|
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.
|