Hotech Collimator

[adictd2dalite]

Hi folks,

I recently purchased the Hotech SCA-2-C cross-hair collimator from FLO. It was a decent chunk of change at £120. Very well built and easy to use and seems to be very accurate compared to the standard cheap one which I had previously and punted for £14 on eBay. The question is, does the laser in the Hotech need collimated or is there a system in place which means this is not necessary? Thanks in advance. Neil 

[johninderby]

They are allready collimated. That’s why they aren’t cheap.

[adictd2dalite]

Thanks John. I thought the expense was because of the way they fit into the focuser without moving about? So, is it the case that the laser won't move out of alignment at any point? 

[johninderby]

I’ve had one for years and collimation has never changed at all. 

[adictd2dalite]

That is very good news. Thank you 

[malc-c]

As others have said, they are factory collimated and they never seem to drift.... 

I've never seen the point in buying a collimation tool that itself needs to be collimated.  If you don't set the tool up right then it won't set the scope up correctly.  Can you imagine buying a bubble spirit level and being required to adjust the position of the bubble  

[Spile]

16 hours ago, malc-c said:

I've never seen the point in buying a collimation tool that itself needs to be collimated. 

Maybe one of cost? I don't use a laser collimator but for some perhaps the hassle of spending a few minutes on doing a task is more than balanced by the considerably reduced upfront expenditure.

 

[johninderby]

The Hotech has a crosshair beam that is really useful. Cheap lasers tend to have a poorly defined blob of a beam so it’s not just collimation that is the difference. 

[malc-c]

1 hour ago, Spile said:

Maybe one of cost? I don't use a laser collimator but for some perhaps the hassle of spending a few minutes on doing a task is more than balanced by the considerably reduced upfront expenditure.

 

But surely it can be that hard for a manufacturer to mount the lased LED central and parallel to the  edges of  housing....   I would have thought adding the option of some form of adjustable support would be more complex than permanently fixing the diode in place.  Given the simplicity of the Hotech you would have thought the pricing would have been the other way around, but then all the cheap collimators don't have the self centering mechanism, and that is where the cost may lie.  Plus as others have pointed out , the quality of the laser is far better than cheaper devices, making collimation more precise. 

For me it's nice to have that confidence in knowing that any error shown when collimating the scope is going to be due to the misalignment of the optics and not down to misalignment or calibration of the tool I'm using.  If it means paying that little bit extra then I have no issue as I know it will save me time doing the task in hand.  But let's face it, astronomy is not a cheap hobby...  

[Spile]

There is a massive difference in price

4 hours ago, malc-c said:

But let's face it, astronomy is not a cheap hobby...  

But doesn't have to be astronomic. A simple cap for example can be bought for a few quid and a good Cheshire and sight tube for £35.

[tripleped]

I checked with Skywatcher customer  service and they recommend the  Hotech . I plan to get one eventually.