Collimating Astromaster 130eq

[jonnopfc]

Well i finally plucked up the courage and had a go at collimating my Astromaster. I purchased a cheshire collimator and a cap from FLO and dived right in after reading Astobaby's guide. I can now see what other people say when they say don't be scared, it was relatively easy once i understood it only takes small tweeks rather than large turns of the adjusting bolts/screws. I'm glad i took the plunge as now i will have no problems doing it again.

Cheers to everyone that has posted advice about collimation and especially to Astro Baby for her excellent guide.

[NGC 1502]

Well done, hope your post gives others the confidence to sort their scope.

There's loads to see with a 130mm scope, so happy stargazing.

Regards, Ed.

[RonVen]

I have a Astromaster 114eq and the Cheshire/sight tube seemed to flop in the eyepiece, till it hit the corrector lens. The focuser retainer ring was 1 1/4", but the rest of the focuser was larger causing the Cheshire/sight tube to flop off center. I resorted to using a collimation cap, which seems to have worked. Did you have a similar experience?

[AstroTux]

I have a Astromaster 114eq and the Cheshire/sight tube seemed to flop in the eyepiece, till it hit the corrector lens. The focuser retainer ring was 1 1/4", but the rest of the focuser was larger causing the Cheshire/sight tube to flop off center. I resorted to using a collimation cap, which seems to have worked. Did you have a similar experience?

If I remember correctly the AstroMaster 114eq uses the Bird-Jones design which means that there is a Barlow lens already inserted below the focuser. The only way you can collimate with a Cheshire is to remove the lens each time - see post #16 here http://stargazerslou...ow-to-avoid-it/ .

Hope this helps,

Alan

[jonnopfc]

Hi Ron,

No i didn't have any problems like you mentioned but as the post from Astrotux says it could be down to the fact that i haven't got a built in barlow in my scope. I hope you find a solution to your problem soon though.

Jon