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Terry Wood

Jupiter (clearer) Nov 5th 2023 w/Mewlon 180c

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collimating

Started by cbily501, 08/22/2015 08:11PM
Posted 08/22/2015 08:11PM Opening Post
I am having a real problem with my 10 inch meade sc. I can not get the scope collimated no matter what I do. I have followed all the recommended ways to do it. it seems that the secondary is so far out of wack that the more I try the worse it gets. I can not get the star pattern shown in the manual where all you do is adjust the screw to move the dark circle towards the center. Is there a common starting point to begin the fine tuning? I just purchased an artificial star to try that out this evening. the laser collimator does not work on a sc it showed the red dot in the center of the disc but when I looked through the eyepiece, the image was blurry and would not come into focus.

need some ideas. thanks
Posted 08/22/2015 09:23PM | Edited 08/22/2015 09:23PM #1
William
I've collimated several SCT's for local club members. It can be frustrating. The artificial star will be a big help. Look into Bob's Knobs also.
The last time I did this was at the Science Museum. There are spotlights on the rotunda ceiling with a pebbled surface like a compound eye. Each pebble cast a point of light, which was my "artificial star"
"StarWare" by Phil Harrington has a section on collimation. May be helpful.
Good luck
John