Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

I need to collimate my S.W. 130p....


Recommended Posts

The 3 screws on the X piece (the spider as it's known) adjust the tilt of the secondary mirror. Thats one part of the collimation process. There are also 6 screws / bolts on the bottom of the scope and these adjust the tilt of the primary mirror.

Do get yourself a collimation cap as Merlin66 says before you do anything. These can be made from old 35mm film cannisters with a small (2mm) hole bored right in the centre - it's important that your eye is centrally positioned when adjusting the collimation so that you can see the effect of your adjustments.

I would strongly recommend that you have a read of Astro Baby's excellent collimation guide here as well:

Astro Babys Guide to Collimation

Good luck !.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is your scope quite new? I recently got my SW130P, but found that the collimation wasn't far out at all - straight from the box. All I needed to do was tweak the primary alignment slightly. I checked it by using the defocussed star test, checking for centralised concentric diffraction rings. I didn't fancy having to mess with the secondary!! Hopefully, you will only need to adjust the primary too.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MOst collimation errors are down to the primary. From memory the 130 needs two different allen keys. One for the front spider and one for the rear ( primary ) set screws.

Dont mess with the spider and the secondary unless you absolutely HAVE to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd second that advice about the secondary mirror - in most cases some small adjustments to the tilt of the primary mirror are all that are needed.

Also be aware that the amount you need to turn the adjustment screws / bolts is quite slight, particularly in the final stages of collimation. The general advice is to just use quarter turns, one screw / bolt at a time, then see what effect it has had before making the next adjustment.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Make sure you ready Astro Babys guide to collmination first. It is first rate and will help you through the process. And by reading right through FIRST you can check that it does need cllminating.

All the best

phillc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello folks, After reading astro baby's guide (which is fabulous by the way...three cheers for Astro Baby) I have figured out that I do not need to colimate. The reason I thought collimation was needed is that when I looked through my scope I could see the three clips and nearly everything was central but to the left was a black crescent shape, Thanks to the guide I now know this is how it should be.. Phewww.. One more reason was that most of the stars look the same which is a really small pin head with colours of blue,red and yellow. Not sure why this is the case. I should probably invest in some eyepieces.. Many Thanks for you help everyone. Dt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Delilah, I'm sure I will have the same eyepieces as you. I think they are ok, but I have nothing to compare them with. I'm not sure if the lack of pinpoint starryness that I have observed isn't down to atmospherics. But you have colour fringeing - that's odd. I would expect that with a cheap plastic lens, but I don't think you or I have those.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm - I found the Sky-Watcher EPs while not the greatest thing were not as bad as its often suggested. Maybe I just got lucky but on the whole I found them ok.

The color - its odd - it sounds more like atmospherics than anything else to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.