Fig.x
Fig.w
Secondary
mirror
Primary mirror
stop and keep your
hand here
Both mirrors aligned
with collimating cap in
Both mirrors aligned with
eye looking in focuser
23
Aligning the primary mirror
Find the three locking screws at the back of your telescope and loosen them by a few turns.
hex bolt (Locking screw)
Adjusting screw
Adjusting screw Locking screw
Adjusting screw
Locking screw
If you see 3 large nuts protruding
from the back of your telescope
and 3 small Phillip's-head screws
besides them, the Phillip's-head
screws are the locking screws
and the large nuts are the
adjusting screws.
If you see 6 Phillip's-head
screws but 3 protruding from
the back of your telescope, the
3 protruding screws are
locking screws and the ones
next to them are adjusting
screws.
If you see 3 hex bolts and 3 Phillip's head
screws, the hex bolts are the locking
screws and the Phillip's-head screws are
the adjusting screws. You will need an
Allen wrench to adjust the locking screws.
Now run your hand around the front of your
telescope keeping your eye to the focuser, you will
see the reflected image of your hand. The idea
here being to see which way the primary mirror is
defected, you do this by stopping at the point
where the reflected image of the secondary mirror
is closest to the primary mirrors' edge (Fig.w).
When you get to that point, stop and keep your
hand there while looking at the back end of your
telescope, is there a adjusting screw there? If there
is you will want to loosen it (turn the screw to the
left) to bring the mirror away from that point. If
there isn't a adjusting screw there, then go across
to the other side and tighten the adjusting screw on
the other side. This will gradually bring the mirror
into line until it looks like Fig.x. (It helps to have a
friend to help for primary mirror collimation. Have
your partner adjust the adjusting screws according
to your directions while you look in the focuser.)
After dark go out and point your telescope at
Polaris, the North Star. With an eyepiece in the
focuser, take the image out of focus. You will see
the same image only now, it will be illuminated by
starlight. If necessary, repeat the collimating
process only keep the star centered while tweaking
the mirror.
C
lean
in
g y
our telescope
Replace the dust cap over end of telescope whenever not in use. This prevents dust from settling on
mirror or lens surface. Do not clean mirror or lens unless you are familiar with optical surfaces. Clean
finderscope and eyepieces with special lens paper only. Eyepieces should be handled with care, avoid
touching optical surfaces.
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