A 12 year old video and probably the most in depth and informative video I've seen on collimation.   As a new Newtonian owner, this is an amazing find.

You are right, a laser can make one a nutcase, it can show a completely out of whack telescope to be perfectly collimated

Very useful video.  Thanks for taking the time to make it.

Thanks astroshed. This works and far better than what the eye can see. I never have to touch the secondary screws anymore.

I always knew that there is somemething wrong with standard laser collimation but i did not know how to adjust secondary mirror properly. Thank you so much for your video!

My telescope is absolutely weird since i removed the mirrors for cleaning wont collimate no matter what i do. This is exactly what i need. Thanks.

Sadly, no-one appears to make the Lifecam adaptor now, So, I'll have to make one. A point not noted is that the Lifecam must be colimated in the adaptor for this method to work. So, I'll make an adaptor with colimation screws. To colimate the lifecam, all that's needed is a jig with two pairs of decent ball races that the adaptor can be rotated on. I made one so that I could colimate my laser colimator, which out of the box was not properly colimated (not good). It's very easy to do on a solid bench with a target set up a few metres away to centre up on. Then, as Astronomyshed says, it's essential to use a self centering adaptor in your focuser, such as this: OVL Twist Lock Adaptor 2" - 1.25"
The adaptor must be seated carefully in the focuser that ideally has a compression band rather that just two screws. It's also best to mark the adaptor so that it is always set in the same position in the focuser.
The process only works if the focuser is slop free, set and locked fully in. Once everything is properly aligned, make permanent position marks on all components and always assemble in the same way. It simply means developing a working method, and sticking to it.
There is a common myth which says that it's not important that the focuser is orthogonal to the OTA axis - it is important.

Man, you are a genius! Your method is simply brilliant! After many years trying (and failing) to collimate my Newtonian, I finally managed to get round stars! I can’t believe my eyes. But I did my own variation of your method. First, I used my RPi with NoIR camera (lens on) and the crosshairs from PHD2 (with the V4L2 driver) for the secondary mirror, and than I used an artificial star and a DSLR for the primary mirror. PS: I aligned the focuser, installed springs in the spider, and loosened the primary mirror holders (to avoid pinched optics). Many thanks for the great video library!

THANK YOU! Bought a used scope and had a hell of a time tracking down where it was having issues. This was beyond helpful and kept me from pulling out all my hair, just the normal amount.

Just taken my first paddle in the sea of Newtonians and I am truly greatful for the knowledge you have shared. As a precision engineer, I now feel armed with enough information to really sort a scope out. That includes your other collimation videos.

Thank you you're painstaking detail here but, THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY!!!!! Great presentation and brilliant camera angles brother stargaxer!

I'm so frateful! You are very generous with your wisdom.

I love your videos, this is just brilliant

Nice.  Very interesting method, but almost more importantly, the only alignment info I've come across that adequately (if at all) mentions secondary to focuser alignment in a remotely fathomable or doable way.  I'll definitely try this and see, for me, how it fairs against other methods ...  Cheers !

Good method! I was always unsure if the secondary mirror was in a right position in it's rotation plain.

There's plenty of info on the forum of my site at astronomyshed, but basically it all helps to stop random light bouncing about in the tube and gives more contrast to the views.

thank you.. thank you.. thank you..

Thank you. Great video.

Thanks for the Video, this type of Collimation sound really good to me.
I´ve tried it, but the Weather doesnt let me try , so hopefully this works fine.
cheers mate

Great video.