Post by allanuk on Nov 19, 2014 23:48:57 GMT
Well after a few weeks of fiddling, tweaking and general testing, (messing about) my meteor capture system is now in full operation.
It is a two camera system using Watec 910HX/RC mono cameras. Both cams are in cctv housings mounted at gutter level on my house in an attempt to avoid the glaring street light at the bottom of my garden. Initially they were mounted on an aluminium pole above the gutter level, but were effected by wind too much so I had to relocate them to a more stable fixing.
Camera 1 is paired with a Computar 2.6mm F1.0 lens and faces South to Southwest. I have yet to ascertain the exact fov, but will do as soon as I can see stars not cloud.
Camera 2 is paired with a computer 6mm f0.8 lens (thanks William) and faces NNW. I may be able to align nearer to NW when the council fit shields to the streetlight if it provides better coverage.
Both cctv housings have 24v heaters and are powered by a single 24v transformer. So far the heaters have cleared the flat glass windows of dew with ease. Raindrops needs a wipe off first.
I have installed a 240v photocell which switches on the power to the system at dusk and cuts the power just after dawn. Image capture times will be controlled by the time settings in the UFO Capture software. Testing has shown that the system switches on about 1/2hr before stars are visible and switches off when it is almost light outside so I may have to adjust the capture times as required.
Now that the cams are operational, I'm hoping to contribute some useful data to the network. I just need some clear skies.
NNW cam on left. S to SW cam on right. The black shield on the front corner of the right cam masks the glare from the streetlight.