Hotech laser collimator?

[scogyrd]

I bought a hotech the other week, after reading all the glowing reviews here, and I have been unable to get "precise, repeatable results" with it so far.

If I collimate my scope to what it says is right and reinsert the hotech it tells me I need to collimate the scope again, and a quick check with a Cheshire usually confirms that both attempts were wrong anyway...

At first I thought it might have been my focuser, the shop I bought it from says you need a decent focuser on their website, but I think we can rule that out because I've just spent almost £300 on a moonlite and it's still the same. I've also bought some 2 and 1.25 self-centering adapters and I've had no joy with those either.

Has anybody got any idea what I'm doing wrong or is the hotech basically an expensive piece of junk? It appears so to me.

[johninderby]

My Hotech gives spot on results repeatable time after time. So accurate that no adjustment is needed afterwards when doing a star test.

Have you bought the Hotech without their 2" adaptor. That might explain the problem as even if you use a 1.25" to 2" self centering adaptor the self centering adaptor itself may not be clamped centrally in the focuser and would tend to give different results every time you insert it. The Hotech 1.25" to 2" adaptor with it's expanding rings centers itself in the focuser properly each time.

John

[brent205]

I use the 2" Hotech Laser Collimator and it has worked really well. I also bought some Bob's Knobs to prevent me having to fiddle about with screws over the primary as I'm pretty clumsy.

The only time it didn't work for me was user error - because I did the Secondary Mirror adjustment, followed by the Primary Mirror tweak, but forgot to double check the Second Mirror at the end. If you do those three stages - in my experience - it works fine.

Hopefully it will sort itself out for you.

[JamesM]

I have to reinforce the views above regarding the accuracy of the Hotech and I have never had a problem. Having said that, there is always the possibility that the one you have has slipped through Hotech's excellent quality control or was dropped on the deck during delivery. Have you tested its own collimation? Namely placing it on a kitchen worktop to then shine the crosshair at a wall at a distance of say 6ft and see if the crosshair maintains a straight horizontal line as you roll it backwards and forwards. If the light does not move along a horizontal line, I would either send it back (if under warranty) or if a little older, collimate it yourself by undoing the bezel that sits about half way along its length which will reveal three small grub screws. I did this at a distance of about 12 feet to make mine super accurate not that it needed to be as it was fine out of the box but that's only because I like fettling with things!

James

[umadog]

More details, please. Which adjustments are wrong? The primary or the secondary? How stable is the collimation as a function of elevation?

[cyborg421]

Have you collimated the scope with a Cheshire first of all?

The Hotech does not ensure that the primary and secondary mirrors are in proper alignment.

You should use Astrobaby's guide first of all, to ensure mirrors are aligned and then use the Hotech.

I have had no problems with the Hotech. I have the 2" version.

Simon

[scogyrd]

More details, please. Which adjustments are wrong? The primary or the secondary?

Both adjustments are wrong. If I collimate my scope using the hotech it will say it is fine, then all I have to do is take ir out and reinsert it and it will say it is off and I need to adjust the primary and secondary again.

Which leads me to believe it is useless and a complete waste of money and time.

[scogyrd]

I have to reinforce the views above regarding the accuracy of the Hotech and I have never had a problem. Having said that, there is always the possibility that the one you have has slipped through Hotech's excellent quality control or was dropped on the deck during delivery. Have you tested its own collimation? Namely placing it on a kitchen worktop to then shine the crosshair at a wall at a distance of say 6ft and see if the crosshair maintains a straight horizontal line as you roll it backwards and forwards. If the light does not move along a horizontal line, I would either send it back (if under warranty) or if a little older, collimate it yourself by undoing the bezel that sits about half way along its length which will reveal three small grub screws. I did this at a distance of about 12 feet to make mine super accurate not that it needed to be as it was fine out of the box but that's only because I like fettling with things!

James

I'm not convinced I should have to do any of this on a brand new product, especially considering it's price, so its going in the drawer with all my other useless rubbish and I shall simply advise everyone not to bother buying them...

Neither will I buy anything of the vendor again, which is a shame for them because I've recently spent about £1500 in their shop.

[mdhardy01]

If the hotech is collimated then after you take it out and put it back it says your collimation is out then this sounds more like a focuser problem

More the draw tube moving than collimation

Matt

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[scogyrd]

If the hotech is collimated then after you take it out and put it back it says your collimation is out then this sounds more like a focuser problem

More the draw tube moving than collimation

Matt

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have fitted it a moonlite focuser to one of my scopes because I thought that might be the problem (it made no difference) and I have tried the hotech in 3 different scopes and it didn't give repeatable results in any of them...

[earth titan]

I have grave concerns about lasers as the sole method of collimation but have been looking at a Hotech as the best of the laser options.

The 1st check to make on any laser is the centrality of the laser itself - I'm assuming Hotech have sorted this. This can be done with a set of v blocks or in my case 4 nails in a lump of wood. I spent about 10 minutes aligning my cheap Meade laser this way as it was rubbish when I got it. Seems much better now.

Next stage is focuser slop. I've been looking at the Hotech as it claims the self centering adaptor overcomes this problem. I'm thinking the 2" one is best to overcome any play in the 2" to 1.25" adaptor. Currently I use a 'shim' and spin the laser in the adaptor then use a best fit followed by a Barlowed laser.

I was hoping the Hotech will avoid these problems and 2 others I have. 1st is that I can't get the barlowed method to work with the 16" lightbridge (my arms aren't long enough) and I was hoping the Hotech might be accurate enough to keep an eye on the collimation of my SCT.

I shall be hoping you work out the problem, as I was going to order one next month!

Typed by me, using fumms...

[8kids]

The problem with trying to repeat collimation is you can never be sure if youv'e seated the laser in the same way or tightened it the same, I do it once and check it looking at the stars, if they look right then the collimation is right.

I use a farpoint laser and collimation cap with no self centering adapters and a far from perfect skywatcher crayford focuser. Maybe your being a bit over critical? If you feel it is the hotech contact the retailer they may offer a solution or a replacement, it's a lot of money to leave sat in a drawer.

Gary.

[scogyrd]

I have grave concerns about lasers as the sole method of collimation but have been looking at a Hotech as the best of the laser options.

The 1st check to make on any laser is the centrality of the laser itself - I'm assuming Hotech have sorted this. This can be done with a set of v blocks or in my case 4 nails in a lump of wood. I spent about 10 minutes aligning my cheap Meade laser this way as it was rubbish when I got it. Seems much better now.

Next stage is focuser slop. I've been looking at the Hotech as it claims the self centering adaptor overcomes this problem. I'm thinking the 2" one is best to overcome any play in the 2" to 1.25" adaptor. Currently I use a 'shim' and spin the laser in the adaptor then use a best fit followed by a Barlowed laser.

I was hoping the Hotech will avoid these problems and 2 others I have. 1st is that I can't get the barlowed method to work with the 16" lightbridge (my arms aren't long enough) and I was hoping the Hotech might be accurate enough to keep an eye on the collimation of my SCT.

I shall be hoping you work out the problem, as I was going to order one next month!

Typed by me, using fumms...

I only wanted a laser so I could easily check and collimate my 12" scope in the dark, if needs be, because my arms aren't long enough either. IMO the hotech simply isn't reliable enough though.

TBH I've about given up on the hotech now, I've spent too much money because of it and given it too much of my time already, so I'm thinking about cutting my losses altogether and ordering a 2" Howie Glatter laser and tublug when I'm next off work. I'll let you know how they compare if I do.

[scogyrd]

The problem with trying to repeat collimation is you can never be sure if youv'e seated the laser in the same way or tightened it the same, I do it once and check it looking at the stars, if they look right then the collimation is right.

I use a farpoint laser and collimation cap with no self centering adapters and a far from perfect skywatcher crayford focuser. Maybe your being a bit over critical? If you feel it is the hotech contact the retailer they may offer a solution or a replacement, it's a lot of money to leave sat in a drawer.

Gary.

I really wish it was a case if me being over critical but I have found that you're far more likely to ruin your collimation with one of these (I already have) because it doesn't give repeatable results. You could place mine in a perfectly collimated scope and it would tell you in needs collimating (in a different way) every time you put it in.

You could end up going round in circles with it forever IMO, like a dog chasing it's tail.

[Mike73]

If you collimate using a self centring collimator and then check it with a cheshire then youd expect a difference between the two as the Cheshire isnt self centring.

As long as the HoTech is properly collimated then I'd trust what its showing rather than the Cheshire.

[Damo636]

I don't own a Hotech but have used one & was very impressed with it. To get the unit truly centered, (for repeatable results),you need to use the Hotech 2" adapter.

[earth titan]

I'm thinking about cutting my losses altogether and ordering a 2" Howie Glatter laser and tublug when I'm next off work. I'll let you know how they compare if I do.

I've looked at the Glatter, but details are scarce. Can anyone point me to a decent info site about them? Also, any UK distributors?

Typed by me, using fumms...

[pvaz]

Same thing happened to me. My hotech came slightly out of collimation. I noticed the same problems you described right from the star. Star tests confirmed the Cheshire gave me better collimation.

I got in contact with the manufacturer to claim warranty, the shipping alone was over 50$ so I decided not to waste any more money on it. I plan to try and collimate it one day but never got around to it. The Cheshire gives me consistent results and the prospect of spending a weekend afternoon collimating the laser itself is not very attractive.

It does make for a cool looking paperweight.

[Jason D]

I've looked at the Glatter, but details are scarce. Can anyone point me to a decent info site about them? Also, any UK distributors?

Typed by me, using fumms...

I have a Glatter. It is a great product and I have been happy with it. Here is a link to my review which I wrote 1.5 years ago:

http://www.cloudynig...7/o/all/fpart/1

Jason

[Blackheart]

I know this post is a little old but I too have just paid out for a Ho Tech laser collimator (1.25) and I have to agree with Star Forming. For the past three years I've been using an 35mm film cannister to coolimate my 12" flextube dob. However, this week I took the scope apart to flock the tube and insert a Mario de Lio baffle so I wanted a 'decent' collimator to make sure everything went back properly after my tinkering.

So... scope back together. Ho Tech in and on with collimation, err... not!! It seemed to go very smoothly and with my new Bob's Nobs I thought this is a dream, just tweak until the red dot disappears. I finished the collimation and thought, 'I'll just see how this £100 collimator compares to my old film cannister efforts.' Only to find that the view through the cannister was horrible off. Only two mirror clips visible and the centre spot seemed way off centre. I thought, this can't be right, so I popped the Ho Tech back in and sure enough it said the scope was out of collinmation. So I go through the whole process again, check it with my film cannister and again its way off. I put the Ho Tech back in and now it too says the collimation is off.

I took the scope out and a star test showed the collimation was by far the worst I had ever seen. Collimating with the film cap produced a pretty good set of concentric circles.

So, do I have a dud collimator or am I missing something?

Apols if this has been answered before. About to put the kids to bed and didn't have time to read all the posts properly...

[earth titan]

A laser will not check the 'angle' of the secondary. For this you need a sight tube. Once central then a laser can be used.

I don't have the link to hand but search for 'astrobaby collimation guide's for a good explanation.

Typed by me on my fone, using fumms... Excuse eny speling errurs.

[FLO]

Have you collimated the scope with a Cheshire first of all?

The Hotech does not ensure that the primary and secondary mirrors are in proper alignment.

A laser will not check the 'angle' of the secondary. For this you need a sight tube. Once central then a laser can be used.

They are right, a laser alone is not sufficient. Please see notes 1 & 2 in our Hotech laser collimator product description.

Scogyrd, Pvaz, I don't think you purchased your Hotech lasers from FLO but if I am wrong please contact us to arrange a return.

It is very (very) rare for a Hotech laser to be out of alignment, but it is possible.

HTH,

Steve

[pvaz]

O bought mine from the US. Hotech would fix it for free but I would have to cover shipping both ways. That's about 65$ and I decided not to waste more money on it. I get good collimation with a Cheshire.

[Auntystatic]

One thing that I found someone doing was just putting the hotech in the focuser and wrongly tightening the focuser screws as if it was an eye piece, they didn't tighten the hotech collar to inflate the rings like they were supposed to do, a case of not reading the manual there

[FLO]

One thing that I found someone doing was just putting the hotech in the focuser and wrongly tightening the focuser screws as if it was an eye piece, they didn't tighten the hotech collar to inflate the rings like they were supposed to do, a case of not reading the manual there

The most common mistake people (present company excepted) make when using a laser is they fit it to a budget focuser then mistakenly assume the inconsistency is laser misalignment. When using a budget focuser a regular Cheshire collimating eyepiece with sight-tube is best and can achieve accurate collimation.

We also recommend the Astro-baby website for more collimation info.

HTH,

Steve