Shiraz
29-01-2019, 02:24 PM
Getting back on deck and decided to track down a minor camera tilt and also to slightly increase the coma corrector spacing on my Newtonian. So I pulled the imaging train to bits and rebuilt it.
Then I realised that the ever reliable GSO laser collimator had died - it is the only collimation aid that I really trust, so this was a disaster at the start of a long weekend of mainly clear sky.
So... I repaired the collimator by removing the dead laser assembly and replacing it with an old laser pointer that had been sitting in a drawer for years.
Happily, the original GSO laser assembly simply dropped out of the housing when the battery cover and 3 adjustment screws were removed. To hold the replacement laser pointer in the GSO housing, I hand sanded a cork plug to fit (a wine cork :thumbsup: cut about 15 mm long) and then drilled a hole in the cork for the pointer (offset a bit since the output aperture of the pointer is not central). The pointer also had a diffraction screen on it - easily removed - and then it fitted snugly into the hole in the cork plug. The plug slid comfortably, but firmly, into the GSO housing and the laser beam exited where it should. A bit of protective hard plastic sleeve (cut from an irrigation fitting) protected the pointer tube where the grub screws made contact - and then the laser beam could be easily aligned with the GSO housing (Alexander's method). The on/off button on the pointer was jammed "on" and the switch is now the battery retaining clip that screws into the end of the pointer tube.
Took about an hour and works like a charm, even though it looks odd - the cork suspension is surprisingly stable and nothing moves as the switch is operated. The pointer laser is the same class as the original, so all legal and the original GSO warning label still applies.
Will buy a "real" one someday, but this saved the bacon for the weekend and was actually quite good fun :). Thanks for reading. Cheers Ray
Then I realised that the ever reliable GSO laser collimator had died - it is the only collimation aid that I really trust, so this was a disaster at the start of a long weekend of mainly clear sky.
So... I repaired the collimator by removing the dead laser assembly and replacing it with an old laser pointer that had been sitting in a drawer for years.
Happily, the original GSO laser assembly simply dropped out of the housing when the battery cover and 3 adjustment screws were removed. To hold the replacement laser pointer in the GSO housing, I hand sanded a cork plug to fit (a wine cork :thumbsup: cut about 15 mm long) and then drilled a hole in the cork for the pointer (offset a bit since the output aperture of the pointer is not central). The pointer also had a diffraction screen on it - easily removed - and then it fitted snugly into the hole in the cork plug. The plug slid comfortably, but firmly, into the GSO housing and the laser beam exited where it should. A bit of protective hard plastic sleeve (cut from an irrigation fitting) protected the pointer tube where the grub screws made contact - and then the laser beam could be easily aligned with the GSO housing (Alexander's method). The on/off button on the pointer was jammed "on" and the switch is now the battery retaining clip that screws into the end of the pointer tube.
Took about an hour and works like a charm, even though it looks odd - the cork suspension is surprisingly stable and nothing moves as the switch is operated. The pointer laser is the same class as the original, so all legal and the original GSO warning label still applies.
Will buy a "real" one someday, but this saved the bacon for the weekend and was actually quite good fun :). Thanks for reading. Cheers Ray