I recently purchased a SkyRaider NetBook Kit from Mallincam that is a great Video Astronomy starter kit. It also makes a really good portable Video Astronomy kit. It comes with a Netbook computer running Windows 10 and either an AGc (color) or AGm (monochrome) camera. Since I already had a MC AGc camera, I ordered the Kit with the AGm camera. The Netbook computer comes with a power supply and has a 10” LCD display and two USB ports. The AG camera comes with a nosepiece, USB cable and a guider cable. I have not used the guider cable yet since I have been using the AG camera for “viewing”.
I finally had time to try out my new kit when my wife and I went camping last week. Here is a picture of the contents of the kit (the salt and pepper shaker are not included).
I finally had time to try out my new kit when my wife and I went camping last week. Here is a picture of the contents of the kit (the salt and pepper shaker are not included).
I brought my portable video astronomy mount (SkyProdigy) and telescope (Celestron C5) with me and added a 0.5x reducer to the AG nosepiece before inserting it into the focuser (I did not use any filters). The single USB cable connects the AG camera to the Netbook.
When I first powered on the Netbook I was pleased to find that it was fully charged and the MallinCamSky software already installed. It was ready to go! I took it outside, connected a mouse to one USB port and the AG USB cable to the other USB port and was immediately operational. After performing an auto align, slewing to a bright star and focusing, I was able to begin my viewing session. What a great right-out-of-the-box experience!
Below are some images I captured that first night. I began with the AGc camera since I had used it before, and started with the Orion Nebula. I settled on a gain of 10 and exposure at 10 seconds. I also made use of the histogram function to bring out the detail. Knowing the value of using the Dark Field Correction feature, I covered the end of the telescope and captured a Dark Field using quantity = 5. I uncovered the scope and this is what I saw updated every 10 seconds on the Netbook screen.
Below are some images I captured that first night. I began with the AGc camera since I had used it before, and started with the Orion Nebula. I settled on a gain of 10 and exposure at 10 seconds. I also made use of the histogram function to bring out the detail. Knowing the value of using the Dark Field Correction feature, I covered the end of the telescope and captured a Dark Field using quantity = 5. I uncovered the scope and this is what I saw updated every 10 seconds on the Netbook screen.
And here is the Crab Nebula.
I then removed the AGc camera and inserted the AGm camera. I stayed with the same settings and captured a new Dark Field to use. Here is the Orion Nebula with the monochrome camera.
And here is the Flame Nebula.
I ran the Netbook on its internal battery for the entire viewing session.
All in all, I am very pleased with the SkyRaider NetBook Kit. It is going to become part of my “grab and go” portable video astronomy setup.
For more info about the SkyRaider Netbook Kit see
http://www.mallincam.net/skyraider-netbook-kit.html
I also used both the AGc and AGm cameras with my PST for solar viewing one day while camping. See my “Portable Solar viewing with AGc and AGm” blog post for similar images of the sun using these two cameras.
http://remotevideoastronomy.com/blog/portable-solar-viewing-with-agc-and-agm
All in all, I am very pleased with the SkyRaider NetBook Kit. It is going to become part of my “grab and go” portable video astronomy setup.
For more info about the SkyRaider Netbook Kit see
http://www.mallincam.net/skyraider-netbook-kit.html
I also used both the AGc and AGm cameras with my PST for solar viewing one day while camping. See my “Portable Solar viewing with AGc and AGm” blog post for similar images of the sun using these two cameras.
http://remotevideoastronomy.com/blog/portable-solar-viewing-with-agc-and-agm
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