Why Collimate?

[WadeH]

This afternoon I spent a good part of the day working out how to collimate my scope. Never attempted this before and all I knew about the process was what I was able to gleam from sites like IIS and the Skywatcher manual.
It wasnt that my scope gave bad viewing, but after reading all the threads etc from people saying how it improves the image, well I just had to give it a go! :shrug:
It turned out to be an easier process than I thought it would be (the manual that came with the scope was great) and the views tonight were just WOW!! Never seen Omega centauri like that before!
For anyone with any doubts as to wether to give it a go, all I can say is go for it, you wont look back. :D :D

[KG8]

yes it's a must do and must practice I recon. I did it myself tonight and got a good result but will have to practice it a fair bit more as I still do it by guess work (as far as which scews which way) I usually start off by putting it right out before I "get the feel" and then get it right.

[SkySearcher]

:driving:
It must have been the day for it. I spent a good hour playing with my scopes collimation last night. On saturday night I went for a drive to a dark site hopeing to get some first 'dark' light with my new scope. It would have been great if another car hadnt pulled out in front of me, forcing me to slam on the brakes. This sent my OTA crashing into the back of my seat. However, after last nights fiddling with the scope I learnt alot about how the collimation actaually works so it may well be a blessing. Didn't get a chance to try it though, as the skys were cloudy. Maybe tonight. I would also recomend it to anyone. Totaly offset your mirrors, then have fun trying to get them back in line.

Cheers

Daniel

[Jupiter]

I'm being lazy but can someone post a link to a collimation DIY page.

[KG8]

Here ya go Jupiter!
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=collimation+DIY+&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

[RAJAH235]

Here are a few for you to browse thru >
http://www.andysshotglass.com/Collimating.html < video
Why you need 'Offset'! >
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/diy/3306996.html
& here >
http://web.telia.com/~u41105032/kolli/kolli.html
finally >
http://www.fpi-protostar.com/bgreer/collim.htm
HTH :D L.

[Tannehill]

the Catseye website has a page of links, also.

home page http://www.catseyecollimation.com/ then click on Helpful Collimation Links on the left side menu

scott

[Geoff45]

Stick labels (A,B,C) next to your screws and stick a circle near your eyepiece with an arrow showing which way each screw moves the image of the secondary (which you initially work out by trial). Takes all the guesswork out.
Geoff

[Don Pensack]

I once said to Vic Menard (the guru of collimation--the guy who literally wrote the book), " I'm amazed at how much better the seeing is since i learned to collimate." His response?
:thumbsup:

[hookedonsaturn]

excellent http://www.fpi-protostar.com/bgreer/collim.htm as Pictures here help a newbie like myself to understand the collimination.Thank you for the post

[Sentinel]

Collimation is an art that is not easily learned.

The key to collimation is to first of all get that secondary circular under the focuser. Most of the other adjustments can be an absolute pain if you do not get this right first. A laser is great if you do this once the secondary is aligned. I have seen people align their scopes with a laser and be still miles out of collimation.

That is why an inexpensive sight tube is better than a laser to start with. It has taken me years to get the collimation right quickly (Not years to collimate, but years to collimate quickly)

I have had the primary mirror out of my scope twice today, once to clean and then one of my cell bolts slipped slightly which required me to remove the primary to tighten it again. In 15 minutes I had collimated my scope twice I was using a Glatter Laser with the Barlow. However, I could quite happily collimate without it, using a Sight tube and a Cheshire.

Laser attract people, they are excellent tools. However for half the price you could get a Cheshire and Sight tube from Catseye (BLACKCAT XLTM + TELETUBE XLTM ) and get your collimation sorted once and for all.

If you need a cheaper alternative try a Orion Sight tube. I used one of these for 6 years. Despite having a Laser, I still need this tool to ensure that my secondary is aligned under the focuser. (Picture Below)

All the best.

[ving]

wade hit it on the head... on ya mate :)

collimation is so important :)

[KG8]

Thanks for the tip there Geoff, I'll make up a set of little stickers and put them on the knobs next time I set up.

Just a word of warning to those with SCT's. Those laser collimators designed for non-sct scopes don't work on ours. I was up at the astro camp last month and a good meaning soul offered to do mine. It was a flash affair that projected a red grid onto a sheet of cardboard a few meters in front of my corrector plate. After 10 minutes the circles were all in exactly the right places and my benefactor happily wandered off into the darkness. I went to the eyepiece and:scared: I couldn't see a thing!! The collimation was so far out I couldn't even see stars, in any shape or form. Luckily an SCT "expert" was on hand that night and after 20 minutes we had it back better than ever.
So beware...

[hickny]

Have a look at this collimation video at
http://www.andysshotglass.com/Collimating.html