Cheshire collimator

[johnno]

Hi DON,
Welcome to the Ice In Space Community,and thanks for the advice.

I have read many of your Articles over the years,and

Hope you enjoy your time in this Friendly Forum.

Regards.
John

[astronut (John)]

Don, It's good to have someone of your experience on the forum. John.

[Don Pensack]

Thanks, guys. I probably won't post a lot, here. I'll try to keep my replies useful. This violates that rule, but hey, I gotta shake the hand of someone who welcomes me.
Don

[Dujon]

Originally Posted by Dujon

Right, after much soul and pocket searching the deed has been done. I've ordered the Orion unit.

Again, to each and all of you, thanks for your input.

Blimey, the thing's turned up already! Can't fault the service.

I'll let you know what I think when the chance to play with it arrives.

[rmcpb (Rob)]

John,

If your laser collimator is loose in the focuser have you tried some masking tape around the end to make it a snug fit?

Worth a try.

[Dujon]

No, Rob, not yet, though the thought had crossed my mind. My main concern with doing that was that the tape could finish up being compressed on one side, thus effectively 'tilting' the laser's beam and putting me off track.

I'll see how it goes with the Cheshire first and then have another muck around with the laser unit. I have a feeling (unconfirmed at this juncture) that there is too much tolerance within the 2" adaptor's internal and external dimensions - even when clamped down - which is/are causing my problem. The focuser is, I guess this is obvious, a 2" Crayford.

Wish me luck. . . Please?

[johnno]

Originally Posted by rmcpb

John,

If your laser collimator is loose in the focuser have you tried some masking tape around the end to make it a snug fit?

Worth a try.

Good Tip ROB,Well worth remembering.
Thanks.
John

[Geoff45 (Geoff)]

These should be used with caution. Apparently well collimated scopes may in fact be way off. You really need to use the so called Barlowed Laser Technique. See http://gmpexpress.net/~tomhole/blase...er%20carlin%22
Geoff

[Jupiter]

How do I collimate/calibrate a laser collimator?

[RAJAH235]

Hi Jupiter. Bit involved but,
1. Piece timber bout 3" x 2" x 12" long.(base)
2. 4 off 3" nails.
3. Hammer 2 nails into timber base at 45 degree angle, so that they overlap each other at about 90 degrees, hammer the other 2 nails at the required distance to hold the laser... You are making a 'V' block/holder/cradle/thingy...
4. Take outside & set-up about 6' from a blank wall.
5. Place laser in 'V' cradle.
6. Turn it on & slowly rotate the laser in the 'V' cradle.
7. Watch the dot on the wall. If it moves in a circle, it needs collimating.
8. Be very careful when doing so, as you can break the assy inside.
9. Adjust as nec. & keep rotating after each step.
10. When the dot does not move off centre, you're done.
HTH.... L.
ps. All up costs = zilch.

[Jupiter]

Thanks Rajah, I did a search and found the same instructions, i am up to nubmer 9 and not having a lot of success, meaning I can't get the circle reduced, anyway its heaps cloudy here so I'll just plod along.

[RAJAH235]

Damn! n I was just going to post a pic. Glad you found the solution.
Just be careful with the adjustments....Back one off before tightening another...
L.

[Jupiter]

I reckon I've finally got it, thanks for the help Rajah.

[RAJAH235]

You're welcome... L.

[GeoffW1 (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by bojan

Is there any experiences with Bintel laser colimator?
Bojan

Hi,

Yes, just got one up from Bintel Melbourne (Sydney store was out of stock). I asked about the need for adjustment of the unit so the beam was true to the housing, and was told "Yes, we just did that".

It is easy to use, and comes with instructions which are clear enough, but after much research on the Net I decided to check the alignment of the unit. Attached is a photo of the little jig I built for the purpose.

I found the laser was 11' 27" out, or a 4 cm circle of wander at 6 m. I don't object to this, because there is no telling what knocks it took in the post, and this astronomy game seems to have a huge element of DIY and self-reliance. It just shows that it pays to check.

After adjusting the laser unit to true, I found that the telescope (a 200mm Bintel Dob) had been waaayy out. My next little project is to try the Barlowed laser collimation procedure of N. O. Carlin. It looks good.

Regards

GeoffW