For prints:
TOA-130F typical imaging setup.
FS-60C typical imaging setup.
Telescopes:
Takahashi TOA-130NFB APO Air-spaced Triplet Refractor (130mm, F/7.7, 1000mm) (Arrived 28 Feb 11)
Takahashi FS-60C APO Fluorite Doublet Refractor (60mm, F/5.9, 355mm) (Arrived 1 Mar 11)
Mount:
Takahashi EM200 Temma II German Equatorial Mount (< +/- 5" PE) (Arrived 21 Mar 07)
Main Camera:
QSI 690wsg CCD camera (3388x2712, 3.7x3.7µm) (Arrived 28 Nov 17)
QSI 690wsg 9.2mp Cooled CCD Camera w/Integrated Guider Port. Camera Mounting Options: T-mount adapter and 2" nosepiece. Guider Mounting Options: CS/C-mount. 5-position Filter Wheel for Threaded 1.25" Filters
Model 690 CCD Image Sensor Specifications:
CCD Manufacturer & Model Sony ICX814 CCD Architecture Interline Transfer Microlens Yes Anti-blooming Yes - 800x suppression Imager Size: (WxH) 12.48mm x 9.98mm Pixel Array (WxH): 3388 x 2712 active (9.19 megapixels) Pixel Size: 3.69µm x 3.69µm Pixel Full Well Depth 18,000 electrons Absolute Quantum Efficiency Peak: 77% at 560nm Pixel Dark Current <0.002 electrons per second at -10°C Intrinsic Read Noise 3.1 electrons RMS Dynamic Range 75db
Model 690 Camera Specifications:
Thermoelectric CCD Cooling
Temperature regulation +/- 0.1°C, @ 0°C to -40°C CCD temperature In free air,
Fans @ Full SpeedTypically 40°C below ambient air with 85% cooling power Cooling Fan Control Intelligent, user configurable Camera Gain User Selectable High Gain 0.16 e-/ADU (default), Low Gain 0.36 e-/ADU Digital Resolution 16 bits (both High Quality and High Speed mode) Total System Read Noise 3 electrons RMS typical in High Quality mode
7 electrons RMS typical in High Speed modePixel Dark Current <0.002 electrons per second at -10°C Weight (wsg model) 1300g Filters:
1.25" Astrodon LRGB Tru-Balance I-Series Gen 2 Filters
1.25" Astrodon Ha filter 3nm FWHM
Guide Camera:
Starlight Xpress Lodestar Guide camera (ICX429AL Sony Exview, 752x580 pixels, 8.2 x 8.4µm) (Arrived 23 Apr 12)
Adapters/Configurations:
- TOA-130F @ f/7.7 (Tak TOA130FF - TOA-67FL Flattener):
- TOA-130F @ f/5.8 (Tak TOA130R Reducer... old/earlier camera setup):
- FS-60C @ f/6.2 (Tak TFL0060 Flattener... old/earlier camera setup):
- FS-60C @ f/4.2 (Tak TRD0060 - RD-C 0.72x Reducer).
DSLR Camera (skyscapes):
Canon T3i Digital Rebel w/Canon 18-135mm lens (Arrived 24 Dec 13)
Samyang 14mm, F/2.8 lens (Arrived 6 Mar 22)
Point and Shoot Camera (planetary):
Canon SX420 IS
Light Box:
- I built this double diffusion-layer light box myself in Dec 2010. This is used for taking flat frames following imaging sessions in "calibration" steps and is necessary to remove optical system effects and sensor imperfections (common with all modern CCDs) from final images. It is powered by 9V DC with either a battery or power cable (power controls on opposite side of box in left image, while image on right shows box in use with TOA):
Previous equipment (most recent first):
Orion 150mm
Maksutov-Cassegrain Reflector (150mm, F/12,
1800mm) (1 Jul 21 - 4 Dec 22 : SOLD
to help fund upgrade to TPO 12" RC Truss Tube)
QSI 540wsg CCD camera (2048x2048, 7.4x7.4µm) (22 May 12 - 18 Dec 17 : SOLD to upgrade to QSI 690wsg)
Starlight Xpress SXV-H9C CCD camera (1392x1040, 6.45micron pixels) w/SXV guidecam (19 Apr 06 - 28 Jun 12 : SOLD to upgrade to QSI 540wsg)
William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD Doublet APO (66mm, F/5.9) (19 May 06 - 5 Jul 11 : SOLD to upgrade to Tak FS-60C)
Celestron 8" CF w/XLT (203mm, F/10) (27 Apr 07 - 11 Feb 11 : SOLD to upgrade to Tak TOA-130NFB)
Earlier tandem imaging setup (C8 and WO66), January 2009
Canon PowerShot S1 IS, 10x optical zoom (Jun 05 : upgrade from Canon A40 and used for most Planetary captures - camera died Aug 08, replaced with Canon S5 IS, which in turn I later sold and replaced with Canon T3i in Dec 2013)
Meade LX200GPS 10" SMT w/UHTC SCT (254mm, F/10) (8 Nov 05 - 28 Feb 07 : SOLD to upgrade to EM200 and C8)
Orion SkyQuest XT10 Dobsonian (254mm) (May 03 - Sep 05 : SOLD to upgrade to Meade LX200GPS 10")
Minolta X-370 35mm SLR with 300mm zoom attached (RETIRED, but still have it)
