Thanks to amazons associates program, doing so costs you nothing yet. The advanced ct laser collimator simulates a real distant star light path, and as a result it can collimate most telescopes which primarily rely on star collimation. You can determine whether your sct requires collimation by defocusing the. Skysafari 6 pro ios skysafari 6 pro android skysafari 6 plus download. Collimation tools expert service unbeatable prices opt. Shop for collimation products and perfect the alignment of your telescope mirrors or lenses here at agena astroproducts. Opt offers all the collimation tools necessary to ensure the utmost. Some telescopes require very accurate line of sight adjustment. A properly collimated telescope will provide pleasing images over a wide range of magnifications. Ron wodaskis collimating a cassegrain page note that most folks in the northern hemisphere use polaris as the star to collimate their scts because it doesnt move much during the time it. For example, if you use a mirror diagonal, this should be used during collimation. Filter by all celestron cleaning collimation meade sort by featured best selling alphabetically, az alphabetically, za price, low to high price, high to low date, new to old date, old to new. At the end of last year, i was seeing that my clarity was off and i knew that i needed to collimate it. What id like to do is plug either my dslr which is my main imaging camera or my superstar guide camera into the scope.
Collimating your sct rod mollise basically, its a twopart process stage 1 rough collimation setup the scope and put a medium bright star in the field of an eyepiece. Even more frequent collimation is required of the perfectionist who wishes to account for collimation errors caused by pointing the sct at different objects at different positions. A good tool can make the difference between successful collimation, and an exercise in frustration that encourages you to settle for good enough. Maksutov telescopes a design like the sct tend to hold collimation well. Sct collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy. The process can be applied to any sct, and has also been successfully used with a meade 16 acf. Jun 09, 2016 a couple of years ago i bought a secondhand 12 meade lx90 sct, as a planetkiller, or so i thought. Farpoint bahtinov focus mask meade 10 inch sct farpoint astro. Skysafari 6 plus ios skysafari 6 plus android envisage imaging software v7. There are three stages to a really good collimation using the stars or a starlike source such as a solar reflection off a distant ball bearing or christmas tree ornament. Schmidt cassegrain telescope advice maintenance sct.
Optical collimation lx90 series meade 4m community. Meade 10 sct models introduced prior to 2005 have 3 screws and therefore require different collimation knobs. Some are simple, excellent for beginners but lacking in highlevel. Refractors rarely need collimation, unless they have been treated roughly. If youre collimating a sct, you can probably do the necessary. Collimating a schmidtcassegrain telescope jims astrolog.
Oct 16, 2009 sct collimation posted in meade computerized telescopes. Sounds great, but i guess i will invalidate the warranty, which is. Metaguide allows me to obtain sub2 fwhm stars with a celestron cge and 11 sct at 2800mm f. Schmittcassegrain collimation made easy using a duncan mask. The driver for this procedure came when i bought a hyperstar unit for my c14. Sct collimation posted in meade computerized telescopes. Dec 04, 2017 collimation meade sc10 viktor schmidt.
A considerable number of persons have posted me about their problems with the use of a laser collimators to collimate their sct telescopes. Observe how the dark spot moves, and try the screws opposite number if it doesnt move in the right direction. Collimate an lx200 10 lx200 series meade 4m community. Internal tube currents will make the job of collimating a sct almost impossible. Collimation seems way off and the tube was definitely dropped at one time as there are some dents and dings on the ota.
Pavel bahtinov, a russian amateur telescope maker and astronomer, created this simple, very intuitive method and the device has universally been named after him. Collimating your schmidtcassegrain telescope in just a few. Collimation tools expert service unbeatable prices. An improperly collimated telescope may fail to show stars as round points of light, especially towards the edge of field. Point the sct at a fairly bright star as you would for the normal collimation method. Meade sct collimation woes discussions scopes whole. Collimation is critical to obtaining the best performance from your telescope. Orient your scope so its easy to reach the collimation screws.
Sct collimation the newfangled way hardly seems possible its been eleven frackin years since i started my sctuser yahoogroup. The meade usb to serial cable provides the capability of using the usb port on a personal computer to connect to a. Lx200 collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy. With an lx200 interface cable you can upgrade the software in your telescope. These knobs make it easy to collimate your meade 10 f10 schmidtcassegrain for optimum image quality. Oct 06, 2011 aligning the optics of your reflector telescope is crucial for optimal performance all the more so if you have a telescope with a focal ratio of f5 or less. How do i collimate my schmidtcassegrain telescope sct. Daylight collimation of a sct or maksutovcassegrain. If an sct is in need of collimation, a slightly outoffocus star near the center of the field of view will appear as in one of the six eyepiece views shown above. At the center of the guide are the reference designations for the screws and their orientation as you face the front of the telescope.
Id like to know if there is any software that can help me with collimating an sct. Sct collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy nights. I have just got a new lx90 8inch gps and i would like to know which three screws it means i have to ajust for collimation of the telescope. I purchased a used scope last year and finally got around to setting it up. Telescope collimation tools for sale skies unlimited llc.
I read up about collimating using the three screws with one being lined up with eyepiece and just adjusting the other two. Stars are no longer slightly blurry, they are now blobs. For instance, most collimation devices depend on the centre of the primary mirror. Opt offers all the collimation tools necessary to ensure the utmost accuracy for your telescope adjustments to improve your overall astronomy imaging and observing. Collimation changed depending whether the scope was inside or outside focus. The meade manual does say the optical collimation alignment of any astronomical telescope used for serious purposes is important, but in the case of the schmidtcassegrain design of the 8, 10, and. And if you are in michigans upper peninsula, i will supply the blatz for a hands on collimation session. Telescope video jupiter meade lx90 12 inch telescope and altair astro gpcam 3 224c. To collimate, turn the indicated collimation screw a very small amount in the direction shown. Lx200 collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy nights. After a careful collimation, higher power 180x terrestrial views were muddy, 46 mag stars showed a bit of coma and planetary views were unsatisfying, even on nights of good seeing. A star test is the most accurate way to check that your telescope is correctly collimated, however, with care, a.
Ron wodaskis collimating a cassegrain page note that most folks in the northern hemisphere use polaris as the star to collimate their scts because it doesnt move much during the time it takes to collimate a scope. They are taken with my 10 sct meade lx200 and show vega. Farpoint dovetail plate meade f10 14 inch sct farpoint astro. Unfortunately, many new cat owners seem intimidated by this simple process. This software provides an efficient way to transfer, browse, modify and distribute digital media. Collimation of a sct is critical to getting the sharpest images possible, especially when viewing planets at high magnification. Meade instruments corporation frequently asked questions. Meade instruments laser collimator is designed to quickly and accurately align collimate any newtonian reflector and schmidtnewtonian optical tube assemblies otas, or any optical system that contains two independently adjustable mirrors. Meades dsi camera control and basic image processing software.
Ive had a lot of fun with it, and its still quite active, though time seems to be passing the good, old yahoogroups by in favor of glitzier venues. Daylight collimation of a sct or maksutovcassegrain checking the optical alignment on schmidtcassegrain or maksutovcassegrain telescope can be easily done in broad daylight. You dont need any tools, so you never have to worry about losing a tiny allen wrench or screwdriver in the grass in the dark. One tidbit of advice gleaned from the cn forums is to use bobs knobs. It just requires looking into the front of the scope from a very specific location. Astronomy software is an essential part of image processing for any astrophotographer, and is one of the tools used to create some of the most aweinspiring astronomy images. I purchased a kendrick sct laser recently, and have had nothing but problems getting things to work. This page presents the method i use to align the optics of my c14. Bobs knobs for meade 10 f10 sct with threescrew secondary.
Make collimation adjustments with your ccd camera to an accuracy not available with eyepieces or manual collimation aids. At this time, mile high astronomy does not offer in house collimation or cleaning services. Page 1 of 2 lx200 collimation posted in meade computerized telescopes. However, there are some tricks to doing it right, and some things to avoid. The 3 rather nice images of the central row the only ones on the 1206 frames of a 2 min avi are in good agreement with a level 3 collimation according to thierry legault. Upon installation, please use serial number 783a36800007296416. These bobs knobs collimation knobs fit meade 10 schmidtcassegrain telescopes such as the lx10, lx50, lx90, lx100, and lx200. Recollimating most optics to restore the best images is a relatively simple task, and should be done on a regular basis. The key is an accurate and low latency centroid that can be chased aggressively to overcome gearbox and bearing noise.
Proper optical collimation is essential to achieving top performance from your telescope. A couple of years ago i bought a secondhand 12 meade lx90 sct, as a planetkiller, or so i thought. Meade never had em, revealing three adjustment screws for the secondary either allen head or phillips style. If you own a newtonian or a schmidtnewtonian telescope, you already know that keeping your scope in good collimation will be a small task that you will have to take. Ccdinspector works with your camera acquisition software to allow realtime evaluation of images to determine collimation, camera tilt and focus. The collimation technique can be implemented on any size telescope. Periodic collimation is required for casual observing to correct misalignment that results from normal handling and transportation of the telescope.
Without the right tools, this process can become tedious and inaccurate. There are a wide variety of programs available, each with its own pros and cons. Farpoint bahtinov focus mask meade 10 inch sct is an ingenious new way to easily focus a telescope. Like jims scope, my old meade 10 sct 2120 just didnt seem to be up to par. The collimating tools below are mechanical and optical aids that will help you keep the optics of your telescope at their peak to give you the best. Recenter the star and recheck the outoffocus image of the star. At the time i became a bit disillusioned, as it didnt seem anywhere near as crisp and sharp as my humble 10 newtonian, despite all my efforts to collimate it. May 04, 2019 metaguide can provide insight into both the optics of your telescope, and the tracking behavior of your mount. Meade s dsi camera control and basic image processing software. You should have the scope set up as you would for normal use. Collimation guide for schmidt cassegrain telescopes. This easy to use laser collimator makes optical alignment of your meade or other newtonian telescope quick and easy.
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