Repo for the open source Proxima AstroCamera family
The Proxima AstroCamera is a general purpose CCD/CMOS imager intended for use for amateur astrophotography and citizen science/outreach. The project aligns closely with The Flame Trench's Gaze robotic observatory project. The intent is to develop configurable CCD/CMOS front-end variants and an ASCOM compatible, FPGA-based back-end compute module. This will come in ethernet based Alpaca and USB-3 based ASCOM/native variants.
The following are provisional design goals of the Proxima project:
- DSLR CCD/CMOS
- mono/bayered
- interline/full frame
- Programmable bias voltages, to allow for the front-end to be CCD agnostic
- Tuned clocking drivers for the same reason
- Separate CMOS driver front-end variant
- Full ASCOM compliancy, for compatibility with current astrophotography/astronomy session management and capture software suites
- Active cooling, to reduce dark current noise to the minimum feasible
- USB 3 support, to prevent data downlinking causing a bottleneck within the system, and allowing for fast image frequencies
- Ethernet support in a Linux SoC/Alpaca back-end variant
- Memory buffers for fast framerate CMOS readout
- Sealed/purged cold room
- Provisional goal which would allow for much colder CCD temperatures by absorbing or purging moisture from the enclosure
- 12-19V DC supply, to allow for AC mains + power supply or power direct from battery