Philips SPC880NC is now.......

[yesyes]

WcRmac can be had here:

Download WcRmac

And the firmware for the SPC900 here:

http://home.versatel.nl/m.m.j.meijer/D_I_Y/spc900nc.bin

And the SPC900 drivers from Philips here:

SPC900NC/00 Philips Webcam SPC900NC VGA CCD with Pixel Plus - Philips Support

[Celeste]

Ok I got it installed, got the binary file but it tells me:

It seems that the cam is not in preview mode by another application - This may cause the reading registers to be very slow and unreliable. Click OK to ignore this message and proceed ro click cancel to abort.

What do I do?

[pirsquared]

aye that caught me out as well

you need to have the camera running for wcrmac to see the camera

[Celeste]

Lol ok, started the cam, backed up tried to install the 900 binary file, it came up with a box saying check green bar and that said sucess, but when I closed the dialogue box it says Sorry could not get binary file in the green box....did it work?

[yesyes]

Unplug it and plug it in again. Then see what it is detected as...

[pirsquared]

does it say its a spc900?

[Celeste]

OMG it worked!! WAYHEY one happy bunny thanks a billion for the help and patience

Now to go figure out how to disect the cam and place the eyepiece replacement in

[pirsquared]

thats the easy part

use a little screw driver to lever off thefocus wheel and then the black plastic lens assembly should just unscrew, then screw in your 1/4" adaptor, all set to astro image, well nearly, you just need some capture software, i've had to use sharpcap as its the only one that will work on a win7 64bit R2 unit.

this thread gives details of settings for brightness, gamma, gain etc

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-discussion/120621-spc900-webcam-queries.html

your also gonna need registax to convert your movie files (.avi) to a picture.

if i wasn't off to the pub (and i'd polar aligned my scope) i'd be out now as the skys are brilliantly clear and jupiter is shing bright, plus the moon should be up soon

paul

[Celeste]

Will Sharpcap work on an XP system? I want to use my el-cheapo laptop for imaging outside (not too upset if it gets wet or damaged) Does the eyepice part need a lens on it at all or can it be left open? Won't dust get on the CCD? I also didn't see the IR/UV filter on Morgans til just now I swear I have lost my marbles!

[pirsquared]

i would get an ir filter, i think its necessary for planetary imageing

plus a lens cap will protect things down in the camera

i got my adaptor and cap ftom billetparts

Billet Parts / Vintage & Classic Spares

i don't think he does ir filters though.

i think sharpcap does work on xp

here's a thread all about it, its even written by one of the members

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-discussion/112757-sharpcap-free-astro-webcam-capture-software.html

[Celeste]

It's ok I will buy THIS filter, unless you more knowledgable persons can tell me where it's cheaper

[pirsquared]

thats the one i got when i bought the camera

haven't had a free night to try it out so can't comment on it

but it does block ir, confirmed by trying to change channel with the filter over the remote lol

[Celeste]

but it does block ir, confirmed by trying to change channel with the filter over the remote lol

lol

[yesyes]

ingenious...

[PeterM]

Ignore, it's been a long day

Edited November 26, 2010 by PeterM

[SniffTheGlove]

i would get an ir filter, i think its necessary for planetary imageing

plus a lens cap will protect things down in the camera

i got my adaptor and cap ftom billetparts

Billet Parts / Vintage & Classic Spares

i don't think he does ir filters though.

i think sharpcap does work on xp

here's a thread all about it, its even written by one of the members

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-discussion/112757-sharpcap-free-astro-webcam-capture-software.html

Yes, Sharpcap works on XP, also W2K, Vista and Win 7

[Celeste]

Thanks for all the help and info, i'm not done yet as I need to buy the filter and a lens cap, I won't risk damage to the CCD.

[SniffTheGlove]

Thanks for all the help and info, i'm not done yet as I need to buy the filter and a lens cap, I won't risk damage to the CCD.

I would suggest got to Morgans for the IR/UV Filter. The morgan page does not mention (well did not the last time I looked) if the IR filter is UV as well but it does state so in the enclosed documentation.

If you want to spend a lot more money then look at SGL Sponsor FLO for the Baader

[TF Ratio]

Hi all

Just like to say that I have ordered everything yesterday...

Webcam, adaptor and filter.

I am sooo excited, especially as I will be taking the scope up to the North East and away from the light pollution in London over Christmas..

I would also like to say that I ordered the camera adapter yesterday and it arrived in the post this morning, great service from Billetparts.co.uk

Now to find a primer for webcam imaging..

[Saata]

Camera arrived with nosepiece and filter - all flashed and ready to go

Russ - were it not a physical impossibility, I would bear you many children...

Steve

[jonathon]

Mornin all. Just bought an spc 900. From morgans and wondering how to remove lense. There are no screws at all and the moving plastic ring ( focuser?) only goes so far and tightens up. I thought lense needed removing for telescope use thank you.

[jonathon]

FOUND IT 10POSTS UP!!!

[Red Alert]

Fired up the old laptop to do it and realised I have vista on there. No xp machine anywhere. Any ideas what I could try?

[Scubadude]

Thanks to those who started and contributed to this informative thread, having read all 19pages (so far) I pulled the trigger and ordered the webcam. Have been keen to try this for a while but this thread finally gave me the understanding to see how I might do it and a product at a price point my ebay scope project can tolerate!

Hopefully by the time my camera arrives and I've got all the software loaded the rain will have left!!!

Thankfully I run all my home and work PC's on XP, (can see no reason to upgrade) so for a change it looks like I have the right software :-)

[nebogipfel]

Fired up the old laptop to do it and realised I have vista on there. No xp machine anywhere. Any ideas what I could try?

See the previous comments about using Virtual Machines.....worked fine for me