Product Description

When it comes to lasers and collimation, one of the most trusted names in the business is guru Howie Glatter. His uncompromising quality and dedication to above average products, not only put his name above the rest – but in demand as the finest available on today's market. Usually a manufacturer doesn't take the time to explain to a customer exactly why their product excels over others – or why it performs better – but not Howie.

The holographic collimator has a removable diffractive optical element ("hologram") placed in the beam, just ahead of the laser. It diffracts light from the laser to project a diverging, symmetrical pattern around the central beam which is quite useful for centering optical elements. My standard pattern is an illuminated ten line by ten line grid, forming a large square box enclosing eighty-one smaller squares. It covers a wider angle (21 degrees) than any other holographic collimator, which allows direct centering of f/ 2.7 to f/ 35 optics. It may seem counter-intuitive, but the square grid pattern gives greater sensitivity for centering circular optics of arbitrary size. If a mirror or lens is decentered by only a small amount against the grid pattern, it produces a proportionately larger asymmetry in the intersection points of the grid lines with the perimeter of the optic. Cross-hair patterns do not have this property.

The diffractors are individually fit to their collimators for maximum alignment accuracy, so if you have one of my holographic collimators and know someone else who has one, be careful not to switch diffractors. If switched, 15 second alignment accuracy in the holographic mode is likely to be lost, however, they will still fall within the several arc minute alignment tolerance of most other laser collimators. Because there are some collimating situations in which the diffracted pattern is unnecessary or unwanted, or maximum power in the central beam may be desired, the diffractor unscrews from the laser aperture, converting the holographic collimator to single beam mode. When it is screwed back it retains its alignment accuracy."

Accurate and Precise. What more could you ask?

Multiple Shapes Available

• Square Grid Pattern - A 10 x 10 line square grid pattern. It spreads 21 degrees which allows centering of optics as fast as f/ 2.7. This pattern is recommended for general use because it can be used with the fastest telescopes likely to be encountered.
• Concentric Circle Pattern - A nine-concentric circle pattern that spans 10 degrees and will reach to the edge of f/ 5.7 optics. Recommended for scopes around this focal ratio or slower. The Laser light is spread over a smaller area it is brighter than the square grid pattern, this makes it particularly useful with Cassegrain scopes, where the pattern impact is sometimes scrutinized on the mirror surface. The projected pattern is seen only by light that is scattered from dust, dirt, or optical roughness, so a brighter pattern is better, especially if the mirrors are very clean.
• CrossHair Pattern - Useful for aligning the returning beam on collimator face.