AstromaniaLaser Collimator for Newtonian Dobsonian Marca Telescopes, Telescope Alignment 1.25 Inch with 7 Red Laser Bright Levels, Great Telescope Accessories Laser Alignment Tool for Collimation

I wasn’t expecting much given the low price, but this Astromania Laser Collimator really impressed me. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do and gets the job done without costing a fortune.What I Liked:Super Easy to Use: Setting it up was a breeze. Some reviewers mentioned issues with the battery, but I had no problems. It takes a CR2032 battery, and I had it installed in seconds—super simple.Does the Job Well: After using this collimator, my reflector telescope was perfectly aligned. The views were noticeably sharper, and it saved me a lot of time getting everything lined up.Laser Dot with Adjustable Brightness: The laser dot was clear and easy to see, and I really appreciated the adjustable brightness settings. They made it easy to use in different lighting conditions without any issues.Sturdy Build: I was surprised by how solid it feels. It’s not flimsy like I expected at this price, and it’s held up well after several uses.Final Thoughts: For the price, this collimator is a fantastic deal. It works great, was easy to set up, and helped me get my telescope perfectly aligned. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly tool for your Newtonian, I highly recommend this one.

Like the title says, mine was perfectly calibrated out of the box. That said, you should always be prepared to verify and adjust a tool like this when it arrives.Build quality is excellent. Far better than I expected at this price.Once I verified the calibration, I popped it in my telescope and saw just how awful my collimation was using the cap that came with my telescope. Getting everything properly aligned was a piece of cake.

The laser I got is just barely off collimation, but it’s within the margin of error so I still use it for my Orion xt8 and it still aligns the mirrors very well. Definitely worth the price and makes it really easy to collimate.

Needed to check the mirror alignment on my dobsonian. Found out that the alignment was off, which I had suspected due to blurry images. After checking the device itself to make sure it was collimated, which it was right out of the box, I inserted it into the focuser and started the collimation process. Very easy tool to use. As others mentioned, this does not come with a battery and the instructions don’t tell you which one to use. I read from others that it takes a CR2032 so that is what I used. Can’t beat the price for this useful tool.

The collimator makes mirror alignment easy, but there are a few things to consider:1. BatteryIt is true that the design of the battery bay isn’t great. The battery doesn’t just pop in. There is a rubber gasket that has to be removed before putting the battery in and it can take a while to figure it out. Once done, it’s pretty simple and even silly, but looking at the battery bay without knowing, it does look like the battery won’t ever fit. The key is removing the black rubber gasket, putting the battery in and replacing the gasket. Having an engineering degree helps, but so does being an experienced astronomer.2. Some people here in the reviews mentioned that the collimator comes misaligned itself. I first made a note with pencil of where the laser spot was pointed before moving the screws on the telescope, in case I needed to go back. It went well, but I will always stress that measures have to be taken to be able to go back to where you started, always, no matter what it is that you are disassembling or adjusting. It’s a law of life and doing so will bring peace, and failing to do it will bring countless hours of frustration and work.My collimator didn’t seem out of alignment, or the results were better after aligning the main mirror. We saw Jupiter and it’s moons in much better focus.Overall I recommend this collimator, it’s pretty good for an amateur like me and the price isn’t bad.Lastly, I wish a headache to those that post reviews saying “good”, “bad”, “delivered on time”, “box was mishandled” and all the useless nonsense that makes me want to kick them.Thank you for reading me.