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Thanks Sullij - Yeah, I was kind of paranoid about the camera/filter wheel slipping out of the focuser and hitting the ground, so I put a safety chain on one of the 1/4-20 mounting holes on the camera body and connected it to the carrying handle on the SCT. That's the only place in the optical train that is not a threaded connection. I've never had a problem with it but I didn't want to take chances.

I lucked out with the shutter - the solenoid is 24V and holds at 4V so it didn't require any interface circuit. The camera driver circuit can supply enough current to operate it and there is a protection diode across the connector so I only had to hook it up. My big issues, as you may recall from my earlier posts, were mechanical - there were several modifications needed to get the shutter to fit in the flange and operate correctly. But it works well and the software runs it without problems.

I hope no one minds me doing this, but I want to caution everyone who might open up the camera to take precautions regarding ESD (electrostatic discharge). The CCD and many of the other components in the camera are very sensitive to static and even though it is summertime and usually humid one should be careful. The CCD is a Class 0 device which means that the damage threshold is <250V, which is not very high and some pins, such as the reset gate, are a lot lower. At least wear a grounded wrist strap, and use a grounded dissipative mat if possible. If you use a soldering iron make sure that the tip is grounded. For the shutter pins I'm sure there isn't a problem, but when working on a device that contains sensitive components it is "best practice" to act as if everything is at the lowest class in the device.

Sorry, when working on flight components we are positively religious about ESD mitigation so I felt the need to pontificate...

--Keith

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Keith can you show us a pic of how you have the black and red leads connected on the camera circuit board. I must not be connecting my shutter to the right connections.

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Not certian but I think Kevin is still wresetling with the circuit too.

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Not anymore! I have decided to use the same shutter as in Keith's camera. It works directly off the camera using the connector indicated in my first pict of the cameras insides. Although a bit bigger then originally planned this shutter is solidly built! I will post a photo in the next day or so to show what my setup has become. Just need to borrow a camera (no pun intended). I am away from home so at mercy of friends.

Kevin

By the way "Nice photo Keith!!"

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You need to have a load on the connector to get an accurate reading.

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You need to have a load on the connector to get an accurate reading.

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