Laser collimination = easy?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

My Z10 came with a laser collimator. I've had it a few weeks and after reading a video or two decided to give it a try. 

Well assuming the laser is true that was easy!

The scope was not off by far. About a quarter inch on the primary and maybe 5mm in the collimator.

Too bad its too cloudy out to tell if I did any good!

[John]

As long as you are confident that your laser collimator is itself collimated then you are good to go

 

[Dave In Vermont]

Agreed with above. And collimating a laser - as long as it has the 3-screws that are findable - is also quite easy. No need to buy high-priced whozit-brand one. Unless you lust for such.

Dave

[singlespeeder]

Agreed!  In another thread I was about to look at a new focuser and was advised to check the laser collimator's collimation!  I'm glad I did, it was pretty off, easily tweaked and got  my newtonian collimated quickly and easily!

I made (well my better half made) one out of two double hooks into a block of wood.  Electrical tape used to cradle the colllimator without scratching and then clamped to a table and pointed at a wall the other end of the room. 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

look-up putting a 2x barlow on the front, for even better accuracy, there are interweb explanations to show the process ...

[MarkVIIIMarc]

So to check collimationnon the laser....

I have an idea about getting an inch and a quarter pipe, turning the laser on in it, and putting a piece of paper at the other side to see if the beam is centered....

FWIW, as a test I tried spinning the laser in the scope tube other ways besides open end back and then "mounting amd unmounting" it to see if the results were the same, they were. 

And by coincidence I have a 2" barlow en route lol. 

Some day the skies may even be clear and I can test the effects on the scope!

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Hi Marc,

don't use a piece of paper at the end of the pipe, use a wall about 5m away (15' in American), it will show any laser collimation errors much better.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

2 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Hi Marc,

don't use a piece of paper at the end of the pipe, use a wall about 5m away (15' in American), it will show any laser collimation errors much better.

Interesting. With construction tolerance, remodels and settling I can't see using a wall in an American home to see if anything is level. I KNOW my home is not square or level. When I do chair rails or paint lines on walls measuring from ceiling to floor reveals problems as do cutting tiles and (fake) hardwood.

Wouldn't I stand a better chance of getting a true straight piece of ovc or metal pipe? At least i can roll it on a pool table and test(ish) it.

I own several foot long levels. Not sure the bubble is accurate enough for this purpose but they may help me decide if a pipe is straight.

Am I over thinking this?

[John]

I put my laser collimator in a DIY "V" block, fixed down. I then point the laser at a set of target rings on a piece of paper stuck to a wall around 30 feet away. Rotate the laser 90 degrees, mark where the beam hits the target then repeat at 90 degree intervals to establish the accuracy (or otherwise of the beam). Then the tweaking of the beam alignment starts to reduce the "wandering" of the beam on the target down to as small an area as possible - at 30 feet I try and get it down to half an inch or less.

And after all that I tend to use a cheshire collimator but there you go !

 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

it doesn't matter if the 'American' house is level\true, its just that the distance will magnify the error (circle scribed on the wall) when you collimate the laser

[MarkVIIIMarc]

9 hours ago, John said:

I put my laser collimator in a DIY "V" block, fixed down. I then point the laser at a set of target rings on a piece of paper stuck to a wall around 30 feet away. Rotate the laser 90 degrees, mark where the beam hits the target then repeat at 90 degree intervals to establish the accuracy (or otherwise of the beam). Then the tweaking of the beam alignment starts to reduce the "wandering" of the beam on the target down to as small an area as possible - at 30 feet I try and get it down to half an inch or less.

And after all that I tend to use a cheshire collimator but there you go !

 

That I can do.  heck, I can mount it to my mailbox and collimate it against my house 220 feet, 70 meters, away (cheap land here)

[Dave In Vermont]

4 minutes ago, MarkVIIIMarc said:

That I can do.  heck, I can mount it to my mailbox and collimate it against my house 220 feet, 70 meters, away (cheap land here)

Yes but: How are you going to see the dot on your mailbox at 220' distance? Binoculars? My Point, Dept: That would be overkill!

A wall a few yards (slightly shorter than a meter/metre) away is sufficient for your needs. Unless your telescope is 220 feet long..... Then, Houston, we have a small problem here... Heck - I don't even use that distance of 3 meters. But for all practical purposes - a wall a few yards is enough to see if the dot is making circles instead of staying put.So you can toss the measuring-tape back in it's box and be done with it.

Ah!

Dave

[MarkVIIIMarc]

3 hours ago, Dave In Vermont said:

Yes but: How are you going to see the dot on your mailbox at 220' distance? Binoculars? My Point, Dept: That would be overkill!

A wall a few yards (slightly shorter than a meter/metre) away is sufficient for your needs. Unless your telescope is 220 feet long..... Then, Houston, we have a small problem here... Heck - I don't even use that distance of 3 meters. But for all practical purposes - a wall a few yards is enough to see if the dot is making circles instead of staying put.So you can toss the measuring-tape back in it's box and be done with it.

Ah!

Dave

This laser IS strong and is quite visible at 220' (70 meters).

Collimated the laser is not.  If I spin it about in my telescope or affixed fixed to my counter it is about 5cm off at a bit more than a meter.

I have a small enough Allen wrench to access the three allen screews on my laser collimator.  I suspect to allow adjustment I need to unlock the larger silver one further up the shaft but SOMEHOW I don't have the correct wrench.  If anyone knows what size that one is it would be appreciated.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

If its' the standard Chinese design, then you only need to adjust the 3 rear ones, the front one is what holds the laser mounted, so moving it puts you in world of pain...

[John]

11 hours ago, Dave In Vermont said:

Yes but: How are you going to see the dot on your mailbox at 220' distance? Binoculars? My Point, Dept: That would be overkill!

A wall a few yards (slightly shorter than a meter/metre) away is sufficient for your needs. Unless your telescope is 220 feet long..... Then, Houston, we have a small problem here... Heck - I don't even use that distance of 3 meters. But for all practical purposes - a wall a few yards is enough to see if the dot is making circles instead of staying put.So you can toss the measuring-tape back in it's box and be done with it.

Ah!

Dave

You really need it at least 10 feet away Dave, preferably 20 or so. Remember the laser needs to accurately travel twice the focal length of your scope to return to the angled face of the collimator so you want it's travel as accurate as possible over that distance.

This web link is quite useful:

http://www.stark-labs.com/craig/llcc/llcc.html

 

 

[Dave In Vermont]

Agreed. My wall here I use as my target (complete with aiming-dot from a Sharpie marker) is 13' - just measured it. My 12" SCT is F/10, so it's folded-optics are 10' so that's fine. And that's my longest scope.

Your milage my vary,

Dave

[MarkVIIIMarc]

7 hours ago, John said:

You really need it at least 10 feet away Dave, preferably 20 or so. Remember the laser needs to accurately travel twice the focal length of your scope to return to the angled face of the collimator so you want it's travel as accurate as possible over that distance.

This web link is quite useful:

http://www.stark-labs.com/craig/llcc/llcc.html

 

 

I have 10,000 x the raw materials needed to make that!

Good think I am stuck watching the boys today or else I might have designed something way more crazy. Heck, I still might lol.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

This collimator has the most rudimentary of adjustment screws.  No springs, just 3 mini Allen bolts which push into the back of its laser/battery case.  I suppose it won't need done more than once but man...

On the good news end, I snuck a few minutes of viewing in between clouds tonight after the rain.  At 208x my view of Jupiter was at least as good as before my collimation with my out of collimation laser collimator.  We'll see what the Z10 offers on a night when the clouds aren't racing across the sky at speed.

Thanks for your time.