Ok, , Have finished 3 hrs (in between chores) on the 2ndary alignments :-
1) Centering in tube, the spider hub is out by 3-4mm, compensating for the 2ndary mirror not being mounted center in the 45deg mounting face on the 2ndary mount tube,, the hub is smaller than 2ndary mirror, no obstruction. The 2ndary mirror is now central to tube.
2) The distance the 2ndary in tube was about 3-4 mm too close to main mirror, (Using a cardboard sheet on inside optical-tube) this is now = inline with the Focus draw tube within 1mm,, I say within on average because the 2ndry mirror's glass ground outside edge has not been cut/done squarely and is producing some unwanted obstruction, ,, no worries, atleast the important reflective surface is now as truly as accurately possible centered
3) The rotation of 2ndry is now reflection back squarely parallel down the tube and an almost perfect reflecting circle matching the main mirror has been achieved.
4) Placed the pin-hole cheshire alignment tool in focuser and followed the main mirror's central dot by moving my eye around the edge of the focus tube but back/away enough to line things up - this produced a line-of-sight from the focus tube end closest to eye circled edge, to the 2ndary's outer edge, and to the main mirror's central spot, , completely all the way around...
This took some time as well, , tweaking tweaking...
5) Place in the laser collimator and it reflected back onto the collimators target 1/2 way off center - whoo,
Then tweaked the 2ndary to middle of main mirror's center dot, as normal, & was initially pointed to just touching the outside edge of main mirror's dot, , tweak to center, very touchy allowing for flex from the spider fins. Got that, and now sitting 1/3rd off center of collimators target, Whoo, - that's the "Trippple score Ring on a Dart Board
Might need take a compact scope to the Pub, haha !
Then fine tuned main mirror to centered laser in laser target
I have never spent so much time on collimating, not to this extent, must of spent 15-20mins on all those seperate areas of adjustment,,, !!!
Hopefully: This should eliminate the collimation factor of those star shapes, atleast ?
See what a star image look like directly, After dinner, Ill go out to find an overcast sky, , , , , , Just checked, looks clear apart from a hazy horizon with thin high cloud in west,
L8r . . . . .. .