Collimating a Newtonian Telescope with the Farpoint 2" Super Collimation Set

[@cosmoscarl4332]

According to Catseye collimation channel, you use the laser only for roughly collimating the telescope. The sight tube and autocollimator are the primary tools used, along with their proprietary offset pupil collimation tools.

[@alecsheedlo6751]

When i order the farpoint chesire only will i have to replace my primary mirror donut with the triangle or will the "donut" center mark be fine

[@BogdanDamian]

@alecseedlo6751 No, the center mark that gets delivered is optional. You can use the existing one.

[@Youtuber-ku4nk]

First step is to adjust the secondary mirror so that it is in correct position (forward/backward in tube) using a concenter collimation eyepiece.

[@kamilmoucka6811]

Hi Bohdan, the position of the secondary mirror in relation to the focuser is somehow off in my opinion. Admittedly the secondary appears to be a perfect circle, which is correct but the edge of the secondary should be concentric with the edge of the reflected primary mirror. I also noticed that the secondary mount is of a design that does not allow it to rotate on its axis. This can be solved by inserting a washer between those set screws and the secondary holder. 🙂

[@krystianciesiun5483]

Hi Bogdan, where did you buy this set? I've looked all over the internet and it's all listed as unavailable. Maybe you have a way to get one of them? Best regards Kris

[@BogdanDamian]

@krystianciesiun5483 Hi Kris! I got the set on farpointastro.com. Link is in the video description. But the availability of these laser collimators is pretty bad right now. I'll ask around to see if I can find another set somewhere and then get back to you if I do.

[@Birko64]

Hi Bogdan, when using the last tool, the autocollimator, you don't say which mirror you need to adjust. According to AstronomyShed is is the secondary ?

[@patterdalezipsuzilil]

I didn't understand iam used to looking at the target on my cheap collimater how do you alighn the reflection do you have to look up the inside of the focuser tube

[@BogdanDamian]

@patterdalezipsuzilil Yes you collimate by looking through the pinhole of the collimator and look for the center marking on the primary mirror. It needs to be centered with the reflection of the collimator.

[@MountainFisher]

Farpoint is who re-figured my mirrors and aluminized my mirrors to near perfection. They really know their stuff.

[@BogdanDamian]

@Mountain Fisher Good to know that they do mirrors as well. I also got the impression that they are very good at what they do.

[@noth606]

any tips on collimating an SCT? I just bought an old one, the optics look perfect but it's about 30yo and likely got knocked a bit at some point.

[@BogdanDamian]

@noth606 The easiest way it's to do it when you are outside observing. Pick an EP that will give you a magnification of 150x - 200x, aim the telescope at a bright star and bring it out of focus. When looking through the EP, the inside dark disk (secondary mirror) should be exactly in the center of the defocused star. If this isn't the case, than you need to adjust the secondary mirror using the three collimation screws in front of the corrector plate (like you would on a Newtonian telescope). I hope this helps.

[@noth606]

@@BogdanDamian Thank you, I've seen some discussions hinting at this but never a complete explanation for how to do it. Now I'll need a higher mag EP to do it with, only have a 75x for it.

[@deepskywim]

I use the barlowed laser technique. Easier to do than using an autocollimator and should be just as accurate. Certainly with a 45 degree cutout window, it is still easy to collimate large dobsonians without any help.

[@BogdanDamian]

@Wim De Meester I haven't used the barlow laser technique, but from what I heard it should be accurate. The missing 45° cutout on the Farpoint window certainly makes things difficult.

[@MrRnk22]

@@BogdanDamian we have tested the Barlowed laser technique and compared it to our product. Yes, the Barlowed technique can be as accurate, but generally it is not as consistently accurate as Farpoint's autocollimator. The most accurate calibration each and every time requires a tool capable of providing that each and every time. Our autocollimator does exactly that every time, and that is why it is superior. As for the 45* cutout option, we have considered it in the past and there are 3 reasons we do not offer the product with this option. First, it is unnecessary. A Newt/Dob system can be accurately calibrated with our autocollimator in less than 3 minutes by a single person, without the 45* cutout. And our autocollimator kit will last you a lifetime. You will never need to buy another one. The same cannot be said of the cheap plastic laser collimators with the 45* cutout. Second, we have yet to obtain and test a plastic laser collimator with a 45* cutout that arrived accurately calibrated. So while you can get one almost anywhere for about $30-$40, they are made poorly and generally not properly calibrated. Nor will they last. If your calibration tool is not properly calibrated, what exactly is its point? The autocollimators we make, once calibrated at our factory, stay calibrated for a lifetime absent a major blow to the product. Third, we could engineer a robust aluminum autocollimator with a 45* window but to do so would increase the cost significantly. Considering the item works flawlessly as engineered, and adding the 45* cutout would not make it work better, is there a point to adding a signfiicant cost to a product that already works as engineered? I hope these explanations help your viewers understand why there is no 45* cutout.

[@astroanthobbies3801]

Another awesome video 🙏

[@cosmoscarl4332]

You really need to do this in full sunlight. Not pointing at the sun but out in a fully sunlit sky. The reason why is that you cannot see all the reflections of the primary center mark in the auto collimator.

[@georgel.correa4921]

The far point looks good. A bit expensive but when experiencing a potential bad laser collimator it may be anoptipn

[@georgel.correa4921]

I can collimate 5 times & get 5 diffrent readings/settings everytime.everything. Could the laser collimator be defective? Help B.D. !😔

[@BogdanDamian]

@George L. Correa This can definitely be a possibility. You could check if your collimator is aligned correctly by using some simple means. Here is good video on this topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4vWmIGinK6lp7M Also try one more time to collimate the telescope and this time make sure that the collimator sits tight inside the focuser and it can't move at all. If it turns out that the collimator is not aligned correctly than you could check if you can adjust it yourself, but at that point it might be better to just get a new one. Try it out and let me know how it went.

[@georgel.correa4921]

@@BogdanDamian O.K. but what if the focuser screws are not being tightened evenly, won't that affect the alignment of the collimator ? How do I know I'm tightening evenly ? This can also be a factor. What about the secondary mirror not looking round through the focuser & spider not being centered all the way around. Eye is centered

[@BogdanDamian]

@George L. Correa It shouldn't matter if the focuser screws are tightened perfectly even. More important is that the collimator doesn't move during the collimation process. It should be the constant. The mirrors are the variables. Regarding the spider and the secondary mirror you could measure the distance of each spider leg and check if all four are identically spaced from the walls of the optical tube. If the spider is ok, then you could point the telescope towards the zenith and then you could loosen up the collimation screws for the secondary mirror. This way the secondary mirror will "hang" perpendicular to the primary mirror. Then tighten up the collimation screws in this position. This will give you an approximate collimation of the secondary mirror. But check the collimator as well. It might not be aligned itself.

[@ssadams]

all links are deaf :(

[@BogdanDamian]

@ssadams Thanks for letting me know! There is a problem with the affiliate links. I've now added the normal ones for the collimation kit.

[@irfanrashid2114]

This pisses me off that even such an expensive laser collimator lack a 45 degree cutout window to see the returning laser beam while adjusting the primary mirror at the back end of the telescope.🙄

[@BogdanDamian]

@Irfan Rashid Yeah, I wish it had a 45° cutout window. Without it the collimation process for long FL dobs is definitely more difficult.

[@MrRnk22]

The most accurate calibration each and every time requires a tool capable of providing that each and every time. The Farpoint autocollimator does exactly that every time, and that is why it is superior. As for the 45* cutout option, we have considered it in the past and there are 3 reasons we do not offer the product with this option. First, it is unnecessary. A Newt/Dob system can be accurately calibrated with our autocollimator kit in less than 3 minutes by a single person, without the 45* cutout. And our autocollimator kit will last you a lifetime. You will never need to buy another one. The same cannot be said of the cheap plastic laser collimators with the 45* cutout. Second, we have yet to obtain and test a plastic laser collimator with a 45* cutout that arrived accurately calibrated. So while you can get one almost anywhere for about $30-$40, they are made poorly and generally not properly calibrated. Nor will they last. If your calibration tool is not properly calibrated, what exactly is its point? The autocollimators we make, once calibrated at our factory, stay calibrated for a lifetime absent a major blow to the product. Third, we could engineer a robust aluminum autocollimator with a 45* window but to do so would increase the cost significantly. Considering the item works flawlessly as engineered, and adding the 45* cutout would not make it work better, is there a point to adding a significant cost to a product that already works as engineered? I hope these explanations help you understand why there is no 45* cutout on Farpoint's automcollimator.

[@victoriousin6485]

Your affiliate links for collimator don't work, you losing so much money and customers by not checking your links! Hope you'lll see this message! Want to support you and your channel, but simply can't! Good luck!

[@billiondollardan]

The name Bogdan means God given and I think it's appropriate :)

[@oxfordsculler8013]

We need less of you talking at camera and longer with the images and illustrations of what is happening. Thanks