Meade Etx collimation probs

[Starcrazzy]

Hi,

I own an 8" newtonian on an eq mount which i have been teaching myself the basics on, and i must say i have enjoyed every night out.I recently bought a meade etx 125 from the states and had it shipped over..Unfortunatly wheni it arrived the finder bracket was smashed..not a huge problem, but it has lead to concerns over the collimation..I have a laser collimator for the newtonian and when i use it on the meade it shines a beam out about 1 and 1/2 inches from the secondary mirror on the front corrector..Is this normal??im not sure ??The views the scope yields vary, the planetary and lunar views are stunning, but the deeps space stuff is rather dissapointing..Is there anyone out there that has an etx 125 ??what sort of res should i expect from an object like Tuk 47?Through my scope it is a small blurry blob with no individual stars visable..
Thanx for any help
ps..If i do need recolimating, where's the best place to get it done(near sydney wollongong)??
thanx again

[h0ughy (David)]

try bintel

[RAJAH235]

Hi starcrazzy.
As hOughy suggested > http://www.bintel.com.au/
I see you are a local. Interested in coming to a W.A.A.C.ers meeting night? Let me know. O.K. L.

[Jonathan]

I've got an ETX-125 and they're pretty good for their size, but you can't expect too much when you're looking at DSO's because of the small apature. You should be able to get good views of the planets, but it depends on how much light pollution there is and what the seeing conditions are like. On a reasonable night you should be able to make out the Cassini Division in Saturns rings.
Have you done an out of focus star test? That should tell you if collimation is ok or not. I don't think your Newtonian laser collimator will work on a Mak Cass, I've never used one and am no expert on these things.
Check out this site for information about your ETX: http://www.weasner.com/etx/menu.html
There's heaps of information there about servicing and tuning up an ETX. There's also instructions there for updating the software in the Autostar controller, it's certainly worth doing if it's an older version, it stops things like "rubberbanding" in AltAz mode which was a problem I had with mine at first.

[RAJAH235]

Have you checked the collimation of the laser first? If you have, then you may have a dislocated primary mirror. Judging by your description, it sounds like it........How old is it? Can it be returned if nec? Carrier's Insurance etc. Did you & the courier notice the damage when it was delivered or not. Was it noted? May be a big prob. sorry to say. L.