--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "gnowellsct" <tim71pos@...> wrote:
>
> I guess I don't understand why an irregularity or tilt in the hose
> clamp would not affect the total travel of my laser beam.

Some part of the hose clamp will make contact with the back
end of the mirror cell...and that profile is probably pretty
smooth/regular in shape.

That means you can rotate the mirror...and as the mirror cell keeps
contact with one part of the hose clamp...the cell/mirror won't
piston up/down the baffle tube by more than a small fraction of an
inch.

And if your laser reflection distance is 8 - 10 feet...you'll be
looking for laser spot movement of 1/8 inch more more...as an example.

> Basically my mirror is on a "plate." It is possibly tilted.

The tilt of the plate is not important. We are evaluating the tilt
of the reflective/optical surface of the main mirror. That is the
important thing we evaluate here. (After I glue the mirror in
place...I remove all connection with the rear plate...it was only
helpful when adjusting mirror tilt with set screws I added to it.)

--
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Tom Krajci
Cloudcroft, New Mexico
http://picasaweb.google.com/tom.krajci

Center for Backyard Astrophysics (CBA)
http://cbastro.org/ CBA New Mexico

American Association of Variable Star
Observers (AAVSO): KTC http://www.aavso.org/
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