Top SECRETS to turn your CHEAP NEWT into and IMAGING BEAST! 

Support me on Patreon!: www.patreon.com/cuivlazygeek Telescope link: bit.ly/3BABCxl OCAL Collimator: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DmuBKXB or s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dc6JT5B OCAL Collimator video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BdLcaiVZB_4.html Flocking paper/Felt paper: amzn.to/3zASgvu or amzn.to/3m94zwa Musou Black Pain: amzn.to/3MfYU0m

Great video. For many of us the “tinkering with the equipment” is part of the fun of the hobby. Figuring out the improvements is so satisfying.

When I built my first 10" Dob I had to figure out how to center and collimate the optics. I used a flashlight shined through the focuser tube to project a shadow image on the wall about 20 feet away. I adjusted away until everything was concentric and used the eyepiece cap with a hole in the center to adjust from the other way. Then star test and final adjustments made the image as perfect as my crude method could get me, which was pretty good on good nights! It didn't cost me anything but about 15 minutes of my time. As cool as I think that ocal system is and would love to have one, I think i'd rather buy a new filter or guide cam with the money... 💸😜

If I understand correctly, buying a sky watcher telescope is ultimately buying a primary mirror. Why not buy a good newton mirror with a larger diameter, make your own 'OTA' and place the camera directly in focus without a secondary to facilitate collimation. Like a Celestron RASA.

Good video. I suffered quite some with my SW Quattro 200p, which is just a bit better. Another hint for those who doesn't use Sharpcap for drawing circles, is a program called... Collimation circles. It draws an overlay on the screen where you can configure the sizes of circles, and can move the window around.

Hi Cuiv, I also had big issues on my first explorer 150/750 with the tilt of the focuser itself. Instead of using a bubble level, I drew a cross inside the tube in front of the focuser opening. To do so, I removed completely the focuser and the spider. It is then quite easy to find where is the exact opposite point in front of the focuser opening. Having that cross drawn, a simple laser allow you to tune the focuser tilt. Then, place back your spider.

I spent a lot of time collimating my newt using a Cateye system until i thought it was perfect. It was still off a tiny bit after doing a star test. I just learned about the star test and I'm hooked. It's so easy to check I've been doing it before every session.

What great fun to tweek and refine your newt! You're getting there damn the focuser... Your observation of the flattener protruding in the tube with the fix to allow the primary further up the tube is easy to miss and does make a difference. You may consider stronger springs to help prevent sagging in the primary mirror collimation during long imaging sessions as the mount tracks. Last items for your consideration beside ensuring no hardware protrudes into the tube and a painted/flocked tube, is eliminating tube currents. My 8" newt's tube is lined inside with 2mm foam then is topped with Edmund Optics 65# flocking paper that was tested in a university white paper as a high performer to absorb visible light. The layer of foam insulates the inside of the tube and helps diminish the delta-t of the inside to the tube to the outside as it radiates away heat into the night sky. This helps diminish tube current generation. You can wrap the exterior with bubble/foil insulation and accomplish the same thing with a bit a a kludged look but an easy experiment to try.Lastly, a primary mirror fan running low with a shroud to actually introduce flow around the primary and up into the tube will indeed help stabilize the image the scope produces. There are several good write ups about "cooling fans" in newts that discuss getting the boundary layer air off the primary to improve performance. A neat experiment to try is to deeply defocus a camera or eyepiece as if you've gone beyond a star test where the image of air currents becomes visible. Place your warm hand on the tube's underside several inches in front of the primary mirror and you'll soon see the swirls of heated air rising into the image. With the telescope pointed greater than 45 degrees up, you can even see the heat of your hand held outside and just behind the primary mirror making havoc inside the light path. A fan does help eliminate these effects. Hot rodding a telescope is perfect Cloudy Nights activity and fun!!!

Thanks a ton for showing the bubble level trick, seen comments about it in forums that it is the way to do it. This video gave me a better understanding of how it’s actually done.

One thing to add: Secure handheld tools against falling into the tube using a wristband leash. Old laces should be good enough.

I cut 10 mm from the primary end of my 150 PDS. Drastic, but it removed 90% of the diffraction from my SW CC :) Also, at a price-point, you have added more evidence to my theory that optics manufacture (SW, Orion, GSO etc) is well in advance of the mechanical systems to hold them together in alignment.

Hi Cuiv, not sure if someone else has given this tip, but regarding the screw driver, drill a small hole at the end of the handle then you can tie to your wrist with some string so it can't fall all the way to the mirror.

Best astro content! Thanks Cuiv! 👍

Great video, after a rocky start with my Quattro 150 Im starting to enjoy it. For me the upgraded spider is a must plus the Ocal, finally seeing nice round stars. Glad I bought it in summer so I haven’t wasted any good dark sky

Regarding collimation, I used the all sky lens that came with I think it was a ZWO178 mono and basically when collimating my C925 put it in the scope and used Sharpcap;s focus circles to centre the secondary in the centre of the image, ok its not like a star test but when I went and used the scope at night the collimation and star test was almost spot on, I haven't adjusted it since. Just a budget way to collimate your scope fairly accurately.

Cuiv , I like the Ocal idea a lot as I was pulling out what hair I have left doing a 8" F4. I would call myself the cheap geek. I bought a $20.00 4K webcam off of Amazon ,took off the monitor clip and held it in place over the hole in my collimation cap which had about a 1/16" hole in it. I used a couple of skinny bungee cords to hold it. I got the laptop out, fired up Sharpcap 4.0 and used the multiple circles found in the toolbar. You can't see the drop down menu until a camera is plugged in.I used three colored circles ,one each for the focuser tube end, secondary and primary mirror. You can stretch these out and slide them around with your mouse. I zoomed the camera in until the whole view was as big as would fit on the screen and centered the circles on the collimation eyepiece hole. So easy to look at the screen. I also put a piece of white paper in the tube opposite of the focuser so things were brighter. I did use my laser to adjust the primary at the last step.

I have thoroughly enjoyed your series on the budget Newtonian upgrades. Lots of good information. I use a 250P flex-tube on an equatorial mount and am a fan of modest-cost reflectors. You are "right on the money" with both the corrections and the impressive results once such a scope is properly "tuned."

This was so helpful thankyou. I had not thought about the collimation of the focus mount on my PDS 200 f5 but a simple spirit level revealed that it was out of alignment

My kit arrived on Friday. Collimation is much faster and more accurate than before. I did the tunig and tested on Saturday night, the result is fantastic! Thank you, without your video I would never have discovered this opportunity.

Thanks Cuiv. Lots of stuff I have done, defo need to check the collimation of the focuser (its a Moonlite so a touch more upmarket than the SW plastic one!).

you must be reading my mind recently (got a StellaLyra 6" f/9 to play with so need just what you show now) most your vids gave me information i need to improve as of the lasts few months. i thank you very much for your videos, keep up the good work and have fun doing it.

Two upgrades I would recommend trying would be to replace the three adjustment screws on the spider with knobs (that way you dont have to risk dropping something on your primary) and to add a light blocker to the back of your primary. I was surprised how much light was leaking through the back of the telescope!

Excellent. Just perfect. The video helps a lot !!😊

Great video! I've done similar mods to my XT10 newt that I've been using for astrophotography, I've replaced the focuser with a low profile one and an EAF, I'm using the Starizona Nexus corrector reducer, I've moved my entire primary mirror cell 20(ish)mm closer to the secondary using longer bolts and hardware, painted the inside front of the tube with muso black, and recently bought a 300mm diam dew shield to block stray light pollution, and to top off all of that I'm located in Las Vegas. (++ EQ6-R Pro, asi183mc pro, filter drawer, L-Pro and L-Ultimate filters, 60mm guide scope with asi120mm mini, AsiAirMini, jackery battery)

you are my newtonian guru...thanks for all your knowledge!!

The only video I have seen about collimating that mentions the focus tube. Now I may just get it so I can see all three primary clips 😳🙄 Subbed and all hail the algorithm

We are waiting so much a good results from your upgraded Newtonian. I’ve done almost the same steps with my own 250P.

Thank you for recommending the OCAL collimation camera.

Nice trick moving the primary forward to avoid the cc protruding, never thought about that. My Quattro 150 was way off collimation too, but didn’t find it harder than any of my others Newtonian to collimate Collimation cap rules!!!

Firstly, good video with some good tips 👍 Secondly, I'm using the TS/GSO 200mm f4 (the older white one) and while it's not amazing quality, it is better than SW. The Primery holder is more supportive (and has a cooling fan) and the focuser is nicer. Also it holds it's collimation pretty well. Though it doesn't come with a corrector so overall more costly. I'm using the Baader MPCCiii which works well. Thirdly, if you wan't to fry your brain, look in to secondary offset 😁 Fourthly, always star collimate too. Cheers!

I was always told that when collimating *fast* Newtonians (F5 or lower) you don't actually want all the circles to be concentric (as you do for a slower Newtonian) but that there is an offset. This is explained in Astro-Baby's collimation guide (which everyone seems to always refer to). I never understood the 'physics' behind her method: why would the speed of the Newtonian (which only really changes the shape of the primary mirror's 'convexity') effect the collimation pattern? Is Astro-Baby's method wrong? And I'm surprised that the 2" adapter that comes already fitted on the draw tube isn't causing you tilt and off-axis problems.

Merci beacoup Cuiv, great video as always!

Congrats on all of the modifications and tips to achieve a decent astrograph. I almost bought this scope's bigger brother but now I'm very happy I didn't. But I'll save this video in case one comes along with a price too good to pass up.

just another comment for the YT algorithm. Continue comme ça Yannick , t es au top et tu me redonnes le sourire à chaque fois que la motivation baisse un peu .. ce qui est rare , mais qui arrive! Another happy newt owner 😊

The thumbnail for this video is sick!

"Sweat blur and tears" I'm going put that on my tomb stone!

Great video! I have spent 3 hours today collimating my TS 154/600 Photon newt with my new Ocal collimator... Pain in the ass (TS primary mirror collimating and locking screws are placed differently than SW)... :D Looking forward to test and see the star shape.

I often works on ships. If we don't want our tools to fall into the sea. We keep them on strings. If you attach a screwdriver to a string shorter than the length of the telescope, it will not hit the mirror when the screwdriver falls into the telescope.

I actually just got the Ocal about a week back. I was using the 1.25" eyepiece collimator that came with my 15028HNT and struggled. You think that f/4 is demanding... even with the Ocal, I've spent hours doing small tweaks to try and get things nicely aligned. I've still not got it perfect - the secondary is just ever so slightly oblong and not exactly in the confines of the circle. The reflection of the primary is just a hair off as well. However, the only discernible impact is when running the flat contour plot in PI, the center is shifted a bit to the upper left. The stars look very good, and that's really what matters to me. Like, you, I highly recommend the Ocal. It is extremely easy to use and I have found it to be more than accurate enough even at f/2.8 with an IMX571 sensor. I use the Player One Poseidon-M. If you haven't yet had the chance, see if Sean over at Player One will lend you a unit for review... the tilt adjustment screws are accessible while the camera is attached to the imaging train. You can do on-the-fly adjustments and get realtime feedback from NINA's aberration inspector. I'm really impressed with it (and the OAG/EFW they sell as part of the kit).

I just want to let you know that you are awesome!!! Your videos are a great help!

For years I've been telling people they are collimating their newtonians the wrong way! I tell them that the very first thing they must do is to align the mirror with the telescope tube axis and to NEVER ever touch it again after they do so! (Yes... that's the 3 knobs/screws on the back of the mirror) After that all the collimation takes place at the eyepiece end of the scope. The next thing you must do is make sure your eyepiece holder is at a perfect 90° to the tube axis and once you do that you never touch it again! Now all that is left is to adjust the diagonal mirror and you're done! I have looked thru my library of amateur telescope making books to try and find the article that describes how to do this and have not been able to find it, basically to vindicate myself to naysayers that think I'm daft! lol That may be true but about this I'm correct! Well.... I finally found someone else that has an article saying the exact same thing I have been telling these naysayers... it's located here if utoob allows it to be posted... www.memphisastro.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Newtonian-Alignment.pdf If done this way it may also clear up some of your collimation 'issues' you may be having. Think about it... If you align your mirror with the tube why would you want to move it later as any movement causes the angle at the diagonal to be greater or less than the 90° you want to the eyepiece.

Thanks Cuiv!

As an alternative to the spider level compare. Try shooting a laser down the draw tube and use a square on the front of the scope to see its in line with the spider. This assumes your draw tube is also well centered with the secondary. Next top tip is cut the end off a sock, draw the elastic over the focusser and let the sock drag around the gap in the graduated markings on the focusser. There's always an exposed light leak there

I have one for my S-C. Work very well.

Man, loving these newt videos! I was ready to toss my newt in the trash, but have decided to try it again using as many of the tips you describe as I can. My newt is an Apertura 150 f4, so a bit different than yours. I have replaced the focuser, but that is about it. Time to roll up my sleeves and get to work fixing it!

I think it's ⅔ 's the length of a newt telescope for a dew shield. At least, that is the way I always made my own(I used Kydex and then flocking) Great video....😊😊

Hmm, I was wondering when you were going to break down and use the OCAL 🙂 Sometimes the only true "lazy" way is sometimes to throw money at it 🙂 Glad you stopped pulling hairs and used the OCAL! For newt's that thing is a miracle, for SCTs not so much 😕 Thanks for the video! Clear Skies!

Hi cuiv, thanks for another informative video. 👍 I'm new to a reflector too recently and loving it! One thing I've learnt just recently is the importance of spacing between the primary and secondary mirror.. As you said to adjust focus draw position, move the primary mirror closer to secondary. This CAN be damaging to the correctors effectiveness. You're effectively changing the focal length of the scope and thus can cause the corrector to either over correct or under correct, causing abberation issues etc.. So just something to bare in mind.. I'm currently trying to find out how I can test for optimal spacing of primary and secondary mirrors! Good luck with your well built newt, cracking job on it! 👏

Dude! Great Video!

Thank you for the enlightening video :-). The 1“ sensor has a 16mm diagonal, not 25.4mm . The term „one-inch“ is misleading but commonly used, following Nikon/Sony marketing, who are using this term for historic reasons.

I’ve got a SW Quattro 200, so I feel your pain, and joy! A note to SkyWatcher, if I could: SkyWatcher, if you are going to market a telescope as an ASTROGRAPH, then build a frikin’ astrograph!!! These are great once you spend as much on aftermarket parts as you do on the damn telescope, and pour hours and hours of work into it, but I guarantee that people buying these would happily pay double for a well tuned, we’ll kitted telescope. For people on the budget or doing visual, there are other options in the SW family that fit the bill already. This is a no-brainer guys, get smart SkyWatcher!!

So much work to get that dialed in! I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the c6 hyperstar vs this after you've had some time with it. Might make a good video :)

Your video are the bomb! I just bought a 10 quattro 250p. I'm planning on changing the spider and getting the clip mask. The focuser is hot garbage. I'm looking at the omegon focusers to replace it soon. I'm probably going to buy one of those ocal collimation cameras as well.

ts optics sell an awsome quality rack and pinion focuser called RAP2DEL the separate adapter fits all skywatcher newts from 150pds and up the adapter uses the existing skywatcher fucuser mount and super easy to install and 5kg payload rating!

Cheap newt vs refractor might be a good video

I have this scope and a Quattro 250p and absolutely love all the hassle that comes with them. Seeing the work during the day come to life at night is a great feeling. And I for some reason don't get excited by refractors I've always seen them as large camera lenses as opposed to a telescope

Great video series, any chance you could test a high end unit, something that just works out of the box?

There are good laser collimators available in the asien area for a decent price and once you´ve done it, the second time is very easy.

Hey Cuiv, Great video! I love the collimation tips, thanks for that! Would you be willing to do a video on using a more generic webcam for collimation than the OCAL? I like the concept of the OCAL but I do think it's over priced. I have a small planetary camera that I hooked a fisheye lens to and stuck it in the drawtube for collimation, but I had a lot of worries about that method. First I was worried that the lens wouldn't be quite right and may create warping of the image which would be an issue. Second, I wasn't sure I had the camera centered the best and as you mentioned throughout centering is super important. I'm curious if you'd be willing to take on the task of doing a video on using a generic webcam for collimation and sharing your tips. I think someone with OCAL experience would be good for comparing the two methods with pros and cons. Anyway thanks again!

Hi Cuiv. You have had problems with several scopes and collimation. You used to have to have Astap as your plate solving data base. Are you aware of the tilt function in the main program? It gives a digital readout of tilt (a measure of the accuracy of your collimation with the Newt and your hyperstar). Just drop a light frame into the image holder and go to tools, image inspect and press the tilt button.

Hi Cuiv, great video. I have the same scope and of course struggling w it’s collimation. So how do you attach the OCAL to the focuser tube? Thanks. Keep going like this.

Hi Cuiv! Thank you as always for these great videos! I've a SW 200PDS (200/1000) and having an hard time using it. I'm going to flock it and paint it, I've already squared the focuser, I use OCA... but stil having problem, the most annoying one beign that my flats don't correct my images! I've already tried everything, also made the flat checked on forums and no one found a fault in my flats... I'm down only to my primary mirror that could be moving while imaging; did you had the same problem with your Quattro? How would you fix a moving primary mirror? Thank you and keep up the great work!

Some great tips. I didn't know the trick about using a bubble level to check the focuser alignment. Will give it a go. The main thing I would have done differently from you is use a secondary mirror heater instead of a dew shield. A dew shield adds weight in DEC and makes the scope more susceptible to being moved by wind. Additionally you'll have to remove it and replace it each time you put the cover on if you leave it outside. A secondary mirror heater offers more protection against dew without any of these drawback and if you set the power low enough it won't introduce any noticeable tube currents. The main drawback with a secondary mirror heater, for me, is that the wire can interfere with your spider vanes making it more difficult to achieve perfect star spikes. However, if you've upgraded to a solid secondary mirror spider you can replace the wire with one thin enough to fit complete behind one of the spider vanes. A secondary mirror spider will only draw between 0.2-0.3 amps at 12v so a very thin wire will do the job just fine. Try to spot the wire: i.imgur.com/UcSY0NC.jpg

Thanks for all the info Cuiv! Why not to use a concenter collimator? It's more accurate than the collimation cap and cheaper than the electronic collimator...

Newtonians are really just a pain in the rear end 😂 Here in Denmark its more of the light season. We only have civil twilight so its narrowband only with a maximum of 2 ½ hours of "darkness"

I just wish ocal would make a similar tool to help adjusting refractor tilt..

Hi Cuiv - great video as always...I have a question - Will that O-Cal collimator work on a SCT?

Hey Cuiv, love your videos! Did you make your dew shield (lens hood) yourself? If so, what material did you use? Yours looks more lightweight than others I have seen on RU-vid

Hey Cuiv! As always, great video. Completely unrelated question... Any chance for you to do a review or test the sharpstar sca260? It looks as a really good option but I'm terrified of collimation in that thing.

Thanks! very helpful content for ys newtonian owners. So let's say you have one good night of imaging available in months, would you pick the 150 quattro over you others pieces of equipment such as the rasa or the recently reviewed refractor? Or the newton even if its a bang for the buck is no match against the high end equipment?

Hi. I use my asi244 with the all sky lens for computer collimation.

Can a simple planetary camera be used instead of the "ocal" one?

Cuiv, how do you ensure that, after proper collimation with OCAL, your camera with comma corrector enters the focuser tube under the precise same pressure from two ring screws? The tube is sufficiently wider than CC to cause loss of orthogonality. Lately I started to collimate through CC. Alternative is to invest into some nice compression ring or even better twist lock.

Awesome, I have that same telescope here is the CA, USA. Where did you find that dew shield?

Hi Ciuv, thank you very much for these tutorials of yours, I have learned a lot from you, keep it up. I also got this telescope, I was wondering where I can get the dew shield that you have mounted on the telescope. I have searched webstores and STL model also, but to no avail. Can you advise me. Thank you.

I can see you will be changing the focusor soon.

Will this whole rig fit on a Skywatcher EQM-35 Pro? payload is 22lbs. Im looking at buying one of these for my first telescope hahahaha You just cant beat the value for price! Thanks!

Can you use a guide camera to collimate? What's the diffrence to using a web cam?

Is there a link anyone could provide to the stl file for this dew sheild? is this your design?! looks great!

I need help. I knew the half of the things you told by simoly reading about this scope in cloudy nights and I don't even have a quattro or f 4 newt. I read about it nust because I like the 300p version and started to learn about it. Only thing I learn is the pushing primary miror with screws . I really need help. Also I thing for the price you can deal with problems you have with out changing the spider and adding mask. One idea I come up with is aliging spiders with primary miror holder things infront. If it is posible at all. Then maybe it does not cause the weird shapes that much. Also can you use stararizona nexus with this scope. Because f 3 with 300 mm apeture on 900 FL sound so good to me and I belive if it works here no reason to not work on 300p.

Great video ! very interesting !! one question, or, better. Two. Do you think that at one point you have to make the collimation of the newtonian ? second: do you mount every time the setup ? because i have a little "house" sort of "garden shed" where i put my telescope with all olready mount. Covered with a "cloth".

Unfortunately the other brands (Apertura, Orion, GSO) do not have adjustable tilt on the focuser. I know for sure, they are not leveled (mine isn't) because I could never get the collimation perfect, no matter what I did and I also know it's the focuser which has the issue, put on crooked. I think - reading some experienced people with Newtonians, their biggest-most expensive upgrade was always a better focuser, especially the ones that allows tilt adjustments. And those are usually cost as much as the entire Newtonian. At the same time they all saying it's a must upgrade for anyone who will use the Newt for imaging for a long time.

What is the approximant depth the Coma Corrector is inserted into the focuser?

“SkyWatcher be clearer about focuser! It is not good practice!”. SkyWatcher: “Dream on. How will we make then money selling cheap astro equipment?! We have no QC. This is key idea of manufacturing in our country. We always rely on RU-vidrs like you, who will be positively reviewing our products, which obviously PASSED rigorous QC. So, you are big part of our plan in conning consumers. Continue modification of our sheeit equipment and continue positive review our equipment, which is passed quality control“.

Thanks for all the tips, I'll put them to work, especially the level one as I'm struggling to correctly collimate with the OCAL, I find your description of collimation difficulties like mine! 😅 Are you taking into consideration the illuminated field? If I got it correctly, maybe the secondary mirror is a bit undersized. I have a 294 and should change the secondary to a 70mm one to get a 23 mm illuminated field (the sensor size of the 294). One more thing: how are you equilibrating it? with all the stuff on the front I'm struggling to get a good balance on the dec axis, are you using any weight for the back?

Hello Cuiv, im struggling with the right backfocus distance. Did you already find the sweetspot? I tried 55mm as suggested but the corners show me it was too far away from sensor.

Do you have multiple EAFs for your scopes? Or do you move one around from scope as you use them?

Drill a hole in the end of your screwdriver, put a lanyard through the hole, and put the other end of the lanyard around your neck. Hopefully that will prevent the screwdriver from driving into the mirror and screwing you if it falls. :)

Hi, how to be sure that the mask is well positioned on the miror ? Because it is not, when i will use ocal, i will center not the correct thing. Any tips ?

Hi Cuiv. Great work on this telescope. I have the same one and the same EAF. I just would like to know which is your backslash for the EAF. Mine is around 50 steps. Thanks a lot.

Should be possible to have a Hyperstar kind of setup with a camera at the end of the tube and no Secondary mirror ...

Cuiv, If you were designing a non flexing carbon fiber tube for an 200 mm astrograph, would it make sense to make it 6 or 8 inches longer so you would not need a dew shield? I know you want to minimize the wind factor also. The mirror weighs only 4 pounds so the steel tube is the biggest weight factor and I want to move the astrograph with my HEM27 mount. Thoughts about upgrading the tube.

You need one more upgrade. Get a set of Bob's knobs for collimation

Won't that extra long Coma corrector attract dew ?? ..

Hello - thank you ! I have have good success using a laser to collimate my 8” - 1000mm newt. What do you think of lasers ?

After considering the problems you have. Would you say the Vixen r200ss is much better, also for its much higher pice? Which would you buy if you have the money?

So, OCAL on a GSO RC8? We have tried everything. We've tried a cheap Laser Collimator, a Glatter Collimator, an Auto Collimator, a Cheshire... Will an OCAL make any difference?

What is the difference of the focusers? are there pictures to compare?

1:33 I don't know if the price raised or your idea of budget is off but that thing is almost 600$, there are still good offerings at lower prices.

Hi Cuiv! What camera is to be used when collimating using sharpcap? I can't get my Astro Cam to focus (Asi294mc Pro)