Collimation Help Celestron C6 SCT

1 reply102 views
A. Wegdan avatar
I'm having an issue with collimating my scope and for the life of me I cant seem to figure it out.

Now I know the collimation basics, and procedures.  The issue im facing is this, yesterday I had slight mis-collimation so i proceeded with doing a visually aided collimation on Capella.

After I was satisfied I slewed over to my target "The bubble nebula NGC 7635". My plate solving didn't work, when i looked at the screen the stars were all streaks. Now you might say its polar alignment or some other sort of error but my live screen is going at 300ms and high gain and the stars were actually small streaks. 

I proceeded to do another collimation and it went all good until i went out of focus to the other side, I usually collimate by taking the star out of focus in one direction then confirming by taking it out of focus the other direction. What I'm consistently seeing is that one direction of focus is collimated the other is not. When i collimate on that direction the other goes out of collimation. 

What am i missing here? Also seems like after the collimation the direction I'm pointed at is fine, but when i move to target the stars are streaks …. I was scratching my head all night and got so frustrated and went to sleep.

Below is an illustration of what I descried above (excuse my terrible art) , and a picture of Vega I took along time ago with another symptom ( though at that point I had no streaks issue) 

Any insights on what the issue could be would be greatly appreciated.

 Clear Skies 
 
Helpful Engaging
churmey avatar
Ahmed,

I'm sorry your having issues. I'm not sure what is going on here and don't have much advice too offer.  I would however suggest that you ensure that all your corrector plate screws are tight (these can loosen over time). Then I would ensure that your secondary collimation screws are tightened evenly amongst the three. Not over-tightened but that they are firm. From this position, I would begin my collimation process and only backing off the collimation screws in very small turns until you meet collimation. Once complete, see if you have the same issues or if this has corrected it.
Helpful Respectful
Related discussions
A long reflection on migrating to a telescope
I confess that I am increasingly confused. Based on the advices following up my last post, I started to delve into the world of telescopes to replace my ordinary zoom lens. Let's start with figures: my Sigma zoom 150-600mm, which I always use at ...
Nov 4, 2023
Both posts discuss technical challenges faced by amateur astronomers trying to optimize their equipment setup for astrophotography.
Looking for suggestions for a new scope
Hi Everyone, With holiday shopping season in full swing I have been debating a new scope to complement my current lineup. Here’s my current gear: Cameras (Both IMX571 Color) with EFWsATR2600C + G3M 678C on OAGASI2600MC Duo (ASI220 Guider)ScopesEsprit...
Nov 25, 2024
Both posts discuss telescope equipment considerations, with one troubleshooting collimation issues and the other seeking advice on purchasing additional telescope gear.