SBIG STX-16803: This SBIG is a dual self-guiding camera with an additional interface for another separate guiding chip. The imaging chip is a Kodak KAF 16803 full-frame chip with anti-blooming gate and micro-lens technology.
The STX series from SBIG:
- New self-guiding technology using "differential guiding" for an external guide tube
- Internal separately focusable guiding chip
- Connection and control for an external guiding chip
- parallel guiding via the internal and external chip
- USB and Ethernet connection
- Large internal image memory
- Power supply between 9-14 volts DC (also car battery)
- Multiple A/D channels, enabling parallel image download and image capture
- Improved cooling with a maximum temperature difference of up to 50 degrees Celsius, solely through air cooling, additional water cooling possible
- Conventional drying cartridge and additional option to "fill" the camera interior with argon gas
- Stepless control of fan speed to avoid possible resonance with the telescope
- Internal optocouplers, no external relay box required
All in all, the STX-16 803 is an absolutely professional CCD camera for amateurs, just what professional astronomers would have wanted a few years ago.
