Hello, Gary,
.. If, like me, a person is not too great at spatial visualization, I can
offer a suggestion.
Ask someone to show you how, on your own telescope. On more than one
occasion. Have them coach you as you go through the proceedures yourself.. This
can be done at a star party if you arrive early and if there are knowledgeable
people with Newtonian Dobs there, as there usually are. Scott Naylor in my
observing group has been a big help to me. (Or if you are a Starmaster owner,
as I am, Rick Singmaster will run through the procedure with you as you stand
with your cell telephone by your scope outdoors some afternoon.) This has
helped me a lot and now I can collimate a Newtonian, though I still don't
understand the diagrams. While the Sky & Tel article is not as turgid and
incoherent as most of the collimation web pages, the diagrams on page 3 of the
Sky & Telescope article are laughable as explanatory devices for the
non-engineer.
When I lived in Boston I knew Paul Valleli, and his opinion I would
trust. It seems to me he wrote a very good article about collimation for Sky &
Telescope years ago and I wish I could find it now.. ..
The best idea for those who find spatial visualization --- seeing two
dimensional diagrams in three dimensions and holding them in memory at least
briefly -- is to have someone coach you as you do it. on several occasions
(Spaced learning is more effective than massed learning.).
Clear skies,
Bill Meyers.

wrote:

"Stephen Paul" wrote:


Does anyone have a web page with images like Bryan's, that is more
comprehensive on the _process_, without going into overkill optical theory

Try the instructions on Sky&Telescope's Web page
(www.skyandtlescope.com). Look for the article in the "How-To"
section, under "Telescopes and Binoculars."
(http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/sco...icle_787_1.asp)

They're the best instructions out there in my opinion. The main thing
is to relax, and proceed methodically. You can do it.

Regards,
Gary
Gary Seronik

(Remove the "z" for my actual e-mail address.)