Canon 600D peltier cooling modification

[wsteel33]

Finally built a peltier cooler for the canon 600D. Credit goes to Martin Pyott for the originl design:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVrTpCn1MhA&list=WL&index=1

I had to modify the design slightly due to the aluminium plate snapping and a comedy of errors on my part, such as not being patient enough in drilling the copper plate and snapping a drill bit in the hole.... all learning experiences.

I was going to invest in a dedicated OSC astro camera but this will allow me to get a bit more milage out the old faithful DSLR. I have attached photos of the finished project and Darks (10 min at ISO 1600) and was impressed and surprised at the difference this mod made in noise levels. The cooler managed to drop 7 degC on ambient after running for about 15 min or so. I don't know how cold it will get when running for longer, and know it wont be able to compete with a dedicated astrocam, but any cooling is a bonus, right? At about £35 for the parts this saved me a fortune which will go into the dedicated TEC cooled mono camera fund.

Next on the DIY list are a power box (with power for the mount, camera, dew heaters and RPi: I have already made my own 12v power distribution box which sits on my EXOS2 "portable" mount) and a couple of auto focusers using the MyfocuserPro2 project on sourceforge (the parts are winging their way to me as I sit here). The savings bring that dedicated mono camera all the closer 😀.

Any advice from anyone who has made these projects very welcome (maybe it will help me avoid more silly errors) or ideas for other projects too.

Clear skies 💫

 

D_0003_ISO1600_600s__20C.CR2 D_0001_ISO1600_600s__13C.CR2

Edited April 9, 2021 by wsteel33

[benzomobile]

37 minutes ago, wsteel33 said:

Finally built a peltier cooler for the canon 600D. Credit goes to Martin Pyott for the originl design:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVrTpCn1MhA&list=WL&index=1

I had to modify the design slightly due to the aluminium plate snapping and a comedy of errors on my part, such as not being patient enough in drilling the copper plate and snapping a drill bit in the hole.... all learning experiences.

I was going to invest in a dedicated OSC astro camera but this will allow me to get a bit more milage out the old faithful DSLR. I have attached photos of the finished project and Darks (10 min at ISO 1600) and was impressed and surprised at the difference this mod made in noise levels. The cooler managed to drop 7 degC on ambient after running for about 15 min or so. I don't know how cold it will get when running for longer, and know it wont be able to compete with a dedicated astrocam, but any cooling is a bonus, right? At about £35 for the parts this saved me a fortune which will go into the dedicated TEC cooled mono camera fund.

Next on the DIY list are a power box (with power for the mount, camera, dew heaters and RPi: I have already made my own 12v power distribution box which sits on my EXOS2 "portable" mount) and a couple of auto focusers using the MyfocuserPro2 project on sourceforge (the parts are winging their way to me as I sit here). The savings bring that dedicated mono camera all the closer 😀.

Any advice from anyone who has made these projects very welcome (maybe it will help me avoid more silly errors) or ideas for other projects too.

Clear skies 💫

 

D_0003_ISO1600_600s__20C.CR2 26.72 MB · 0 downloads D_0001_ISO1600_600s__13C.CR2 23.41 MB · 0 downloads

Bravo!

Beppe

[iapa]

43 minutes ago, wsteel33 said:

Finally built a peltier cooler for the canon 600D. Credit goes to Martin Pyott for the originl design:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVrTpCn1MhA&list=WL&index=1

I had to modify the design slightly due to the aluminium plate snapping and a comedy of errors on my part, such as not being patient enough in drilling the copper plate and snapping a drill bit in the hole.... all learning experiences.

D_0003_ISO1600_600s__20C.CR2 26.72 MB · 2 downloads D_0001_ISO1600_600s__13C.CR2 23.41 MB · 1 download

I did one of these a few years ago now - worked fine.

outdoors, it indicated -20C, with ambient temp of -8C

side note I was using Backyard EOS at the time, and I seem to remember it can show sensor temperature.. worth taking a look at the trial version.

[wsteel33]

1 minute ago, iapa said:

side note I was using Backyard EOS at the time, and I seem to remember it can show sensor temperature.. worth taking a look at the trial version.

Cheers for this.. I will take 12 degrees of cooling.

I have been using APT (thats where I got those darks) and it also reports the sensor temp. I am currently running KStars/EKOS on a dedicated RPi which means that I have everything remote without the need to hook a laptop up. I will likely just run it on max and take whatever cooling I get from it, especially with summer on the way.

[Enceladus Dan]

On 09/04/2021 at 14:42, wsteel33 said:

Next on the DIY list are a power box (with power for the mount, camera, dew heaters and RPi: I have already made my own 12v power distribution box which sits on my EXOS2 "portable" mount) and a couple of auto focusers using the MyfocuserPro2 project on sourceforge (the parts are winging their way to me as I sit here). The savings bring that dedicated mono camera all the closer 😀.

Any advice from anyone who has made these projects very welcome (maybe it will help me avoid more silly errors) or ideas for other projects too.

Clear skies 💫

Did you manage to make a power box? 

I'm in the process of making one and my next project is the cooler like you made for my 600D. 

My idea is a box with a 12v 95ah agm leisure battery, my output requirements were:

Hp elitedesk 800 g2 Mini PC- 19.5v 3.3A 

Old laptop screen 12v 2A

Dew heaters and camera 12v 5A

Tracking motors 6v  <1A

Once finished I'm hoping to have an all in 1 box with a harness inside that I only have connect to the telescope. I have access to a bortle 4 site with SQM 21.3 but it's 3km away from any power, also good that nearest street lights are also 3km away. The led ones at the back of my garden cause me so much hassle. 

I just need to finish the lower part of the lid with some black perspex and mount the battery monitor, buck converter 12-6v, dual USB charger and a mouse mat. With the left over I will block in the back of the lcd panel as it let's out lots of light. 

The harness will have 3x usb 3 (dslr, guiding with the asi120mm and planetary with asi462) Tracking power, dew heaters and camera. All wrapped in a cable tidy. Hopefully I will leave the RA, Dec and ST4 cables in the harness too. 

So far with an old 68ah car battery I had in the shed it ran for 5 hours as it is, just the PC running PHD2 and APT and the screen. The battery monitor showed 12v 90% when I packed up. 

Regards 

Danny. 

[Rallemikken]

Gary Honis, the one with the DSLR-mods, have instructions on building something like this. He buildt an enclosure in styrofoam around the cam, and put the element inside.

http://dslrmodifications.com/rebelmod450d16c.html

Was considering it myself, have the parts around, but heat rarely is an issue up here. Most often it is the cold that makes trouble.