomy kit I’ve now got the time to dust it off and I’m in the process of re-learning how to put it all together and set it up. I hadn’t owned my kit for long before mothballing it and so with the help of forums and YouTube I’m now at the stage where I can polar align. The most pressing thing I’m unsure of is the PST mod kit I bought from Astro Engineering. It appears that they have gone out of business so I can’t contact them to check if I have all the components necessary for safe solar viewing and, although their YouTube channel has a clip demonstrating the mod, the individual pieces and assembly isn’t included. If anyone also bought one of these kits or has knowledge of them, I would appreciate any advice on getting it up and running safely. The parts I have are: PST with tube removed, PST to 2” adapter, 2” extension tube, modified (shortened?) 80mm refactor and an ERF (not shown in photos). I have attached photos of the parts below. Any advice would be very much appreciated, thanks.
Attachments
8E901CF9-5018-4419-8D07-A897FDA3B8CF.jpeg
8A570C9C-9CAF-495A-A4E3-C6FAB5E3FA29.jpeg
4600F5FA-5F4E-4CE8-A9A7-F87B5E515C55.jpeg
FCB26165-E448-4EC8-BDBE-8670AB4BA590.jpeg
Sky-Watcher Equinox 120ED + Antares finder + Thousand Oaks White Light Filter - Coronado PST on a AE modded Revelation 80mm - NEQ6 Pro - Baader 3.5mm modular & 8 - 24mm zoom - SkyWire Control Cable

All the gear and no idea :?
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#2

Post by Altocumulus »


Off-ball question.

How's Donny these days?
Just call me Geoff....

I do what I do because I can, and because I want to.
It doesn't mean I know what I'm doing :mrgreen:
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#3

Post by wannabeastronomer »


Cloudy 😔
Sky-Watcher Equinox 120ED + Antares finder + Thousand Oaks White Light Filter - Coronado PST on a AE modded Revelation 80mm - NEQ6 Pro - Baader 3.5mm modular & 8 - 24mm zoom - SkyWire Control Cable

All the gear and no idea :?
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#4

Post by Altocumulus »


Ditto NE Scotland - in spite of what ClearOutside's telling me!
wannabeastronomer wrote: Tue May 05, 2020 11:07 am Cloudy 😔
Just call me Geoff....

I do what I do because I can, and because I want to.
It doesn't mean I know what I'm doing :mrgreen:
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#5

Post by Gordon »


We have member Solsearcher (Mike), who is having some problems logging in (we are working on fixing that for him). In the meantime he asked that I post this:
A member , wannabeastronomer posted a question in the solar discussion
area about an Astro Engineering PST mod kit . I am not familiar with this
kit but I am very familiar with PST mods and I do not see any etalon in the
images . I want to caution him about this but I can not log in , please
bring this to his attention .
Thank you
Mike
Gordon
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED80CF, Skywatcher 200 Quattro Imaging Newt, SeeStar S50 for EAA.
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-g mount & Skywatcher EQ5 Pro.
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#6

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Here is a quick run down of parts required for adapting a PST to 80mm refractor.
Please make sure the etalon is in place before looking through!
Article #2 will be similar to yours.

https://www.dd1us.de/Downloads/Modifica ... %200v7.pdf
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#7

Post by wannabeastronomer »


Solsearcher, Lady Fraktor: may thanks for the info. I forgot to subscribe to my thread and didn't realise you had posted until I logged in today :doh:
Sky-Watcher Equinox 120ED + Antares finder + Thousand Oaks White Light Filter - Coronado PST on a AE modded Revelation 80mm - NEQ6 Pro - Baader 3.5mm modular & 8 - 24mm zoom - SkyWire Control Cable

All the gear and no idea :?
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#8

Post by Star Dad »


Excuse my ignorance - but just what is this mod supposed to do? I own a PST and so am interested in all things PST.
"To be good is not enough when you dream of being great"

Orion 203mm/f4.9/1000mm, converted TASCO 114mm/f9/1000mm to steam punk, Meade 114mm/f9/1000, Coronado PST, Orion EQ-G, Ioptron Mini-Tower and iEQ30, Canon 70D, ASI120MM,ASI294MC, Ioptron SkyHunter
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#9

Post by smp »


Star Dad wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 1:28 pm Excuse my ignorance - but just what is this mod supposed to do? I own a PST and so am interested in all things PST.
Just download the document at the link in post #6 above.
It appears to be a nice explanation of the person's experiments and experiences. :P

smp
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#10

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Star Dad wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 1:28 pm Excuse my ignorance - but just what is this mod supposed to do? I own a PST and so am interested in all things PST.
It allows you to convert the PST to a larger aperture system.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#11

Post by Gordon »


Just a reminder.

ANY modifications to a solar telescope can be dangerous. Please use caution!!!
Gordon
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED80CF, Skywatcher 200 Quattro Imaging Newt, SeeStar S50 for EAA.
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-g mount & Skywatcher EQ5 Pro.
ZWO mini guider.
Image cameras: ZWO ASI1600 MM Cool, ZWO ASI533mc-Pro, ZWO ASI174mm-C (for use with my Quark chromosphere), ZWO ASI120MC
Filters: LRGB, Ha 7nm, O-III 7nm, S-II 7nm
Eyepieces: a few.
Primary software: Cartes du Ciel, N.I.N.A, StarTools V1.4.

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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#12

Post by Solsearcher »


Star Dad wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 1:28 pm Excuse my ignorance - but just what is this mod supposed to do? I own a PST and so am interested in all things PST.
I have done a few PST mods and have been pleased with the results . The PST is a 40 mm F/10 solar scope that uses an internal etalon .
Key elements (1) MOST IMPORTANT a suitable ERF (energy rejection filter) and (2) the donor scope should be F/10 or close .

Stage 1 mod ; In this application the optical tube is removed from the etalon of the PST (this also removes the ERF !!)
The donor scope must have an ERF installed , full aperture is best but smaller ones can be placed mid stream as long as it cover all of the light path .
What remains of the PST is the etalon , fcuser and blocking filter , all built into the black box . The "key" to making this work is the placement of the etalon in the light path , it must be 200 mm ahead of the focal point to work . If your donor scope is not short enough to accommodate this you will have to cut the tube . Now finally you will have to "mate" the donor optical tube to the PST and this could require having an adapter made .
The stage II mod uses the etalon only and the builder supplies the focuser as well as blocking filter . This allows you to use larger blocking filters for increased field of view as well as using an improved focuser .
I have had no issues with my modded scopes and I have been using them for over 8 years now .
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Sept 17 15 j1.jpg
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Re: Astro Engineering’s PST mod kit

#13

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Thank you for the extra input Mike, greatly appreciated.

This thread is going to be closed now.
If you do not fully understand how to do a conversion like this make sure you consult with someone with experience.
Replacement eyeballs are still not available yet. :)

Enjoy your safe solar viewing in the meantime.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
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