[Aavso-photometry] STV compatibility?

[Brad Walter]

I have an STV and it works well as a guider. I have an alternate
suggestion that I would follow if I were doing it all over again.
Instead of buying an STV buy another Camera, it can be a small one with
only one chip but preferably a small light weight camera with regulated
cooling using a USB interface. One of the less expensive Finger lakes
Cameras, for example, would do well and it's less expensive than an STV.
Use this in conjunction with Maxim/DL. You can still use the relay
outputs of the 9E. They are activated by the computer, not the camera.
Now you have a second imaging CCD. If you aren't using it through a
guide scope, you have to attach the CCD to a camera lens and piggy back
it. I am sure Finger Lakes, SBIG or whomever will have 10 ways to do
that. The problem with the small SBIG ST 237 is that it uses a parallel
port interface through an interface box that is the size of a thin
laptop. A camera more like one of the Finger Lakes (or Apogee if you can
afford it) seems to be a more versatile choice. This approach reduces
the amount of hardware you have to deal with and allows you to do all of
your telescope image positioning control through one interface. Maxim/DL
also has the ability to interface through the LX200 Telescope Control
Interface. I assume the classic as well as the GPS versions have the
same port. Also, If you use Maxim/DL in conjunction with TheSky, you can
do your image positioning through TheSky telescope interface and leave
the relays for autoguiding only. That's the way I have Maxim/DL set up
with my Tak NJP. You are likely to migrate to Maxim DL at some time
anyway. This would be an opportune time to do it. You can probably get a
second smaller chip CCD and Maxim/DL for the price of a new STV. 

Remember, if you're lucky, advice is worth what you paid for it. 

Clear Skies

 
Brad Walter
Director of Product Marketing
 
Active Power
2128 West Braker Lane
Austin, TX 78758
Phone: (512) 744 9414
Fax:     (512) 836 4511
bwalter at activepower.com
 
-----Original Message-----
From: aavso-photometry-bounces at mira.aavso.org
[mailto:aavso-photometry-bounces at mira.aavso.org
<mailto:aavso-photometry-bounces at mira.aavso.org> ] On Behalf Of Tim
Crawford
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 4:19 PM
To: aavso-photometry at mira.aavso.org
Subject: [Aavso-photometry] STV compatibility?


Using a SBIG ST-9E with CFW-8 color filter wheel with
a LX200, classic (12")

I need to know if I purchased a SBIG STV how I can use
it to auto guide the scope, as a stand alone
auto-guider but yet let me have the current inputs to
the scope from the puter using CCDOPS?

Can the output from the STV be input to a jumper cable
in  parallel with the CFW-8 serial port?  thereby
allowing control of the scope from both the
auto-guider and CCDOPS (which I prefer to use with the
St-9E) to center field before integrating.

thank you for the help and happy holidays

Tim Crawford (CTX)
Arch Cape Observatory