Lazer Collimator

[Greg48(newbe)]

Hello all, I'm new to all this i was wondering which lazer collimator would be the best to buy,,i proabaly need it down the line,,i seen so many on youtube,,the scope i have is a celestron astromaster 130eq it seems pretty much in line but haven't gone out with it yet as it has been cloudy since i got it,, any advice is welcomed,,thanks alot

[Stephen]

I would recommend buying a Cheshire and understanding the collimation process first before buying a laser

[umadog]

The word on the street is to buy Hotech or Glatter and barlow the return beam. They're expensive, though. Cheaper lasers tend to be a pain but you can work with them if you insist. In practice, it's easier to use a good a Cheshire and sight-tube. Generally, you need the sight-tube anyway to round the secondary as the laser is no good for that. If you want accuracy, go for a good autocollimator. Those are about twice as accurate as a laser or a Cheshire. Another thing you should do is check the placement accuracy of your centre spot. Catseye sells a template to make that breeze.

The bottom line is that you don't need a laser because the other tools will achieve exactly the same thing. i.e. they will measure the same errors. A Barlowed laser for primary alignment is as accurate as a good Cheshire. I think lasers come into their own with larger scopes: it's very convenient to be able to sit at the primary and adjust the screws whilst looking at a target (Blug or Tublug would be my choice) on the focuser. If the scope has a ~2 m focal length you virtually have to walk back forth between the primary and the secondary. Below 1.5 m you an sit and place and lean over. Even with my 18", that has a 1.8 m focal length, I've not bothered with a laser.

[pat]

I've read both pros and cons. For myself it's comes down to a cheshire. No batteries,rugged-don't drop a laser. If you have any slop in your focuser,the beam will move. The cheshire is cheaper. Check in on Astro Baby site for more infor. Pat

[sunshine185]

Am awaiting the arrival of a cheshire, but today i found an old 35mm film canister, made a little hole in the top and tried to collimate my 200p dob with this, was easier than i thought, just had a quick look at jupiter with the 10mm sw eyepiece and it looked great so it must have been a success with the film canister. And it didn't cost owt either.

[malc-c]

Hotech laser all the way. One of the best tools I've purchased, and simple to use. Collimation takes just a few minutes.

[todd8137]

I've read both pros and cons. For myself it's comes down to a cheshire. No batteries,rugged-don't drop a laser. If you have any slop in your focuser,the beam will move. The cheshire is cheaper. Check in on Astro Baby site for more infor. Pat

astro`s way is so hard and confuse in

[Stephen]

I've read both pros and cons. For myself it's comes down to a cheshire. No batteries,rugged-don't drop a laser. If you have any slop in your focuser,the beam will move. The cheshire is cheaper. Check in on Astro Baby site for more infor. Pat

Slop will affect collimation via a Cheshire as well will it not?

Am awaiting the arrival of a cheshire, but today i found an old 35mm film canister, made a little hole in the top and tried to collimate my 200p dob with this, was easier than i thought, just had a quick look at jupiter with the 10mm sw eyepiece and it looked great so it must have been a success with the film canister. And it didn't cost owt either.

Great! That's only partially collimated though isn't it?

astro`s way is so hard and confuse in

Well there are simpler guides to be fair, but once the principle clicks of what you are trying to do - collimation manually is also a 5 minute job

[tony4563]

Last night I flocked a 12" Dob, swapped the secondary screws for Bobs Knobs and changed the flimsy tension springs for some half decent ones. This involved a complete strip down of the Dob, including the mirror base. After putting it all back together again, I stuck my Baader laser in and within 3 minutes I had a perfectly aligned scope. Looking through the focuser tube revealed text book views of perfect alignment of the secondary and primary mirrors.

Fantastic Item. Its also guaranteed to be collimated, unlike some cheaper lasers.