(meteorobs) All Sky Meteor Cameras

Mon Nov 3 10:43:16 EST 2014

Paul,

I am in Fort Wayne, IN and I run NMSU Sentinel software and currently use a Watec 902H2 Ultimate camera that I got off eBay.  The camera is enclosed in a Pelco housing that I also got off eBay and I use a telescope dew heater near the clear opening to melt snow and remove dew.

The Sentinel software is free if you are accepted into the program.  NMSU also sent me a free Hi-Cam camera that I am in the process of building another enclosure to house outside.  The software is kind of a pain to install and configure but when you get it working it is excellent.  The images and video are stored on your local computer, and relevant images and videos are posted on the NMSU web page for your node.  I usually look over last nights collection first thing in the morning when I come in to work.

You need to have a computer that collects video from the camera and then uploads data to the NMSU website.  You can use a USB video grabber or a dedicated card installed in a the computer for the video collection.  The camera uses coax for the video and 12VDC for power.

Before being accepted in the NMSU program, I ran HandiAVI for meteor detection – I believe the software is under $50 and you can install it on as many computers as you like.  It will recognize any USB camera that is attached to your computer.

So what you will need to get started:
a camera like a Watec or Hi-Cam and wide field lens - http://www.spycameras.com/item,sl-740e,b-w-star-light-camera-set-with-sony-b-w-ex-view-had-ccd-camera.html
Enclosure  - picked one of these cheap off eBay - http://www.2mcctv.com/product_info-PelcoEH2508.html
Dew Heater
BNC and Power cable (100 foot for 39.99 from Menards)
USB video capture  - http://www.telescope.com/Astrophotography/Video-Astrophotography/Orion-Video-Capture-Device/pc/-1/c/4/sc/448/p/101468.uts
HandiAVI - http://www.azcendant.com/DownloadHandyAvi.html or get signed up with NMSU and run the Sentinel software

Also, just learned the NMSU is transferring ownership to a private company, so I am not sure of the status of signing up new nodes.

Here is the URL for NMSU meteor program:
http://skysentinel.nmsu.edu/allsky/<http://skysentinel.nmsu.edu/allsky/node/node77>

And here is my node:
http://skysentinel.nmsu.edu/allsky/node/node77

Build guide for a Sentinel:
http://skysentinel.nmsu.edu/allsky/docs/allsky_camera_build_guide.pdf

Also I’ve enclosed a few picture from this August

Let me know if you have any questions…

Jeremy Jackson

[cid:799386FA-BCEE-4117-8293-5DA17191EDC0]

[cid:F5C2CD42-D41B-409D-856B-029C865367CA]

[cid:B4E9D4A8-9AB3-4D31-85A5-9B213EFF281E]

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From: Paul Zeller <pzeller1966 at gmail.com><mailto:pzeller1966 at gmail.com>>
Reply-To: Meteor science and meteor observing <meteorobs at meteorobs.org><mailto:meteorobs at meteorobs.org>>
Date: Monday, November 3, 2014 at 4:29 AM
To: Meteor science and meteor observing <meteorobs at meteorobs.org><mailto:meteorobs at meteorobs.org>>
Subject: (meteorobs) All Sky Meteor Cameras

  I'm wondering if anyone on the list who runs an all-sky camera is willing to act as an informal "mentor" to me. I have no experience with them but I'm at least somewhat software-literate and I'm seriously thinking of installing one here at home in the next year. I'm in a suburban location and on a good clear night my limiting visual magnitude is about 5.0 - 5.2. I'm wondering what the best model to buy would be (I'm definitely on a budget), how dim the meteors would be that I could image, how to determine which shower members the meteors imaged belong to, etc. Thank you in advance. I may be asking a lot of dumb questions, especially at the start!

  Paul Zeller
  Indianapolis, IN, USA

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