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Well.....here goes!!

northernnutter

By northernnutter
in The Astro Lounge

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northernnutter

northernnutter

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Well, 'obviously', a new eyepiece brought rain and cloud, but it also brought me my cheshire eyepiece, so....collimation here I come!! :)

I'm following Astro Babys' guide, but I'm still a bit clueless...so this could be a bloodbath!

No doubt there will be questions to follow..........

Well, 'into the breach'...and all that!

Wish me luck!!;)

Vicky.

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John

John

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Have you star tested the scope ?

I often wonder if many scopes that are in perfectly good collimation get tweaked awat from that happy state by well meaning owners. If it star tests OK then I'd not fiddle too much :)

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northernnutter

northernnutter

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Have you star tested the scope ?

Last time out I star tested on Polaris, and it looked a bit squashed/ elongated....didn't look quite right?? Hence the check.

Just checked the secondary....(Putting card/ paper in the tube sure makes it easier!!). To my eye..(can it be trusted??)...all looks ok! No glaring off centredness...so I'm gonna leave that alone!!:)

On to the Primary........;)

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northernnutter

northernnutter

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Finished!! Finally!;) ( I did stop for my tea inbetween though.)

Had a real scare trying to get the 3 clips into view....couldn't manage to get them all just by adjusting the tilts, so tried to move the secondary mirror, moved it waaay too much and ended up with pretty much nothing!! :) Took me ages twiddling and tweaking until I finally got it!! (But got it I did!!) Hopefully I won't have to touch these again for a long while! My heart couldn't take it!!

The Primary was a doddle after that fiasco!! Centre dots slightly off line, but no problem getting them in synch.

All in all, a 'huge' learning curve.....but enjoyed it, and hopefully not so scary next time!!

So...to all the newbies out there contemplating their first collimation...as 'Jahmanson' rightly said.....if it ain't broke..don't fix it!!

But if it's time, then, go for it! Even if you make a complete hash of it, like I did....it's fixable, you learn loads, and honestly....if I can do it, anybody can!!

Good luck, and happy collimating!!

Vicky.

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Simms

Simms

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I remember when I first tried my hand at collimation and afterwards wondered what all the fuss was - whilst I understand that to `do it wrong` can cause all sorts of problems, I think the way people `big it up` is a bit over the top - mostly its just commonsense - obviously tips like seeing the clips etc is invaluable, but if you can put a square peg into a square hole and a round peg into a round hole, then collimation really wont prove all that difficult.

Just sayin`.

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Simms

Simms

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Just re-read my reply above and its sounds awfully arrogant - that wasnt my intention!! Sorry!

What I meant is that I think too many new users are scared off by the BIG COLLIMATION PROCEDURE and get a bit worried about it all. Its like in the photography world the equivalent is cleaning the sensor on a DSLR, everyone makes a big fuss over it but in reality if you take you time and just use your noddle its actually a rather painless and quick process..

Hope that redeems me!

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Jiggy 67

Jiggy 67

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So...to all the newbies out there contemplating their first collimation...as 'Jahmanson' rightly said.....if it ain't broke..don't fix it!!

But if it's time, then, go for it! Even if you make a complete hash of it, like I did....it's fixable, you learn loads, and honestly....if I can do it, anybody can!!

.

My turn next....been putting it off for ages!!!! :);)

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northernnutter

northernnutter

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Re : Simms... I get what you're saying.;) I think the big problem is, as a novice, you read every thread...you cram information...watch every darn youtube video, and get a complete overload!! It's only untill you get 'hands on' it all comes into perspective.

But being totally honest here...(and with no intention of 'bigging up' how I found the whole process), when the secondary mirror went 'AWOL', I did freak a little and my 'commonsense' I'm afraid, went out the window for a while. My heart really 'did' jump into my mouth. Not an overstatement, just a true reaction at that moment. (But hopefully a forgiveable one for a first go..) But, as you rightly say, with my 'noodle' back in gear, and taking time, it was no problem. :(

Re : Steve... One of the reasons why I got a dob!!!:)

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Jiggy 67

Jiggy 67

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Re : Simms... I get what you're saying.;) I think the big problem is, as a novice, you read every thread...you cram information...watch every darn youtube video, and get a complete overload!! It's only untill you get 'hands on' it all comes into perspective.

Totally agree, I've just completed my first collimation today :)...I was terrified after reading and watching everything on the internet, in fact I found it pretty easy, or maybe I got lucky, I think you've just got to take your time and think about what you're doing. If only it would stop raining I might be able to test it out one day!!

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