Once you get good at it, star-testing doesn't eat up as much time as you think. Even Glatter recommends star-testing as a part of the collimation process. Speaking of Glatter, his products are clearly the best- but it's awfully hard for me to plop down that kind of money for something I can make myself, and especially for something I've been doing by eye for 40 years. I did purchase a cheapie but have the instrumentality to remake the darned thing, if need be. As time permits, I'll see where things stand. Remember I'm an ATM first and foremost- building the stuff is every bit as enjoyable as using it. Sometimes more so. One big reason I've designed my 17.5" scope in a traditional tube, rather than a truss, is to avoid as much collimation as possible. And Kurt is right-on and read my mind. One day it will be mounted permanently. On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 7:30 PM, Canopus56 <canopus56@yahoo.com> wrote:

I wrote:

...

For me, it's a time and enjoyment thing. Minimize the time getting the scope really aligned and collimated and spend more time at the eyepiece.

P.S. - Which is why this thread probably ought to be under "Re: [Utah-astronomy] Pondering permanent piers" or "Why I gave up nightly collimating altogether and just mounted the darn thing once." - Kurt