Thommy

Hi Peter, Today I tested Bret's ascom driver in AstroArt and guess what - it worked! On the other hand I know of others with SX cameras who use the same ascom driver with NINA. So perhaps Nina is allergic to a MX7 or (more likely) there is something different in my laptop setup. Perhaps something with the .net installation? Cheers, Thommy

Dear all, Are any of you using the SX ASCOM driver together with an older SX camera (I have a SXV-M7 but with a newer 829 chip)? Which version works for you? I wanted to try NINA for controlling the camera etc. and I tried several versions of Bret's ASCOM driver, but none seemed to work. While NINA connects to the camera, the capture area remains inactive. Happy new year! /Thommy

CSX-249 would be sensitive due to the pixels size. With regard to dynamic behavior it is not optimal. With a full well depth of 33k and, say 2 e read noise (should be lower according to preliminary specifications), it has a dynamic range of 1:16500 which is very good, BUT since dataformat is 12 bit, you only have 4096 stops. For this camera a data format of 14 bit would be more appropriate to take advantage of its dynamic range. For CSX-304 the dynamic range is 1:5500 which is consistent with 12 bit.

I currently use a SX MX7 but with a retrofitted Sony 829 chip in combo with a MN190. The large pixels (not square!) gives me a resolution of around 1.9 "/px which is just too low. CSX 249 would increase the resolution to 1.3 "/px and increase the field size a bit as well. That´s fine with me as I normally image galaxies spanning no more than 15-20'. Actually I consider the new SX Trius 825 or 694 Pro or as well, should I decide to continue with CCD's. Anyway, the discussion in this thread brings some interesting information...

Steve, as I seriously consider the CSX249, I wonder if you have some more information by now from SX?

I don't have any experience with PEC. But I've considered using it on my EQ8 to prevent some rapid movements in the gears. So just some general observations: If you use PEC you would probably set the aggresivity of the guiding much lower, as rapid movements should be removed by the PEC - otherwise you would overshoot leading to a higher RMS figure. If your gears are of good quality, and the grease is clean and free from debris, you would probably not expect much of a difference. Just some thoughts ... /Thommy