HOTECH 1.25 Inch Laser Collimator for Newtonian and Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes

Description

HoTech 1.25" SCA Laser Collimator for both Newtonian and SCT Telescopes.  Unit comes with built-in Selft Centering Adapter and one CR123 battery.

The HoTech laser collimator separates itself from all the other laser collimators with its innovative self-centering adapter technology (SCA).  The mechanism allows precise and repeatable installation in all brands of 1.25" and 2" telescope focusers.  All laser collimators in the current market have one fundamental problem - the slop in the adapting mechanism between the laser collimator and the telescope focuser.  This problem is clearly recognized and often discussed among astronomers but so far there is no definite solution in the market yet.

No matter how tight the tolerances are machined on the laser collimator or the focuser, a small gap is required to allow installation of the laser collimator.  Once the laser collimator is inserted, the required gap becomes a problem.  The laser collimator is fixed either with one or more thumbscrews or an unified compression ring.  Both methods introduce a very critical issue, namely an off-axis installment that instantly destroys the precision of your collimation instrument along the entire optical axis.

The patented HoTech SCA Laser Collimator separates itself from all the other laser collimators with its innovative self-centering adapter technology (SCA).  The mechanism allows precise and repeatable installation in all brands of 1.25" and 2" telescope focusers.  All laser collimators in the current market have one fundamental problem - the slop in the adapting mechanism between the laser collimator and the telescope focuser.  Using the conventional thumbscrew or the unified compressing ring to adapt the laser collimator will definitely shift the optical center to one side. 

The Self-Centering Adapter cleverly eliminates the slop by linearly compressing the built-in rubber rings.  By doing this, the diameter of the rings expands to compensate the gap.  Because all rings evenly expand radially in diameter from the compression, this automatically centers the laser collimator in the focuser draw tube.  The SCA adapter accommodates various brands of adapting focusers which have slightly different manufacturing inside diameters so our laser collimator will be precisely centered for each installment.

Precision Machined Compact Lightweight Design:

The collimator is built from aero-space grade lightweight aluminum and CNC machined with the tightest tolerances.  And it is sand blasted and anodized to protect it from harsh environment.  The lightweight design keeps your telescope balanced without creating additional structural sagging and imbalance during collimation.

Includes 45º Faceplate Viewer with Laser Engraved Targeting Grid:

The faceplate viewer helps to display the returning laser dot with a clear visual reference during collimation from the rear of the telescope.  It eliminates traveling to the front of your scope repeatedly.  We include it as a standard feature and we laser engrave the targeting grid to ensure long lasting quality display.

Finest Projecting Laser Dot:

Keeping the laser dot to the finest point is the key to precision collimation.  We limit our laser beam to the finest size to operate in the correct operating distance for optimal visual effect.  There is no guess work involved like other laser collimators which is difficult to center a large projecting laser dot to the center of the faceplate.

High Accuracy Laser Alignment:

We position the laser precisely in the exact optical path and align the laser beam alone the optical axis.  With the combination of the SCA and the laser alignment technologies, you can quickly collimate your telescope in confidence to achieve perfect collimation every time.

Long Lasting Battery Life:

By using the CR123, 3V battery as our laser power source, our laser collimator has over 65 hours of continuous use battery life time.  The included CR123, 3V lithium battery operates well under a typical cold night and it has a 10 years shelf life.  This is a great advantage that you don't have to worry about changing the tiny hard to find cell batteries frequently in the dark like other collimators

Proprietary Crosshair Laser Collimator Available

With our proprietary laser crosshair, user can zero-in the laser with ease during the final collimation on the secondary and the primary mirror.  The crosshair model still exibits a precision laser center dot, but with a touch of four extended laser lines from the center dot. The extension lines (crosshair) of the laser dot is the most intuitive way to guide the laser pointing for an accurate adjustment. During the secondary mirror collimation, a single dot laser projecting on the approximate center of the pre-loaded donut is difficult to identify if the laser dot is exactly on the center.  The crosshair laser can easily help user to adjust the secondary mirror to point the laser on the exact center with the help of the crosshair line. During the final primary mirror collimation, the returning laser dot often hides into the laser exiting hole preventing user to identify if the returning laser is at exact center of the hole.  Again, the crosshair will visually guide the user to center the laser dot with ease even when the center laser dot disappears into the exiting hole.  It is a very effective and essential feature to the SCA Laser Collimator in obtaining at even higher degree of accuracy with ease.