|
|
MallinCam Video CCD Observational System
Return to Waning Moon II
|
MallinCam Xtreme X2
THE MALLINCAM XTREME X2 IS NOT A NEW CAMERA, IT IS THE SAME AS THE MALLINCAM XTREME WITH A FEW IMPROVEMENTS. THE XTREME X2 COLOR IS HAND CRAFTED IN NORTH AMERICA WITH THE FINEST COMPONENTS AVAILABLE FROM THE WORLD'S BEST SUPPLIERS.
PRO-COM ELECTRONICS INTRODUCED IN 2004 THE WORLD'S FIRST COLOR VIDEO CCD CAMERA FOR ASTRONOMICAL WORK WITH AN EXTENDED SHUTTER AND MILD PELTIER COOLED CCD SENSOR. ALL MALLINCAMs ARE FULLY LOADED WITH FEATURES NOT AVAILABLE ON ANY OTHER CAMERA IN ITS PRICE CLASS. PRO-COM ELECTRONICS HAS BEEN IN THE BUSINESS OF ASTRONOMICAL VIDEO CCD CAMERAS SINCE 1985 - THE LONGEST AND MOST EXPERIENCED IN THE INDUSTRY.
THE HAND CRAFTED MALLINCAM XTREME X2 COLOR ASTRONOMICAL VIDEO CCD CAMERAS HAS THE NEW FOURTH GENERATION HYPER CIRCUIT ALLOWING THE USER A CHOICE OF A VARIABLE SHUTTER FROM 3.3 SECONDS TO 100 MINUTES - ALL WITH AUTOMATIC REFRESH! THE MENU OF THE NEW MALLINCAM XTREME X2 CAN BE FULLY CONTROLLED FROM A PC USING THE SUPLLIED CONTROL CABLE AND MALLINCAM CONTROL SOFTWARE. EXPOSURE TIME CAN ALSO BE FULLY CONTROLLED VIA THE SOFTWARE. PRESET EXPOSURE TIMES OF 7, 14, 28 AND 56 SECONDS CAN BE SELECTED (LIKE THE MALLINCAM HYPER PLUS), OR CUSTOM EXPOSURE TIMES CAN BE CHOSEN UP TO 100 MINUTES.
THERE IS A CCD MODE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO EXPERIMENT WITH ASTRO-IMAGING. ALTHOUGH THE MALLINCAM IS DESIGNED PRIMARILY AS A LIVE OBSERVING CAMERA, IT CAN TAKE NICE IMAGES WHEN ALL OF THE CCD IMAGING TECHNIQUES ARE UTILIZED (SUCH AS DARK FRAME SUBTRACTION, IMAGE CALIBRATION, ETC.)
THE SOFTWARE CONTAINS A VIDEO CONTROL INTERFACE THAT WORKS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE USER SUPPLIED CAPTURE DEVICE. THE AVAILABLE VIDEO CONTROL OPTIONS IN THE SOFTWARE ARE LIMITED BY THOSE SUPPORTED BY THE CAPTURE DEVICE. OPTIONS INCLUDE BRIGHTNESS, CONTRAST, GAIN, GAMMA, HUE, SATURATION, SHARPNESS AND WHITE BALANCE.
SINCE PC CONTROL IS THROUGH THE RS-232 AUXILIARY PORT ON THE MALLINCAM, OVER 300' OF CABLE CAN BE USED FOR REMOTE OPERATION. THIS IS FAR SUPERIOR TO THE 15' LIMITED RANGE PROVIDED BY USB SUPPORTED CAMERAS.
WHEN PC CONTROL IS NOT UTILIZED, (FOR EXAMPLE WHEN OUT IN THE FIELD AT A STARPARTY), THE OPTIONAL WIRELESS EXPOSURE CONTROL MODULE CAN BE UTILIZED WITH THE FULLY INTEGRATED ON-SCREEN MENU. FOR THOSE WANTING TO EASILY ADJUST THE MENU IN THE FIELD INSTEAD OF HAVING TO MANIPULATE THE MENU USING THE FIVE ON-CAMERA MENU BUTTONS, AN OPTIONAL WIRED MENU KEYPAD IS AVAILABLE.
THE WIRELESS EXPOSURE CONTROLLER IS FCC APPROVED. ALTHOUGH APPROVAL RANGE IS LIMITED TO 265 FEET (80 METERS), IT HAS BEEN TESTED AT 500 FEET IN THE OPEN. SINCE THE WIRELESS EXPOSURE CONTROLLER WORKS ON RF RADIO WAVES, ITS SIGNAL IS ABLE TO PENETRATE WALLS, UNLIKE IR CONTROLLERS. TO GUARANTEE INTERFERENCE FREE OPERATION WITH OTHER MALLINCAM USERS IN THE FIELD, 100 CHANNELS ARE SELECTABLE. BOTH THE TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER HAVE LARGE NUMERIC DISPLAYS MAKING IT EASY TO SET AND MONITOR THE EXPOSURES.
THE WIRELESS EXPOSURE CONTROLLER HAS A BULB SETTING MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO SET EXPOSURES FROM 3 SECONDS TO 99 HOURS, 59 MINUTES AND 59 SECONDS. THE PELTIER COOLER HAS BEEN ADJUSTED TO HELP MINIMIZE WARM PIXEL FORMATION DURING THE LONGER EXPOSURES. A NEW DUAL HEAT DISSIPATER WITH DUAL FANS (HDX2-F) HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AND IT IS INCLUDED WITH THE XTREME DUE TO THE ADDITIONAL HEAT GENERATED BY THE CCD SENSOR DURING EXTENDED LONG EXPOSURES. ALONG WITH THE HDX2-F, THE USE OF AN OPTICAL WINDOW, MFR-3 FOCAL REDUCER OR MFR-5 FOCAL REDUCER IS RECOMMENDED. THESE UNITS HELP ISLOLATE THE COOLED CCD SENSOR FROM MOISTURE IN THE AIR AND LESSEN THE CHANCE FOR CONDENSATION ISSUES. WHEN LUNAR, PLANETARY AND SOLAR OBSERVING IS BEING DONE, IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE ONE OF THE ABOVE OPTICAL ELEMENTS ATTACHED TO THE XTREME X2 AS THE PELTIER COOLER IS SET TO THE LOWEST LEVEL OF NOISE DETECTION.
THE ULTIMATE LIVE ASTRONOMICAL COLOR VIDEO CCD CAMERA FOR HAS ARRIVED!
THE NEW WIRELESS EXPOSURE CONTROL RECEIVER AND TRANSMITTER ARE SHOWN ABOVE
Please note: The use of any other wireless exposure controller will void the warranty on the MallinCam camera. Our Wireless Exposure Controller is made to our specification. The Receiver contains the necessary stabilization circuit to allow the proper operation and long life of your MallinCam.
IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE XTREME:
- Full copper cooling system. This allow a much quicker, more stable cooling of the ccd sensor. In addition, the cooling is deeper than before.
- The CCD sensor has a coating applied to help reduce dew forming on the sensor.
- The HDX2-F is included with the camera. Due to the amount of heat generated by the CCD sensor, the fans must be on at all times.
- The internals to the Holtek preamp have been altered to provide for cleaner amplification.
- The NOISE DETECTION secton has been reprogramed for the new Copper Cooling systems temperature operating range.
The X2 was originally design with the EXview HAD sensor in mind; however the X2 will be offered with the standard CCD sensor (X2) and the EXview sensor (X2EX).
KEY FEATURES INCLUDE :
- NEW Computerized Adjustable Mild Peltier Cooler (Thermoelectric cooler TEC)
- Hand Picked Class 1 CCD SENSOR (Grade A).
- (Class 0 CCD Sensor available as an option - when available, $139.95 Extra)
- (EXview HAD CCD Sensor with greater sensitivity available as option - when available, $109.95 Extra)
- RS 232 Interface offering complete PC camera control using the supplied Control Cable and FREE MallinCam Control Software. A Serial Port is needed on the PC, and if one is not available, a USB to Serial Adapter can be utilized.
- Full Shutter Speed Adjustment including OFF, 1/100, 1/120, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/750, 1/1,000, 1/1,500, ½,000, 1/3,000, ¼,000, 1/6,000, 1/8,000, and 1/12,000 second making it possible for Lunar, Planetary and Solar (with the proper USER supplied H-Alpha or White Light Filters). There is no need to use an aperture mask to reduce the telescope's light gathering ability.
- Long Exposure Modes including 2X, 4X, 6X, 8X, 12X, 16X, 24X, 32X, 48X, 64X, 96X, and 128X or 1/32th of a second to 2.1 seconds
- NEW Hyper Mode with 3.3 Second to 100 Minute Exposure Times - all with Full Automatic Refresh!
- On Board Title Generator that allows for the placement of the name of the object being viewed on the monitor. This is excellent for group viewings at museums, planetariums, educational facilities and star parties or while broadcasting over the Night Skies Network.
- Programmable Back Light Compensation Mode (BLC)
- FULL AGC Adjustment (GAIN) in Auto Mode, Manual Mode (for Deep Sky targets) and OFF (for Deep Sky targets, and Lunar, Planetary, and Solar observing)
- Full White Balance Control (W/B). Chose between Fully Automatic White Balance Control (AWC), Auto Trace White Balance Control (ATW), or Manual White Balance Control including presets for 5600K, 3200K (Infrared) or User Defined Blue and Red Color.
Other Included Features :
- Two Fully Independent Video Outputs - High Resolution S-VHS and 75 Ohm Composite (Both can be used simultaneously!)
- Four Programmable Mask Functions - allow for the creation of Electronic Cross Hairs or other Manual Guiding Functions
- Positive and Negative Image Selection
- Horizontal Image Inversion (mirror effect)
- Vertical Image Inversion (mirror effect)
- Freeze Image Function
- Sensitivity Priority Function
- Gamma Selection (0.45 or 1.00)
- APC Function (Advanced Pixel Control to eliminate all stars artifacts)
- High Light Adjust Function (Electronic Coronagraph and Electronic Stellar Coronagraph)
- Color Bar Generator
- Full Digital Zoom (Up to 2X in 16 steps)
Comes Complete with the Following :
1- MALLINCAM XTREME X2 COLOR Camera (with Class 1 video CCD sensor)
1- Regulated Power Supply 120 volts to 12 Volts D/C Adapter
(PAL export version comes with 220 Volts to 12 Volts D/C Adapter
1- 25' (8 Meters) High Grade Dual Shielded Power/Composite Video Cable Combination
1 - 25' MallinCam PC Control Cable and MallinCam XTREME Control Software
1- High Precision 1.25" Eyepiece Adapter / Heat Transfer Unit Custom Made for the MallinCam
1- BNC Male to RCA Female Adapter
1- Manual
1- Quick Start Sheet
HDX2-F INCLUDED IN PACKAGE #1 BUT NOT SHOWN IN PHOTO
MallinCam XTREME X2 Package 1 - $1699.99 US Funds
HDX2-F INCLUDED IN PACKAGE #2 BUT NOT SHOWN IN PHOTO
MallinCam XTREME X2 Package 2 - $1949.95 US Funds (Includes Wireless Exposure Control Transmitter and Receiver)
HDX2-F INCLUDED IN PACKAGE #3 BUT NOT SHOWN IN PHOTO
MallinCam XTREME X2 Package 3 - $2129.90 US Funds (Includes Wireless Exposure Control Transmitter and Receiver and Wired Menu Keypad)
Class 0 CCD Sensor when available $139.95 Extra
EXview HAD CCD Sensor $109.95 Extra
Wireless Exposure Controller $249.95
Wired Menu Keypad $179.95
|
