Hi everyone!!
It seems ages since I last posted on this forum, probably way back in September!! Between work and home I haven't really had a chance to post. Just to keep you up to date with what I've been doing, besides watching the rain here in Brisbane, here's a brief snapshot of the last two months...
Mid-September I went to Auckland for a conference. It rained. I then flew straight into the GC to meet up with my family who'd travelled down from Brissie for the school holidays. It rained. I then had to travel to the Beverley Uranium Mine in northern SA for work. It rained. I'm now back in Brisbane and of course it is RAINING!!!!!
So yesterday, in a fit of desperation, I decided to collimate my scope using the laser collimator my wife had bought me as an anniversary present who'd asked at the time, "Are you sure this is what you want?"
Anyway, I put the collimator in and looked for the red dot on the primary mirror to see if it was centred in the little circle which is on the primary. No, it was just off so I had to slightly adjust the secondary. I knew that the 3 hex-bolts that surrounded the single phillips head screw were the adjusting screws but I wasn't sure if the phillips head screw was the locking screw. When I unscrewed the phillips head screw a red dot suddenly appeared on the wall so I figured this might not have been it. Eventually after re-tightening the phillips head screw and through some slight tugging/turning on the hex-bolts I did centre the red dot in the circle.
Then it was on to the primary. Again I had trouble unlocking the primary, however there was enough play in the adjusting screws to let me finally collimate the scope. I then wiped the sweat from my brow (or was it just a leak in the roof?) and relaxed.
So my questions are, which is really the unlocking screw on the secondary mirror of an 8" Skywatcher Newt, and what size are the hex bolts in the locking screws of the primary. Oh, and yes I have lost the hex tools which came with the scope!!!
Cheers,
Mario
PS I threatened to use my scope as a new rain gauge yesterday when my eldest son asked why on earth I was taking my scope out of it's wooden box!!
PPS My recurrent dream is...
