Testing the prototype SV605MC monochrome camera

The prototype SV605MC monochrome camera uses a Sony IMX533 monochrome CMOS sensor and produces images of exactly the same size and scale as the SV605CC OSC camera.

At the time of implementation in AstroDMx Capture only a Beta Windows SDK was available, so the tests are of the camera, its implementation and the SDK.

A William Optics Super Zenithstar 81mm ED Doublet APO refractor at f/5.5 with x0.8 reducer/flattener, (F=445.5mm) and an SVBONY SV605MC mono camera fitted with a light-pollution filter held in the optical train by an Altair magnetic filter holder was mounted on an AVX GOTO mount. An SVBONY SV165 guide-scope fitted with a QHY-5II-M guide camera was mounted on the handle dovetail of the 81mm imaging scope.

The hand controller of the mount was connected to a Raspberry Pi running an INDI server and communicated with the indoor Windows computer, running AstroDMx Capture for Windows, via WiFi.

AstroDMx Capture passed the time, altitude and location coordinates to the hand controller via the INDI server. The hand controller which now contained all of the correct information was set to its previous alignment and was unparked by AstroDMx Capture.

Pulse autoguiding was by PHD2.

AstroDMx Capture for Windows sent the mount/scope to Deneb which was used to check focus using the built-in Bahtinov mask.

AstroDMx Capture was then used to send the mount/scope to M45

AstroDMx Capture then plate solved and centred the object in the field of view

AstroDMx Capture for Windows capturing 90s exposures of the Pleiades, M45

Twenty 1m 30s FITS exposures of M45 were captured, stacked and part processed in Deep Sky Stacker and post processed in the Gimp 2.10 and Neat Image.

M45 The Pleiades

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The filter was then changed for an Altair Quadband filter and AstroDMx Capture for Windows sent the mount/scope to the Satellite cluster within the Rosette nebula, plate solved and centred the object.

Ten 90s FITS exposures were captured, stacked and part processed in Siril and post processed in the Gimp 2.10 and Neat image.

The Rosette nebula and the Satellite cluster

The preliminary conclusions are that the camera and SDK seemed to work well and AstroDMx Capture for Windows handled the advanced functionality without issue. We were working with relatively bright objects and need to probe further the sensitivity and dynamic range of the camera more than we have in this experiment.