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Eyepiece holder that fits the MS Life Cam Cinema

Andy Milner

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

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Hi Everyone, I'm a beginner and I have a lifecam cinema hd and wish to modify it for planetary imaging and then guiding once I've got started and some experience under my belt I may upgrade to a purpose built webcam.

I've read a few forums and found many people reccomend one from billet parts however they don't seem to supply anymore. I've seen some standard looking webcam holders that say they fit the spc900 and there is one on eBay that boasts fitting any webcam.

Is there anyone out there who is already using this webcam and could you point me in the right place to look for a holder.

Also I keep reading references to a Gary Honis step by step guide but his website never seems to be up and working. http://ghonis2.ho8.com

Any tips on modification will be appreciated too.

Thanks I love these forums!

Andy

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Langy

Langy

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I'm guessing it must be like most webcams. You need to remove the lens and I know with the xBox one I have there was a small filter sitting above the chip which was held in place on the filter thread that the lens was in. I removed that and put the thread holder back in to use for an adapter into the EP. I also had to destroy 4 LEDs on the board with a pair of small pliers.

I bought the xBox cam for under £5 new delivered off eBay. If you don't want to risk the lifecam then perhaps a cheap purchase may be best first.

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Langy

Langy

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As far as I am aware most webcams have the small 12mm thread. You should be able to unscrew the lens and at least check the thread size.

A lot of people also make their own holder,

Below is my webcam with the 12mm to 1,25" EP holder £14.99 of eBay.

post-34707-0-15358200-1391896237_thumb.j

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SnakeyJ

SnakeyJ

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Hi Andy,

Sorry about my old website going down.  The webhosting company went out of business.  I have my website back up permanently using GoDaddy.  My website is GaryHonis.com.

The instructions for modifying the Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD webcam are here:

http://GaryHonis.com/lifecam/lifecam1.html

Good luck with your mod!

Gary

Gary, I didn't know you were a member here - just want to add my thanks for providing and maintaining such a useful community site/resource :)

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

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I'm finding it difficult to find 1.25 barrel extenders anywhere, or even knowing which nose piece to buy. Any further advice where to look? I've already tried many websites but I'm confused when many websites have nose pieces fir the Philips or xbox cam and billets arts no longer do the lifecam adaptor I can only find 2" barrel extenders and the prices I keep finding seem to be making this a rather expensive job when I thought I might save money. Fir example there are 2" extenders for around £20 each! Any help where I can get the parts advised by Gary Honis will be appreciated.

Thanks webby965 but I'm not sure who to ask to make that part.

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webby962

webby962

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Attached is the drawing I made for the adapter. 

Andy, if you know any machine shops or anyone with a lathe, they should be able to make this very quickly and easily out of bar plastic (or even steel, but I would recommend Stainless 303,304 or 316 if available so it doesn't rust.)

post-35245-0-56121500-1392030966_thumb.j

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

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I think I will ask my father in law. He might be able to help. Does that include a thread for a filter to screw on. Or how would I attach a filter? Looking to get a astronomik 1.25" pro planet 742 to fit too.

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SnakeyJ

SnakeyJ

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I think I will ask my father in law. He might be able to help. Does that include a thread for a filter to screw on. Or how would I attach a filter? Looking to get a astronomik 1.25" pro planet 742 to fit too.

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Good luck with the nosepiece adaptor and the PP742 is a great filter - though not sure how sensitive the MS Lifecam cmos will be to IR wavelengths.   Might be okay for lunar, but probably pushing it for Jupiter.    I find Saturn is marginal on my 8" newt with mono cmos cameras (firefly mv and qhy5l-II).

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MrFinster

MrFinster

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Okay, I've emailed BilletParts to ask if they would make some more of these adaptors. Fingers crossed.

I'd be interested as well,  they also had a video showing how to strip the lifecam for that adaptor but that has vanished as well.

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

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No answer from them yet. Emailed twice. Anyone tried calling them? Says on website they rarely answer phone as they in a noisy workshop. I have a chance in my day off work Friday. Will call them then.

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

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I've had a response from Billetparts.

"HI. We will have made a new batch by first week of March.

One of my retailers has some in stock, and I was hoping to refer some customers to him. Unfortunately he is currently recovering from a stroke.

You may know him if you frequent the forums, but I'm not sure his current condition is generally known.

Regards

Wayne."

I'm prepared to wait a couple if weeks. They are making a new batch. I'm new to this forum so I have no idea who he's talking about. Hope they recover well.

In the mean time I will learn more about my scope and try other things. Still a rookie :)

Andy.

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petergc

petergc

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I've had a response from Billetparts.

"HI. We will have made a new batch by first week of March.

One of my retailers has some in stock, and I was hoping to refer some customers to him. Unfortunately he is currently recovering from a stroke.

You may know him if you frequent the forums, but I'm not sure his current condition is generally known.

Regards

Wayne."

I'm prepared to wait a couple if weeks. They are making a new batch. I'm new to this forum so I have no idea who he's talking about. Hope they recover well.

In the mean time I will learn more about my scope and try other things. Still a rookie :)

Andy.

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I have had an email too. Hope all is ok with his acquaintance and fingers crossed. Mine read " HI. We will have made a new batch by first week of March. Wayne"

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