After working for 2 days unsuccessfully attempting to get my 10-year old Meade DSI III 1.3 megapixel astro camera, repeatedly reloading the Meade software and adjusting the Microsoft .Net versions I suspect that it’s not software, but a hardware issue. The computer just doesn’t see the camera. And it’s not the USB connection as I’ve used a couple of different cables and cleaned the contacts. This camera cost over $1000 back in 2008 and has a relatively large format 2/3” diagonal chip that worked really well on last May’s transit of Mercury. If someone would like to borrow the camera and see if it’ll run with an old XP or Visa computer it may indeed run and I may be wrong about the dead electronics. Would really like to use this for the August transit.
Last night I was out briefly around 18:15 hrs last night taking advantage of a brief thin cloud situation and checking out some different webcam setups on the 80mm refractor - again in anticipation of the August eclipse. The 2001 $59 Phillips ToUcam only has a 1/3” (6mm) diagonal chip with a resolution of 620X480 pixels (1/3 megapixel). But it’s easy to use and the idea was to try to couple it with a Meade f3.3 focal reducer.
Nothing in the adapter collection brought the chip close enough to the focal reducer but hand holding it about ½” from the reducer lens did give me a lunar image that just about fit the chip. Going to have to machine some parts for this but it just may work to fit the full sun/moon thing in August.
To this end, like many amateur astronomers who didn’t get what they wanted for Christmas, I’ve just ordered a Celestron NexImage 5 planet cam ($139 at B&H Photo). The chip diagonal is still tiny at 7mm, but 5 megapixel is a lot more than 1/3 megapixel. (Not enough to blame for the blizzard though). If I can get the ToUcam to show a ½° FOV with my 80mm 910mm FL Orion refractor the NexImage should be a step up.
Anyone looking to playing with the DSI III for a while please speak up. It’s a simple installation if it works. And a lovely camera with its relatively large wide field chip.
Anyone looking to sell an old astro camera in the NexImage price range should chime in as well as I’m really struggling to fit a ½° object (Luna & sol) onto a 1/3” chip.
Pete
Working up a wide field planet cam setup
Mea culpa
.... for the rain & cloud. Maybe. The Celestron planet cam was delivered this afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised when viewing the chip side by side with that in the old ToUcam. Turns out to have double the dimensions and 4X the area. Plus the adapters will be easily machined to achieve coupling with the Meade f/3.3 focal reducer. One wouldn't think that a $139 purchase would cause 2 days of rain. Maybe it's the "happy factor" that counts? Going from 0.3 mega pixel to 5 mega pixel resolution may be a good thing too 
Pete
Pete
Pete P.