Well, I thought I'd start a thread about my experiences with a Coronado PST from a total Noob perspective, I'll update the thread as things happen!
I purchased a 2nd Hand PST from an IIS member, it arrived today in its case with 20mm eyepiece, lens cap, and nothing else.
Clouds dutifully rolled in to completely obscure the sun.
I was surprised how small it is, and almost ridiculously lightweight. It looks a bit American/cheesy with it's golden tube and oversized PST logo on the base, but looks pretty well made.
It has what looks like 2 standard tripod threads in the base for mounting the scope.
The lens cap has a warning to read the manual before use. Also included was a handwritten warning from the previous owner, along the lines that this scope will do little else than get me hooked and make me purchase a solarmax 60!
Of the two warnings, the second one was probably the most important!
I dutifully downloaded a copy of the manual and had a quick read, with the intention of not accidentally burning a hole through my retina and cooking my brain.
Manual perused, the clouds parted briefly, so I lent the scope against the kids trampoline for support and pointed roughly towards the sun. After swinging it around a bit, the sun suddenly filled the eyepiece.
At first, the image seems to be a featureless, but very crisp bright pink circle that fills the eyepiece. Then after a few seconds, your eye adjusts and the sunspots are surprisingly sharp and clear. A few more seconds and the prominances are visible, albeit faint compared to the disc of the sun. Some surface detail was also visible.
Bear in mind that this is all happening whilst hand-held!
I was instantly hooked, but sadly had to pack it up and go back to work.
I will be mounting it onto a tripod tonight and take a proper look tomorrow.
First thoughts:
1) Solar is instantly addictive, unlike planets and nebulae etc. you don't really know what to expect as one hasn't been inundated with as many images over the years.
2) You get used to the 'pink' very quickly, but I wish it was yellow
3) The image is very clear and intriguing, but I can see why people would want a larger scope to be able to get higher magnifications to bring out the details.
Anyway, that is my 2 minute look at the PST, I'll post more as I get to use it more. Hopefully a perspective from a beginner will be helpful, I'll try to answer any questions I can.
-Peter