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RandallK
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/10/06
Posts: 663
Loc: Nanaimo, B. C. Canada
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I received my new (used) Meade SCT 8 AT scope from back east a few days ago. I took it out for first light a few days after it arrived and I'm impressed with the detail. However, I grudgingly knew in the back of my mind that I should do a star test for collimation error. Well my fears were vindicated and there was Vega with the center dark spot off to the left. Having the DMK webcam, I decided to hook it up and view Vega on my laptop monitor. Yep...the same thing I saw with my eye. Now which way to tighten the collimating screws. Well, I decided to tighten rather than loosen. The image moved off to the left of my FOV. OK tweak it a bit the other way...OK, now centered. So what! I thought it was just moving the image around in my FOV. Wrong assumption...it was also moving the central black spot towards the center! Hooray, I'm getting it. A few more tweaks and BINGO!...perfect centering with the small pinpoint in the center and the diffraction rings all radiating out in a tight concentric spread. I then went to lesser magnitude stars and they seemed to be showing perfect collimation as well. So, after buying my DMK and Jupiter being too low on my horizon for imaging, the webcam has become a very useful tool for collimaing my new SCT. No leaning around the front and reaching for the screws, just arrrange the laptop so you can see the monitor and adjust to your hearts content.
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Scopes: Meade SC-8AT w UHTC
SkyWatcher 5" F/5 Reflector
SkyWatcher 127mm MAK
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Cameras: Orion Starshoot DS Colour Imager V.1
Imaging Source Webcam DMK21AU04.AS
Palm TX PDA w Astromist and Bluetooth wireles control.
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Eddgie
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/01/06
Posts: 1636
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Make sure that you perfectly recenter after every tweak.
And as you have discovered, collimation is nothing to be afraid of...
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Celestron C14, CGE (Big Al)
Astro-Physics 6" f/8 (Buffy)
Televue 101 (No name, but I call it my Widescreen HD Space TV)
The night sky is my mistress. She seduces me away from all other lovers.
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Luigi
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 1719
Loc: Massachusetts
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Way easier than a Newt. Even a caveman could do it.
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17.5" f/5 Discovery Truss
IM715 7" f/15 MCT, Eon-120ED refractor
CG5A coffee grinder, Orion Skyview Alt-AZ
35,19,15 Pans.9 Nag. Meade 24.5 4kSWA, 4.7 5kUWA.
BO-TMB 7mm planetary.
Zeiss Diascope 85
Zeiss, Leica, Canon IS, Fujinon, Nikon binos
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jsmiller58
super member
Reged: 06/19/06
Posts: 194
Loc: Out there, Way out there
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I too have only recently come to grips with my fear of collimation - to find that my 11" SCT was not the mushy-view-producing OTA that I had come to grudgingly live with... Cool idea with the video camera to perform painless collimation! I have a Malincam and will have to try that!!! :-)
James
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- 90mm WO refractor
- 11" Orion SCT
- PlaneWave CDK17 (the "Cosmic Cannon")
- MallinCam Hyper Color Plus
- More eyepieces than I can use, but not one Ethos... Hmmm... How soon till Christmas?
- Orion EQ-G mount
- Losmandy GM-8 mount
- AP 1200GTO mount
- Pro-Dome-15 Obs
- A wife who doesn't understand my fascination with faint fuzzies, but encourages me anyway
- A 16 year old son who calls me just another nut job with an observatory
- A 14 year old son that still thinks I am cool
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mike bacanin
sage
Reged: 03/19/07
Posts: 311
Loc: united kingdom
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I use a toucam, in conjunction with K3CCD tools, which can be purchased from its creator Peter Katreniak for $50 one off fee. see www.pk3.org/K3CCDTools
it has a multi reticle feature which is superb for perfect recentring of the defocussed star image, and zoom feature which at max setting is about same as x330 mag in an eyepiece.
mike
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HendyPhoto
Sith Lord
Reged: 08/09/06
Posts: 1485
Loc: Bountiful, Utah
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I also use my mallincam to collimate with, it makes it VERY easy.
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~jon
SparkCast Ustream
CGE1400XLT w/HyperStar
90FD 66SD C6-R SN-8
CPC1100XLT Hutech 20D
Manny-Mod Vixen Porta
Mallincam MCHP
SPC900NC
CG-5 GT
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe." --Albert Einstein
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Zoomster
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/30/05
Posts: 655
Loc: Tampa FL
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Collimation is fun, I really don't understand what people are afraid of. Turn a screw, look, decide, turn another screw, that's it! Glad to hear of your experience.
Kurt
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Celestron CPC 1100 aka "The Marino"
Moonlite Dual Rate Focuser
WO Dielecric Diagonal
Denkmeier "Big Easy" Binos and assorted eyepieces.
Coranado PST
SPC900NC...not modded...yet. (eh-eh)
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
Epicurus
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