off-collimated

[pipnina]

I have finally managed to align the secondary with the focuser again so that I can see the three mirror clips, but when I put the laser in, it doesnt hit the center circle, Is my collimator still out? I am collimating it over a 4.5 meter distance, Is that too short? I am seriously thinking of selling my laser and buy a cheshire as they seem a lot easier to use. How much would a laser sell for? It's a revelation one.

I've heard that laser collimators don't work in some focussers because they don't hold the device parallel to the secondary... On another note, are you sure your collimating cap is in the centre? (I used construction lines to make mine, and people say they'll never use what they learn in maths!)

[Dom1961]

Yeah, it should be, I used a compass to make a circle the same size on a piece of paper then put the paper on top and drilled through the hole where the compass point was

[pipnina]

Yeah, it should be, I used a compass to make a circle the same size on a piece of paper then put the paper on top and drilled through the hole where the compass point was

In which case, if you're sure the collimator is aligned using the wall method... I can only think that your focusser is either out of alignment or not holding the collimator parallel to the secondary.

Not sure how you test for this, though.

[Dom1961]

I did a star test last night, the patterns looked fine and when focused the stars looked fine, you must be right

[pipnina]

I did a star test last night, the patterns looked fine and when focused the stars looked fine, you must be right

Well, if the views are good, that's all that matters.

Have fun and clear skies!

    ~pip