Omni xlt 150

I got what I think (and did a ton of research) was good deal on an Omni XLT 150, limit budget and all that. The only thing is I don't think the mirror has been clean in years and it has been colliminated in as long. I know these two things should really improve this scope. Here comes the rub.. I'm not in a position to do either lacking the gear and knowledge. I'd welcome any advice or assistance. Thanks Pat

Hi Pat, First things first.Do the mirrors need to be cleaned?.Their main function is to catch and reflect light,NOT TO SHAVE IN.Mirrors have to be really dirty to degrade your views.Assuming they are that dirty, I would only consider removing the primary mirror.This is done by removing the 4 screws on the side of the mirror cell.Please note it is a good idea to mark the position of one screw with 2 pieces of tape,one placed on the scope body and the other on the edge of the mirror cell. This enables you to line up the screw holes when putting the mirror back.Once you have the mirror cell out, you must carefully remove the 3 mirror clips to release the mirror.Now to the cleaning, there are several good examples of how to clean telescope mirrors on "You-tube" I would suggest picking the simplest one."Just go nice and gentle".When the mirror is clean and dry place it back in the cell and carefully replace the 3 mirror clips.Please note the mirror clips only have to make contact with the mirror, so not to tight or you could distort the mirror.As for cleaning the secondary mirror, while you have the primary mirror out. with a soft lint free cloth, reach into the tube and gently give it a wipe to remove any surface dust or dirt. You can if you wish blow into the focuser tube to fog-up the secondary mirror thus making it damp and gently wipe again after the fog has evaporated from the mirror.Lots of articles on the "net" re. collimation again keep it simple.Will get back to you on that when I get a chance.I currently use an Omni xlt 150 so have plenty tips to do with same. Hope this is some help to you. ps. I always work on my scope mounted on the tripod and locked off to one side and always "Horizontal"

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure if it is too dirty is the honest answer, I could probably write clean me in the mirror and it would be visible. I wasn't sure whether my optics were too dirty or needed. The collimanation could be improved but I just noticed that one of the collimanating screws is bent and previous owner used a shim to it into focus. So I'll need to replace that screw if I can find a replacement. Might use as an opportunity to clean mirror then as well. Procedure makes sense thanks for that. What tool do you colliminate with?
Cheers Pat

Well the clouds finally parted last night, so I could see the sky. I decided not to clean the mirror for the time being. I've worked just on collimating the telescope, it was hugely out of line. I've not invested in any tool yet but started by just using my eye. It was so significantly off that this was a major adjustment, but it got me pretty close. Next I found an old cap that I made into a collimating cap. This brought a finer alignment. And finally last night I finished by using a star. It was really great in the end seeing the symmetric, concentric circles of the star when I took it out of focus. Last night was a bit of a test run no real plan/targets just playing about. Because it was still early evening very few stars were visible, but wow when I found one I was amazed by the number of surrounding ones I could see. Probably have a week til next time we have clear skies so better get planning for then.