Aligning The Primary Mirror - Orion SPACEPROBE 130ST EQ Manual

Figure 9.
To center the secondary mirror under the focuser, hold
the secondary mirror holder in place with one hand while adjusting
the center screw with a Phillips screwdriver. Do not touch the
mirror's surface
If the entire primary mirror reflection is not visible in the sec-
ondary mirror, as in Figure 8c, you will need to adjust the tilt
of the secondary mirror. This is done by alternately loosening
one of the three alignment setscrews while tightening the
other two, as depicted in Figure 10. The goal is to center the
primary mirror reflection in the secondary mirror, as in Figure
8d. Don't worry that the reflection of the secondary mirror
(the smallest circle, with the collimation cap "dot" in the cen-
ter) is off-center. You will fix that in the next step.

Aligning the Primary Mirror

The final adjustment is made to the primary mirror. It will
need adjustment if, as in Figure 8d, the secondary mirror
is centered under the focuser and the reflection of the pri-
mary mirror is centered in the secondary mirror, but the small
reflection of the secondary mirror (with the "dot" of the col-
limation cap) is off-center.
To access the primary mirror collimation screws, remove
the cover plate on the rear end of the optical by unthreading
the three Phillips-head screws with a screwdriver. The tilt of
the mirror is adjusted with three pairs of collimation screws
(Figure 11). The collimation screws can be turned with a
Phillips head screwdriver and a 2.5mm Allen wrench.
Each pair of collimation screws work together to adjust the
tilt of the primary mirror. The set screw pushes the mirror for-
ward while the Phillips head screw pulls the mirror cell back.
One must be loosened and the other tightened by the same
amount in order to adjust the tilt. Try tightening and loosening
one of the pairs of collimation screws one turn. Look into the
focuser and see if the secondary mirror reflection has moved
closer to the center of the primary. You can tell this easily with
the collimation cap and mirror center mark by simply watch-
ing to see of the "dot" of the collimation cap is moving closer
or farther away from the ring on the center of the primary
mirror. Repeat this process on the other two pairs of collima-
tion screws, if necessary. It will take a little trial and error to
get a feel for how to adjust the mirror to center the "dot" of
the collimation cap in the ring of the mirror mark.
Figure 10.
Adjust the tilt of the secondary mirror by loosening or
tightening the three alignment set screws with a 2mm Allen wrench.
Figure 11.
The back end of the optical tube (bottom of the
primary mirror cell). The three pairs of set screws and Phillips-head
screws adjust the tilt of the primary mirror.
When you have the dot centered as much as possible in the
ring, your primary mirror is collimated. The view through the
collimation cap should resemble Figure 8e. Make sure all
the collimation screws are tight (but do not overtighten), to
secure the mirror tilt.
A simple star test will tell you whether the optics are accu-
rately collimated.
Star-testing the telescope
When it is dark, point the telescope at a bright star and accu-
rately center it in the eyepiece's field of view. Slowly de-focus
the image with the focusing knob. If the telescope is correctly
collimated, the expanding disk should be a perfect circle
(Figure 12). If the image is unsymmetrical, the scope is out
of collimation. The dark shadow cast by the secondary mirror
should appear in the very center of the out-of-focus circle,
like the hole in a donut. If the "hole" appears off-center, the
telescope is out of collimation.
If you try the star test and the bright star you have select-
ed is not accurately centered in the eyepiece, the optics
will always appear out of collimation, even though they
Set screw
Phillips-head
screw
11