Broken laser max collimator

[Richard Navarrete]

I’ve got a Lasermax collimator that is falling apart due to leaky batteries and neglect. Some battery springs have fallen off and some connections on the electronics board are broken. Is there anyone on this list who knows how to repair this kind of damage?

Thanks,

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

[Alex]

1. Unscrew the PCB.
2. Clean PCB from acidic residues; spring plates too (100% isopropyl alcohol works well).

3. Use AVOmeter and trace contacts and lines of the PCB to infer the original circuit. 

4. Measure the value of the SMD resistor (the missing one is most likely the same as that should be a symmetric circuit). Or ID the SMD using online components decoding guide. ALso you want to infer the resistor wattage from the power your cells would deliver at max possible current (U=I*R).

5. Glue back spring plates to their original locations (epoxy resin should hold well if you roughen down the PCB first and remove the laquer particles).

6. Solder thin isolated wires directly to spring plates restoring broken lines of the circuit. 

7. Find  a regular resistor of the same value as SMD and with inferred wattage, solder it either in place or with flexible wires to move it away from any unwanted contact with other components if necessary.

8. Make sure there are no short circuits created using AVOmeter. Isolate with tape or lacquer.

9. Try it.

Don't leave any alkalines in your gear for longer than a few weeks.

[Aris Pope]

https://www.highpointscientific.com/orion-lasermate-deluxe-ii-laser-collimator-05691?gQT=1

Aris

[Richard Navarrete]

Thanks, Aris. I do have another laser collimator. It just seems a shame to let the lasermax go to waste.

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

On Sunday, June 1, 2025, 9:57 PM, Aris Pope <arispo...@gmail.com> wrote:

https://www.highpointscientific.com/orion-lasermate-deluxe-ii-laser-collimator-05691?gQT=1

Aris

--
Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit

https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAP5wcXm9cOrGbLe8s%2BFB32%3DSZh-bKvNL67N6e82oTWH%3DF4B8Ag%40mail.gmail.com

.

[Richard Navarrete]

Beautiful! I wish I understood past #2. 😆 Thanks for taking the time to write out those instructions .

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

--
Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit

https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAG%2BmxVTPZapF%2B28KdjDuDGgjmNsJwXFuSnzRxjqj6Lb%3DcAx50w%40mail.gmail.com

.

[Aris Pope]

Yeah I know what you mean I like to try to salvage things too. But I'm not as handy as Alex. I have been looking into getting a solder setup. There's some mods I want to make on my new CEM60 mount.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/760489174.2059751.1748840778582%40mail.yahoo.com.

Aris

[Alex]

Aris. ($69) $59 (!) For that Orion laser pointer? AMAZING rip off! I have exactly that model without the Orion logo but with the 2" aluminum adaptor. It was shipped from Amazon for $11 ~5 years back. I believe I saw it at $7 on AliExpress the year before that (a very crude craftsmanship but works like a charm for BLC (as any laser pointer would). Is that big beautiful tariffs? Hidden avalanche inflation? Or just sheer greed of HPS?

[Alex]

Well, it's actually a rather simple repair: Measure, document, reverse-engineer, restore, replace.

The AVOmeter - is for Ampere / Volt / Ohm - meter device.  A.k.a. Multimeter or tester. Something to track electric connections and measure electrical params of the circuit components. Though you need only A, V, and Ohm measurements here, no need for anything like a $500 fancy Multimeter.

PCB - Printed circuit board (you want to repair its oxidized printed "pieces").

SMD - surface mounted device. "Resistor device" in this case. Which seem to be missing from the top part of the circuit (as pictured). It can be replaced with a regular (cylindrical) resistor as otherwise you would need advanced soldering gear and fine skills to solder an SMD replacement, otherwise there will be a good chance damaging the PCB further in the process. A regular resistor is a 100% viable replacement in this case. Unless the battery is something having very proprietary fit (doubt it, looks like AAs?).

If there are any other questions/confusion/doubts - welcome. I can elaborate further.

[Richard Navarrete]

Thanks again for the wealth of education! I’d be happy to send the collimator to you if you’d like to try and fix it. It’s a very nice holographic collimator. I’ve since bought a replacement so you could keep this one.

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

--
Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit

https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAG%2BmxVRtJjxfiKTrKAAcKpuReh3%2BHD3s24W0VCM%2BVwM3GE9OZg%40mail.gmail.com

.

[Aris Pope]

Not sure but it's an option away from soldering. I have an old Meade laser collimator that was collimated quite well out the box. Much better than the Svbony laser collimator that I bought from Amazon when I first started. The Svbony was such a hassle, it came out of the box well out of collimation. And to make things worse there was a layer of rubber/wax that covered the Allen adjustment screws making collimation almost impossible. One thing most people forget or overlook is to check the collimation of the collimator. It is especially important if you are doing imaging like myself. I think for visual you have a little bit more leeway.

I know one thing that certainly could be attributing to the higher cost would be the fact that Meade and Orion are out of business. I guess those things are collector's items now. 

Aris

On Tue, Jun 3, 2025, 1:03 PM Alex <alex.k...@gmail.com> wrote:

Aris. ($69) $59 (!) For that Orion laser pointer? AMAZING rip off! I have exactly that model without the Orion logo but with the 2" aluminum adaptor. It was shipped from Amazon for $11 ~5 years back. I believe I saw it at $7 on AliExpress the year before that (a very crude craftsmanship but works like a charm for BLC (as any laser pointer would). Is that big beautiful tariffs? Hidden avalanche inflation? Or just sheer greed of HPS?

--
Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAG%2BmxVQ8r%3D163kHdv88XRbvqVw%2Bg-OG1DoCus%3DB-Fx%2BUB1mTkg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Camerabooks.com Support]

If your laser collimator is not pointed right you can rotate it in the drawtube, use the center of the circle it describes as your center. 

Tom Duncan

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAP5wcXkw3M2A9q9Js%3DayssECCH9%2Bpe9%2BpS7qGwasRvQnzLy9Jw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Aris Pope]

I tried the rotation thing. Didn't work for me. The thing is you have to rotate the laser and see how it rotates around the center mark of the primary. Then you adjust the secondary so that the laser rotates and equal distance around the center mark. Was too much for me. My Meade laser hold center when I rotate.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAAQhcBUtNJqcHHxqcdNCBZpmGWd7iaADmJwR1vdFvUjbRf_Sww%40mail.gmail.com.

Aris

[Alex]

That's very generous offer Richard. Thank you! Though I'm settled on the BLC (Balowed Laser Collimation) technique for the past couple of decades. I believe that's the best collimation flow for Dobs esp. if followed by the actual star test if in doubt. It's also laser-focuser-quality-agnostic, and affecting the darkness adaptation less than most other methods. While the holographic disperser is more suitable for avid ATMers and Cats owners. Thus I would pass the offer to someone from that camp instead. :) At any rate, I have too many unfinished projects on my hands at the moment. But if nobody else give you a hand with it till around September, just let me know again (in PM is OK too), I'll keep in mind a slot for that project for the "after the summer end" time.

All The Best,
-Alex

[Richard Navarrete]

Sounds good, Alex. Good luck on your current project.

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

--

Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit

https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAG%2BmxVS7%3D8CDNpVuKUAPO-3HqsWwQwO_5ELmtNrYvmfe5ScNzQ%40mail.gmail.com

.

[Philip Manela]

Richard,

I read through Alex’s repair proposal and it sounds straightforward.

If you’d like, I can help you out.

— Philip

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/877725889.48486.1749082118385%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Richard Navarrete]

That would be great! Send me your address in a private message.

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/D6EB121D-3E82-4113-A4FE-7469F295D364%40gmail.com.

[John Pierce]

I found it great procedure for adjusting a collimating laser on one of the laser makers sites...   Basically put a table about 10 feet from a wall, and C clamp two short  pieces of 2x4 or similar with a 1.5" gap (for a 2" collimator).  Put the collimator on this gap aimed at the wall, tape a page of paper to the wall.   Rotate the collimator and note the circle the laser makes, mark the paper at the highest point and lowest points of that circle, use a level and draw horizontal lines through those marks.  Draw another line halfway between those two lines...

Find the collimator's adjusting screws, there should be 2 pairs...  Put 1 at 12 o'clock, adjust it so the laser is on that center line, rotate the laser 180 and adjust the complement screw too.   Then rotate the laser 90 degrees and do the same with the other pair of screws.    Rotate the laser several full turns slowly and see if it's still making a circle, refine the adjustments til it stays put on a single point.

[Alex]

Hey John. That's a nice technique if the LC holds the collimation well. Cheap stuff like that Orion (and the old original Orion with the cat chaser laser pointer inside) does not. Also some LCs have an odd shape casing so you would need a dedicated rotation rig to rotate it precisely enough around the actual focuser end barrel axis.

For cheap odd-shaped LCs, which are usually 1.25", I've been using a 1.25" to 2" adapter clamped in the vises by its side rim. That way you can rotate it freely and precisely in the adapter while projecting to that piece of paper on the wall. Also 10' is a bit too close. 20' would give you more optimal accuracy. Also, use some graph paper if working alone. That way you can mark it with custom coordinates first and then estimate where the ring center coordinates are by observing the circling spot directly while rotating the LC (small binos would help with 20'). You can go as precise as desired with multiple adjust/observe iterations.

With the BLC method, I'm also using a cheap 1.25" to 2" adaptor which suffers from a good amount of wiggling (came with that $11 LC which Aris posted for $70 :) ). So I can simply loosen both side screws (on 1.25" adaptor and on 2" focuser), force the barlowed (defocused) beam spot to cover the mirror target completely through the hole in the focuser screen, clamp it in that odd orientation by screws, and then go observing/adjusting the marker shadow on the focuser screen looking from the primary's end. It looks like a crude collimation at first glance, but in fact all these imperfections of the LC are very well compensated by the sole nature of this BLC projection method. Following star tests confirmed it dozens of times to me, so I stopped doing them many years back. :)