Question about Laser Collimators.

Hello all.

I am just curious about laser collimators. Generally how does one use them, which are the best and must one still collimate an SCT using a star?

Could a person put a pin-point source of light (such as a laser) about 40 or 50 metres (130 to 165 feet) away from your scope and get the same effect as if you are using a star?

Looking forward to your replies.

Derrick.

So much has been written about collimation already that it's impossible to summarize it all usefully in a single post. You might want to check out these few collimation overviews to get started;
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~mbartels/kolli/kolli.html
http://www.efn.org/~mbartels/tm/collimat.html
http://w1.411.telia.com/~u41105032/myths/myths.htm

As I understand it, since a SCT only has one adjustment when it needs three or more, a laser is best used to return to the best compromise position which was determined via star test.

jon

Thanks very much for the info.

Derrick.