Webcams for Astronomy - brief summary of modifications SC1 and SC3

For the last few years webcams have provided a very cost effective way of starting in astrophotography. Gone is the need for expensive equipment. The mainstream use of webcams in astronomy is for planetary and lunar imaging. However, there is a hardcore of users who make hardware modifications to their webcams to allow longer exposures - enabling them to capture some of the brighter deep sky objects. Some people even get the fainter ones too. ;-)

I often get asked about the various types of modifications. The notes below summerise the various stages. There are several stages of modification.