Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Well, naturally, the weather closed in at twilight but I got a shot at the moon this morning. Wonderful color rendition and an almost 3D effect on the limb perhaps because there was no purple haze to blur it out.
OTOH, problems. Checking collimation with Cheshire eyepiece revealed that the reflections were not concentric, appeared like overlapping Venn diagram.
Off comes the front bezel so the dewshield can be pushed back to reveal the lens cell with the standard three push-pull socket head bolts. Turns out that all the adjustment screws were backed out and the locking screws were tight which means that there was no adjustment other than relying on the mating surfaces to be square.
Second problem is aluminum chip trapped between the telescope tube and the lens cell and several smaller ones in tube. Removed lens cell and blew out chips. Pretty sloppy workmanship for a $4000 scope.
Anyways got everything back together and perfect collimation achieved five minutes later with my handy T handle hex wrench.
Stay tuned for startest hopefully later this week....hope that goes better.
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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More...
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Using Cheshire eyepiece to check collimation. First checked without diagonal to remove from equation as per instruction sheet. Same misalignment seen....did you doubt the Astro Physics diagonal being square? 
Notice Orion precision 2 inch adapter. It works like a lathe collet and highly recommended for precise alignment duties.
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
Edited by Mr. Bill (11/05/09 01:12 PM)
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Cell with push-pull bolts
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
|
Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Metal chip trapped between lens cell and tube.....
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Scott Beith
SRF
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 37110
Loc: Frederick, MD
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Keep us informed.
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   SLAP Observer (TMB130SS, SV102V, SV80ED)
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
"The measure of a man’s greatness is not determined by what he accomplishes for himself, but by what he accomplishes for others.” -- Some Bald Guy
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carlcat
sage
Reged: 11/26/07
Posts: 256
Loc: Northern California
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Congrats on your new scope. Did you buy it new cause I'm under the impression that high end scopes are star tested before shipping out by some dealers and I would think they'd spot that problem?
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skybsd
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/01/08
Posts: 586
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Hi Bill,
Sorry I can't recall - did you buy this new, or second (third?) hand, by chance?
Glad to hear you calmly resolved your issues.
Regards,
skybsd
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Jared
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/11/05
Posts: 2527
Loc: Piedmont, California, U.S.
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If the telescope is aplanatic, then moderate mis-collimation won't affect the star test. That's one of the reasons refractors are so heavily favored by astrophotographers--their off axis performance is very nearly as good as on-axis. Very few refractors require good collimation in order to provide excellent images.
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- Jared Willson
- TMB 152 f/8 Apochromat
- Fluorostar FLT-110 w/ TEC optics
- Stellarvue SV80S
- Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO
- Takahashi Teegul SP Mount
- STL-11000
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Jared
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/11/05
Posts: 2527
Loc: Piedmont, California, U.S.
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Not to suggest that it shouldn't be right, of course 
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- Jared Willson
- TMB 152 f/8 Apochromat
- Fluorostar FLT-110 w/ TEC optics
- Stellarvue SV80S
- Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO
- Takahashi Teegul SP Mount
- STL-11000
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Moderate miscollimation may not affect the star test(although you'd get an argument from me on that) but it is something that's easy to correct PROVIDED you have a collimatable lens cell; one reason I bought this. The loose chips are another issue that troubles me as it is obvious that it came from the factory like this.
OBTW, this is "gently used"; I'm the second owner.
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Astronomics
Vendor if you must, AKA The Mighty Kong.
Reged: 06/07/04
Posts: 3062
Loc: Right Here
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Loose chips are more then likely a culprit of the lens cell being threaded on then working their way into view after some time.
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Michael Bieler
I live vicariously through myself.
Father and Husband
Owner
www.astronomics.com
www.astronomytechnologies.com
www.cloudynights.com
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Quote:
Loose chips are more then likely a culprit of the lens cell being threaded on then working their way into view after some time.
Unfortunately for that theory, the lens cell is not threaded unto the tube, the locking screws hold those parts together. The source of the chip(s) is a mystery.
IMO, this should never have passed QC.
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Astronomics
Vendor if you must, AKA The Mighty Kong.
Reged: 06/07/04
Posts: 3062
Loc: Right Here
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I can't tell you what happened in the course of a year, but it would not have left with a metal peice sticking out. It is a simple fix. We do go over the scopes before they ship.
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Michael Bieler
I live vicariously through myself.
Father and Husband
Owner
www.astronomics.com
www.astronomytechnologies.com
www.cloudynights.com
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kulginov
member
Reged: 11/10/05
Posts: 51
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Quote:
The source of the chip(s) is a mystery.
Why, China.
Dmitri
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Quote:
I can't tell you what happened in the course of a year, but it would not have left with a metal peice sticking out. It is a simple fix. We do go over the scopes before they ship.
Well, problem resolved by current owner; moving on to startest in the near future (I hope as this is the beginning of Monsoon season for us.)
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Jeff B
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/30/06
Posts: 677
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Quote:
If the telescope is aplanatic, then moderate mis-collimation won't affect the star test. That's one of the reasons refractors are so heavily favored by astrophotographers--their off axis performance is very nearly as good as on-axis. Very few refractors require good collimation in order to provide excellent images.
Good point. If, however, you get a touch of astigmatism during the star test when the laser and cheshire says everything is ok, go ahead and adjust the collimation screws to round out the stellar images. It's possible for the Cheshire to mislead you if the actual optical center is just slightly off of that implied by the reflections seen in the Cheshire.
Jeff
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Quote:
Quote:
If the telescope is aplanatic, then moderate mis-collimation won't affect the star test. That's one of the reasons refractors are so heavily favored by astrophotographers--their off axis performance is very nearly as good as on-axis. Very few refractors require good collimation in order to provide excellent images.
Good point. If, however, you get a touch of astigmatism during the star test when the laser and cheshire says everything is ok, go ahead and adjust the collimation screws to round out the stellar images. It's possible for the Cheshire to mislead you if the actual optical center is just slightly off of that implied by the reflections seen in the Cheshire.
Jeff
Good point....I tried to check for that by rotating Cheshire 360 degrees looking for runout in image. Didn't see any but??
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
|
Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3147
Loc: Just passing through.....
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How about finder here?? I like Telrads.
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Jeff B
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/30/06
Posts: 677
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
If the telescope is aplanatic, then moderate mis-collimation won't affect the star test. That's one of the reasons refractors are so heavily favored by astrophotographers--their off axis performance is very nearly as good as on-axis. Very few refractors require good collimation in order to provide excellent images.
Good point. If, however, you get a touch of astigmatism during the star test when the laser and cheshire says everything is ok, go ahead and adjust the collimation screws to round out the stellar images. It's possible for the Cheshire to mislead you if the actual optical center is just slightly off of that implied by the reflections seen in the Cheshire.
Jeff
Good point....I tried to check for that by rotating Cheshire 360 degrees looking for runout in image. Didn't see any but??
Ah..I meant the optical center of the objective lens.
The cheshire works by using the weak reflection off of the glass. However, the actual optical center of the lens as the light passes thru it may differ slightly from what the cheshire shows. It does not matter too much with aplanats but some are "semi aplanats" where collimation does matter.
So the bottom line is the cheshire is a good guide but trust the star test to really tell you what's going on. If you happen to see a bit of astigmatism, don't despair. Just tweak it out using the collimation screw sets even if the cheshire says otherwise.
Now if you see coma.....but I doubt that with a lens of such high quality figure and mechanical design. Nice looking scope with clean, classic lines.
Enjoy it!!
Jeff
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