Hotech SCA Laser Collimator ** added photos **

[multiweb]

Well I received it today. So glad all this 'laser in a can' passed the customs untouched. I told Hotech not to mention very sensitive words such as 'laser' on the manifest or invoices and the package made it home with the original wrapping. :2thumbs:

It's suprisingly small. The board is a little aluminium plate like 300x260mm. Very well constructed and very easy to use. Laser patterns are pinsharp. Need to get a photo tripod tomorrow to mount it and start playing with it.

Can't wait to start tweaking my C11 again and see what comes out of it.
Will post some results once I'm done. :thumbsup:

[marki]

It wont matter Marc as laser collimators are not on the banned list and customs do not have the power to confiscate them (long story but I can assure you 100% that it is the case). Look forward to seeing how you get on, probably best to stick the target to the roof though as celestrons have wobbley mirrors :P;):D :scared3::help:.

Mark

[multiweb]

I was a bit worried because when I got the hyperstar through customs it had been opened and it was all over the place... Yeah I have a mirror locking system that works ok. I'm just interested in the rough optical alignment as there is still something that really bugs me in the field and I think I know what it is but this will confirm.

[multiweb]

Well I started playing a bit with it. Haven't had a chance to do a star test yet but I'll try tonight if the clouds part - looking ok so far :whistle:. Here's a couple of pics here (http://www.multiweb.com.au/astro/SCA/).

I've found it easier to put the C11 flat on a bench and shim it to point back to the collimator rather than having it on the mount. Don't have to deal with DEC/RA backlash and balance. It's easier to fiddle around it also without moving everything. Still learning the in and outs of it and liaising with David at Hotech. So much to learn. Trying to figure out what all those reflections mean.

Shot #13 shows the registration tab at the back the way they're supposed to be closest to the primary (not like shot #2 :doh:).

Shot #10 & #6 show the system when the secondary is aligned and tilted properly (i.e. scope is collimated).

Shot #11 shows the back focus point or (close to) approx 100mm from the back cell. I did this to check if the light beam was centered in my baffle tube.

Shot #12 shows some diffraction rings on the wall from the laser after going through the corrector plate, primary and secondary. I wonder if it can give some indications about the optics?

Shot#8 is interesting. With the secondary removed it shows the tilt that an unshimmed focuser can create. Pretty shocking hey?

Shot#7 is with secondary removed too. Liasing with David trying to understand the ghost ring, lines and difference in scaling in the cross to see if it's a primary tilt or just that the collimator is not squared properly.

Exciting stuff. So much to learn still. :)
Great kit though. Highly recommended for any SCT user. :thumbsup:

[troypiggo]

Holy dooley. Looks elaborate.

[multiweb]

s||t yeah! Couple of chairs, kitchen table, table mat, couple of business cards to shim the back. All high tech precision stuff mate! ;) Off to bunnings this week-end to cut some wood in 'V' shape so I can make a craddle for the tube and rotate it 90 degrees. I wanna see how the optical axis holds when you spin around... let's say 10 RMP to start with? :lol:

[marki]

It will be interesting to see how it holds up when you tilt it up from the horizontal position.

Mark

[multiweb]

With the mirror lock it does yes. I got the scope collimated then pushed one of the mirror lock bolt to tilt the mirror and looked at the deviation. If you push hard you'll tilt the mirror on track but it comes back into position. If you just lock it, it doesn't move. The mirror lock is very effective. I don't even have to re-focus the C11 now even with a 180 degrees slew in another part of the sky. Not that I don't check but it's holding fine.