Hello Dear AstroFriends! I’ve missed you so much and hope that you all are fine. I haven’t seen a lot of your pictures yet, but slowly I will get to them.

A long time has passed since my last post on Astrobin but there is a reason: I have made an important upgrade to my equipment (camera and mount) that has taken all my free time.

DIY OSC CAMERA

My CCD camera ( a QHY ) had become really old compared to the newest CMOS OSC cameras and there are still no drivers for Linux that work, so I decided to build a new one myself based on the same sensor: a Sony ICX453AQ.I have always wanted to build a camera by myself and after some browsing on the Web, I found a very interesting DIY project named CAM8x. It is a great project made by Gil'manov Rim from Russia and Sergiy Vakulenko from Ukraine who, with the help of many astro-DIYers, have retro-engineered the Sony sensor. Many thanks to them!

It was a real challenge that was a true test for my patience! Working with SMD micro components needs a lot of practice on soldering and assembly, and sometimes it was really frustrating, but I’m a fisherman and patience is something that you must have if you want to call yourself a “real fisherman”.

For this project, I kept only the case and the Peltier module from my "granny" QHY8 and the rest I sent to the recycle box for a new chance at life! The benefit of an open source project is that you can mod the electronics and code the drivers for all your specific needs. In this project the Achille's heel was the cooling control that is integrated in the same PCB. The Peltier module requires high current for power. This can produce noise cause other issues that can easily destroy all of the electronics (It happened to me more than once.), so I decided to manage this in a different way and separate the module from the camera. I used an ESP32 board that controls the temperature while reading (and storing) important value like humidity, dew point, etc. I did this without additional wiring using a Wi-Fi module that allows you to control it from a web browser. I reached a delta temp. of -22°C. Not too bad for a DIY product!

Now I’m really satisfied, although I need to find the right way to shoot flat frames. I have attached some pictures of the camera-building adventure. I also want to take this opportunity to give a big hug to all the Ukrainian people who manage to live there despite the bombs that fall on their heads. STOP WAR!

THE MOUNT

Two years ago, I was lucky enough to meet a very good amateur astronomer who makes a lot of dedicated, high-precision astronomic mechanical accessories: Alessandro De Meis of AdMCNC. He has spent a lot of time with the design and production of an harmonic-drive based mount. I told him about my experience with the control system of my EQ6 based on Onstep and since that moment a wonderful collaboration was born. I made the electronics for his wonderful equatorial mount.

I have had the privilege of being able to use his wonderful creation and I think I will never go back to the past! The use of harmonic drives allows the total elimination of both the periodic error and the backlash. This means that I can use 0.5" exposure time for the guiding and this way the corrections are applied almost in real time. Since I started using the new mount, the FWHM of the stars is highly reduced as you can see comparing my previous pictures with my most recent upload. Resolution has increased significantly giving a new life to my 30-year-old SC telescope.

I invite you to visit his website www.admcnc.it  You can find detailed information about the mount and see his high-precision mechanical creations that are all made totally in Italy.

I hope that you like it!