Re ATM Collimating Newtonians with Laser, 4way

["Nils Olof Carlin" <nilsolof.carlin@swipnet.se>]

Ken,

I like your idea.

snip
>   What I have been hoping to do is find a way to project four beams from
on 
> laser module. Three to be adjustable in pitch away from center, while 
> remaining centered on the fourth and an equal distance from each other. 

Or maybe only the three. Make them diverge enough barely to miss the center
spot (old-fashioned, covering center, will do), then centering would be
distinct.
BUT the rays would not converge back, they would be parallel and hit the
laser holder in the corners of a triangle as large as where they hit the
main mirror, and I suspect  this would let you eye-ball the hit with much
better precision than watching the one ray enter the hole it came from
first (no allusions intended).

>  This way you could use the center beam for lining up your focuser to the

> secondary and down to the center of the primary. The three others would
use 
> the actual optical surface used by the telescope to shoot the three beams

> back on to the center one at the focuser. That should produce a very safe

> fast means of alignment.
>   Another device that I thought of would be a clamp on device on the
front 
> of the tube with three modules, equal distance from center and each
other. 
> Again adjustable. This would pattern the focus of the beams in more
similar 
> method to that of an images passing through the tube and on to the
primary.
> Dark Skies,
> Ken...

Now le's get together and invent a beam-splitter to do the job for us....

While on the subject - using sighting tubes (nth iteration), a cardboard
mask centered at the tube opening, with a hole as large as the main mirror,
allows you to center the optical axis :-) in case you feel a need to do so.

Off this subject - if anyone wonders where those SV:SV:SV: etc came from, I
am afraid from me - my <name withheld> Mail program is set for Swedish, and
SV is for "Svar" meaning "Reply", and I have found as yet no way to set it
to English.
I can manually alter SV to Re but too often forget. I will try harder.

Nils Olof.
> Visit my Web Site at http://kencar.simplenet.com
> Channel Master of the #ATM Channel on the Undernet 
> http://www.icstars.com/carrolls/atm
>