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The integrated design will appeal to the user who wants to have an all-inclusive solution - camera, filter wheel and off-axis guider. This camera system includes all of these components.
The off-axis guider is screwed directly onto the camera system housing, so that you have a fixed and twist-proof adaptation. The direct screw connection extends the dimensions of the camera/filter wheel combination by just 10mm.
The integrated USB 2.0 hub offers two USB outputs for additional accessories, as well as a dual USB/RS232 converter. These connectors allow you to connect an electric focuser, a guide camera and your mount. This reduces many and long cable connections that, experience shows, can cause problems. Once you have connected all the peripherals to the camera system, all you need is a single USB cable from the camera to your PC.
To operate, the camera system requires a 12V power supply. The connector is screw-in and sturdily connected to the power supply plug.
The Optec Intelligent Filter Wheel brings to astronomy a new level of sophisticated equipment for the benefit of the astro-imager. Astro-imaging in this age of astronomy requires the use of many color filters and the management of these filters during an observational session can sometimes be confusing. The use of the wrong filter could easily spoil an otherwise successful imaging run.
The Optec IFW has the ability to determine the identification (ID) of a particular wheel and apply that wheel ID to a preprogrammed set of filters. The names, not just position numbers of these filters, are read on the eight character display and are also available to the camera operating software via a serial interface using a simple command structure. Up to 5 different filter wheels can have separate IDs and each wheel can have up to 5 filters for a total of 25 identifiable filters.
The IFW filter wheel can easily be removed from the IFW system without tools or removal from the telescope. A hinged door is secured by a single captive thumbscrew. Once opened, the wheel can be extracted and another inserted in its place. The entire process takes only a few seconds.
Hitting the HOME switch on the hand control or invoking the HOME function in the operating program will set the wheel to position one and bring up the available filters for that wheel.
The IFW is not intended to be mounted close to the camera. The large filter size allow for mounting some inches away without vignetting the CCD. Dust specs on filters mounted close to the CCD will cause shadows which are hard to flat field out if the filter registration is not pixel perfect. When the filters are far removed from the CCD, the shadows are eliminated.
