It is used in conjunction with a lazer. I find that the ocal is good to get the mirrors in the right place, and then you must adjust further with a Cheshire eyepiece and a Lazer. The final test is always on an actual star.
Very nice video, I am considering getting one of these. My one question is why, near the end of the video, is the center donut not aligned with the reflection of the camera sensor? It would seem that they should coincide? I'm thinking that maybe the secondary needs to be adjusted slightly towards the front of the tube. Thanks in advance!
Good question, I had to rewatch the video to see the reference. To the best of my knowledge, you align the mirrors to the circles and cross hairs so that they are aligned to each other, the sensor is not a central reference for collimation. To the best of my knowledge, hope that helps.
@@AndyofAstro Thanks for this, I will do some more research on this. I'm new(ish) to newts but thought the whole idea was to center the scope to the camera sensor since I use the scope for imaging. In step 1 they do have you offset the circle to align to the focuser, so it may be that the sensor is not dead center. I would be curious to know if a cheshire check verified the collimation. Thanks for your response, I may have answered my own question :)
I’ve just got one of these for my fast Newt (f/2.8) and a Mak-Newt (I’m a glutton for punishment). I think that the donut (assuming it is correctly centred) and the Ocal sensor should be exactly under the crosshairs when the collimating is perfect. If the sensor and donut do not line up, I think it’s maybe because the secondary is not perfectly lined up under the focuser. For a traditional Newt, that will not be a problem, but for compound scopes, like my MN190, the lining up of optical axes is much more critical, so I think the Ocal will really help to get it spot on.
@@1Sinep1 I really do like it. It takes much of the guesswork out of getting reflections, etc, concentric. It doesn’t remove it completely, but it is a huge improvement over estimating things by eye. I also love the fact that I can see the video on a screen from the back or front of the scope while tweaking screws, and not having to make an adjustment, walk to the eyepiece, see what I’ve done then walk back to the end of the scope. I used it on my Sharpstar 15028HNT first and after finishing, checked it with the Catseye and it was spot on. As you can tell, I’m a fan of the Ocal!
Thank you Sit for this clear demo of the product.
Chicago Astronomer
Great overview Andy and looks like a promising product! :) Cheers for sharing! :)
After collimation, have you tried rotating the camera, for a double check?
Can this be used as a direct substitute for laser collimator?
It is used in conjunction with a lazer. I find that the ocal is good to get the mirrors in the right place, and then you must adjust further with a Cheshire eyepiece and a Lazer. The final test is always on an actual star.
Will this work just as easily and precisely on a SCT?
No idea, give it a go!
Very nice video, I am considering getting one of these. My one question is why, near the end of the video, is the center donut not aligned with the reflection of the camera sensor? It would seem that they should coincide? I'm thinking that maybe the secondary needs to be adjusted slightly towards the front of the tube. Thanks in advance!
Good question, I had to rewatch the video to see the reference. To the best of my knowledge, you align the mirrors to the circles and cross hairs so that they are aligned to each other, the sensor is not a central reference for collimation. To the best of my knowledge, hope that helps.
@@AndyofAstro Thanks for this, I will do some more research on this. I'm new(ish) to newts but thought the whole idea was to center the scope to the camera sensor since I use the scope for imaging. In step 1 they do have you offset the circle to align to the focuser, so it may be that the sensor is not dead center. I would be curious to know if a cheshire check verified the collimation. Thanks for your response, I may have answered my own question :)
I’ve just got one of these for my fast Newt (f/2.8) and a Mak-Newt (I’m a glutton for punishment). I think that the donut (assuming it is correctly centred) and the Ocal sensor should be exactly under the crosshairs when the collimating is perfect. If the sensor and donut do not line up, I think it’s maybe because the secondary is not perfectly lined up under the focuser. For a traditional Newt, that will not be a problem, but for compound scopes, like my MN190, the lining up of optical axes is much more critical, so I think the Ocal will really help to get it spot on.
@@tezza0905 How do you like the OCAL?
@@1Sinep1 I really do like it. It takes much of the guesswork out of getting reflections, etc, concentric. It doesn’t remove it completely, but it is a huge improvement over estimating things by eye. I also love the fact that I can see the video on a screen from the back or front of the scope while tweaking screws, and not having to make an adjustment, walk to the eyepiece, see what I’ve done then walk back to the end of the scope. I used it on my Sharpstar 15028HNT first and after finishing, checked it with the Catseye and it was spot on. As you can tell, I’m a fan of the Ocal!
Thank you very much!
Doesn't the camera sensor need to be in the middle of the crosshair?
Yes, I was a bit out, however I'll be doing a follow up video soon!
@@AndyofAstro Hows the plans for this video? Still up for it?
@@Luftbubblan yep! Be later in the season!
@@AndyofAstro Ok nice. Curious about the product so looking forward to see that
Too much faffing around for me. I’ll stick to my Cheshire and laser