Thanks Shaun👍 I do put alot of effort in making these videos. I find it so furstrating when certain viewers have nothing better to say but attack you at every angle. Personally for me to brave this tough test and to finally achieve my results, helping many others with collimation issues with is new product from OCAL. Its pretty big and bold thing to do!! Being the FIRST and ONLY video to have untaken the impossible, I have put 110% effort to get this far, to me it was no easy task!! But I can thank you all my viewers who had the courage and full supported me, and watched this video all the way to the end, I hope that this video helped you any other way possible. With a lot input on Maksutov telescopes, I have plenty of more projects coming soon!!! So I will continue with the good work to my Subscribers as ALWAYS!! I wish all Clear Skies!!
Yep learn to use properly by practice makes perfect sense!! I know that some people don't want the hard work, hence why they want useful gadets to do it for them!! However spending more money in process, doesn't mean it can cure the collimation for them, the user must do work and adjust the collimation, Any tool will help and give guidance!!! I feel todays Astro society have beome lazy to be honest!!
Hi. Thanks for the video. I am doing the First steps with astronomy... I have a mak 127 skywatcher. I can't get what the six screws behind telescope do. The biggest ones are the " pull" ones so are them for the collimation itself and the smallest ones the "push" ones so only to fix the lens after collimation? I read the biggest screws fix also the back of the telescope and are not related to the collimation itself... I can't understand
Maybe Martin, do the adjustments in the cold temp so everything is at the usable temps, as then the OTA and mirror at real working temps as I would expect the temps to effect that adjustments?
Very interesting ,but seemed to me to be further out of collimation when you finished adjusting the mirror. A lot of farting about and then having to double check with the simple star check to prove collimation is just ridiculous waste of money. Thank you for sharing as you have saved me a few quid.
Not a problem Nodrog!! Luckily I've not wasted my money as such as I can still use this for the Newtonian Reflectors, Again!! you still need to star test even for those telescopes!! However I expose the truth, some people don't like facing the facts!! At least you have gained something at this video and saved a ton of money which can good to something else!! Thanks for watching Nodrog and I wish you Clear Skies!!!
My Ocal has the serial number on the camera as well as on the box. I could not find the calibration data - my serial number was not in the list. I was able to edit the focus text file and iterate towards the correct calibration. I e-mailed Ocal and they sent me the calibration data - very close to what I had found myself.
Nice Job Martin. I purchased this last month and found it worked for me as well but like you I thought lack of software directions were a bit troubling, especially since I am not a computer wizard. I converted it to a Google sheet to copy the files. Cheers Kurt
Thanks Martin, well explianed and very informative. A great presentaion :) Forty GB Pounds difference between the two is the cost of a good curry, so good for you going for the cheaper one :)
Absolutely!! And being only video which I've taken another risk, bit the bullet and managed to DO THIS for the Maksutov!! There is few viewers are still in disbelief in this video that the evidence is there and clearly proven, nothing is staged or faked!! But yet alot of viewers would rather prefer and trust in watching the bigger Astro Channels which offer no help, just advertsiing the cool Astro stuff and showing off gear, with no constructive advice!! It really doesn't make sense!! What a crazy world we live in!!
@@MPAstro Yeah that's true. I think a lot of UA-camrs don't realise that they're being taken for a ride by some astronomy suppliers and using their channels simply as shop fronts. I think most people would prefer real world reviews like yours. I'm getting a Skywatcher 180 Mak leter in the year (August I'm told) and I really look forward to that. CleaR Skies to you, m8
Yep, But some of these top UA-camrs are getting paid promotions and free Astro gear to keep as part as payment, plus they will probraly be recieving donations and selling merch, which to be honest I don't have a problem with it, The platform is there for everyone to use, So they aren't that stupid! The only problem I have is when they lie and cheat to their viewers, that's where I have issues with!! And some of their videos is so fake, that you honestly believe that they recorded every week, and got a clear night to tested the kit out and got perfect shots every time!! Personally that is defo staged, they have defo pre-recorded their stuff, and the small detail is they are very good to talk about the equipment, but look more closely!! When do see them actually phyiscally use the equipment they are supposed to be testing!! No evidence just pretty pictures, music and cool effects to trick people's minds!! Yes I do pre-recorded stuff myself, but I do record the evidence on the equipment which I meant to be testing and viewers want to see the results!! There are only few channels that do this and none of them are as big as the top channels, 1- 10K max if they lucky!! Good luck on the Skywatcher 180 Mak, you'll not be disapointed with that scope, I can you tell you!! Get ready for a Another Mak video coming soon HollomanUFOLanding!! I have plenty more stuff to come!! Just need more Clear Skies!! Thanks again for watching and Clear Skies!!
@@MPAstro Cheers Martin, I look forward to more vids form you! Yes, if some of the other 'testers' waited for clearr skies they'd only be doing about 2 reviews a year!! I'm getting the Mak primarily for planets, moon and maybe some of the brighter Messiers? Although I have to wait 'til Augsut that's no hardship really because Jupiter & Saturn won't be coming back 'til about September anyway. Clear Skies to you Martin, and healthy 2022! Simon
As you can collimate only the primary mirror it will never be perfect. On the mak you cannot correct a small error in the focuser connector or a plate (secondary mirror) not perfectly aligned. I will definitely get it and use it on my mak, newt, rc and sc I have.
Very true! It's not 100% accurate as you still need the final confirmation of an out focussed star, However it does get you pretty close to perfect colimation!! So it's investment regardless!!
Martin, great video. I enjoyed watching you go through the steps. I have a question, though. What does your star image look like in focus? Spherical mirrors are weird things with their centers of curvature on the meniscus optical axis and such. I believe that is the condition for collimation. Your collimation does appear picture perfect, but I am wondering if you have simply centered the shadow of the secondary mirror rather than align the axis. It's probably very close as estimated by your star test images. But it is possible the scope actually is not as well collimated. In focus will tell all. The further out of focus we loose sensitivity of aberration and collimation. There is the matter of the first inner ring you attempted to align with, that might be the actual edge of your secondary. Looking up the tube, you should be able to see the real edge of the secondary or the secondary baffle in the view of the camera. That may be why it did not hold it's position as well as the focuser tube. If so, I do not understand why that edge would move simply adjusting the tilt of the primary mirror. And if so, it does look like your primary is not centered in the secondary, but the small darker reflection of the secondary is (or appears to be) centered in the reflection of the primary. I do not know if that is of any concern or not. Just curious trying to understand how this thing works. Thanks.
Thinking further. You have a Gregory Mak with a silvered spot on the inner surface of the meniscus. Since it conforms to the curve of the meniscus, then the center of curvature of the silvered spot is permanently fixed with the optical axis of the meniscus. That's good. The trick, I understand, is to align the spherical primary so it's center of curvature is also aligned on the meniscus optical axis. That is intuitive if the primary is mechanically centered on the secondary mirror. If so, then tilting the primary mirror so the shadow of the centered secondary is as you show, then the primary center of curvature is probably on the meniscus optical axis, as well, and the scope is collimated. However, if the primary is a tiny bit off center, then when we center the circles the primary has to tilt to compensate for the off centered secondary. That means the primary center of curvature, then, moves off axis and you end up with a centered secondary shadow and a bit of mis-collimation. That *may* have something to do with the slightly decentered image in the video. I hope that makes sense. Maybe you can understand why I am very curious about your in focus image. Ocal looks like a great tool with potential, I just hope it actually works on MCTs.
BTW, collimating a Newt is more intuitive because when a Newt is very well collimated with the diagonal centered under the focuser the primary reflection is also centered under the focuser. The latter means the focuser axial error is small. Collimating the primary axis is intuitive enough. So, yea, all three edges will be concentric and should nicely agree with Ocal.
If the out of focus the black spot which forms the donut shape of the star, you see black spot of the centre and the surrounding the rings will also be warpped dependind what direction the mirror is misaligned. Due to the primary mirror misaligned you only need to adjust that one component, The secondary mirror and menisus lens system has no adjustment at all, luckily that's good thing!
Yep the OCAL was intially designed for Newtonian collimation and even the faster F-Ratio Newtonians where the mirrors require very crucial adjustment, it is said to work very effectively. With some degree of collimation on Schmidts and RC scopes described in the OCAL webpagess, I just had to test the OCAL on the Maks as the website did state other Mirror Reflecting telescopes!! However when using the OCAL the mirror image appears to be off centred on the camera, so when you use the decals to measure up the dead centre, you have to use the OFFSET function and place the decal to the centre first in order to set the othe decals to then achieve alignment. And the only I see if is the fixed point is only the focus tube.
Only just found this video (apologies) I’m thinking about purchasing one of these cameras but I’m still not sure if this is worth buying. Did you test the collimation at high power with an in focus star? I was under the impression that the best way to check collimation was to centre a star in the field of view and then use an eyepiece that gives a high magnification and then bring the image to focus. Once in focus, if the telescope is collimated, the star image will be surrounded equally by a diffraction ring. I seem to remember reading somewhere that an out of focus image is not a reliable indicator of collimation as we don’t observe astronomical objects out of focus. I would really appreciate your advice before parting with more money for something that I may or may not find useful. Thank you.
Enjoy it, Good News I've adjusted my Skywatcher 180 Mak, and it's alot easier to adjust collimation than the Mak 127!! Spot on alignment, but like always I'll still need to check final conformation through a out focus star!!!
Hi Martin ein Gruß aus München eine Frage wo hast du den automatischen Fokussierer her. kannst du mir die Adresse nennen . ich habe den kleinen Maksutov 100/1400 mm. würde mich freuen wenn du mir die Adresse nennen könntest. bis bald Rudi
Sorry you must go more close for startest so you can see airy disk collimation not perfekt first moment green ring you be outside optic after that you can set rest easy to see if mirror are collimate go 2-3 meter in front and see concentric ring in same distans you make good youtube anyway best reagared Mr Johan Englund
Please clarify what you mean by that?? Instead of being funny about it, Your channel is supposed to be OCAL help Channel. then please help, you are not doing your channel any favours, when customers buy your products, so far this OCAL collimation does work with the Mak and I advise that you should do similar video and see what results you get!! End of the day your company as designed and made this product, so please be grateful that my viewers appreciate my review on this great product you have.
Thanks to this, I purchased OCAL 3.0 and rescued the Skymax 180 that I had accidentally touched. thank you.
an excellent video as always Martin....love how you keep the info plain and simple and dont over tech things..keep up the good work..
Thanks Shaun👍 I do put alot of effort in making these videos. I find it so furstrating when certain viewers have nothing better to say but attack you at every angle. Personally for me to brave this tough test and to finally achieve my results, helping many others with collimation issues with is new product from OCAL. Its pretty big and bold thing to do!!
Being the FIRST and ONLY video to have untaken the impossible, I have put 110% effort to get this far, to me it was no easy task!!
But I can thank you all my viewers who had the courage and full supported me, and watched this video all the way to the end, I hope that this video helped you any other way possible.
With a lot input on Maksutov telescopes, I have plenty of more projects coming soon!!! So I will continue with the good work to my Subscribers as ALWAYS!! I wish all Clear Skies!!
i think the key to use it right,is the Collimation from the software tool. red and green rings
Yep learn to use properly by practice makes perfect sense!! I know that some people don't want the hard work, hence why they want useful gadets to do it for them!! However spending more money in process, doesn't mean it can cure the collimation for them, the user must do work and adjust the collimation, Any tool will help and give guidance!!! I feel todays Astro society have beome lazy to be honest!!
Hi. Thanks for the video. I am doing the First steps with astronomy... I have a mak 127 skywatcher. I can't get what the six screws behind telescope do. The biggest ones are the " pull" ones so are them for the collimation itself and the smallest ones the "push" ones so only to fix the lens after collimation? I read the biggest screws fix also the back of the telescope and are not related to the collimation itself... I can't understand
Maybe Martin, do the adjustments in the cold temp so everything is at the usable temps, as then the OTA and mirror at real working temps as I would expect the temps to effect that adjustments?
It's good point there something to look into, as cold temps could give better adjustment on collimation
Very interesting ,but seemed to me to be further out of collimation when you finished adjusting the mirror.
A lot of farting about and then having to double check with the simple star check to prove collimation is just ridiculous waste of money.
Thank you for sharing as you have saved me a few quid.
Not a problem Nodrog!! Luckily I've not wasted my money as such as I can still use this for the Newtonian Reflectors, Again!! you still need to star test even for those telescopes!! However I expose the truth, some people don't like facing the facts!! At least you have gained something at this video and saved a ton of money which can good to something else!! Thanks for watching Nodrog and I wish you Clear Skies!!!
My Ocal has the serial number on the camera as well as on the box. I could not find the calibration data - my serial number was not in the list. I was able to edit the focus text file and iterate towards the correct calibration. I e-mailed Ocal and they sent me the calibration data - very close to what I had found myself.
Nice Job Martin. I purchased this last month and found it worked for me as well but like you I thought lack of software directions were a bit troubling, especially since I am not a computer wizard. I converted it to a Google sheet to copy the files. Cheers Kurt
Thanks for sharing your experience with this COAL, totally agree hardly any direction of software issues plus no support for Mac users.
Thanks my friend!!
Any time!
Thanks Martin, well explianed and very informative. A great presentaion :) Forty GB Pounds difference between the two is the cost of a good curry, so good for you going for the cheaper one :)
Absolutely!! And being only video which I've taken another risk, bit the bullet and managed to DO THIS for the Maksutov!! There is few viewers are still in disbelief in this video that the evidence is there and clearly proven, nothing is staged or faked!! But yet alot of viewers would rather prefer and trust in watching the bigger Astro Channels which offer no help, just advertsiing the cool Astro stuff and showing off gear, with no constructive advice!! It really doesn't make sense!! What a crazy world we live in!!
@@MPAstro Yeah that's true. I think a lot of UA-camrs don't realise that they're being taken for a ride by some astronomy suppliers and using their channels simply as shop fronts. I think most people would prefer real world reviews like yours. I'm getting a Skywatcher 180 Mak leter in the year (August I'm told) and I really look forward to that. CleaR Skies to you, m8
Yep, But some of these top UA-camrs are getting paid promotions and free Astro gear to keep as part as payment, plus they will probraly be recieving donations and selling merch, which to be honest I don't have a problem with it, The platform is there for everyone to use, So they aren't that stupid!
The only problem I have is when they lie and cheat to their viewers, that's where I have issues with!! And some of their videos is so fake, that you honestly believe that they recorded every week, and got a clear night to tested the kit out and got perfect shots every time!! Personally that is defo staged, they have defo pre-recorded their stuff, and the small detail is they are very good to talk about the equipment, but look more closely!! When do see them actually phyiscally use the equipment they are supposed to be testing!! No evidence just pretty pictures, music and cool effects to trick people's minds!!
Yes I do pre-recorded stuff myself, but I do record the evidence on the equipment which I meant to be testing and viewers want to see the results!! There are only few channels that do this and none of them are as big as the top channels, 1- 10K max if they lucky!!
Good luck on the Skywatcher 180 Mak, you'll not be disapointed with that scope, I can you tell you!!
Get ready for a Another Mak video coming soon HollomanUFOLanding!! I have plenty more stuff to come!! Just need more Clear Skies!!
Thanks again for watching and Clear Skies!!
@@MPAstro Cheers Martin, I look forward to more vids form you! Yes, if some of the other 'testers' waited for clearr skies they'd only be doing about 2 reviews a year!! I'm getting the Mak primarily for planets, moon and maybe some of the brighter Messiers? Although I have to wait 'til Augsut that's no hardship really because Jupiter & Saturn won't be coming back 'til about September anyway. Clear Skies to you Martin, and healthy 2022! Simon
As you can collimate only the primary mirror it will never be perfect. On the mak you cannot correct a small error in the focuser connector or a plate (secondary mirror) not perfectly aligned. I will definitely get it and use it on my mak, newt, rc and sc I have.
Very true! It's not 100% accurate as you still need the final confirmation of an out focussed star, However it does get you pretty close to perfect colimation!! So it's investment regardless!!
Very nice video. Have you check the collimation zoom in and zoom out, to see if the mirror is shifting on his shaft ?
Yes I have
Martin, great video. I enjoyed watching you go through the steps. I have a question, though. What does your star image look like in focus? Spherical mirrors are weird things with their centers of curvature on the meniscus optical axis and such. I believe that is the condition for collimation. Your collimation does appear picture perfect, but I am wondering if you have simply centered the shadow of the secondary mirror rather than align the axis. It's probably very close as estimated by your star test images. But it is possible the scope actually is not as well collimated. In focus will tell all. The further out of focus we loose sensitivity of aberration and collimation. There is the matter of the first inner ring you attempted to align with, that might be the actual edge of your secondary. Looking up the tube, you should be able to see the real edge of the secondary or the secondary baffle in the view of the camera. That may be why it did not hold it's position as well as the focuser tube. If so, I do not understand why that edge would move simply adjusting the tilt of the primary mirror. And if so, it does look like your primary is not centered in the secondary, but the small darker reflection of the secondary is (or appears to be) centered in the reflection of the primary. I do not know if that is of any concern or not. Just curious trying to understand how this thing works. Thanks.
Thinking further. You have a Gregory Mak with a silvered spot on the inner surface of the meniscus. Since it conforms to the curve of the meniscus, then the center of curvature of the silvered spot is permanently fixed with the optical axis of the meniscus. That's good. The trick, I understand, is to align the spherical primary so it's center of curvature is also aligned on the meniscus optical axis. That is intuitive if the primary is mechanically centered on the secondary mirror. If so, then tilting the primary mirror so the shadow of the centered secondary is as you show, then the primary center of curvature is probably on the meniscus optical axis, as well, and the scope is collimated. However, if the primary is a tiny bit off center, then when we center the circles the primary has to tilt to compensate for the off centered secondary. That means the primary center of curvature, then, moves off axis and you end up with a centered secondary shadow and a bit of mis-collimation. That *may* have something to do with the slightly decentered image in the video. I hope that makes sense. Maybe you can understand why I am very curious about your in focus image. Ocal looks like a great tool with potential, I just hope it actually works on MCTs.
BTW, collimating a Newt is more intuitive because when a Newt is very well collimated with the diagonal centered under the focuser the primary reflection is also centered under the focuser. The latter means the focuser axial error is small. Collimating the primary axis is intuitive enough. So, yea, all three edges will be concentric and should nicely agree with Ocal.
The stars are sharp and round
If the out of focus the black spot which forms the donut shape of the star, you see black spot of the centre and the surrounding the rings will also be warpped dependind what direction the mirror is misaligned. Due to the primary mirror misaligned you only need to adjust that one component, The secondary mirror and menisus lens system has no adjustment at all, luckily that's good thing!
Yep the OCAL was intially designed for Newtonian collimation and even the faster F-Ratio Newtonians where the mirrors require very crucial adjustment, it is said to work very effectively. With some degree of collimation on Schmidts and RC scopes described in the OCAL webpagess, I just had to test the OCAL on the Maks as the website did state other Mirror Reflecting telescopes!! However when using the OCAL the mirror image appears to be off centred on the camera, so when you use the decals to measure up the dead centre, you have to use the OFFSET function and place the decal to the centre first in order to set the othe decals to then achieve alignment. And the only I see if is the fixed point is only the focus tube.
Only just found this video (apologies) I’m thinking about purchasing one of these cameras but I’m still not sure if this is worth buying. Did you test the collimation at high power with an in focus star? I was under the impression that the best way to check collimation was to centre a star in the field of view and then use an eyepiece that gives a high magnification and then bring the image to focus. Once in focus, if the telescope is collimated, the star image will be surrounded equally by a diffraction ring. I seem to remember reading somewhere that an out of focus image is not a reliable indicator of collimation as we don’t observe astronomical objects out of focus. I would really appreciate your advice before parting with more money for something that I may or may not find useful. Thank you.
Seems to be a very versatile tool. Thanks for your video. I bought one :-D
Regards Andreas
Enjoy it, Good News I've adjusted my Skywatcher 180 Mak, and it's alot easier to adjust collimation than the Mak 127!! Spot on alignment, but like always I'll still need to check final conformation through a out focus star!!!
great video.. thank you
Thank you too!
@@MPAstro why not check out my channel some time 😉
Hi Martin ein Gruß aus München
eine Frage wo hast du den automatischen Fokussierer her. kannst du mir die Adresse nennen . ich habe den kleinen Maksutov 100/1400 mm.
würde mich freuen wenn du mir die Adresse nennen könntest.
bis bald
Rudi
Yes here is the video link called STAY FOCUSED ua-cam.com/video/tcJ1lrlncps/v-deo.html
@@MPAstro super and many thanks from Munich
@@rudi3536 kein Problem!!!
nice tool,but the mak needs only 1 time Collimation if you use it at home.its intresting for a newton. is it working on a c8 as well ?
Yes, you are right RUDI RAKETTE the link provided doesn't work!! And UA-cam blocked your reply for some strange reason??
@@MPAstro sorry martin , youtube made the link by his own.i didnt want to post a link.i take care next time
fixed it,the dot was the problem,i dont know why
Don't worry Rudi, you make links!! I don't have problem, it's bloody UA-cam yet again pulling the strings!!
Was collimating your Skywatcher 180 Mak Rudi???
Sorry you must go more close for startest so you can see airy disk collimation not perfekt first moment green ring you be outside optic after that you can set rest easy to see if mirror are collimate go 2-3 meter in front and see concentric ring in same distans you make good youtube anyway best reagared Mr Johan Englund
Is the data line really short? 🤣
Please clarify what you mean by that?? Instead of being funny about it, Your channel is supposed to be OCAL help Channel. then please help, you are not doing your channel any favours, when customers buy your products, so far this OCAL collimation does work with the Mak and I advise that you should do similar video and see what results you get!! End of the day your company as designed and made this product, so please be grateful that my viewers appreciate my review on this great product you have.
What a time wasting waffle!
Too much for you to taken in Lol!!!