Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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Hello everyone.I got a set of wonderful collimation tools in the mail today  The catseye 2" XL Triplepack pro.Here is what happened when I saw the package.A canadian quarter is in the pic for scale.Tomorrow I have the day off so I am going to spot my mirror and collimate as well as I can.If successful I will post pictures and details of my progress.If I have trouble I will still let you know.
Stay tuned. 
PS.The spotting template is still in the tube.I almost tossed it 
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Edited by Albie (02/06/07 03:15 PM)
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csa/montana
Den Mother
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 37780
Loc: montana
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Alan: Congratulations! You will really love that set!
Posting your progress w/pics will be very beneficial to others.
Thanks, in advance!
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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jayscheuerle
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 3902
Loc: S. Philadelphia, PA
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Deja you!
One piece of instruction that isn't included, but is very, VERY helpful is here.
Scroll down to near the bottom for “the carefully decollimated primary” protocol. It will save you the unnecessary steps of going back and forth between your black cat and your autocollimator. Good luck & I'm looking forward to your report! - j
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Sigs are overrated.
The Green Goblin - 12" of dobsonian excellence!
The PortaBowl-a $100 4.5" f/8 ball-scope YOU can build!
Eero2-a 6" f/5 ball-scope you probably can't. 
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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Another pic.
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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And one more
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kwalker
sage
Reged: 08/22/06
Posts: 293
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Mine is on order. Should be here next week.
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Keith
Zhumell 10" dobsonian with $12 "Push-To"
4mm & 9mm BO/TMB Planetary, 13mm Stratus, 17mm Stratus, 32mm Widefield
Orion shorty plus 2x barlow
Catseye Xl Triple Pro Pack
Glatter Laser
Celestron 15x70
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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For the record I am very very green when it comes to collimation so this little venture should be quite interesting or at least entertaining I hope
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Vic Menard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/04
Posts: 2985
Loc: Bradenton, FL
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Be sure to carefully verify the TeleCat extension the first time you put it in your focuser. You want to make sure you don't bang the bottom of the TeleCat into your diagonal. If the derived extension for your focal ratio makes it possible to impact the diagonal, I suggest you shorten the TeleCat to a safer length, at least until you are familiar with the way the tool works with your scope.
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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Quote:
Be sure to carefully verify the TeleCat extension the first time you put it in your focuser. You want to make sure you don't bang the bottom of the TeleCat into your diagonal. If the derived extension for your focal ratio makes it possible to impact the diagonal, I suggest you shorten the TeleCat to a safer length, at least until you are familiar with the way the tool works with your scope.
Thanks Vic.Actually the first thing I did was adjust the tube to my fl.In the first pic in this thread it is already adjusted and out of curiosity I put it in the focuser to see how tight the fit is.Snug as a bug in a rug There is still a bit of room yet before it impacts the secondary and it's fully racked in.
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kent
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/16/06
Posts: 825
Loc: P.E.I. Canada
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Great looking tools my friend!  I can't wait to hear your first impressions on the use of the tools. I'm going to be bombarding you with a few questions Alan if you don't mind.  By the way nice pictures for scale, they sure are big. If you don't have room in your case you can send them east.  with visitation rights of course!
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Kent
Orion 100mm ED
Skywatcher 8" Newt
Skywatcher 10" Newt
Orion 20X80 Giant Veiw bino's
and a few other goodies
And in my possession(for the time being)
LX200R 14" behemoth
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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I forgot to mention what comes in this kit.Amateur  .
Well first and foremost the tools.Blackcat,Telecat and Infinity.All are two inch format with the "XL" upgrade.The upgrade shrinks the peepholes for tighter tolerances.2 red triangle center spots with 1/4" perforation.One plastic template for precisely placing the centerspot.One focal ratio ruler for adjusting the telecat to your scope's f#.Two allen wrenches and a spare setscrew.Last but not least a wealth of information on the tools use,care and storage come with them.I have yet to sit down and read the info.Tomorrow.
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 11914
Loc: Los Angeles
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Send me your home e-mail in a private message, and I will send you a step-by-step set of instructions on how to use these tools.
A greatly expanded version of this article will be in a forthcoming issue of Astronomy Technology Today (if they accept the article's length, I guess).
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov, Fujinon Binos
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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Thankyou very much Don.That will be very helpful. 
Bomb's away Kent.I'll do my best to answer you.Lucky for me there's a few experts kicking around
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MikeS
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/06/04
Posts: 978
Loc: Quakertown Pennsylvania
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Alan and the rest of you are a bad influence... The CFO wants to padlock my laptop!
You've motivated me to purchase Jim Fly's 2" Teletube XL and Blackcat XL. Also got a Glatter 1.25"/2" laser. These will join the Tectron collimation set that I use now. My Orion lasermate deluxe will be up for sale soon!
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Mike Snisky
8" F5 Newtonian/Moonlite CR2
Orion Sirius EQ-G Mount
Orion 100mm F6 Achro on SVP w Intelliscope
Orion 100mm ED on LXD55 Mount
Denkmeier Standards
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kent
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/16/06
Posts: 825
Loc: P.E.I. Canada
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Quote:
Alan and the rest of you are a bad influence...
My Orion lasermate deluxe will be up for sale soon!
I hear what you're saying!! Looks inevitable!
It's true we will all be assimilated
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Kent
Orion 100mm ED
Skywatcher 8" Newt
Skywatcher 10" Newt
Orion 20X80 Giant Veiw bino's
and a few other goodies
And in my possession(for the time being)
LX200R 14" behemoth
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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Resistance is futile!! 
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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I spent the whole morning center spotting my mirror.I removed the mirror cell from the scope(carefully).You must keep a tight grip on it so that it doesn't surprise you with it's weight.I also made a few removable marks(not on the mirror surface!) so that I can orient the triangle's corners with my mirror's adjustment screws.I cannot stress how careful you have to be when removing the mirror's retaining clips.Mine has six and one fell on the mirror while removing it .No damage,lucky me.Also,and I am sure most of you know this,when putting the mirror back into the cell the clips should just touch the mirror not hold or press or squeeze otherwise you may pinch your optics.You don't want them jiggly loose but they should have a tiny bit of movement.
I have removed the cell,removed the mirror,cut the template to the appropriate size after downloading instructions on how to use the template,spotted the mirror with the red catseye triangle and then put it all back together.
Now I am ready for the tough but less nerve wracking part.COLLIMATION!!Here are three pictures of my spotting progress.
#1:Mirror about to be removed from it's cell.
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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#2:Lining up the template
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Albie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/22/05
Posts: 3642
Loc: Alberta,Canada
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#3:She's got a lovely triangular spot now I should mention that I had cleaned and de-spotted the mirror a couple weeks ago.
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Edited by Albie (02/07/07 01:55 PM)
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jayscheuerle
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 3902
Loc: S. Philadelphia, PA
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Alan, I took the spotting session as a chance to blacken the aluminized bevel around my mirror with a permanent marker. There were some rough edges, like small chips, that I darkened as well. Not sure how necessary it was, but as you can tell from your pictures above, the edge does reflect a bit of scattered light. - j
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Sigs are overrated.
The Green Goblin - 12" of dobsonian excellence!
The PortaBowl-a $100 4.5" f/8 ball-scope YOU can build!
Eero2-a 6" f/5 ball-scope you probably can't.
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