Help. Scope badly out of alignment.

[johnnychaos]

Been given an old Meade DS114 (the little stubby goto) to look at the collimation. It seems WAY out. I tried to line it up, but all the stars look like crescent shapes and the moon was a fuzz of light out one side.

I think the scope has been sat for over a year without any covering on any opening so it all needs a good clean.

But can someone give me some tips on what might cause what I'm seeing and how best to fix it?

one thing I did notice is that it seems impossible to get the image in the center of the secondary mirror.

[E621Keith]

Not a reflector man myself, so I can't say much. If adjusting the secondary doesn't help, is there a chance that the primary is out of alignment?

I would suggest taking it to a local astronomical society for advice.