Please help, serious focus issues

[doc3170]

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0.5in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">I was out viewing the other night when while pointing my scope (an XT 8 Classic) near the zenith I nearly tipped it over.<span>&nbsp; </span>After this bump I was no longer able to focus, so I packed up for the night planning to collimate in the morning.<span>&nbsp; </span>A little inspection showed the spider knobs had vibrated loose.<span>&nbsp; </span>Man I hate messing with the secondary mirror.<span>&nbsp; </span>I collimated it this afternoon & took it out tonight, but it still doesn&rsquo;t focus properly.<span>&nbsp; </span>Everything looks fine through my 25mm EP, but through all the others stars look like fuzzy doughnuts.<span>&nbsp; </span>For a nearly perfect example of what it looks like there is a picture in The Backyard Astronomers Guide (Revised Edition) on page 124.<span>&nbsp; </span>It should be noted that when using the 25mm EP, the focuser is about &frac14; of a turn from full travel.<span>&nbsp; </span>Is this normal?</font></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>I think my scope is properly collimated.<span>&nbsp; </span>I think maybe the bump may have hurt the focuser somehow.<span>&nbsp; </span>If the focuser would travel a little further, I think it would focus fine.<span>&nbsp; </span>However, I&rsquo;m not certain & this isn&rsquo;t the whole story.<span>&nbsp; </span></font></font></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>When I got my scope the secondary was completely retracted, probably for safety during shipping.<span>&nbsp; </span>This being my first experience with collimating, the laser that the scope came with wasn&rsquo;t useful.<span>&nbsp; </span>The laser dot pointed to the wall inside the scope.<span>&nbsp; </span>So I learned to collimate using the collimating cap, it took me about eight hours to figure it out, that includes a few frustration breaks.<span>&nbsp; </span>Since then I&rsquo;ve just used the cap, but the only thing needing adjustment since that day was the primary, which is a snap.<span>&nbsp; </span>After collimating the first time & taking my scope out to see fuzzy doughnut stars, I decided to check it with the laser & sure enough it was out, the dot hit the ceiling.<span>&nbsp; </span>So I collimated it using the laser, & it&rsquo;s even worse.<span>&nbsp; </span>In order to get the laser to return to itself, the secondary is tilted so that there isn&rsquo;t a complete view (you see the side of the tube).<span>&nbsp; </span>Also, the same fuzzy doughnut stars.<span>&nbsp; </span>I also need to mention that the day I got my scope I dropped the laser on the concrete floor in the garage, Ouch!<span>&nbsp; </span>Because it&rsquo;s been dropped & the fact that when the laser lines up, you don&rsquo;t get a full picture, I don&rsquo;t trust it.<span>&nbsp; So I re-collimated it using the cap again & tonight the same fuzzy doughnut stars again.&nbsp; </span></font></font></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>All of that said, I think the scope is collimated properly. <span>&nbsp;</span>I think either the focuser needs an adjustment of some kind, or when I tightened the spider knobs, it changed the hanging position of the secondary, which might be causing problems. <span>&nbsp;</span></font></font></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Any thoughts or ideas you might have would be GREATLY APRECIATED. <span>&nbsp;</span>Sorry for writing a book, I felt you needed all the info. <span>&nbsp;</span>Please help me. <span>&nbsp;</span></font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">&nbsp;</font> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Thanks, </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">&nbsp;</font> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Olie</font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>