Quote:
Originally Posted by Outcast
Sheesh your posts drive me nuts sometimes Alex....  |
Mission accomplished!
It's not hard tweaking a scope. But it does require patience and time to understand. I guess it is a bit pedantic, but you didn't get
THAT scope with the express intention of enjoying a half-cocked image, did you now...
If you have an SCT or a Skywatcher Mak, collimating is very easy, but it is time consuming, and in our rush-rush-rush lifestyles this isn't the most enjoyable experience. BUT, get the optics right, and oh-golly-gosh! you are in for a treat tonight!
What makes the collimating experience worse is the pressure you put on yourself to get to use the scope viewing through it! It's an unfair pressure and it is all self inflicted. But it's something you need to control. Or do you still want that half-cocked image...?
I'll give you a recent example of mine. I borrowed an 8" SCT from a mate last month. It's about 8 years old, and a stock standard SCT. When I set it up the image was "ok". Saturn was nice with this scope, the Cassini Division was clear, and the cloud bands were noticeable with shading differences, but I did notice that the optics needed tweaking. So I spent some time tweaking the secondary mirror's collimation screws, and spent half an hour slowly tweaking this screw this way, same screw the other way a bit less, tweaking another just a touch, etc. When I got it as good as I could,
OMG! WHAT A FLAMING DIFFERENCE!!!
The cloud bands were now able to be seen individually, not just as a difference in shading. The Cassini Division was so
sharp. There was such a distinct difference between the A, B & C rings in hue, and the C ring hinted at shading differences. Oh, and the kicker was the Encke Division was now visible!
Was it worth that half hour to tweak the "ok" image? You bet!!!
With a Newt or a high end Mak like an Intes Mak, you have to adjust both a secondary and primary set of mirrors, and it doesn't take that long either. You just cannot rush it. I adjust my Newts every time I set them up because these scopes have a lot of subtly held moving parts that they do shift a little with the vibrations of transport - it's one of the hazards of owning a Newt.
Yes, at first I found it a pain in the bum to collimate, but now it is part of my set-up ritual and not something I would ignore doing as I know it is to MY benefit.
The good thing about Maks and SCTs is they hold their collimation a whole lot better than Newts, so tweaking them is a rare event. But SO MUCH WORTH THE EFFORT!
Alex.