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10
OPTICAL ALIGNMENT (COLLIMATION)
You should occasionally check and adjust
the optical alignment of your telescope.
This procedure is called collimation, and is
recommended for optimum ASTROSCAN
®
performance. To check the alignment of your
telescope:
1. Remove the dust covers for the objective and
focuser and look into the focuser drawtube.
2. Point the telescope at a lit wall indoors and
look into the focuser drawtube. You should
see the secondary mirror and a reflected
image of the primary mirror.
3. Center your eye in the drawtube. You can
reference the center mark on the primary
mirror shown in the figure. The reflected
image of the primary and secondary
mirrors should be centered to one another,
with your eye at the very center of the view,
see figure. If the reflections do not look
aligned, some adjustment will be needed
(Figure 6).
This is a quick reference to collimating
your telescope. Normally a technician would
use a collimation eyepiece for best results, but
this procedure is fast and effective without a
collimation eyepiece.
Tools required:
• Phillips head screwdriver
• 2mm hex key (not included)
SECONDARY MIRROR ADJUSTMENT
If the center mark on the primary mirror does not
appear to be in the center of your view:
Using a standard 2mm hex key wrench, make
small adjustments to the three hex-head screws
to change the tilt of the secondary mirror so that
the primary mirror center mark is in the center of
the view (Figure 7).
Do not adjust the center Phillips head screw.
This holds the secondary mirror onto the
telescope! This can be adjusted, taking caution
not to rotate the secondary mirror, but we
do not recommend making this adjustment.
Consult a telescope expert to learn more about
additional collimation methods.
Reflection of
Secondary
Mirror
Center Mark on
Primary Mirror
Secondary Mirror
Offset (Should look
slightly off-center
towards the right)
Focuser
Drawtube
Primary
Mirror
Secondary
Support
Vanes
Alignment Set
Screws (3)
Figure 7
Figure 6
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