Baader Mark III laser collimator. How do you collimate the collimator?

[bomberbaz]

I hope the title isn't misleading. I have the laser in question and I cannot figure out how to collimate it. John had the mark II version and tells me the rubber handle part wasn't the same and this was where the collimation screws were located. As far as i can tell there are no such screws anywhere.

The rubber grip appears to be non-removable. If you read the manual here http://www.telescope.../lasercolli.pdf (bottom page 3, top page 4), to me it appears to say that it does not require collimation as long as it is correctly inserted although I am a little unsure if my interpretation is correct.

Can anybody shed any light on this one please

Steve

[perfrej]

Laser collimators are evil The only one I have ever seen that has been straight straight from the factory is the Hotech. May I point you to something that actually collimates your whole scope and not just the center five microns of it: The Catseye Collimation System. I got one and it is a heck of a difference. If I collimate with the Hotech and then try the catseye, I am looking at some major fiddling to get it right. You should try it! Just google it and you'll find it.

/per

[umadog]

Laser collimators are evil The only one I have ever seen that has been straight straight from the factory is the Hotech. May I point you to something that actually collimates your whole scope and not just the center five microns of it: The Catseye Collimation System. I got one and it is a heck of a difference. If I collimate with the Hotech and then try the catseye, I am looking at some major fiddling to get it right. You should try it! Just google it and you'll find it.

I too use the Catseye system too (Cheshire plus autocollimator), but it's misleading to say that the Catseye tools collimate "the whole scope" and the laser "just the center five microns." That's just not how it works.

A. The outward beam of the laser measures exactly the same thing--secondary tilt error--as a sight-tube (Teletube from Catseye), and is equally accurate as a sight-tube. Of course the laser has to be collimated but then again, so too do the cross-hairs have to be centred. Does anyone test that alignment of their sight-tubes? Either tool has the potential to be wrong. Further, I would suggest that it's easier to read a small error using a laser than using a sight-tube. In my opinion, the laser actually wins this comparison.

B. The barlowed laser (or return beam if you insist) measures exactly the same thing as a Cheshire (e.g. Blackcat) and, in this case, to pretty much the same accuracy.

The only difference between the two systems is that a sight-tube also allows you to round and centre the secondary (which is not an axial alignment anyway, and only effects field illumination), whereas a conventional laser does not. Otherwise, the two approaches are equivalent because they measure the same things in (virtually) the same way.

The difference in Catseye system is the option of the autocollimator. The auto-collimator has two advantages:

1. It reads to twice the accuracy of any of the above methods. That, I imagine, is why you need to "fiddle to get it right" after using the laser.

2. It measures a greater range of errors than other tools. For details: http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=reflectors&Number=3532750

[knobby]

I hope the title isn't misleading. I have the laser in question and I cannot figure out how to collimate it. John had the mark II version and tells me the rubber handle part wasn't the same and this was where the collimation screws were located. As far as i can tell there are no such screws anywhere.

The rubber grip appears to be non-removable. If you read the manual here http://www.telescope.../lasercolli.pdf (bottom page 3, top page 4), to me it appears to say that it does not require collimation as long as it is correctly inserted although I am a little unsure if my interpretation is correct.

Can anybody shed any light on this one please

Steve

I don't think the mark 3 is adjustable, sure I saw that somewhere... Its a factory return for adjustment

[r3i]

I don't think the mark 3 is adjustable, sure I saw that somewhere... Its a factory return for adjustment

I'd agree with this, I have one and there's no end user way of adjusting them. Or at least no obvious way

[umadog]

Really?? In that case I'd return for refund since it's not fit for purpose. Ridiculous to have to return to factory for something that trivial.

[cs1cjc]

I would be surprised if it is not collimated. Baader make a big thing about them being correctly set up from the factory and certainly mine (a Mark II) has never needed adjustment. If the spot does not move when the laser is rotated in the focuser then it is collimated.

[bomberbaz]

I don't think the mark 3 is adjustable, sure I saw that somewhere... Its a factory return for adjustment

Factory return, blimey I hope it doesn't lose it then. Think its going to be permanently wrapped in bubble wrap from here on

[andyman]

put it on a jig and test on a wall about 15 feet away if the dot stays central its ok if it moves send it back thats what i did with mine luckily it was fine

[John]

put it on a jig and test on a wall about 15 feet away if the dot stays central its ok if it moves send it back thats what i did with mine luckily it was fine

The Baader laser collimator is not symmetrical - not so easy to make a jig for it, unfortunately.

[andyman]

The Baader laser collimator is not symmetrical - not so easy to make a jig for it, unfortunately.

yes your right but managed to do its a bit fiddly but doable another way is popp it in eyepiece holder bypass the secondary so it shines on to a wall and turn the collimater

[John]

yes your right but managed to do its a bit fiddly but doable another way is popp it in eyepiece holder bypass the secondary so it shines on to a wall and turn the collimater

Yes - I used a refractor optical tube with the objective lens removed to do mine. I put the laser collimator in the drawtube and shone it down the tube and out the open end, onto a wall about 20 feet away.

[Tinker1947]

if you can get access to a lathe bung it in a 3 jaw and point it through the chuck, then just turn the chuck. Machine Mart have plenty i'm sure they would'nt mine running the test...

[astronymonkey]

Sounds like a right faff ..... this is one of the reasons why I avoided this model cos if I dropped it and it lost collimation Id have to send it away. In the end I got a cheap one and accepted I would have to adjust it , but at least it is do-able.

To be honest it only takes 5 ins to collimate , but I cant see why Baader has restricted this on their current model,

cheers

[bomberbaz]

Yeah like I said I think I would of made a different choice had I known, a cheap version like you said astro, isnt that much of a job to collimate the things afterall

[stev74]

Yeah like I said I think I would of made a different choice had I known, a cheap version like you said astro, isnt that much of a job to collimate the things afterall

Sorry but the point is that it's collimated in the factory so you don't have to, FLO sell it and they don't sell the cheap collimators because you have to colimate them yourself, I have one of the Baader Mark III's and once I collimate the scope with the laser the star test is always perfect. Obviously if you are using a 2" and 1.25" adapter that uses thumb screws you will always have issues collimating but for visual I wouldn't worry too much as long as the star test is fairly good. I have a 2" Badder click lock adapter and an 1.25" Orion Self Centering adapter so each time I use the Badder laser it's perfectly centered, the other option is the Hotech because it comes with a self centering adapter built in but then you still have to use thumb screws on your eyepieces so the way I looked at it I was killing two birds with one stone if you know what I mean buying the adapters as well, the laser is definitely centred and my EP's are protected from thumbscrew marks . Edited July 1, 2013 by stev74

[Astrocut]

Bit of an older thread, anyway.

 

when the rubber collar removed the collimator’s collimator screws are there.

2 x 3 screws

cheers

[Space Cowboy]

On 24/03/2021 at 07:14, Astrocut said:

Bit of an older thread, anyway.

 

when the rubber collar removed the collimator’s collimator screws are there.

2 x 3 screws

cheers

Need to try this with mine. Not sure if it's the baader collimator or my eyepiece holder train that's at fault.