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Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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russ is Offline
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Default Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 08:16 AM

a Philips SPC900NC

And fully operational and took less than 60secs to do

And thanks to Morgans who delivered next day. Just need a nosepiece now.
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 08:22 AM

How did you re flash it ? or not...

Nadeem.
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 08:23 AM

Nice one Russ, I forsee a glut of lunar and planetary images heading onto SGL soon .


Tony..


Scopes: Tal1
Mounts: EQ5
Cameras: I-Nova PLA mx, Webcam
EP's: Some
Lots of odds and ends to put it all together!

What were the skies like when you were young?
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 08:30 AM

Could you post up a tutorial on howto do it? As im clueless! Thanks

Eddy


Starwave ED80 | 50mm GuideScope
EQ5 ST4 Port Mod | EOS 350D umodded
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 08:36 AM

Hi all,

I installed the camera first using the INF file from the Morgans site. The camera is recognised as a Toucam 750K.
I then followed the instructions for flashing a Toucam Pro II 840K to SPC900NC:

Philips SPC900NC uncovered

PLEASE GO CAREFUL AND READ THROUGH ALL INFO ON THE LINK ABOVE. THIS MUST BE DONE USING A WINDOWS XP SYSTEM!

Download WcRmac and the SPC900NC binary file. Install WcRmac and then copy the SPC900NC binary file to C:\Program Files\TWIRG\WcRmac\binary\8116
Start WcRmac, click the webcam tab at the top, choose DS Interface, select the camera in the window and connect. Click the Binaries tab and you should see the SPC900NC binary you copied to the 8116 folder earlier. Click the 'Get current and save as' button to back up the current binary file. Then highlight the new SPC900NC binary and click on the 'Load into cam' button. Close the program once done. Unplug the webcam and install the SPC900NC driver:
SPC900NC/00 Philips Webcam SPC900NC VGA CCD with Pixel Plus - Philips Support

Plug in the cam, windows will find the device and installs. Job done!

But please follow the instructions on the other website as they know what they are doing.
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Last edited by russ; 12th September 2010 at 09:16 AM.
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 08:37 AM

You're heading for a knighthood Russ, the way things are going...






Last edited by Beulah; 12th September 2010 at 08:37 AM.
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by eddy View Post
Could you post up a tutorial on howto do it? As im clueless! Thanks

Eddy
With a reminder about what nosepiece and filter (i think was mentioned previously) was required please if possible.


Steve

Celestron Nexstar 8SE
Baader Hyperion Zoom 8:24mm
Revelation Kit
Skywatcher Explorer 200P(HEQ5) (retired as too damn heavy)

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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 09:00 AM

This nosepiece fits but there is also one offered by Wayne which looks nicer for the same money but i haven't got a link:
Astro Engineering AC414s 1.25" low-profile nosepiece to webcam lens thread (ToUcam Pro SPC900NC)

And this is the filter, although someone may know of a better one:
ScopeTeknix ScopeTeknix 1.25" Infrared & UV blocking filter
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 09:06 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by russ View Post
This nosepiece fits but there is also one offered by Wayne which looks nicer for the same money but i haven't got a link:
Astro Engineering AC414s 1.25" low-profile nosepiece to webcam lens thread (ToUcam Pro SPC900NC)
Here is Wayne's website, and it is a lot cheaper from him than from any of the other retailers.

Billet Parts / Vintage & Classic Spares


Skywatcher Explorer 200P
3.2mm TMB clone
5mm, 8mm and 18mm ED BST Explorer
25mm Skywatcher Plossl
Philips SPC900NC
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 09:08 AM

Hello all.
I ordered two directly from wayne`s site HERE.
Hope this helps.


Clear Skies
Andy
Scopes:Skywatcher Explorer 200p, Celestron80ED
Mount:EQ5 with Synscan Pro upgrade
Visual:A few very modest eyepieces and filters in a nice case
Imaging:Canon350D, SPC900NC(880)
HFH <--- <--- <--- <--- Look In
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 09:09 AM

Snap


Clear Skies
Andy
Scopes:Skywatcher Explorer 200p, Celestron80ED
Mount:EQ5 with Synscan Pro upgrade
Visual:A few very modest eyepieces and filters in a nice case
Imaging:Canon350D, SPC900NC(880)
HFH <--- <--- <--- <--- Look In
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 09:11 AM

I've just ordered from Wayne's website.
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 09:40 AM

Very nice Russ.

It's all trepidation and wibbles and wobbles before we do reflashes and firmware upgrades, then when we do one, it's all constructive achievement, rewarding, and occasionally even, meerkat.

eta: Now, who is up for that A to B instruction manual for auto-guiding my AZ3? *grins and runs away*


West Wales, near the Irish Sea
Little Light Pollution, but Plenty of Rain Pollution.

Last edited by Ogri; 12th September 2010 at 09:43 AM.
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 12:54 PM

Hi russ thanks for the tutorial, probably should be made a sticky in the primers section or in imaging somewhere.

I luckily have a computer that runs XP that I just remembered about, it is old though and runs a pentium 3 processor and thankfully has usb (1.1) ports but it should do to flash the two webcams that are on their way.

And I have also just ordered a nosepiece from Wayne's site, I was kicking myself last night for not ordering one earlier in the week because it was the clearest it had been all month and I bet jupiter would have been a great object to image.


Tom

Crewe, Cheshire

My Kit

Scopes: Skyliner 200p Dobsonian (Kindly lent to me by my local astro society)

Messier Objects seen 74/110
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 01:04 PM

I've been kicking myself too for not ordering the nosepiece and filter earlier
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 01:22 PM

Excellent! Just waiting for mine to arrive now, thanks for the info!


Skywatcher explorer 200p on HEQ5
Skywatcher Super MA 25 mm
Paradigm 8mm
2" 30mm Unbranded
2x Skywatcher delux barlow
Phillips spc880 webcam
Brightstar l429 ccd camera

"The cosmos is a magnet... Once you've been there, all you can think of is how to get back"
-Yuri Romanenko
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 01:37 PM

Not received my cam yet.. hoping it arrives monday so I can give the flash a go!!

Thanks for the info Russ


Scopes: Skywatcher 200P DS f/5 : Opticstar AR80 f7.5 : William Optics 66 SD
Mounts: Meade Starfinder EQ driven - Vixen GPe on steel tripod dual driven - AE AZManhattan on Steel tripod
Eyepieces: 6mm TMB : Meade 5000 UWA 8.8mm : Meade 5000 UWA 14mm: 10.5mm Meade Ortho : 20mm Meade 5000 SWA : 25mm Sterling

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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 01:42 PM

Just one question, how do I install the webcam in the first place using the .inf file from the website as you say at the start of your message?


Tom

Crewe, Cheshire

My Kit

Scopes: Skyliner 200p Dobsonian (Kindly lent to me by my local astro society)

Messier Objects seen 74/110
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 01:50 PM

copy the downloaded file to a folder on the PC, plug in the camera and when Windows wants the driver, direct it to the folder with the inf file. Job done!

Last edited by russ; 12th September 2010 at 01:50 PM.
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 02:02 PM

Had a play with my cam last night. I'm Impressed even though I'm no seasoned imager. certainly seems to beat the lifecam and the fact we have a Gain control certainly helps.

Wayne...
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 02:04 PM

Cheers Russ


Tom

Crewe, Cheshire

My Kit

Scopes: Skyliner 200p Dobsonian (Kindly lent to me by my local astro society)

Messier Objects seen 74/110
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 03:52 PM

Hi, can I just check whether I'm missing out big time by not snapping up one of these famous webcams? I've been using a ToUcam PRO II (aka 840K) and seem to have adequate controls over the camera settings when using craterlet to capture video. Apart from the fact that I paid £30 for this cam a few years back, does the SPC880NC offer any advantages?

Thanks in advance for the enlightenment!

Paul
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Re: Philips SPC880NC is now.......
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 04:46 PM

Paul, your are not missing out at all. Both cameras are the same, except the 880 has a flashy suit.
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 05:40 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by russ View Post
except the 880 has a flashy suit.

Is that because it has a couple more buttons...?


We choose to image with DSLR’s. We choose to image with DSLR’s in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
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Default Re: Philips SPC880NC is now....... - 12th September 2010, 07:13 PM

Paul, if you have had your ToUcam PRO II for a few years, £6 seems a very cheap insurance policy for a full hardware backup to have in the cupboard?


West Wales, near the Irish Sea
Little Light Pollution, but Plenty of Rain Pollution.
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