Sky Captain
Scope Builder
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 5731
Loc: Seattle Washington
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Quote:
Kerry - Thanks and what a grate looking video setup. I'm from Oregon and there can't be a Sunny Washington, thats an oxymoron.
Sarcastic is more like what I was shootin fer...I wish it was "sunny" here!
Born and raised in Oregon. 
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry.
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Sky Captain
Scope Builder
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 5731
Loc: Seattle Washington
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Quote:
Kerry, got you mixed up with, is it Sky Captain, that has the green LB? Your the one with all the nice machined items and way too many scopes.
Bill
The "green goblin" is Jay's...mine is the white one. 
Yep, too many scopes and only two eyes and no clear skies. 
I will be ordering a Round Table Platform and will put the camera on the LightBridge for sure. The 10" SCT at f6.3 is very impressive, can't wait to see what the 12" f5 will do.
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry.
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Sky Captain
Scope Builder
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 5731
Loc: Seattle Washington
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Quote:
My scopes setup for high-mag viewing, doubles stars or planets. Main videocam is a Mintron 63V2HN, sold by Polaris as their DX8263SL, now superceeded by the DX9263SL.
Real nice Steve...how do you like the Polaris camera? I was tempted to buy one myself last year. Are they still avaliable?
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry.
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Bill Cowles
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/16/06
Posts: 638
Loc: Utah
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Kerry - I really want to add a roundtable to my LB, but it's the Mellincam or a table, not both. I know that I will get the necessary feed back from you on the platform with your LB. I think I will start out with my C6-R and go form there. I'm also looking to do video presentations for our public star parties and a go-to is sure nice to have. Since I got the Atlas mount I tend to take the Refractor out more than the LB and over the past year our club has been adding more large Refractors and seeing less and less 10" Blue things,I do see 12" LB's however.
Did you add something to your avatar?
Bill
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Lunt LS60TS50DS/B1200/FT (on order)
TV Gensis/Solarmax 60 filter
PST DS/Herschel Wedge/C4-R
C6-R /Atlas Goto/Moonlite CF2
12" LightBridge/Round Table
MCHP/8" Orion OTA
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sdbodin
member
Reged: 02/04/07
Posts: 69
Loc: Eastern Washington State
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Quote:
Real nice Steve...how do you like the Polaris camera? I was tempted to buy one myself last year. Are they still avaliable?
Still in the catalog, polarisusa.com. Still the best deal on the planet, $250, if you want to get your feet wet in video astro.
I can't do without it, now three years old and still ticking. But I modded it with a fan and remote cable for the OSD.
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Steve
Meade 16 LX200 GPS UHTC
Meade 4 107D SCT
Orion Express 80
Coulter optics 17.5 DOB
Orange tube dual motor C8
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Here is a simple portable undriven setup. It consists of a small 50mm viewfinder plus a Watec 120N. I use it with my laptop for monitoring. It provides widefield views of about 2°. The wide fov makes it easy to aim the scope without a Telrad or the like .Star trails are not visible with the shutter below or at 2,5 sec (64 frames integrated).
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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Sky Captain
Scope Builder
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 5731
Loc: Seattle Washington
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Quote:
Still in the catalog, polarisusa.com. Still the best deal on the planet, $250, if you want to get your feet wet in video astro.
I can't do without it, now three years old and still ticking. But I modded it with a fan and remote cable for the OSD.
Sorry Steve, I didn't realize I had already bought one this past summer. I only used it once so far. Its the new model from SuperCircuits that has a super low S\N ratio...4 or 5db I think, most have 50 db to 60db S\N ratio.
Here is the link to the camera at SuperCircuits. # PC58C
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry.
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Sky Captain
Scope Builder
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 5731
Loc: Seattle Washington
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Quote:
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 4316
Loc: Not So Sunny Washington
Quote:
Did you add something to your avatar?
Bill
After your comment, I realized that "Sunny" might mean a town and confuse people, so in light of all the RAIN lately, I changed it to "Not So Sunny Washington"
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry.
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sdbodin
member
Reged: 02/04/07
Posts: 69
Loc: Eastern Washington State
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Quote:
Here is the link to the camera at SuperCircuits. # PC58C
I don't know if that is the same camera. Does it integrate to x128 like all Mintron Starlight models??
Not so sunny here either only one clear night this month
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Steve
Meade 16 LX200 GPS UHTC
Meade 4 107D SCT
Orion Express 80
Coulter optics 17.5 DOB
Orange tube dual motor C8
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Bowmoreman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 2979
Loc: Bolton, MA
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Quote:
Sorry Steve, I didn't realize I had already bought one this past summer. I only used it once so far. Its the new model from SuperCircuits that has a super low S\N ratio...4 or 5db I think, most have 50 db to 60db S\N ratio.
Here is the link to the camera at SuperCircuits. # PC58C
Just to be clear to everyone, when dealing with electronic circuits you WANT a higher signal to noise (S/N) ratio... it represents, logarithmically, the difference between the signal (in dB) and noise (in dB)... higher is better...
Hopefully the "4 or 5 dB" is a typo, because a 4-5dB S/N ratio is terrible, frankly... now, 4-5 dB better, would obviously be good...
Ha - I *did* get to use something I learned as a EE in college after all! 
clear skies
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Dave
Ustream
YLive
XT10i, RTP, CGE, R200CF, TMB80SS
31T5, 22T4, 13Ethos, 8Ethos, TV 3-6 Zoom; Paracorr
MallincamColorHyperPlus,SBIG STV&237A;CanonRebel Xti
WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO #90)
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Bowmoreman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 2979
Loc: Bolton, MA
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I'm pretty sure they are NOT the same camera... the one at Polaris is spec'd at 0.008 Lux low light, the one at SuperCircuits is spec'd at 0.015 Lux... this would be about 1/2 as sensitive as the Polaris...
Disclaimer: that is what the specs on the websites say!
clear skies
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Dave
Ustream
YLive
XT10i, RTP, CGE, R200CF, TMB80SS
31T5, 22T4, 13Ethos, 8Ethos, TV 3-6 Zoom; Paracorr
MallincamColorHyperPlus,SBIG STV&237A;CanonRebel Xti
WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO #90)
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Sky Captain
Scope Builder
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 5731
Loc: Seattle Washington
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Quote:
I don't know if that is the same camera. Does it integrate to x128 like all Mintron Starlight models??
Not so sunny here either only one clear night this month
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Steve
You are right Steve, it isn't the "same" camera. I use this seperate camera for the Planets, Sun, and Moon. I didn't realize yours intergrated frames, this one is only 30fps. It does a much better job IMO, and with the very low db rating the images are much better and a little clearer. I will run it on my 4" f10 refractor on the Meade GPS mount and put my Mintron on the SCT for DSO's. This allows viewing many different objects without having to change cameras or settings.
This is a similar picture of how I use it.
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry.
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Sky Captain
Scope Builder
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 5731
Loc: Seattle Washington
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Quote:
Just to be clear to everyone, when dealing with electronic circuits you WANT a higher signal to noise (S/N) ratio... it represents, logarithmically, the difference between the signal (in dB) and noise (in dB)... higher is better...
Hopefully the "4 or 5 dB" is a typo, because a 4-5dB S/N ratio is terrible, frankly... now, 4-5 dB better, would obviously be good...
Ha - I *did* get to use something I learned as a EE in college after all!
clear skies
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Dave
Sorry...yep, typo on my part...4.5db not S\N ratio. 
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry.
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Bowmoreman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 2979
Loc: Bolton, MA
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No worries, I was just confused enough to check into both of em!
I kinda like the looks of a .008Lux sensitivity B/W camera for only $250! not bad...
clear skies
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Dave
Ustream
YLive
XT10i, RTP, CGE, R200CF, TMB80SS
31T5, 22T4, 13Ethos, 8Ethos, TV 3-6 Zoom; Paracorr
MallincamColorHyperPlus,SBIG STV&237A;CanonRebel Xti
WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO #90)
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Bill Cowles
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/16/06
Posts: 638
Loc: Utah
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Kerry - What size Round Table did you order? It seems that 23" is just on the border for the LB base. Too, is it around 6 to 8 weeks to get.
Bill
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Lunt LS60TS50DS/B1200/FT (on order)
TV Gensis/Solarmax 60 filter
PST DS/Herschel Wedge/C4-R
C6-R /Atlas Goto/Moonlite CF2
12" LightBridge/Round Table
MCHP/8" Orion OTA
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smokin oakum
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/24/07
Posts: 1420
Loc: Wilmington, NC
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Quote:
Kerry - What size Round Table did you order? It seems that 23" is just on the border for the LB base. Too, is it around 6 to 8 weeks to get.
Bill
I ended up getting the 28" RTP (same price) just in case I ever upgrade to a 15" dob. It should also be a little more stable with a 12"er.
As far as wait time is concerned, Brian at round table said 8 weeks. Worth the wait, if you ask me.
Neil
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Broadcasting live views of the night sky @
Sparkcast
C11 CGE / Hyperstar
MallinCam Hyper Plus Color
Orion 12" XTi f/4.9
MoonLite Focuser
Round Table Platform
12" Parralax rings
Cape Fear Astronomy Club
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Bowmoreman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 2979
Loc: Bolton, MA
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So, finally hooked up the WATEC, the transmitter, etc... I setup wires (which look really messy here!) through cable guides, with sufficient slack to prevent cable wrap/binding. I've also hooked up the Kendrick Anti-dew system on the Primary optic, the EP, and the finder (front and back).
Here you see the MCHP, Vixen/MoonLite, Watec piggybacked, and in position to be viewing M42 (which you can just make out on the 19" Proton Monitor in the back).
Video is setup to have S-video to the Watec (through a Radio Shack Svideo to RCA adapter, and then to RCA/BNC). The component video out of MCHP goes to the Proton, and then video OUT on Proton to the VFM 1.2Ghz transmitter... (which I used only long enough tonight to determine it works just fine through 2 walls (one observatory, one house)).
Clear enough Skies
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Dave
Ustream
YLive
XT10i, RTP, CGE, R200CF, TMB80SS
31T5, 22T4, 13Ethos, 8Ethos, TV 3-6 Zoom; Paracorr
MallincamColorHyperPlus,SBIG STV&237A;CanonRebel Xti
WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO #90)
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ccs_hello
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 2781
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Those are color 128x integration-time (Sense-UP) cameras, no active cooling.
Mintron 63V2HN = PolarisUSA DX8263SL
Sony type-1/3" color SuperHAD CCD
Mintron 63V5HN = PolarisUSA DX9263SL = SuperCircuit PC-38
Sony type-1/3" color SuperHAD CCD
Price: around $250.
(No affiliation with these vendors.)
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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smokin oakum
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/24/07
Posts: 1420
Loc: Wilmington, NC
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Well I thought that even though I don't have my full setup until I get my RTP (round table platform) next week, I could at least post a picture of the monitor/laptop rig that holds all of my viewing equipment, and anything else that I would need during a nights session. On the top shelf, on the left is the Speco 9" color CRT. On the top right is my Toshiba laptop fitted with the AVer TV/capture card. Notice the remote control in front of the Speco. This allows me to take care of all the capture card functions, while at the focuser.  On the second shelf sits all my eye pieces, and filters, plus my toUcam. On the third shelf I keep calibrating tools, chords, and last but not least, my Mallincam. This is an AV cart, and everything plugs into it, and only one power chord needs to be on the ground to step over, or be in the way. I think, for me, that this is a perfect solution for a self contained viewing rig. In a week, I'll post a picture of the whole rig with scope, RTP, Mallincam, and AV cart all hooked up and ready for some stars.
Sorry it took so long to post a picture on my own post.
Clear skies!
Neil
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Broadcasting live views of the night sky @
Sparkcast
C11 CGE / Hyperstar
MallinCam Hyper Plus Color
Orion 12" XTi f/4.9
MoonLite Focuser
Round Table Platform
12" Parralax rings
Cape Fear Astronomy Club
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Bowmoreman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 2979
Loc: Bolton, MA
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Nice idea, Neil! I like the idea of the powered video cart... I wonder if there are any with really BIG wheels that could work in a yard (especially on frozen bumpy ground)...
that might make it easier to get it all going even when its so very cold out
Or, I suppose something could be built...
ya got me thinking!
clear enough skies
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Dave
Ustream
YLive
XT10i, RTP, CGE, R200CF, TMB80SS
31T5, 22T4, 13Ethos, 8Ethos, TV 3-6 Zoom; Paracorr
MallincamColorHyperPlus,SBIG STV&237A;CanonRebel Xti
WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO #90)
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