Collimating a 5slt

[stevie1980]

Hi guys,ladies

I'm about to buy the celestron nexstar 5slt..  its not the 127 I dnt think,as this 5slt is a shcmidt cas 

 

Do you have to collimate the 5 slt? 

If so,then is it difficult process?

I've only ever collimated a newt reflector

Thankyou guys

[bosun21]

It's a pretty straightforward process. The SC has the collimation screws behind the secondary mirror. By far the easiest and quickest way to collimate them is on a star slightly out of focus. At moderate to high magnification adjust the screws incrementally so that you have concentric rings and the shadow of the secondary is dead centre. You can discover what screw to adjust by sticking your finger in front of the scope where the rings are more compressed and adjust the relevant screw. I found them easier than an f4-5 Newtonian which has two mirrors and sets of screws to adjust. 

[NGC 1502]

Simple job to collimate SCTs. If you’ve successfully collimated a Newtonian you’d have no problems with SCTs.

[Cosmic Geoff]

A 5 SLT might need collimating - or maybe not.  If it does, this involves making a small adjusment of three screws on the centre obstruction. You can diagnose the need for collimation by a star test.  A new instrument should not need collimating. If in doubt, leave well alone!