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I bought a cheap, A4Tech, cylindrical webcam for collimating the 180mm [7"] f12 refractor but hadn't persevered at the time. Having just tried pointing the tiny camera lens at the eye end of the Cheshire collimating "eyepiece" I can confirm that it will work through the peephole. Though it needs the camera to be aligned dead center to the viewing hole.
The cross-hairs show up nicely on the screen in OBS Studio. Applying a bright LED torch to the Cheshire's light entry port illuminated the computer screen well enough to throw back a reflection. The screen is low reflection plastic so this bodes well for shinier glass. Albeit glass with a low reflection coating.
The idea is to use my tablet as the viewing screen by using TeamViewer. The tablet will provide a clear view through the Cheshire at the objective end where I am busy doing the adjusting. Without my having to dash back and forth from one end of the 8' long telescope to the other.
By the time I had done the round trip I would completely forget which way the screws moved the multiple reflections. After they bounced back from the four surfaces of the lens through the peephole in the Cheshire. I tried writing it down but the collimation screws are buried at the bottom of a 10" diameter x 10" long, blackened dewshield.
Aligning my silly hex drive, extension rods and hex key to reach into the darkness was hard work. It was akin to trying to pat my belly while simultaneously stroking my head using only one hand. Or is it the other way around? I was always terrified of scratching the front surface of the 7" objective with the collimation, hex key!
Click on any image for an enlargement.
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