Hotech Disappointment

[Freff]

I was completely disillusioned this evening after testing my 2" Hotech Collimator. Having recent problems trying to sort out alignment issues with my SW 190MN I decided to start at the bottom and work my way through.

I never gave it a thought to check my £123 all singing and dancing Hotech, with posh box.

After talking to Catanonia this evening, (thanks for that mate, very helpful) he suggested I check everthing even the collimator to eliminate all possible causes. So I trundled down to my workshop to pop the Hotech into the lathe. I thought why not, lets see just how accurate this thing really is.

Well I couldn't believe my eyes. As I revolved the chuck the laser dot turned a 3" circle at 10'.

It took me 3/4hr to collimate the darn thing. I'm not a happy bunny to say the least. A lot of wasted work in the past possibly because of this.

Rant over, thanks for listening.

[JamesM]

I got hold of a Hotech primarily because of the way it secures itself within the focuser and that I knew it would allow me to collimate the laser to its casing to my preferred level of accuracy. There are many that don't provide this adjustment and I didn't want to take pot luck with what ever came out of the box. I collimated mine over a distance of about 25' although to be honest it didn't take quite as long as yours did.

At the end of the day, you've still got a decent bit of kit there. Is it right that you needed to collimate it - of course not (I chose to do mine) but now that you have, it will make future collimation easier and you are now in the possession of a precise instrument. Maybe it's just me, but I always accept that any piece of kit will at some point require some kind of fettling and it's something that I enjoy doing. It's another way of personalizing your kit.

Glad you got it sorted!

James

[Freff]

James you are absolutely right, and I also bought the the Hotech primarily for the same reasons, supported by the advice and recommendation of others. I felt the scope I have warranted something of the same calibre giving me a fair chance of setting it up with precision.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. I tried for days to eliminate an issue I had with my scope chasing errors probably cause by or at least enhanced by the Hotech. I rightly expected a piece of kit of this reputation and cost to work properly straight out of the box, and not have to suck it and see.

I didn't need to test mine over 25' at 10' it was producing a 3" circle, that was enough. I dont see the need to do it over vast distances, it's only working over a couple of metres at most. Any greater accuracy will be lost by the diameter of the dot.

A lot of people may not have the skills, means or inclination to test and re-collimate theirs, or even think they need to. And I know Hotech have a strict policy on dismantling or altering their collimators and a 15% handling charge is imposed for refunds.

Yes I do have a good piece of kit and it should last for years, but I’m still very disappointed. Not only with the lost nights I could have been enjoying my hobby, or the many hours trying to rectify an issue that may not even have existed, but the countless times I have recommended this collimator to other potential buyers on this forum.

[Rob L]

Hi Tony,

I bought a Hotech together with my F5 dob as I was worried about collimation and had seen the Hotech recommended so many times as a very easy way to collimate.

The first time I used it, it did indeed make Collimation a breeze or at least so I thought.

But the next day I thought I'd check it again, not expecting it to be out but just for a play. But I was surpised to find it was out by some distance. Ok not to worry I thought, I'll just do it again.

Now I can't remember why, but after getting it 'spot on', I thought I'd recheck, and sure enough it was out again. In face every time I removed and replaced the Hotech the laser would appear in a different place.

The solution for me was a Cheshire which I've used ever since.

I haven't checked the Hotech but I'm guessing it needs Collimating. Like you I expected it to work out of the box, it is an expensive piece of kit and I will get round to adjusting the collimation and maybe when I've done that I'll swear by it like almost everyone else seems to. But for now a simple Cheshire gives me much more confidence that my scope is collimated correctly.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, these are generally recommended to beginners like me to remove the fear of collimation. But if they're not correctly collimated they can create more problems than they solve and actually turn collimation which really isn't as hard as many beginners think into a frustrating, hair tearing exercise.

Rob

[FLO]

Rant over, thanks for listening.

Tony, where did you buy it? Is it one of ours?

Hotech laser collimators are precisely collimated during manufacture, that is why you invest in a Hotech laser and not some cheap Ebay product. It is very rare to find one that has been knocked out of alignment, but it is possible.

Needless to say, if someone buys a Hotech from us that is not 100% accurate please return it for a refund or replacement. Please do not attempt to adjust or repair it yourself.

On a related note, we don't recommend using premium quality lasers in anything other than a well-made focuser, otherwise you are forever battling against the focusers lack of rigidity. We do recommend using a Cheshire collimator for aligning a Newtonian's secondary mirror.

HTH,

Steve

[Rob L]

Hi Steve,

What's a "well-made focuser"? Your website description for the Hotech says "installation in all brands of telescope focusers", it doesn't say " installation in all brands of well-made telescope focusers".

Rob

[FLO]

Fair comment Rob, I'll go edit the product description after this post

Good quality focusers include those from Moonlite, Feathertouch, Baader Steeltrack, some William Optics and similar.

The regular R&P focusers fitted to many telescopes are not suitable, neither are some of the cheaper Crayfords.

HTH

[Horus]

Is the Crayford focuser that comes with the Evostar 80ED DS-PRO classed as the "cheaper" Crayford ?

[FLO]

Fair comment Rob, I'll go edit the product description after this post

Done

[FLO]

Is the Crayford focuser that comes with the Evostar 80ED DS-PRO classed as the "cheaper" Crayford ?

It won't give Moonlite sleepless nights but it is better than most

The best way to collimate a refractor is via a star test, perhaps your money would be better spent on an artificial star.

HTH

[Rob L]

Done

I hope I didn't come across like I was having a go at FLO Steve.

I just wish it was something I'd known when I bought mine.

In all probability my Hotech is fine it's just that the R&P focuser in my scope isn't up to it.

Maybe a new focuser will be my next upgrade once my "astronomy expenditure ban" has been lifted

[FLO]

I just wish it was something I'd known when I bought mine.

In all probability my Hotech is fine it's just that the R&P focuser in my scope isn't up to it.

Probably

Feel free to return it for a refund

[Horus]

Thanks Steve , but whats an "artificial star" ?

[FLO]

Astrozap Artificial star

The Evostar 80ED holds it's collimation well so there is no need for you to buy an artificial star, unless you actually want one. Best that you check collimation on an actual star first. Also, though it wasn't bought from us, if I remember correctly your Evostar ED80 is still quite new so I would expect it to be okay. If it does prove faulty you should chat with your supplier before attempting to collimate it yourself.

HTH

[Horus]

Thanks Steve , Very helpfull as usual !

[Damo636]

This is exactly why i bought a £25 Cheshire!

[opticalpath]

OK, I've just taken delivery of a Hotech collimator from FLO, for my MN190, so now I'm concerned too after reading Freff's account!

Is there a straightforward way to check the alignment accuracy of the collimator before taking it near the scope? I don't have a lathe to mount it in to rotate it accurately.

Adrian

[SlipperySquid]

OK, I've just taken delivery of a Hotech collimator from FLO, for my MN190, so now I'm concerned too after reading Freff's account!

Is there a straightforward way to check the alignment accuracy of the collimator before taking it near the scope? I don't have a lathe to mount it in to rotate it accurately.

Adrian

Piece of wood......four nails....five nails for the deluxe version....hammer in two nails in a v shape....repeat...you have now made a cradle for the collimator...delux version has the fifth nail at the back of your collimator so it doesnt slip back. Aim laser at wall/poster/wallpaper pattern...turn laser...voila.Don't worry about angles of nails etc...doesn't matter.

Hope that helps,

Matt.

[FLO]

OK, I've just taken delivery of a Hotech collimator from FLO, for my MN190, so now I'm concerned too after reading Freff's account!

Don't be concerned. Read the instructions, pop it in your focuser and let us know how you get on. The focuser will not be 100% rigid but you should still be able to collimate the telescope to a high accuracy

It won't need realigning.

[opticalpath]

Piece of wood......four nails....five nails for the deluxe version....hammer in two nails in a v shape....repeat...you have now made a cradle for the collimator....

Of course! Thanks Matt, good thinking.

Adrian

[opticalpath]

Don't be concerned. Read the instructions, pop it in your focuser and let us know how you get on. The focuser will not be 100% rigid but you should still be able to collimate the telescope to a high accuracy

It won't need realigning.

That's reassuring ... the off-telescope check should be a doddle then.

Adrian

[Catanonia]

Freff / Tony,

Glad I could be of some help, spent ages trying to colimate my MN190 and worked out the that laser was not centered.

Another quick and easy test for your laser colimators is to roll it on a flat surface with it switched on point at a wall. The laser should give a nice flat line as it moves along the wall. Anything that is wavey or sine way like means it is out.

For more precision, use the 5 nails method or a lathe and check at a reasonable distance say 10 feet.

[FLO]

One thing that surprises me about this thread is that people consider it normal and routine to have to align a laser collimator. It isn't. If you buy a laser that arrives out of alignment then it is not fit for the purpose and should be returned to your supplier. IMHO

HTH,

Steve

[Catanonia]

One thing that surprises me about this thread is that people consider it normal and routine to have to align a laser collimator. It isn't. If you buy a laser that arrives out of alignment then it is not fit for the purpose and should be returned to your supplier. IMHO

HTH,

Steve

Indeed Steve, but no one ever mentions testing a laser colimator with a simple test 1st.

Infact in a thread above you say

Don't be concerned. Read the instructions, pop it in your focuser and let us know how you get on. The focuser will not be 100% rigid but you should still be able to collimate the telescope to a high accuracy

It won't need realigning.

Isn't this what Freff and others have done and caused all the issues.

Everything should be check by the user before actually fiddling with colimation as they can and will get in a mess if it is out.

Not having a go at you or FLO here, just stating the obvious.

I found out the hard way by buying a cheap laser, but had the foresight to check it 1st and make adjustments.

[FLO]

To be fair, we currently only sell Baader and Hotech laser collimators so the majority do not need realignment and we would rather people return the small number that do to us

When someone contacts us for instructions on how to check the alignment of their Ebay laser collimators I usually refer them to Steve Richard's post HERE.