OCAL Collimator: Setup & Usage & Results On An SCT Telescope!

[@marvinwhisman3333]

You have shown true love for your fellow astrophotographers or you are a little crazy moving your scope out of collimation. Lets go with option one. It certainly is cheaper than the Hotech at over $500. Thanks for the video.

[@AstroQuest1]

I think I am a little crazy, but Thanks for the compliments!

[@marknovak9310]

Much thanks for your efforts to help someone like me who recently purchased the OCAL collimator. I will use the device on my 8" SCT.

[@AstroQuest1]

Glad to help Mark. Good Luck with it.

[@JoesAstrophoto]

Cool video Kurt, I think I've been doing my collimation wrong as I honestly had no idea about pointing the scope straight up. I love that you can do this during the day and not waste imaging time at night doing it. That's probably worth it right there, but moreover, it must be much easier to collimate during warmer hours. It was -10c here the last time I was collimating and it was rough as the shaking is real lol.

[@AstroQuest1]

It sure is easier doing it during the day. Collimating when it is minus 10 does not sound fun at all. Yeah I found out about the keeping the scope upwards from the people at Starizona. - Cheers Kurt

[@RoobieRhoo]

Kurt, your stars do look very nice and your circles are spot on. I cannot help but notice your mechanical alignment is almost perfect. Beautiful. So is your scope, by the way. Beautiful. Some questions on the circles we're looking at, though. Okay, so you noted the green circle is the "draw tube." That would mean the annular grey area surrounding it must be the inside of the primary baffle. The thinner dark ring just beyond the primary baffle, then, would be a small portion of the secondary baffle interior. It's dark because very little light is reflecting off of it, just as it should be. Both baffles block the view of the corrector, which we do not see, which is what the baffles do. They prevent light from entering the primary baffle directly, so we cannot see the sky through the corrector. All good, so far, I think. Now, you mentioned the red circle is presumably the edge of the primary mirror. The reason I ask is because we should see the edge of the secondary mirror first. It's the next circle in sequence moving outward from the visual back. If the thin dark circle is the secondary baffle, then the bright edge just inside it identified by the red ring must be the brightly lit useable portion of the secondary mirror. It is, of course, lit by the light reflected off the primary. But, I am not sure we see the primary edge reflected in the secondary (not sure why). Unless I am missing something. The reason the brightly lit circle moved out of the center of the red circle when you adjusted your Bob's knobs is because the secondary mirror tilted. And doing so shifted slightly out of being concentric with the red circle. I believe the Ocal worked so well for you because your mechanical alignment is, for all intents and purposes, spot on to start with. I bet your secondary is well centered on the corrector, as well. But, we cannot see the corrector because of the baffles (except possibly reflected in the primary, but the corrector is clear glass...so good luck seeing it LOL). In such a near perfect centered condition, collimation is pretty much guaranteed when the circles are concentric. As you know, the secondary mirror ensures collimation of an SCT. So, sure, as soon as you brought your beautifully aligned secondary back into being concentric with the red circle you achieved really good collimation. Well done. Nice stars. Thoughts?

[@AstroQuest1]

Wow Norman! I am impressed with your knowledge of what we are seeing. I should have said "I believe the green circle is on the edge of the drawtube". In any rate, it is on something that matches the that. Once that is done the red circle is aligned with the primary mirror. Although I added the small circle around the camera, the most important was aligning the red circle to the primary mirror. When I first did this, it was way out of collimation and I was sliding the mirror all over the place (OCAL has a video which I put a link in the description where they did the same thing). When I tried collimating it with the hyperstar, I was lost. I ended up having to adjust the corrector plate first with the assistance from Dean (telephone) over at Starizona. I did it but it was very difficult because I really did not know what I was looking at. All I know, is the collimation was never this good before. - Cheers Kurt

[@RoobieRhoo]

Cheers, Kurt. Thank you for replying. I am trying to understand how Ocal works with SCTs. That includes what we're actually seeing in the software. Spherical mirrors are tricky things. I was amazed at how well it worked for you. Others have some difficulty. I suspect whatever Starzona told you helped. Your collimation looks very good.

[@RoobieRhoo]

I realized we can see your corrector. It has snow on it. 😂

[@AstroQuest1]

@@RoobieRhoo Good eye Norman, just when I was starting to do this a wind gust came through and blue the snow on it - Aargg. Fortunately it did not stick. - Cheers

[@dg2604]

Was very apprehensive about collimating my SCT. Found your video that you made. You made it sound easy and straight forward. It certainly was and thankyou for sharing your experiences. Just one question though was there a reason for not using the purple cross hairs at the end? Cheers Dean

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks Dean. Yeah it is not that difficult oce you get used to doing it. No reason to use the the purple cross so i did not. Cheers

[@genefoster8936]

You can download written user manuals in PDF format from the product support page.

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks for the info Gene. They are helpful! - Cheers Kurt

[@gregerianne3880]

Great video, Kurt. I just purchased (but have yet to receive) an Edge HD 8 and have been looking around at collimation videos and ways to collimate SCTs. This looks like a great package and seems like it makes things very easy, but I don't see it available at many places anymore, including Amazon. Not sure if you can even buy it at Ocalworld anymore since they provide an Amazon link but it's no longer available there. Do you know if perhaps there's another similar tool that's replaced this system?

[@AstroQuest1]

Glad it was helpful Greg! Yeah I am not sure what is going on with purchasing it. I know that people that have them still use them, though. Cheers Kurt

[@johnday2676]

Appreciate you doing these videos. Many of them have help remove mystery of operation. No guess here why you teach! Thanks

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks for the comments John. Cheers Kurt

[@Diocrew]

Awesome video tutorial! I need to get this collimator for my SCT. Thank you for sharing your experience and sacrificing your perfectly collimated scope for us!!😊 Also, it was nice meeting you at NEAF. 🔭🔭🔭

[@AstroQuest1]

Ha Ha - anything for the cause. Nice meeting you as well and glad it was helpful and good luck.

[@perrydouglas7944]

Many thanks Kurt. I got myself one of these Ocal collimation cameras and followed your tutorial. Excellent alignment with near perfect stars across the image. A quick question for you. Have you tried this Ocal with Hyperstar on the SCT. Just wondering if this would do the job. Great vid as usual. Thank you.

[@AstroQuest1]

Great to hear Perry! I had never tried it with the hyperstar but I don't see why it should not work. Worth a shot. Cheers Kurt

[@MatthewHolevinski]

This information culminated into one excellent video! I really enjoyed it thank you.

[@AstroQuest1]

Glad you enjoyed it Matthew! Cheers

[@colmbrazel]

Thanks your instructions worked great. If Primary mirror out of alignment in the field looking for bright star with focus can be very time consuming. Ocal is a great timesaver very accurate and precise and well worth it. I used Ocal on SCT 11 flat on table pointed at white wall to align Primary in a very short time. I look forward to further fine tuning with scope on mount next clear sky, pointing towards meridian (before it gets dark)...

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks, Glad it helped. I have been happy very with it. Cheers

[@astromusicvideo]

Thank you for creating this video. I have the Edge HD 8" and the OCAL 3.0 collimator. I think where the green outermost circle is placed is critical. Your stars look excellent after you collimated it. Where is the best part of the image to place the green circle? I can get all circles centered except the red!! Thanks, Jerry

[@AstroQuest1]

Glad it helped Jerry. Try it eventhough the red is not totally centered. It takes a little trial and error. My guess is the stars will be pretty good. Cheers

[@4b494d]

i finally got this ocal unit. your video was awesome.. helped me get going quickly. thanks man!! my celestron is perfect now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@AstroQuest1]

Glad it helped! Cheers and good luck!

[@TMan4775]

Thank you Kurt for your review. I just bought mine yesterday. Can't wait to use it.

[@AstroQuest1]

Glad it was helpful Tom! Good luck with it. - Cheers Kurt

[@astrophoto_andy3335]

I used my successfully on a Newtonian. Selling mine now since I gave away the Newt. It is a very good product!

[@AstroQuest1]

You should not have any trouble selling it as they are sold out on Amazon. Cheers

[@stephenmcarthur2250]

Thanks very much for posting this tutorial. I’ve purchased and used the Ocal system on my edge HD 8 and replaced screws with bobs knobs. I think I’ve collimated it correctly. I have a photo of the end result. Would you mind taking a look at it for me?? Thanks.

[@AstroQuest1]

Sure Stephen, I can take a look at it. Cheers

[@NckBrktt]

I bought one for my newtonians. It works great. It is more complicated for Newts but it is methodical and repeatable and you can see immediately any misalignments. I think it should work on any mirror based instrument that requires you align circular mirror edges concentric with the focus tube.

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks for sharing! Cheers

[@ericdiebold8674]

Hello ! Thank you for your excellent video ! I followed exactly the procedure you indicated. When the collimation is carried out and I simply rotate the camera in the focuser tube, there is a shift: the image reflected from the camera no longer appears in the center of the crosspiece (magenta)... How do you explain this phenomenon ? Thank you in advance for your help. Best regards. Eric D.

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks Eric. Not sure I never tried rotating the camera while doing this, hovever, my guess is the focal length is so large that even a small perturbation or alignment issue with the focuser may cause this. The collmination will still be good though. Cheers

[@viksohal]

Great video Kurt. This really helped me use this thing.

[@AstroQuest1]

Glad it helped Vik! Cheers

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

THANK YOU, Kurt. I've been looking for a good way to collimate my C-11 EdgeHD and Maksutov-Newtonian Astrograph. This seems to be the way to do it. I will certainly get the OCAL camera. Again, Thank you. Patrick

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks Patrick. This works well for me on the Edge800. I don't have Maksutov but Martin did it with his. The price was decent as well. - Cheers Kurt

[@DSOImager]

Very cool looking gadget.. Handy to be able to collimate during the day. I've been using stars to collimate mine, thankfully I don't have to do it often.

[@AstroQuest1]

Yes, I was looking for something like this for a reasonable price and this fits the bill. Checking with the stars is fine, I still do that as well for minor tweaks. Cheers Kurt

[@Aero19612]

Thanks for the review, Kurt. The OCAL appears to be to collimation, what the PoleMaster was to polar alignment - - a game changer. If I could find one, I'd buy it.

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks for the comment James. Yeah it seems I must have been one of the first people to order them. So far it works well. I would like to see one of your reviews of this product as it is right up your ally. - Cheers Kurt

[@tomdaigon8707]

James, it would be interesting to see how you review it due to you detailed scientific approach to things.

[@Aero19612]

@@tomdaigon8707 Apparently, Kurt bought all of Amazon's OCALs and is selling them with a huge mark-up! Just call him Kurt Bezos.

[@davidf9494]

James - I just bought one from Ontario Telescopes - Steve has them in stock. CS -David

[@Aero19612]

@@davidf9494 Thanks David!

[@billallen275]

Great video. That built in camera and laser pointer are great. Call eh mae shun.

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks Bill. Cheers

[@Br00se]

Excellent video Kurt. Do you know if this would work well with a Ritchey-Chretien? It seems like it would.

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks Bruce. I don't see any reason why it would not - it should work well for it. To be on the safe side I would drop a question to OCAL, they do have contact info on their website. - Cheers Kurt

[@bobbeanbags]

This was awesome! Can you use this with Hyperstar?

[@AstroQuest1]

Good question Robert. I am not certain yet but intend to try it out eventually - after galaxy season. Cheers

[@steveboone8185]

Been very curious about these ever since I saw Cuiv's video. Now i'm sold, but it seems that Amazon is the only sales outlet and it is listed as 'Currently Unavailable'. Hopefully they will get stock soon!!

[@AstroQuest1]

Hey Steve, Yeah I seem to have been very lucky and purchased one after they sold out. I wonder if you could get one from the place that gave it to Cuiv for review. - Cheers Kurt

[@markm75]

Is the amazon link the only link to buy that there is? Seems its out of stock there and this is the "newtonian" one, even for sct's correct?

[@AstroQuest1]

No, you used to be able to buy them other places but I am not sure where you can get them these days. I hae the original one which was designed for a Newtonian but can be used on an SCT. Cheers

[@SwansonGuitarLessons]

Hi Kurt, Thanks for the video! Quick question...do you happen to know where one be purchased? Can't find it at High Point Scientific...

[@AstroQuest1]

Hey Jeff, not off hand. I got mine from a dealer listed on Amazon last year. They seem to be hard to come by. Good Luck

[@stephen2615]

Thanks for this video. Is back focus important? I don't have a M 42 adapter that can attach to the back of my EdgeHD 9.25.

[@AstroQuest1]

Backfocus should not be a problem Stephen. Good Luck.

[@astrolibrarian]

As always, your videos are great, Kurt. In fact, your videos taught me how to use APT! Unfortunately, it looks like Amazon is sold out of the OCAL right now or I would have just bought one. Clear Skies!

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks Fred. Hopefully they won't be out for long. Cheers Kurt

[@johnsuscavage7775]

@@AstroQuest1 I just was finally able purchase one from aliexpress for less than $200 us bucks including shipping and local taxes . They have them in stock. Supposed to be shipped in less than 7 days. I`ll add another comment once it is delivered.

[@AstroQuest1]

@@johnsuscavage7775 Awesome.

[@volens31]

Kurt, I'm slightly confused. You lined the circles up initially at the start of the video on a perfectly collimated scope. Given that under normal operation someone using this will be lining up the circles on an uncollimated scope does this not mean that the coloured circles would under normal operation be unconcentric?

[@AstroQuest1]

Yeah a bit confusing. The circles are concentric to each other no matter what. The line up the first one made. You line that one up to the tube. You make a second one the same size as the mirror but an can move it temporarily to see if it is the right size. Once it is then you can adjust the collimation screws to align the mirror into the circle you made. - Cheers Kurt

[@volens31]

@@AstroQuest1 OK thanks that's clearer now. I notice Ocal don't address aligning the corrector plate at all. The mirrors can be aligned perfectly but if the corrector is out of whack then it's still rubbish stars.

[@AstroQuest1]

@@volens31 Yeah, I am not certain if it addresses corrector plate issues. I fixed mine in a previous video before ever getting the OCAL. It is most likely fine, but in the outside chance that it does need to be adjusted, once it is fixed you should not have to readjust it again unless you take it off to clean or something. - Cheers

[@williamsmith4482]

Thanks for the informative video and OCAL demonstration. Would you please provide the specifics of the SCT to M42 adapter you used to connect the OCAL camera to your telescope (manufacturer, etc)? BTW - while Amazon is out of the OCAL, Aliexpress has four left as of 2/9/2022.

[@AstroQuest1]

Hey William, good to know someone has them. The adapter is frome Celestron. www.highpointscientific.com/celestron-t-adapter-for-8-edgehd-93644?CEL-93644&gclid=Cj0KCQiAjJOQBhCkARIsAEKMtO1hi_Yi3bWj3Kkf2B_XrYNwk1Rt8YkxcJu4tvas-epUYS7F2uksnocaAqYOEALw_wcB - Cheers

[@tamartin7001]

If you get the Pro version it comes with a range of adapters

[@siegfriednoet]

Great interesting video Kurt, very well explained and thorough How are your findings now after using it for about a half year ?

[@AstroQuest1]

Pretty good, I still have good results with it although me collimation has held (6 mo) so I have not had to adjust it in quite a while. Cheers

[@neiltonks]

Just bought one. It's for my 8" edge . Does it matter there's a lense

[@AstroQuest1]

It should not. Just insert the camera were the eyepiece or a normal camera goes. Good Luck

[@tomdaigon8707]

Nicely done review. Can the OCAL camera be attached at the end of the optical train (after reducer, oag,, filter wheel)? Or does it need to be attached on the telescopes optical back?

[@AstroQuest1]

Good question and the answer in theory is you should be able to attach it after the FR. However, you are adding something else that might cause an issue but that is unlikely. - Cheers

[@briandiaz3758]

hi one question , i have the same celestron edge hd , for the collimation with the OCAL camera you did it with the reducer o with out it, thanks you for you help

[@AstroQuest1]

I did it both ways and had good results, however, it should be done without the reducer. Cheers

[@briandiaz3758]

@@AstroQuest1 thanks you for your help .

[@scottrk4930]

Hi Kurt , great Video . So this is all done with the OTA at Focus ? If so , which direction does your Focuser approach focus , CCW or CW ? We've seen differences in Collimation depending on which direction you approach the focus . Best suggestions have been always a CCW approach but.../SRK

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks for the info Scott. To be honest I am not sure. I guess I have more to keep track of. I use a ZWO EAF (autofocuser) so I have to look in order to be sure. - Thanks for the info. Cheers Kurt

[@tamartin7001]

I have bought the pro version for use on my 6" Ritchie Chretien GSO - I think this is a virtual Howie Glattner

[@AstroQuest1]

Good Luck with it TA. Cheers

[@garryfreemyer7187]

How do you know which knob to turn?

[@AstroQuest1]

Good question, but it is trial and error. Good Luck

[@iwolsiwols]

Hi Kurt great video ,just used one to collimate my c8 edge with 0.7x reducer,got the green and red circle ok but the blue inner one was off,any suggestions to get the blue one lined up as well

[@AstroQuest1]

Hi Ian, The green and red one are the most important to get lined up for collimation so that's the good thing. I am not sure that the inner blue even matters. - Cheers

[@iwolsiwols]

@@AstroQuest1 thank you ,will know better when the clouds decide to play with a star test

[@davidleejenkins]

Thank you Kurt! I recently purchased the EdgeHD 8 but haven’t used it yet. In your experience, how often do you need to collimate your scope? Mine will be on a pier and shouldn’t get jostled around between imaging sessions. Thanks!

[@AstroQuest1]

Hi David. If it sits on a Pier you should not have to collimate it that often - check it every couple of weeks or when you notice your stars are not as sharp. Some people check it religiously every time they use it but there adjustments are minute. - Good Luck

[@JohnMcGFrance]

Thanks Kurt. I’m considering buying the Ocal. I know you have Hyperstar for your Edge and wondered if it’s possible to use the Ocal to collimate that too? Would appreciate if you’d be able to give that a try if you get time. If it works with Hyperstar I’d definitely buy it! Clear skies.

[@AstroQuest1]

The short answer is yes, I was in fact planning on doing just that. Unfortunately it will be a while as I am taking a break from hyperstar until it gets warmer out. - Cheers Kurt

[@JohnMcGFrance]

@@AstroQuest1 Thanks Kurt. I look forward to seeing what happens. It’s only -3C here in France for the next few nights and it’s forecast to be clear and the moon is rising late and waning fast. Hoping to get a few nights imaging in. Using my TSQ65mm refractor. Having an observatory now means being out for about 15mins max to check that the first sub comes in okay then back into the warm.

[@AstroQuest1]

@@JohnMcGFrance Cool, Good Luck.

[@michaelasbury5473]

I watched your video again because I just ordered an OCAL. You make it look so simple LOL. One question I had is when you first hook everything up and assuming you're out of collimation, how do you know how much to adjust the sizes of each ring since they're all not centered? I've had a really rough time with collimation on my EdgeHD 800. I'm really hoping the OCAL will solve my problems.

[@AstroQuest1]

Hi Mike. Yes when you first connect it you press the 'Center Offset' button (9:48) and then you adjust the sliders to align the first circle (green) to the drawtube. All the other circles will be correlated to that first circle. - Good Luck.

[@michaelasbury5473]

@@AstroQuest1 thanks! When you have everything all lined up, do you tighten all the screws/knobs? I’m sorry for so many questions, collimation with my EdgeHD just has me extremely frustrated at the moment.

[@AstroQuest1]

@@michaelasbury5473 Yep, been there many times. Yes, once you have the circles lined up then you adjust the collimation screws and when the they align with the circles you are set. - Good luck

[@michaelasbury5473]

@@AstroQuest1 I mean, according to one of the OCAL videos, after you use the knobs to adjust all the circles, you then tighten all the knobs. To me that would knock the circles out of whack, which you just worked so hard to adjust.

[@AstroQuest1]

@@michaelasbury5473 High Michael, What they did was loosen all the screws move it aroud and then tighten it. Most people do it one or adjustment screws and slowly center it.

[@srikanthmeg]

Very good tutorial! What focal length does asiair plate solve to on your sct with 0.7 reducer? Mine is at 1483

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks and good question. I set it at 1400mm which is .7 or 2000. Cheers

[@conradsanders8475]

Would this work with the Hyperstar?

[@AstroQuest1]

Hi Conrad, it should work but I have not had the opportunity to try it yet. Cheers

[@frosthastrophotography]

Thank you for the video! That is something that I would consider if I ever get a scope like that.

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks. It comes in handy! Cheers

[@massimomelodia3670]

Thanks for your "sacrifice" 😊. Thanks Thanks Thanks.......👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@AstroQuest1]

Ha Ha - It's my pleasure Massimo. Anything for the cause. Cheers

[@nordmende73]

Thank you very much!

[@AstroQuest1]

You're welcome Mende! - Cheers

[@jerrysarnataro6296]

Great video!!

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks for the feedback Jerry! Cheers

[@compubyte2010]

darn.. to bad you didn't show a BEFORE and AFTER collimation picture of those stars.. would have been nice to see a Before and after pics. GREAT JOB thou !!!

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks! Yeah that would have been a good idea, it happens a lot after I complete a video... Cheers

[@starpartyguy5605]

The problem I see with this system is that there are no actual physical measurements shown in the software. You are just adjusting it to what you think looks good. I suppose that would be good enough for most people. And to be honest, that's what I do, although I didn't buy a special camera to do it. I have also used CCDware's CCD Inspector. That software does have actual measurements for SCT collimation. But it costs almost $200, not including the camera.

[@AstroQuest1]

That is a good point. I was not aware of the CCD Inspector. I am wondering they could update the software for the OCAL to have actual numerical measurements. The camera does have measurements associated with it as you have to download the specific camera serial number in order to the camera specifications. Cheers

[@michaelasbury5473]

Great video! It was painful watching you intentionally taking your scope out of collimation :-)

[@AstroQuest1]

Oh well! At least it was easy getting it back - thanks for recognizing the pain. - Cheers

[@abdelaidli]

280€ here in France

[@AstroQuest1]

Thanks for the info!

[@photogazer]

Good video. Just one thing. It is pronounced Call-li-mate-ted, not Call-min-nate-ted.

[@AstroQuest1]

Ha Ha , Thanks for the correction Mike. The only thing worse than my pronunciation is spelling - I would be lost without spellcheck. - Cheers