Gene,
Sorry to jump in so late on this thread- I have gotten *way* behind on
the mail. I have done exactly this with a Quickcam and the Meade
finder. While not the most elegant or attractive solution (I am at
version 0.8 :-), I am able to image to 5th mag easily and can push to 6
if I want very slow updates. This is perfectly acceptable for doing a
High Precision type alignment near where I want to image. I have had
network problems lately, so I haven't played with it a whole lot, but I
seem to have near a 1 degree FOV and using Microsoft's NetMeeting at
both ends of the network, I can watch the star move across the screen in
realtime. My next step is a different lens for a wider fov.

Mike

Gene Horr wrote:
>
> R. A. Greiner wrote:
>
> > One can then fumble around for a known star, with the CCD and sync
> > on it. This would all be a bit chancy I think.
>
> Throwing money at the problem....
>
> How about adding an electronic finder scope? CCD camara + camera
> lens for an extremely wide field instrument. A 28mm FL lens +
> KAF-400 size chip would give you a ~14x9 degree FOV, large enough
> to give you a pretty good idea of where you are pointed. Center
> the star in this camera then switch to your main imaging camera
> for precision centering. With the widefield setup each pixel
> covers ~ 1 arc minute, which should be accurate enough to put
> the star in the FOV of the imaging camera.
>
> Gene Horr

--
---- ----
Michael Smith Ft. Worth Texas USA
32º45'N 97º14'W -0600 GMT

+================================================+
| Support the International Dark-Sky Association |
| http://www.darksky.org |
+------------------------------------------------+
| Bring the stars back to the Lone Star State |
| http://www.limber.org/ida/lp.html |
+================================================+

View index by [date] [author] [subject]
Previous message: [M]: (M)OT:MaxIM DL/CCD, Eric Schandall
Next message: [M]: RE: ETX- Simple Drive Mods for $10.50, Keith J. Schultz
Previous message in thread: Re: [M]: Remotely Operating the LX 200, Jon Brewster