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Cats Eye collimator compared to the Howie Glatter


Singlin

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I have a Skywatcher 10" F4 Quattro and a 16" F 4.3 Dob

I have been using the Cats eye collimation system which consists of a Telecat Sight-tube/Cheshire and an Infinity Autocollimator for the pas two years.

I have found the cats eye system to be very accurate with the only negative aspect being the variation of reults when using the Autocollimator when collimating the secondary due to a slightly sloppy fit in my moonlite focuser.

With my 16" Dob I found it difficult to sufficiently illuminate the center spot on the primary when collimating in the dark.

I then decided to purchase the howie Glatter for ease of collimating my dob in the Dark.

I also bought the barlowed tbug for the ease of collimating the primary mirror.

   To be honest I have found the Howie glatter to be as accurate as my Cats eye but much easier and quicker.

I opted for the  635 nm high brightness Howie glatter 2" collimator but in hindsight should have opted for the less bright one as I find it a bit dazzrling even in daylight.

The ease of collimating my 16" Dob at night enables me to check the collimation 2 or 3 time a session.

If anyone is sitting on the fence on which of the two collimators to purchase I would opt for the Howie glatter with the tbug.

The barlowed tbug takes any error out of focuser slop when collimating the primary mirror.

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Did you know that by rotating the Catseye auto collimator 90° it gives you another level of accuracy?

In the Catseye kit box there is, or was a little  clip on red torch for collimating at night. You do need the hotspot to be illuminated enough to be able to correctly stack all the reflections.

For visual use at  mid to low mags the accuracy of the Catseye is probably unecessary, but for imaging, especially at <f5, the extra time spent on perfection is worth it I reckon, much better than wasting a clear night on poorly aligned optics.

Is the Howie really as accurate as the Catseye? Might have to test that out, I haven't used anything to compare so far when it comes to ultra precise adjustments.

Cheers

Tim

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Yes I did.

I find the clip on red torch fine with my 10" imaging scope but not powerful enough for my dob. I have tried various torches but I spend too much time trying to point the light souce in the right  direction with one hand and collimating with the other when collimating my dob.

I have found the Howie just as accurate and my last image of M33

was after collimating with the howie on my F4 10" Reflector.

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I think the laser is good for fine adjustments but you can't center the secondary under the focuser with one. I have both and I used the sight tube to center the secondary, then the laser to get the secondary in the right ball park, followed by the Cheshire and the auto collimator. I just had a standard laser. 

My Newts were home made so could be well off when I assembled them.

Regards Andrew

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I agree with you Andrew.

Both my scopes were initially centered with the autocollimator.

I would have to totally de collimate them to do an honest review.

I believe  that buying the autocollimator only with the hot spot and then the howie glatter with the tbug would be the  optimal solution.

I have been using my dob all week with clients from the Hotel and the howie has proved a dream.

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On 11/12/2016 at 15:41, Singlin said:

I opted for the  635 nm high brightness Howie glatter 2" collimator but in hindsight should have opted for the less bright one as I find it a bit dazzrling even in daylight.

Howie Glatter now offers a battery cap switch upgrade with a potentiometer that lets you adjust the laser brightness down to a tiny spot for greater precision when adjusting the secondary. The photos (from Howie) below show full brightness and reduced brightness achieved using the cap/switch. (It isn't on our website yet but we have stock so it will be very soon). 

HTH

 

glatter-3.jpg

glatter-1.jpg

glatter-2.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Not used a Catseye so can't comment, but I can +1 the Howie Glatter. The proof......it collimates well enough for me to image at F2.9

I can also concur the Howie Glatter is quick to use- so it's no chore to re-check collimation between targets.

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1 hour ago, Dave_D said:

Can the secondary be aligned using the circular holographic attachment on the glatter?

I have seen some instructions on how this is done on cloudy nights forum.

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/501072-holographic-grid-collimation-mystery/

or just use a Cheshire for the first stage, then switch to laser for stage 2 and 3 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have the Howie glatter  potentiometer  and can now clearly see the lazer as a pin point and this reduces the glare and also enables me to clearly see the inner edge of my collimation sticker on my primary. 

 

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