This collimator is compatible with most types of popular RC & Cassegrain-type telescopes like Schmidt-Cassegrain, Dall-Kirkham and other similar telescope designs and allows you to collimate your telescope during the day or night. The collimator is very precise and the result of the collimation is almost independent of any tilting.

Collimation of Ritchey-Chrétien/Cassegrains and similar design optics:

It is well known that collimating an RC is not an easy task. Usually, night-time collimation on a star is necessary to accurately complete it, which can be difficult to do in the dark. This TS Collimator, allows extremely accurate collimation at any time, even during the day and is very similar to the specialised Takahashi collimator.
Note: Its important however, that the secondary mirror of your telescope has a central mark.

Features:

• Suitable for 2" Focusers
• Precise LED backlit Collimation Scale (Requires x2 AAA Batteries - Not included)
• Allows Collimation of Primary & Secondary Mirrors at anytime day or night.

To Collimate your telescope simply follow the steps below:

Preparation:
Place the optical tube on a table or on the mount into a horizontal position. It is helpful to aim the telescope at a fairly bright surface (paper, house wall, etc.). Now put the collimator into the 2" receptacle of your focuser. Press your hand slightly from the back of the collimator as it can be a snug fit. Now tighten the locking screws slightly and then switch on the collimator in Newtonian/reflector mode (red LEDs). Now look through the hole.

If the image looks this below, there is no need to go further as your telescope is optimally adjusted and ready for use.

But if the image doesn't look centrically aligned as illustrated below, you should start the collimation procedure.

Step 1 - Adjusting the Secondary Mirror:

Adjust the secondary mirror with the collimation screws until the central mark of your secondary mirror is exactly in the center. You can see any deviation by looking through the collimator eye hole and adjust as necessary. Make sure that the counter screws (if present on your scope) are loosened before hand and check that the secondary mirror is not loose after collimation.

The result at the end of this step of the collimation should look like this.

Step 2 - Adjusting the Primary Mirror:

Now you can center the outer ring by adjusting the primary mirror. Please make sure the the counter screws are loosened here, too - just loosen the counter screws only very slightly. Then simply adjust the primary mirror as necessary to ensure an even ring all round and then retighten the counter screws. By following this procedure, it helps ensure that the pressure on the cell doesn't get too high or that something loosens off completely. Also remember not to overtighten the counter screws at the end.

The result at the end of this second and last step of the collimation should look like the illustration below.

Collimation is now complete and you're ready for a night under the stars.

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Collimating RC telescopes with a Tilting mechanism at the focuser:

Many Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes have an adjustable tilting option on the focuser. Sometimes its often tried to compensate for bad collimation by altering the tilt of the focuser, but this is not recommended - The tilting mechanism should be used for adapting the camera sensor only to the telescope, not for collimating.

Therefore to collimate a telescope with this feature, you should adjust the tilting mechanism to the flat position before collimation, therefore ensuring that the optics are optimally adjusted to the focuser.

IMPORTANT: Its essential that when placing an order, you include a valid 'Contact Telephone Number' for the delivery address or for the person receiving the item. This is necessary to avoid potential delays or problems with your delivery.

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