Fig.t
Fig.s
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
15
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.s).
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.t. (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
leaning your 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.
