QHY23 taking the plunge

[polaris_jerry]

Just wanted to share my excitement...  I bought a QHY23 this week from Bernard at Modern Astronomy.  Should be here within a week or so, along with a QHY2" filter wheel and a set of Baader filters.  Although the cost was eye watering when you add all the accessories, the camera looks great on spec.

Once it arrives and I get some decent weather I'll post some results here.  There is a distinct lack of info on the web about the QHY23 cos it's new, so hopefully it will help others thinking about a purchase.

Fingers crossed....

Jeremy

[davew]

Ivo has the 22 so it will be interesting to see the results of the 23.

I do wish Bern would update his site !

Dave.

[polaris_jerry]

Well, it's my first proper CCD camera, so not promising my results will be comparable with other users here!  I have been using a Canon 300D for about a decade now and finally took the plunge to upgrade.  

[sloz1664]

If you have had success in processing your subs from the 300D, then you will find processing the subs from a cooled mono ccd a piece of cake.

Ok you have the learning curve of setting up the imaging train and grabbing the subs and flats with the various filters but with the QHY23 you do not need darks

the chip is so clean.

Don't forget to post your first light. I have had my QHY8 pro for a while now and it's been brilliant (far better than the imager).

I've been running it at -20 degrees and it stays there never wavering at all.

cheers

Steve

[polaris_jerry]

I think I've done ok processing my 300D images but I'm sure it will take a while to get proficient at mono imaging.

I'll post my first light as soon as I get it!

[Luke]

Ooh, very nice. I didn't realise QHY did one with the ICX814 chip. Congrats on your purchase!

[polaris_jerry]

Yippee!!  My camera arrived today 

I've put a load of pics of the "unwrapping" on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.hunt.9440/media_set?set=a.246252585532356.1073741846.100004428493533&type=1&comment_id=1008545&offset=0&total_comments=1&notif_t=photo_album_comment

A couple of points I've noticed so far:

- The camera comes with a plastic cable clamp, which many people have criticised for the crudeness of the solution, but to be honest the cables seem very secure on mine without it.  I will probably fit it just for peace of mind though.

- The EZCAP software controls the QHY filter wheel (which is powered by the connection to the camera), it controls the TEC and allows full control of the exposure sequences.  It all seems very intuitive to me.

- EZCAP also allows you to set the Gain and Offset on the camera by running through a simple iterative process of taking a BIAS and a FLAT and ensuring that the dynamic range is maximised to the 16-bit DAC.  It took me about 10 mins to complete.  The settings for my camera are Gain = 28 and Offset=122, which yields an RMS background level of 859 (973 max) for a Bias frame and an RMS background level of 62301 (64466 max) for a saturated image.  Hopefully that is just about perfect for maximising the use of the 65535 dynamic range.  I really like this feature of the camera, it feels like you have total control of the electronics to make every photon count.

- Noise seems to be virtually non-existant to me - I'm used to a Canon 300D, which is horrendous in comparison!  I'm taking a whole series of darks at -20oC but I'm not sure I really need them!

- The TEC cools by up to 45 degrees from ambient.  In my living room today it's cooled from +18 to -20 no problem and maintained a steady temperature for several hours (fluctuating a little from -19.6 to -20.3.  A small screw in tube is provided which is rechargable with dessicant to prevent any moisture from building up inside the CCD chamber.  The optical window in front of the CCD is heated so there shouldn't be any problems with fogging with both of those provisions.  We'll see.  It's so damp here in Cumbria that my observatory computer blew its power supply this week.

- The Baader 2" filters (LRGB and H-Alpha) were a very tight fit in the filter carousel.  So much so that I hope I never have to change them!!  They aren't cross threaded, but quite a fight to get them in and out a couple of times.  The filter wheel is so quiet in operation that I had to visually check that it was rotating.  Wonderful, seems to be very well made.

- Funnily, the label on the camera says "QHY23-M" in one part, but then also says "6MP CCD"...fortunately it is actually 9MP as I expected 

So...here's hoping for a clear night this week to give it a test drive.

Jerry

[polaris_jerry]

Oh, I have been fiddling with image scale calcs and so on, whilst waiting for the arrival of the camera.  I was wondering if someone could advise me on whether my thoughts make sense.  

I have a William Optics ZS80 (and a 0.8x convertor) ; and a Skywatcher MN190.  

If I assume that an acceptable imaging scale is somewhere between 0.76 and somewhere near 2.5, then it looks as though I can get pretty decent image scales with a wide range of binning options - giving me much greater sensitivity.  Is that right??  Would it be a sensible idea to image through the MN190 with a 2x barlow (Celestron Ultima) and Bin at 2x2 or 3x3?

Any advice appreciated as I'm new to this whole idea of binning.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=246276085530006&set=a.246252585532356.1073741846.100004428493533&type=3&theater

[cosmophoton]

Hi Jerry,

I hope you are having fun with the QHY23 ! 

The imaging scale (without barlows) seems ok. With the MN190, you should get more detail, and get nice images when the atmospheric seeing is good.

Are you liking the QHY23 ? I'm considering it, or the QHY22 in the near future.    

Cheers,

Luiz

[polaris_jerry]

The QHY23 is great I love it. Although I've not had much opportunity to use it yet with the awful weather. The image quality seems good on both the MN190 and the ZS80.

I have managed to fog the CCD window a couple of times despite the desiccant tube and heated window. I think I cooled the chip too quickly on both occasions. So beware of that. Cumbria is notoriously damp though especially this winter.

Jerry