Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Collimating

Not to get too deep into it but I start the collimation process by using the Catseye teletube combo tool to line up the hotspot under the cross hairs (the secondary has already been centered under the focuser).  (Not a very good picture!)


Then adjust the primary to fit the hotspot into the center ring of the combo tool.


Next is the XLKP autocollimator.  Turn one of the primary screws to "decollimate" the primary so that all 4 reflections are seen. 



Use the knobs on the secondary to align the hotspot reflection with the inverted reflection.  Then use both the combo tool for the primary and autocollimator for the secondary to fine tune the mirrors.  Going back and forth between the tools to make sure everything gets lined up.



Simple enough!  But it actually takes me a long, frustrating, time to get them lined up.  And even now I'm still not sure if it's right!  The only way to tell is to view and see if I'm happy with what I see.





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