Meade sct collimation software

Sct collimation posted in meade computerized telescopes. Jun 09, 2016 a couple of years ago i bought a secondhand 12 meade lx90 sct, as a planetkiller, or so i thought. Collimating your sct rod mollise basically, its a twopart process stage 1 rough collimation setup the scope and put a medium bright star in the field of an eyepiece. The collimating tools below are mechanical and optical aids that will help you keep the optics of your telescope at their peak to give you the best. At the time i became a bit disillusioned, as it didnt seem anywhere near as crisp and sharp as my humble 10 newtonian, despite all my efforts to collimate it. Refractors rarely need collimation, unless they have been treated roughly. You can determine whether your sct requires collimation by defocusing the. Collimate an lx200 10 lx200 series meade 4m community. Aligning the optics of a schmidtcassegrain telescope sct is much easier than collimating a newtonian telescope and can easily be learned by any user. Schmidt cassegrain telescope advice maintenance sct.

Meade instruments laser collimator is designed to quickly and accurately align collimate any newtonian reflector and schmidtnewtonian optical tube assemblies otas, or any optical system that contains two independently adjustable mirrors. Stars are no longer slightly blurry, they are now blobs. Thanks to amazons associates program, doing so costs you nothing yet. Astronomy software is an essential part of image processing for any astrophotographer, and is one of the tools used to create some of the most aweinspiring astronomy images. This easy to use laser collimator makes optical alignment of your meade or other newtonian telescope quick and easy. Filter by all celestron cleaning collimation meade sort by featured best selling alphabetically, az alphabetically, za price, low to high price, high to low date, new to old date, old to new. Lx200 collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy. Collimation tools expert service unbeatable prices. Meade s dsi camera control and basic image processing software. Schmittcassegrain collimation made easy using a duncan mask. The driver for this procedure came when i bought a hyperstar unit for my c14. Opt offers all the collimation tools necessary to ensure the utmost accuracy for your telescope adjustments to improve your overall astronomy imaging and observing. Meade instruments corporation frequently asked questions.

The process can be applied to any sct, and has also been successfully used with a meade 16 acf. Opt offers all the collimation tools necessary to ensure the utmost. Optical collimation lx90 series meade 4m community. Collimation of a sct is critical to getting the sharpest images possible, especially when viewing planets at high magnification. Like jims scope, my old meade 10 sct 2120 just didnt seem to be up to par. Farpoint dovetail plate meade f10 14 inch sct farpoint astro. Ron wodaskis collimating a cassegrain page note that most folks in the northern hemisphere use polaris as the star to collimate their scts because it doesnt move much during the time it. Skysafari 6 pro ios skysafari 6 pro android skysafari 6 plus download. You should have the scope set up as you would for normal use. An improperly collimated telescope may fail to show stars as round points of light, especially towards the edge of field.

Telescope video jupiter meade lx90 12 inch telescope and altair astro gpcam 3 224c. Collimating your schmidtcassegrain telescope in just a few. Oct 16, 2009 sct collimation posted in meade computerized telescopes. The meade manual does say the optical collimation alignment of any astronomical telescope used for serious purposes is important, but in the case of the schmidtcassegrain design of the 8, 10, and. The collimation technique can be implemented on any size telescope. With an lx200 interface cable you can upgrade the software in your telescope. A good tool can make the difference between successful collimation, and an exercise in frustration that encourages you to settle for good enough.

What id like to do is plug either my dslr which is my main imaging camera or my superstar guide camera into the scope. Meade 10 sct models introduced prior to 2005 have 3 screws and therefore require different collimation knobs. Pavel bahtinov, a russian amateur telescope maker and astronomer, created this simple, very intuitive method and the device has universally been named after him. Oct 06, 2011 aligning the optics of your reflector telescope is crucial for optimal performance all the more so if you have a telescope with a focal ratio of f5 or less. Upon installation, please use serial number 783a36800007296416. You dont need any tools, so you never have to worry about losing a tiny allen wrench or screwdriver in the grass in the dark. There are three stages to a really good collimation using the stars or a starlike source such as a solar reflection off a distant ball bearing or christmas tree ornament. For example, if you use a mirror diagonal, this should be used during collimation. Ccdinspector works with your camera acquisition software to allow realtime evaluation of images to determine collimation, camera tilt and focus. Page 1 of 2 lx200 collimation posted in meade computerized telescopes. Sct collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy. One tidbit of advice gleaned from the cn forums is to use bobs knobs. And if you are in michigans upper peninsula, i will supply the blatz for a hands on collimation session.

These bobs knobs collimation knobs fit meade 10 schmidtcassegrain telescopes such as the lx10, lx50, lx90, lx100, and lx200. Even more frequent collimation is required of the perfectionist who wishes to account for collimation errors caused by pointing the sct at different objects at different positions. A considerable number of persons have posted me about their problems with the use of a laser collimators to collimate their sct telescopes. Meade sct collimation woes discussions scopes whole. Recollimating most optics to restore the best images is a relatively simple task, and should be done on a regular basis.

I purchased a kendrick sct laser recently, and have had nothing but problems getting things to work. The meade usb to serial cable provides the capability of using the usb port on a personal computer to connect to a. Sct collimation the newfangled way hardly seems possible its been eleven frackin years since i started my sctuser yahoogroup. Farpoint bahtinov focus mask meade 10 inch sct is an ingenious new way to easily focus a telescope. This page presents the method i use to align the optics of my c14. I purchased a used scope last year and finally got around to setting it up. Some are simple, excellent for beginners but lacking in highlevel. Maksutov telescopes a design like the sct tend to hold collimation well. There are a wide variety of programs available, each with its own pros and cons. Meade never had em, revealing three adjustment screws for the secondary either allen head or phillips style. Point the sct at a fairly bright star as you would for the normal collimation method. A star test is the most accurate way to check that your telescope is correctly collimated, however, with care, a.

Some telescopes require very accurate line of sight adjustment. At the end of last year, i was seeing that my clarity was off and i knew that i needed to collimate it. Id like to know if there is any software that can help me with collimating an sct. Shop for collimation products and perfect the alignment of your telescope mirrors or lenses here at agena astroproducts. Collimating a schmidtcassegrain telescope jims astrolog. A properly collimated telescope will provide pleasing images over a wide range of magnifications. Metaguide allows me to obtain sub2 fwhm stars with a celestron cge and 11 sct at 2800mm f. For instance, most collimation devices depend on the centre of the primary mirror. Recenter the star and recheck the outoffocus image of the star.

They are taken with my 10 sct meade lx200 and show vega. Sct collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy nights. I read up about collimating using the three screws with one being lined up with eyepiece and just adjusting the other two. Orient your scope so its easy to reach the collimation screws. Daylight collimation of a sct or maksutovcassegrain. Unfortunately, many new cat owners seem intimidated by this simple process. At the center of the guide are the reference designations for the screws and their orientation as you face the front of the telescope. Internal tube currents will make the job of collimating a sct almost impossible. The 3 rather nice images of the central row the only ones on the 1206 frames of a 2 min avi are in good agreement with a level 3 collimation according to thierry legault. May 04, 2019 metaguide can provide insight into both the optics of your telescope, and the tracking behavior of your mount. Collimation seems way off and the tube was definitely dropped at one time as there are some dents and dings on the ota. If you own a newtonian or a schmidtnewtonian telescope, you already know that keeping your scope in good collimation will be a small task that you will have to take. Daylight collimation of a sct or maksutovcassegrain checking the optical alignment on schmidtcassegrain or maksutovcassegrain telescope can be easily done in broad daylight.

Collimation is critical to obtaining the best performance from your telescope. At this time, mile high astronomy does not offer in house collimation or cleaning services. Ive had a lot of fun with it, and its still quite active, though time seems to be passing the good, old yahoogroups by in favor of glitzier venues. Farpoint bahtinov focus mask meade 10 inch sct farpoint astro.

Dec 04, 2017 collimation meade sc10 viktor schmidt. Collimation changed depending whether the scope was inside or outside focus. Ron wodaskis collimating a cassegrain page note that most folks in the northern hemisphere use polaris as the star to collimate their scts because it doesnt move much during the time it takes to collimate a scope. How do i collimate my schmidtcassegrain telescope sct. Periodic collimation is required for casual observing to correct misalignment that results from normal handling and transportation of the telescope. Skysafari 6 plus ios skysafari 6 plus android envisage imaging software v7. I have just got a new lx90 8inch gps and i would like to know which three screws it means i have to ajust for collimation of the telescope. After a careful collimation, higher power 180x terrestrial views were muddy, 46 mag stars showed a bit of coma and planetary views were unsatisfying, even on nights of good seeing. The key is an accurate and low latency centroid that can be chased aggressively to overcome gearbox and bearing noise. However, there are some tricks to doing it right, and some things to avoid. Telescope collimation tools for sale skies unlimited llc.

The advanced ct laser collimator simulates a real distant star light path, and as a result it can collimate most telescopes which primarily rely on star collimation. This software provides an efficient way to transfer, browse, modify and distribute digital media. Make collimation adjustments with your ccd camera to an accuracy not available with eyepieces or manual collimation aids. Sounds great, but i guess i will invalidate the warranty, which is. In our experience, the original screws on an sct secondary mirror are much better to use for collimation purposes than the aftermarket. If an sct is in need of collimation, a slightly outoffocus star near the center of the field of view will appear as in one of the six eyepiece views shown above. Lx200 collimation meade computerized telescopes cloudy nights. To collimate, turn the indicated collimation screw a very small amount in the direction shown.