Collimation for Beginners! Don't Panic!

[JKB]

So I have only had my SW 150P scope since Feb this year and have only just now ventured into the world of Collimation!

This little aspect of the Astronomy world has always left me feeling somewhat scared:

What if I break something?

What if I mess it up completely and won't see anything through the scope again?

Why does it seem so hard to do?

Well tonight I did it and to be honest it was easy. And I really mean easy. I have read many many articles on how to collimate a scope (best has to be from Astrobaby) but until you actually try to do it, all the help and pictures in the world won't really make sense.

I bought a cheshire collimating eyepiece from FLO (thanks) and popped it in. The secondary was out as I expected because I took it out recently to paint the edges matt black. So a gentle adjustment with screwdriver and allen key and I could then see the edge of the Primary and the ends of the mirror clips.

A few gentle tweaks of the collimation screws and the Primary was also where it should be. Now I am happy I didn't break anything and all seems good.

I know this thread isn't my beginners plea for help or advice but I want to share some to anyone else in SGL who has feared collimation:

Don't be scared or worried about collimation just do it!

Hoping for clear skies now to star test it

Cheers

Jamie

[Pete Presland]

well done i am sure that will some confidence to others who are trying it for the first time

[MorningMajor]

Good post - thanks, I haven't had to worry about collimation yet as my trusty MAK's very stable - but am looking to get a 250PX later on and I must admit it was a concern - no longer - I will boldly go etc!!

[Moonshane]

well done and as you found, you cannot do any damage as long as you follow the process and work pretty horizontally.

if you have a newt then collimation is just part of the routine of setting up. after a while it takes no more than a minute or so and it gives you good performance all night.

as someone once said, you'd never play a guitar without tuning it first no matter what the quality or value.

[Nova]

So far I have been roughly collimating using only a cap but im looking forward to my Cheshire arriving (today hopefully from FLO) so I can see how far out of collimation I actually am. Looks spot on through the cap but star tests are proving otherwise.