AST492-A-M
€ 3600
(VAT excl.)
AST492-A-M-FW
(with integrated 7P Filterwheel)
€ 3900
(VAT excl.)
The AST492A CMOS camera features:
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Large 19.2x13mm, 46 Mpxl monochrome Sony IMX492LLJ-C CMOS Sensor with 11 Mpxl internal HW bin 2 capability for extended full well
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Optional integrated 7 positions Filterwheel for 1.25" mounted or 31mm unmounted filters.
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Astrel concept low-vacuum CMOS sensor chamber that guarantees no-frost with -35°C DeltaT at only 2.6A of power consumption
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Powerful integrated PC (quad core 1.8GHz, 4Gb of RAM) for stand alone wire-free operation (no external PC is needed)
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Choice of Windows 10 or any Linux Operating System
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Any application supporting ASCOM or INDI can be installed directly on the camera and remotely accessed
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Can be ordered with commercial applications already installed on customer request (APT, N.I.N.A, PHD, KStars, ...)
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Gigabit Ethernet connection to PC
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Wireless connection to PC / Tablet / Smartphone by means of a USB-WiFi pen drive
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32 GB internal storage plus optional integrated 256GB SSD
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1 x SS USB3 port
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6 x HS USB2 ports (one for optional Filter-wheel)
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3 x 12VOUT controlled ports
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1 x 20P EXT-IO port (with UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO)
Sensor Specifications
CMOS .......... Sony IMX492LLJ-C (mono)
Pixel Array ... 8192 (H) x 5648 (V) pixels with HW bin 2
Pixel size .... 2.315um 12bit (bin 1), 4.63um 14bit (HW bin 2)
CMOS Size ..... 23.1 mm diagonal (19.2x13mm)
Total Pixels .. ~46 Million
Full Well ..... ~14Ke- @ minimum gain, ~65ke- with HW bin 2
Readout Noise.. ~1.9e- @ unity gain, ~1.4e- @ max gain
Dark Current .. ~0.005 e-/px/s @ -10°C
Camera Characteristics
Shutter ....... Electronic
Filter wheel... Optional,7x1.25" mounted/31mm unmounted filters
Camera Size ... 120x146x117mm (w/ FW), 112x11846x100mm (w/o FW)
Mounting ...... M42x0.75mm T-thread
Weight ........ 850g (w/ integrated filter-wheel)
Backfocus ..... 33mm (including integrated filter-wheel)
Interfaces .... Gbit ETH, WiFi, USB3 SS + USB2 Host HS x6
Camera Performances
A/D Converter . 12 bit (bin 1), 14bit (HW bin 2)
Gain .......... variable from 0 to 27 dB
Binning Modes . HW or SW bin 2 14bit, SW bin 4 16bit
Readout Speed . 0.3 sec per frame (bin 1)
Max Cooling ... ~35°C below ambient, ±0.1°C regulated
Power ......... 12VDC @ 2.6 A max (100% Peltier)
Smartcamera Approach
The Astrel Instruments cameras are build to allow an integrated approach to astrophotography. In fact, to take a deep sky image with your telescope, you need of course a camera but also a PC to operate it and control accessories like guiding cameras, mounts, focusers, etc: Astrel Instruments cameras integrates in a single lightweight body both a state of the art deep sky cooled CMOS camera and a powerful PC with plenty of memory, storage and peripherals you can use to control your setup.
Thanks to its "intelligence", the camera can run onboard all the operations that other cameras can only do by means of an external PC, because the camera is a PC itself!
The AST492-A comes preinstalled with Windows 10 O.S. or any Linux distribution on the market. Moreover, we can install on the camera any commercial PC software upon user request before shipping. Any software supporting ASCOM or INDI is ok, just let us know which one you'd like to be installed on your camera.
Have you ever wondered how easy it would be to run you photographic session with just one power cable leaving your scope? The AST492-A can power up to 3 12V external devices and has 1 USB3 port + 6 USB2 ports (one used by the filter wheel), allowing you to use short, ordered and fixed cables on the telescope: no more dangerous dangling USB cables to manage in the darkness.
Reduce power consumption to the minimum: no more power inverters and large battery packs for laptops. With only 2.6A at 12V with 100% cooling (you will rarely need that), the camera, including its integrated PC, has a very low power consumption: you could easily run a full night on your car battery.
Power on your camera and after 30 seconds you're ready to connect using a Remote Desktop application on any WiFi enabled device, like your tablet or smartphone, and start your astrophotography session with your preferred astronomy application. The camera can act as a WiFi hot spot for mobile devices or can be integrated in any WiFi network as a client, thus allowing also Internet access. Same remote connections can be used also through Ethernet cable, for integration in preexisting local area networks.
Integrated Filter Wheel
The AST492-A can include an optional integrated 7 position filter wheel using either 1.25" mounted or 31mm unmounted filters.
The filter wheel should be connected to USB port number 5 of the camera.
Cooling and vacuum chamber
The AST492-A camera features a power consumption of only 2.6A @ 12V in fully operative state with 100% peltier on. In spite of this very low power consumption, an efficient peltier cooling system can lower the regulated CMOS sensor temperature by up to 35°C below ambient.
The sensor and the cooling chain are contained in a vacuum proof chamber: using the included vacuum pump connected to the valve on the rear of the camera body, in less than a minute the air can be pumped-out. This has 2 fundamental effects: it eliminates the possibility of frost forming inside the chamber and minimizes the convention up and down heat transfer inside the chamber, optimizing the heat removal via the cold finger and avoiding cooling of the optical window that could lead to fogging.
Every camera is tested to maintain a proper vacuum level for at least 3 days (most cameras can hold the vacuum for several weeks). For customers running remote observatories, it is possible to fill the chamber with inert gas like Argon or Kripton, which will stay in the camera for months. The vacuum level can be controlled through the manometer incorporated in the vacuum pump.
No desiccant is needed.
€ 3600
(VAT excl.)
AST492-A-M
(with integrated 7P Filterwheel)
€ 3900
(VAT excl.)
The base package includes
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AST492-A camera body with USB-WiFi antenna
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Vacuum pump with incorporated pressure gauge, tube and joint
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Battery power cable: power cable extension with car lighter plug
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Technical suitcase with protective foam
Support & Documentation
Go to Support pages to read Q&A, download Documentation and watch Video Tutorials.
Accessories
Select up to 7 filters for the integrated filter wheel
AC-DC wall socket 12V 5A Power Supplier
