OCAL 3.0 Electronic Collimator - Forums

Topic starter

Nov 2, 2023

Does anyone have any experience using the OCAL 3.0 electronic collimator with the Celestron Edge 8 scope?
I have one and started learning it tonight, but I have no idea whether I collimated correctly and won't know until I can get out under the stars.

1. How do supply enough light to the telescope? I have a round light panel but cannot put it on the correctly plate as it blocks the collimation screws. Instead I aimed the scope upward toward a ceiling light, but I have doubts as to the accuracy and evenness of light, if that matters.

2. Should I try collimating outdoors late in the day?

3. Does the Edge need to be in focus when collimating? It seems that it doesn't matter because the camera has its own focus mechanism. Not sure though.

Any advice or suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,
Jerry

Engaging

Karl Theberge

Nov 2, 2023

I dont own one yet, but other than better resolution and low light management, this this is the same as the OCAL 2.0 or OCAL Pro.

There is a good lot of ressource on the ocal 2 on youtube, you should have a look at those since the operation is probably copy paste.

Karl

Miguel A.

Nov 2, 2023

Jerry Gerber:
Does anyone have any experience using the OCAL 3.0 electronic collimator with the Celestron Edge 8 scope?
I have one and started learning it tonight, but I have no idea whether I collimated correctly and won't know until I can get out under the stars.

1. How do supply enough light to the telescope? I have a round light panel but cannot put it on the correctly plate as it blocks the collimation screws. Instead I aimed the scope upward toward a ceiling light, but I have doubts as to the accuracy and evenness of light, if that matters.

2. Should I try collimating outdoors late in the day?

3. Does the Edge need to be in focus when collimating? It seems that it doesn't matter because the camera has its own focus mechanism. Not sure though.

Any advice or suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,
Jerry

Hello, Jerry. I am also looking into this tool to collimate my EdgeHD 8. I found this YT video which highlights the differences. I will also share this video on how to collimate with this tool.

Reg Pratt

Nov 2, 2023

You may want to consider also posting on the OCAL Facebook group if you haven't yet. Its pretty active.

Jerry Gerber

Topic starter

Nov 2, 2023

The challenge I am having is that when I get the outer green circle perfectly centered using the center offset, then the innermost circle is not centered perfectly. What I need to know is which circle is most critical in terms of being centered using the vertical and horizontal offsets? Once I know that, I can then collimate easily.

Here's a photo:

As you can see, the green and red circles are centered, but the innermost blue circle is not. Should I proceed with collimation or should I center the innermost circle as in the 2nd image:

Well Written Engaging

Mickaelle (kaelig)

Nov 4, 2023 · Edited: Nov 4, 2023

I have an Ocal 2, it is a very good tool, I use only this tool for collimation. The collimation result is verified with an image with CCDinspector software.

Jerry Gerber

Topic starter

Nov 4, 2023

I don't think I can do better than this, but still haven't yet been outside under the stars to verify results. I still don't understand what the "tilt" and "pan" functions are on the camera settings with OCAL 3.0. They don't change anything in the image as I move the sliders around. Also, what is the "backlight" function for? Again, when I turn it off and on I see no change at all in the image. Jerry

Jerry Gerber

Topic starter

Nov 4, 2023

I have an Ocal 2, it is a very good tool, I use only this tool for collimation. The collimation result is verified with an image with CCDinspector software.

I don't understand your images. Are you trying to collimate an SCT? That's what I am posting about. The real test, and only thing that counts, is how do the stars look? I haven't been able to get outside due to weather yet, so I have to wait to find out..