I'm pretty sure I'm going to order one of these S-W 8" Newts tomorrow even after seeing how much effort they are. The payoff appears to be worth it. Thanks for publishing your journey, you're saving the rest of us a boatload of headache, or at least half a boatload. It appears I'll be waiting months for delivery, so will watch your full suite of videos several times over by delivery date. Keep them coming. Just hope I get clear skies like you did.
Get a longer focal length Newtonian that doesn't have coma due to higher number f-stop, say f/6 not f/3 or f/4. Coma apparently bad under f/5 and cost as much as the telescope.
You covered most aspects of the flaws with skywatcher Newtonian I use the 200pds constructed exactly the same , just replaced the stock focuser with a baader Steeltrack far better quality, my focuser too was not aligned, I use baader coma corrector mk3 utilising the m48 thread and shimmed to 57.1mm back focus, I have now fitted a aperture mask to the primary ,flocked the ota inside but I believe they use a baffle in the latest ota’s ,
Does the Quattro secondary mirror have the offset center mark on it? This should be 6mm or so on the mirror towards the focuser on the long principal axis of the mirror's ellipse. If you are collimating with a laser, you also need to make sure that the light is hitting that point before traveling to the center of the primary mirror. You can adjust this using the central screw on the secondary holder..... This starts to help remove any tilt errors that you have.
Wow ! I have the same Hotech laser and I was looking for the screws to collimate it, but I couldn't and I was disappointed, so thank you very much. Another question is how do you use the flash light for the fake star ? I mean, where did you put the flash light ?
Very good and very aggravating to realize the flaws you have exposed. ES has a problem with many of its secondary mirrors and the extreme limitations on the screws controlling the adjustments of the tilt. Yes you need a fake star.
Hey sorry for the late response just noticed your message now. Yes, I think I've got all sorted out now. Its to be expected I guess with $per apeture. Thanks for watching!
Yeah I hope so too! I was surprised how far out the primary mirror was after laser collimation when I did a star test. Let me know how its works out for you. Thanks for watching!
I just ordered a SkyWatcher Quattro 8 inch from FLO, but had to cancel since;;; out of stock until christmas. Reccommend getting a 8 inch Stella Lyra instead ??
So all the possible problems with this scope is collimation thing? I tried different collimators like catseye, basic laser collimator, TS-Optics Deluxe Multi Collimator etc. And always got the same problem, field is not flat at all, one of corners or whole side have "long" or cuved stars. After tens of hours(by last 2 years) tries with no results, including tries to collimate focuser, looks like i gave up with this scope(Skywatcher 10" Quattro). Had no problems with my previous GSO 150/750.
Hi I own the exact same coma corrector from SW and am looking for an adapter to fix it with my ZWO EFW Mini, any link for order which provide worldwide shipping
Thanks! Yes I was surprised at just how far it needed to be. Using a real star works well too if you don't have the space. When I set the fake star I roughly aligned a pointing laser and shot it back to the scope. That halled lesson the search time of finding the star in the fov of the scope.
I had all these problems...all the other methods have serious flaws...even the Hotech laser collimator assumes that your secondary mirror is centred in the focuser (white paper test). The collimator will show both 2ndary and primary collimated but the primary mirror will be clipped in a pinhole autocollimator. It is preferable to use as many tools as possible. All your other suggestions are valid.
Greetings, I am watching your video, I see that your mount is the same as mine, CG-4. May I ask if you can use it for guiding. What are the attachments ( i see some mechanical motors). Thanks.
When I got a used newtonian, the 3 adjustment screws for the secondary were protruding down the tube from the secondary base over a half inch. You take them back to just barely protruding out the primary mirror direction.
i know Im asking the wrong place but does anyone know of a method to log back into an instagram account..? I was dumb lost my password. I appreciate any help you can offer me!
@David Ryder I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm in the hacking process atm. Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I have this scope and keep getting some weird star shapes. 3 sides of the star diffraction spikes look great but 1 side is bloated with light. Any advise on what to fix. I have the quattro coma corrector as well. My other Newtonian scopes don't have issue at all
Bummer....I was surprised at the adjustments out of the box I had to make to mine. I would suggest getting a smaller mirror, somthing you can fish inside the ota past the secondary. Then put in a laser collimator and looking to see how centered the laser is on the secondary. Up and down should be dead center, front to back I believe should be slightly toward the front of the scope. Mine was way off so had to adjust the focuser. Try that and let me know what you find.
I'm still getting terrible vignetting with mine and it's uneven, so I'm thinking it may still be my focuser not being aligned. I noticed that my secondary is also not quite centered. The spider vanes measured to the center are less than a millimeter different. Could that be the issue? I'm getting discouraged
Very sorry for the late response. Are you getting the vignetting? Check you secondary by inserting the laser and using a small mirror behind the secondary mirror to see is the beam is hitting the center of it. If so just use the collimation laser to center the primary as the secondary and focuser should remain in place.. I also found to not over tighten the primary mirror lock screws, this will actually warp the mirror if you do.
Thanks...yeah you definitely want to make sure the focuser is centered. On way to check is put the hotech in and use a small mirror to see where the laser is hitting the secondary mirror. Should be close to center .
I'm partial to 400mm and a high resolution camera. After all the scopes and cameras I've owned I those are the best 2 options. High resolution allows you to crop in and still resolve some great details without the weight and guiding fuss of a longer fl scope.
What speed does the quattro end up as with the cc? Been looking around a bit but cant find anything. Tempted to upgrade from my 200pds to the quattro but if it becomes faster than my filters can handle then i probably wont and just step down to the 150pds instead.
@@enteringintospace4685 Oh tyvm. Then its very interesting. Its a f0.5 difference for me but im mainly after a better pixelscale for my camera(A tad shorter FL). Still not enough tho (Would reach 0.97 and my current is 0.84) Would like to at least pass 1.0
Wow...so sorry for the late response. I don't always see the new message notifications. This is why I added the third thumb screw on the draw tube to help mitigate any offset.
@@donaldkasper8346 1) Centre secondsry 2) make sure it appears round (there is a tool for that) 3) adjust primary...There is no need to re-check the secondary. It won't go anywhere
@@dankahraman354 Oh yes there is. It moved on me once. You are rotating the primary with its knobs rolling it up or down, so the dot can move. It is more precise looking down the tube that the finder screen hole which glares all over.
I like most of what you say in your video - important stuff. But, do NOT adjust your secondary mirror with the laser pointer. It works fine for the primary mirror after the secondary is centered and adjusted. I also have the 8" Skywatcher quattro newtonian and had untold problems trying to adjust my secondary mirror with a laser pointer, it will give you false positives !! Use the cap with a hole in it and a cheshire pointer.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to order one of these S-W 8" Newts tomorrow even after seeing how much effort they are. The payoff appears to be worth it. Thanks for publishing your journey, you're saving the rest of us a boatload of headache, or at least half a boatload. It appears I'll be waiting months for delivery, so will watch your full suite of videos several times over by delivery date. Keep them coming. Just hope I get clear skies like you did.
Very cool!! Im excited for you!
I'm resting mine for a bit while I shoot wide field but looking forward to soaking in some galaxies soon!
Get a longer focal length Newtonian that doesn't have coma due to higher number f-stop, say f/6 not f/3 or f/4. Coma apparently bad under f/5 and cost as much as the telescope.
Also, using a primary mirror baffle ring will help to reduce bloating of the stars.
You can dispense with the Bahtinov on Newtonians: Focus until the spider vane diffractions become single lines instead of double.
You covered most aspects of the flaws with skywatcher Newtonian I use the 200pds constructed exactly the same , just replaced the stock focuser with a baader Steeltrack far better quality, my focuser too was not aligned, I use baader coma corrector mk3 utilising the m48 thread and shimmed to 57.1mm back focus, I have now fitted a aperture mask to the primary ,flocked the ota inside but I believe they use a baffle in the latest ota’s ,
Hey thanks for the great tips!
Your mount gives the finger, jajajajja, so cool!
Does the Quattro secondary mirror have the offset center mark on it? This should be 6mm or so on the mirror towards the focuser on the long principal axis of the mirror's ellipse. If you are collimating with a laser, you also need to make sure that the light is hitting that point before traveling to the center of the primary mirror. You can adjust this using the central screw on the secondary holder..... This starts to help remove any tilt errors that you have.
No but I wish it did! I've finally got it dialed in but it took alot of work.
Thanks for the offset advice!
8:03 ....you're never going to stop spending money"...... he says.....yeah....that's spot-on alright
7:48 "I bought that. It never ends people. You will never stop spending money."
I say "a telescope is a hole in the sky into which you pour money."
Wow ! I have the same Hotech laser and I was looking for the screws to collimate it, but I couldn't and I was disappointed, so thank you very much. Another question is how do you use the flash light for the fake star ? I mean, where did you put the flash light ?
Very cool! I put black tape over the light and put a small hole in it.
I put the light about 50ft away.
Awesome ! Thank you !@@enteringintospace4685
Very good and very aggravating to realize the flaws you have exposed. ES has a problem with many of its secondary mirrors and the extreme limitations on the screws controlling the adjustments of the tilt. Yes you need a fake star.
Hey sorry for the late response just noticed your message now.
Yes, I think I've got all sorted out now. Its to be expected I guess with $per apeture.
Thanks for watching!
Nice video! Been trying to get sharp stars with my new 8" GSO newtonian, but not much luck so far. Hopefully some of these steps will help!
Yeah I hope so too! I was surprised how far out the primary mirror was after laser collimation when I did a star test.
Let me know how its works out for you.
Thanks for watching!
@@enteringintospace4685thanks! Yes - I need to get myself a laser first though 😂. Been doing it by eye so far, then refining on a star.
@@thomaskirkpatrick3147 Use the laser for the primary mirror after the secondary is corrected !! Don't use it on the secondary !!
@@montygiavelli8125 thanks! I will. I've got it all working now that I have a laser and coma corrector.
I just ordered a SkyWatcher Quattro 8 inch from FLO, but had to cancel since;;; out of stock until christmas. Reccommend getting a 8 inch Stella Lyra instead ??
quick question, also got the coma corrector and a zwo1600. What back focus distance did you find works best? Thanks
Hey sorry for the late response, YT notifications suck. 56mm has worked well.
Thanks, Steve! What about the backfocus?
Typical 55mm from the the skywatcher coma corrector.
@@enteringintospace4685 Thanks a lot! Thanks for your videos!
BTW the laser collimator I bought from Hotech (a few years ago) doesn't have the adjustment option to collimate it. ...
finally, one of the smart collimation tutorial
So all the possible problems with this scope is collimation thing? I tried different collimators like catseye, basic laser collimator, TS-Optics Deluxe Multi Collimator etc. And always got the same problem, field is not flat at all, one of corners or whole side have "long" or cuved stars. After tens of hours(by last 2 years) tries with no results, including tries to collimate focuser, looks like i gave up with this scope(Skywatcher 10" Quattro). Had no problems with my previous GSO 150/750.
Hi I own the exact same coma corrector from SW and am looking for an adapter to fix it with my ZWO EFW Mini, any link for order which provide worldwide shipping
Great tips. So how far away do you place that artificial star .. did I hear you right 50ft? Thanks
Thanks! Yes I was surprised at just how far it needed to be. Using a real star works well too if you don't have the space. When I set the fake star I roughly aligned a pointing laser and shot it back to the scope. That halled lesson the search time of finding the star in the fov of the scope.
I had all these problems...all the other methods have serious flaws...even the Hotech laser collimator assumes that your secondary mirror is centred in the focuser (white paper test). The collimator will show both 2ndary and primary collimated but the primary mirror will be clipped in a pinhole autocollimator. It is preferable to use as many tools as possible. All your other suggestions are valid.
Greetings, I am watching your video, I see that your mount is the same as mine, CG-4. May I ask if you can use it for guiding. What are the attachments ( i see some mechanical motors). Thanks.
When I got a used newtonian, the 3 adjustment screws for the secondary were protruding down the tube from the secondary base over a half inch. You take them back to just barely protruding out the primary mirror direction.
Hola Buenos días una pregunta cuál es la diferencia en un Tubo newton 250 1000 dual speed skywatcher
Y un Tubo newton 250 1200 dual speed skywatcher?
Thanks for the however many steps 🙂 did I hear you correctly that the coma corrector didn't help? Or did it?
Lol...yeah nothing is easy in this hobby.
Yes! The dedicated coma corrector made a huge difference. I would highly recommend it.
Thanks for the video! I have one too and did 3 of the how ever many things. This is a great astrograph.
Very cool! Which 3 did you do?
@@enteringintospace4685 OK. I did the Coma corrector, angling the focuser and secondary mirror adjustment. The laser collimator is already fine.
i know Im asking the wrong place but does anyone know of a method to log back into an instagram account..?
I was dumb lost my password. I appreciate any help you can offer me!
@Clay Zakai Instablaster =)
@David Ryder I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm in the hacking process atm.
Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I have this scope and keep getting some weird star shapes. 3 sides of the star diffraction spikes look great but 1 side is bloated with light. Any advise on what to fix. I have the quattro coma corrector as well. My other Newtonian scopes don't have issue at all
Bummer....I was surprised at the adjustments out of the box I had to make to mine.
I would suggest getting a smaller mirror, somthing you can fish inside the ota past the secondary. Then put in a laser collimator and looking to see how centered the laser is on the secondary. Up and down should be dead center, front to back I believe should be slightly toward the front of the scope.
Mine was way off so had to adjust the focuser. Try that and let me know what you find.
I'm still getting terrible vignetting with mine and it's uneven, so I'm thinking it may still be my focuser not being aligned. I noticed that my secondary is also not quite centered. The spider vanes measured to the center are less than a millimeter different. Could that be the issue? I'm getting discouraged
Very sorry for the late response. Are you getting the vignetting? Check you secondary by inserting the laser and using a small mirror behind the secondary mirror to see is the beam is hitting the center of it. If so just use the collimation laser to center the primary as the secondary and focuser should remain in place.. I also found to not over tighten the primary mirror lock screws, this will actually warp the mirror if you do.
Great stuff, I'm assuming it makes sense to level the focuser before collimation of the hotech?
Thanks...yeah you definitely want to make sure the focuser is centered.
On way to check is put the hotech in and use a small mirror to see where the laser is hitting the secondary mirror. Should be close to center .
@@enteringintospace4685 Not close to center, dead center. Otherwise, loosen the central screw that holds the secondary and move it.
Your favorite scope or focal lenght ? 400mm, 800mm or 1600mm or just aperture ?
I'm partial to 400mm and a high resolution camera. After all the scopes and cameras I've owned I those are the best 2 options.
High resolution allows you to crop in and still resolve some great details without the weight and guiding fuss of a longer fl scope.
What speed does the quattro end up as with the cc? Been looking around a bit but cant find anything. Tempted to upgrade from my 200pds to the quattro but if it becomes faster than my filters can handle then i probably wont and just step down to the 150pds instead.
The skywatcher cc doesn't affect focal length and f ratio...just flattens the field.
Stays f4....pretty speedy
@@enteringintospace4685 Oh tyvm. Then its very interesting. Its a f0.5 difference for me but im mainly after a better pixelscale for my camera(A tad shorter FL). Still not enough tho (Would reach 0.97 and my current is 0.84) Would like to at least pass 1.0
What about the improper seating of the camera within the focuser?
Wow...so sorry for the late response. I don't always see the new message notifications.
This is why I added the third thumb screw on the draw tube to help mitigate any offset.
Hi, I think because of the offset, the shadow of the secondary shouldn't be centered in the defocused star.
Hey! Even with the small offset the center shadow should be relatively centered. It's a good starting point to check.
What offset might that be?
The 2ndary has to be centred and circular first, then adjustment of the primary.
No. Center secondary. Center primary. Double check secondary. If it moved, it is not aligned.
@@donaldkasper8346 1) Centre secondsry 2) make sure it appears round (there is a tool for that) 3) adjust primary...There is no need to re-check the secondary. It won't go anywhere
@@dankahraman354 Oh yes there is. It moved on me once. You are rotating the primary with its knobs rolling it up or down, so the dot can move. It is more precise looking down the tube that the finder screen hole which glares all over.
I like most of what you say in your video - important stuff.
But, do NOT adjust your secondary mirror with the laser pointer. It works fine for the primary mirror after the secondary is centered and adjusted.
I also have the 8" Skywatcher quattro newtonian and had untold problems trying to adjust my secondary mirror with a laser pointer, it will give you false positives !! Use the cap with a hole in it and a cheshire pointer.
Wow...ill have to go back and see where I misspoke. Using a laser to set the secondary mirror is bad practice for sure. Thanks for the heads up.
Then what method should you use to adjust the secondary mirror?
Hi, Check this one farpoint collimation kit
I'll definitely look into. Thanks!
im the 100th like!!! woot woot.
Right on!!! Thanks!
I was looking for a serious video. This it? Nope