The MallinCam TM Video CCD Observational System is manufactured by Rock Mallin of Pro-Com Electronics & Telescope Repair in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The system is designed specifically for astronomical observing. The original video board was custom designed by him to eliminate the need for the 8.5 second exposure time found in other cameras currently on the market. He reproduced the competition's performance in only 2.1 seconds. Now with the addition of HYPER circuitry, Rock has added exposure times of up to 112 seconds. The detail revealed in live monitor views is phemoneminal. The MallinCam VSS and HYPER PLUS also incorporate an internal thermoelectric Peltier cooler that lowers the temperature of the CCD sensor. This is critical when pushing the cameras to the longer exposure times.
MallinCam TM cameras are adjustable from 2X to 128X integration, and they can be used visually and for imaging the Moon and Planets without the need for additional filtration. Every camera is hand assembled and tested to the highest applicable standards. All camera components are Grade 1 with no exception! The CCD sensors are generally Class 1, and are hand selected to insure that the finished camera will perform to Rock Mallin's stringent requirements. Construction and finish are much more durable than any other product on the market. The cameras are warrantied for a period of two (2) years. The only internal camera component that is not warrantied is the CCD sensor, as Sony does not offer a warranty to Rock Mallin.
NOTE: A Class 1 CCD sensor is not free of hot pixels. Rock buys his Class 1 sensors in small batches to insure that the number of hot pixels meets his standards which are more exacting that those of industry. More specifically, he limits the number of hot pixels to 5 or less with the AGC (Gain) set to maximum, the Peltier cooler ON, and the accululation time (SENSE) set to 2.1 seconds.
Below are two photo albums of images created by processing the DVD recordings made during observing sessions. The first is from a 3 night stay at New Mexico Skies in early June of 2005. This facility is at an elevation of 7300' and the humidity was only 10-15%. However, there were frequent wind gusts that resulted in distortion in some of the images. The second is from a 3 night star party held near Norwood, Louisiana in October of 2005 - about 7000' lower than New Mexico Skies and with extremely high humidity. All observations were performed with older MallinCams limited to 2.1 second exposure times.
Below are two Flash videos derived from the original DVD recording made at the 2006 Kisatchie Starparty. These are not still images - every 6 seconds a new image will appear. It is easy to tell when this occurs as the stars will change shape. It was very windy when I was observing these objects, and the scope was shaking - causing the distortion. The video has been reduced in size and quality from the original to allow those with slower internet connections to view them.
M51 Video - Prototype HYPER in 6 Second Mode on an 17.5" AstroSystems TeleKit at about f/3
Horsehead Video - Prototype HYPER in 6 Second Mode on an 17.5" AstroSystems TeleKit at about f/3
