THE 1004x JG CCD ASTRO CAMERA

MODIFICATION TO ALLOW USE WITH A USB LAPTOP

A major disadvantage of interfacing the 1004x JG to a PCI capture card is that a Desktop PC has to be used. In my case this means trailing leads from the house and a trek inside every time an image is to be taken. What was needed was a way of using a USB video capture device so that a Laptop could be used. A solution to this problem was not trivial however, because of the limited bandwidth of the USB link. Steve Chambers, however has devised a way round this however, and it is now possible to interface the 1004xJG to a laptop via a USB capture board. Jon Grove subsequently modified Steve's logic circuit to allow original PCI type 1004xJG cameras to be used in this way and adapted his iCatch image capture software for use with both capture alternatives.

Steve Chambers has also written USB capture suport software and there is also a version of the image capture and processing software Astro Video which supports the USB version of the 1004x JG