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.
The "homepage" of the webcam mods is http://www.pmdo.com/wintro.htm
These mods are designated by their SC number. SC = Steve Chambers who invented the whole idea.
A table with the different designations is found here... http://www.madpc.net/~firmament/astro/cameras.html
My camera is an toucam 840 with a black and white ICX424 sensor, long exposure modded, Tom-modified martin burri amp off system supplemented by the Tom-invented direct substrate bias injection modification. Its also peltier cooled sometimes, when i have all the leaks plugged and enough dry dessicant to hand. The peltier cools the ccd direct with a copper cold finger, which keeps the lead length very short. As a result its one of the lowest noise SC3s out there. Running in RAW mode.
The guide camera is a long exposure modified toucam 840 with a black and white ICX098 sensor (for better guiding image scale) and RAW mode.
The finderscope camera is a totally untouched toucam 840. Although I might have
smashed the IR filter off. Can't remember.
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