If you are new to astronomy, then you have come to the right place, this channel is all about you, the new astronomer. Why is the channel called SMALL OPTICS? Because this is the 60 to 150mm club. You wont find big expensive telescopes or fancy equipment here, just entry level stuff. But remember SMALL OPTICS DOSE NOT MEAN SMALL UNIMPRESSIVE VIEWS! With a 70 or 100mm telescope you will be able to see, The Rings Of Saturn, Detail On Jupitar, Deep Sky Objects, Double Stars, and the moon is Just going to look fantastic. Not only will I show you how to find and view these objects, There will be videos covering how to photograph all of the said objects with nothing more than a mobile phone and a small telescope. Also, reviws of budget but quality equipment, tips-n-tricks, advice and much more. My is aim is to keep this channel simple, and easy to follow, to show you how to use, and to get the very best views out of your new telescope. Hope to see you on the next video.
Ii have Celestron zoom eyepiece and qite like it. The only down side is, that the higher you go, your field of view decreases a bit. By that said, i use it when searchin for stars, on the bining igo up to 21 and when i find what i am looking for i go down to about 10-11 and center it, after that i gor all the way down to the max magnification, look fot the thing i want to see and sorounding stars, sharpen it as much as it possibly goes and return to oround 10-11 where you ger really nice crisp sharp image. I do use other eyepieces, mostly for wider FOV cos you get more to see, but for a quick planetary search, they are exelent, altleas my Celestron one. Remeber, they do not like Barlow lenses. They do work with them, but you lose another 5-7% of FOV. Love your channel.
But your eyepieces have exactly the same problem locating with the thumbscrews. Should you be collimating to the exact centre of the focusser or where the eyepiece actually sits?
Nice when I did mine I ended up getting totally out even worse like you said and yes I decided to do much like you said. Made them tight and then backed them off. The tricky part was getting the movement consistent. I had to keep track of each set screw and moved one in and one out. VERY minor adjustments. Once I stopped trying to get it done in one shot it started to come in. Patience is what I needed. Like you said you can't really break it. But I was annoyed how far out it was straight out of the box. That soft stuff was such a pain to remove. I agree they should not do that as that was more annoying to get out then the actual collimation was. Actually getting used to collimate the collimator was good to actually collimate the scope since I had learned how to adjust the screws a tiny bit and bring one in and one out. When one does nothing put the screw back the other way and move on to another one. It was basically a balancing act.
A great thing for weighing down your tripod without any mess, hooking, strapping or attachments is to buy lead tape for golf and other sports. Stick it vertically to anywhere you can without interfering with the telescopic function. If you dont mind a little bulk you can wrap it round and round horizontally to build up more weight. again avoiding the moving parts.
Anyone with access to a 3d printer, there are some really great collimation jigs for these lasers on the usual sites. Thanks for the vid Jason, appreciate it
I bought a Cheshire based largely on your previous recommendations but find the laser to be much easier to use. Yes, you need to check the laser every so often but alignment isn’t any worse than a finder scope. And who doesn’t like twiddling the knobs and screws on their equipment once in a while? What better way to spend a cloudy night. A V-jig is super easy to build but I think the best one I’ve seen was demonstrated by Reflactor; he drilled a 1.25 inch hole in a piece of wood, clamped it flat (in his case to a step ladder to get more distance but a table or bench will do), and pointed the laser at the floor. I like the simplicity of the Cheshire but when it comes to adjusting the primary mirror the laser is easier because you don’t need to go back and forth to check your adjustments. I’m glad you’re giving them a second chance.
i just bought my first big scope and i ordered one of these with it, everything you said about it is on point and that being said.... i hate it. there is just something about the eye relief that i just dont like, there is a sweet spot but its very hard to maintain, i dont even bring it out anymore. 32 is about as big as i go.
Very informative video! At 10:31 I use moon filters and an OIII filter on a small 90/500 refractor. Without this I can't see NGC6960, for example, and with the filter it's there immediately. Greetings from Germany. :-)
Fantastic video! I've been struggling with focus recently and resorted to not using the collimator. After checking manually I found my scope was way out but it never crossed my mind that the laser collimator could be out, or that it was adjustible. Always learning, thanks. 👍
It should be mentioned that the distance of the collimating cradle to the target should be at least twice the focal length or roughly twice the length of the telescope tube.
Great tutorial. I have the Svbony model, which is a few dollars more expensive, and its screws are not covered by the patch, but under a metal ring that unscrews and comes with an Allen key, but it doesn't matter. The first time I collimated it, it really took me a lot of time, but it's always like that the first time, after that you get a routine and don't you think, "without effort there is no science". I also bought a checker from Svbony so I could check the secondary mirror if it is in the center of the focuser tube.
Hi! Thanks for the video! My trick to collimate my svbony collimator as i didn't have something to hold it still was to simply put it in my telescope and rotate it in the eyepiece, then watch in the tube how it looks
Hello Nixx, you can certainly check the collimation of the laser with the focus tube but I would recommend doing the paper and holder method for a more precise collimation. Thanks for watching my friend.
I've got the same telescope as you, Jason and I also have that same laser collimator. I'd have to say though, that even after collimating the collimator, the results aren't as good as what I get from using a simple collimation cap. The cap is definitely better
Hello Bobby. I don't want to insult your intelligence but have you checked the collimation of the laser? I used to get bad results when using a laser until I checked it, and it was way out... That been said , using just a cap for collimation is absolutely fine for casual work, I've used one for years.
Hello Stephen, the great thing about Cheshires is they don't need batteries don't need collimating and are safer to use. As for them being easier to use , I think it's more of a personal preference. Collimation of a telescope is fiddly thing to do no matter what aid you use.
I collimated my dob for the first time and it was bang on.i was happy until i realised the collimator was out.tried to collimate it with two books then two tins of beans but no good.will try again after watching this thanks Jason!
Oh my days! Outstanding fella, Im soo happy to see your still at it and leading the field of amateur astronomy on youtube. Look into doing some "shorts" from your existing videos buddy as they are really popular and will bring new people to your channel as your teaching real valuable skills! Its the most valuable thing in the world. We appreciate you and your efforts. Thank you.
More Info and insight. The first filters for observing the moon were designed by Mees and produced by Kodak after George Eastman purchased the company in 1912. These filters are still used today and are known by their Wratten numbers, though some manufacturers use different color names. The sensitivity of human eyes peaks at around the wavelength of green light. The human eye is most sensitive to green light, which is in the center of the visual spectrum. When fully adapted to light, the human eye's wavelength response is between 400 and 700 nanometers, with peak sensitivity at 555 nanometers. Reducing chromatic aberration: Yellow or yellow-green filters can help reduce the blues caused by chromatic aberration. This can improve the crispness of an image, especially when photographing planets. As ever research for yourself and get the best one that suits your eyes and viewing conditions. atb.
Thank you for this amazing tutorial, Jason! You've saved me a lot of time and money with this amazing tutorial! It annoys me on why they can't properly build a collimator.
I love all of your videos and they have helped me out a lot the past few months! I have managed to colimate my mirrors and have seen the rings of Saturn and Jupiter with its biggest four moons last Saturday for the first time, and I was jumping up and down and giggling like a little girl with happiness. Thank you for your enthusiasm, it has been a big inspiration for me.
I mean it seems a bargain for the price but is it really that much of an upgrade on the supplied skywatcher one? I've had the stock Skywatcher 2x since 2015 but I never really use it much to be honest.
Im so happy! On my first attempt, two days ago I was managed to watch and take pictures of the Moon and a small and tiny Jupiter with 3 of its moons! The user manual for my scope came handy explaining the finder scope, but nothing about how to use the tripod. I wish I saw your tripod covering video before my first try ever. Struggled a lot, but the results? Jupiter on first try! ❤
These are available thru Aliexpress. I just got one for $14.45 US. I had previously got one from Amazon for $45ish. I'll have the Aliexpress order next week.
