equipment 01

	Philips 740K web cam. This particular camera is capable of being moded to take longer exposures. Normally the longest exposure is 1/5 Th. of a second but, with the internal modification by Steve Chambers this camera is capable of exposures of many minutes.
	Mintron 12V1EC EX security camera. This camera is very sensitive in its so called "Star" mode. It can integrate 128 images on the camera and out put this image to a VCR, Television and PC providing you have the USB frame grabber or TV card. The lens connected to this camera is a security lens bought for capturing the Perseid meteor shower. This lens gives approximately 90 degrees field of view.
	On the back of this camera there is all the connections and operating buttons. You can connect either a BNC or S Video for video output. Power input is 12VDC. There are 5 buttons on the back of the camera (not seen here in this image) for navigating through the menu system. The only gripe I have is that it comes with a green LED which is rather bright. I am investigating the idea of changing this for a red LED that is a lot dimmer.
	The telescope used here is an 8 3/4 inch Dobsonian which was used to capture the images of Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. Using a Dobsonian telescope for this type of work is an exercise in patience as you have to move in front of the subject and wait for it to appear then start the capture sequence. Most times though the subject does not want to play and you have to start all over again by once again moving in front of your target object.
	One other piece of equipment I have found to be very useful is the tripod. This one has once again been adapted. It is a tripod head, a telescope tripod and a central heating motor. This image and the one following are not too brilliant as they were taken at dusk and have been adjusted (brightened) to show what I do.
	This image of a typical night observing and imaging shows the 8 3/4 inch Dobsonian (taken out of the plastic tube as it was bending moving the mirrors out of collimation) with the un-modified Philips 740K web cam attached with a X2 Barlow lens. In the foreground is the tripod with the head tilted towards Polaris and a modified web cam for long exposure attached to a 135MM lens. Notice the blue object at the bottom of the tilted arm on the tripod. This is the central heating motor that turns once in 24 hours (1/24) I have used this method to capture the stars of Cygnus using a 135 MM Practica Camera so I am now testing it with the modified web cam.
	This is my SkyWatcher 130M (5.1 inch) with an RA motor which allowed me to catch my first deepsky object and got me hooked on capturing images.
	I have made an attachment that allows me to attach my SC1.5 ToUcam 740K to a lens. Here it is attached to a 135mm lens. Being able to know what your going to capture helps a great deal to that end I got hold of a cheap 6 X 30mm finder scope that I have attached to the plate that holds the 135mm lens (or other lens' and 60mm f/6 telescope) on a static tripod.
	Here you can see both, the SkyWatcher and 135mm lens with finder scope assembly. This was in March 05 and the weather was not good at all. High winds and constant cloud that would not break so no stargazing and no images to show for it.