Hello,
I've been following you guys on youtube since beginning this year, and I really enjoy and learn from every video you post, thanks a lot.
After I dropped my (vintage) Celestron C8, I bought an Orion8 F/3.9 - I have to say, a bit inspired by you, though I don't think I'll ever reach the level you're on.
In one of your videos you demonstrate that you collimate the secondary in less then 2 minutes. Me, even after 2 hours the laser dot is still not in the center of the donut. Other info on the web sort of indicate that it's a trial and error proces. Do you have some advice for a rookie like me, on how I can collimate my secondary under 15 minutes?
Thanks a lot,
g.
Hi Geert,
Collimation really is easy and shouldn't take you more than a few minutes. It does indeed take time to get used to.
The first thing to make sure of (which we don't mention in the video as we were unaware of that at the time) is that the laser collimator is actually itself properly collimated. The one we bought never had an issue but just to be sure, try to place in on a flat surface and turn it on facing a wall. Then slowing rotate it and see if the laser dot "follows" in a straight line. If so, it is fine!
As for the collimation process itself, you just need to learn how the three screws/knobs work. Screwing a screw IN will push the mirror and therefore push away the laser dot from that side towards the center. Loosening a screw will "bring" the dot towards that side. Once you get a feel of how the dot reacts to each screw, it will all make sense and be very simple. The good thing is that you can practice during the day in a dark room in your home so I would suggest getting familiar with how the screws interact with the laser. I'm sure it will be much faster once you master it!