"It is incredible that most telescope owners are unaware that their
instruments are not properly collimated. A properly collimated telescope
will soar. With mine, M42's four trapezium stars turn to six, and the red
and green hues become more
prominent. Your collimator makes this essential task easy and fun. . . I
especially find the diffractive optic, which projects a grid pattern around
the beam, a useful addition.
I recommend your collimator highly."
David H. Levy, Jarnac Observatory
"I have been using a laser loaned to me by Mr. H. Glatter and found it
to work exactly as he describes. His understanding of how it works and his
instructions for its use are correct in every way as far as I can tell.
Using this tool has given me very revealing information about collimation of
multi-element optical systems. This laser is a very powerful tool."
R. A. "Doc" Greiner, http://www.mailbag.com/users/ragreiner/
I am ready to confirm to anybody that it is easily possible to
achieve very good collimation with your Holographic Laser Collimator on a
Schmidt Cassegrain telescope. I have used it to collimate my 12" LX200 and
also for my 4" 2045D MEADE SCT. The method I used was described on MAPUG on
October 31st. If you have any doubtful potential customers, please give them
my e-mail address and I will gladly tell them that I am completely satisfied
with your product. Please feel free to use this statement anywhere you like.
Bert Mettier, Switzerland
Hello Howie,
Finally yesterday I got to the recollimation of the 24 inch R-C
(Ritchey-Cretien Cassegrain) using your device. Perhaps you would be
interested in knowing how things turned out. In a word, all worked well,
and the telescope is in better condition now than it was previously.
The first step concerned the orthogonality of the telescope tailpiece.
The laser placed the beam off the center of the secondary mirror. A
temporary 0.015" shim at the tailpiece corrected that nicely.
The second step was to examine the reflected spot from the secondary
back at the collimator. It was about 0.3 inches off center. The secondary
cell on this telescope has three pairs of push-pull screws for adjustments,
and with several tries, the reflected spot was brought to the center of the
collimator face. The laser beam demonstrated that both the tailpiece,
collimator and the secondary mirror were co-aligned to a common axis.
With the holographic accessory installed, the grid pattern from the primary mirror
on an external target screen was not symmetrical; it was off to one side somewhat.
I wondered if the holographic accessory might be the
source of the asymmetry, but rotating it about its own axis showed that the
asymmetry remained with the telescope, not with the collimator.
After darkness, I conducted the classic test for collimation by
observing the
symmetry of a star "doughnut" image, both inside and outside of focus using
a short focal length ocular. A few minutes of working with the primary
adjusting screws brought the doughnut into symmetry. Returning the telescope
to normal configuration, I reinstalled the laser collimator, and lo
and behold the holographic grid pattern on the target screen is now
symmetrical!
The proof of the pudding was examining the star images in the 4 corners
of the CCD image. I was pleased to find that the stars looked
(qualitatively) sharper than before. More to the point, they appear
identically sized and
shaped in all parts of the imaged field. Thus, the telescope is in better
collimation adjustment than it was before I started, and the results look
very good.
So, as my sons would say, I am a happy camper, and your collimator did
what I hoped it would do. Nice. I'm pleased that my telescope is in
better collimation than it was previously.
Regards,
Warren Offutt, W & B Observatory
(Recipient of the 1999 Toronto ASP Amateur Achievement Award, presented
for observations of Trans Neptunian and Kuiper Belt objects, magnitude 22
and fainter.)
Just a note to let you know that the collimator arrived safely and I was
able to collimate my MN61 (Maksutov-Newtonian) with no problems. It was
out of collimation and after collimation it produced a much improved star
test. Your collimator is really a great product and very easy to use. I have
to carry and set up everything before observing and there is always a
possibility the scope will bump slightly out of collimation. With your
collimator, I can quickly check the scope before each session and make an
adjustment if necessary.
Best regards, W.E.C.
I want to again thank you for the time you spent on the phone today
answering my questions not only about collimators, but also about nebular
filters and other things.
It is the helpful and knowledgeable assistance I hope for in all of my
business transactions. Sadly, it often isn't there, but with you it is
It was indeed a pleasure doing business with you.
Clear skies,
Kevin Jones
I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed using the new single
beam 1.25" collimator I purchased from you at the Mason-Dixon Star Party on
June 12th. I was your first customer on that Saturday AM. I did a lot of
traveling since that time and had the opportunity to do a private star gaze
for my family last Friday. I am very pleased with the ease with which I can
check my alignment and make the necessary adjustments.
I expect to get a lot of use out of it since my club has several Newts.
David P. Richards, Huntington, W.V.
Thank you for the prompt delivery of the collimator. I obtained it
yesterday and I had to test it immediately. I'm absolutely happy about ease
of use and the ability to get a exact collimation of my 8" f6 Newton in such
a short time. It's a really solid and well done precise tool. I hope that a
lot of other Teleskop enthusiasts will become in pleasure of this strong
part.
Greetings and best wishes from Switzerland
Peter Dischelwitz