The AST16200-B cameras are based on 16-megapixels monochrome and color KAF-16200 CCD Sensors (class 2) and are equipped with integrated 4, 5 or 7 position Filter-Wheel.

Cameras Features

• New concept low-vacuum CCD sensor chamber that guarantees no-frost with -40°C DeltaT at only 2.5A of power consumption
• Total Noise of 9e- rms using low-noise acquisition mode
• Powerful 1GHz microprocessor for stand alone wire-free operation (no PC is needed)
• 6 µm pixel size
• PC like use with operating system, graphic desktop, Web access, applications that can be created, installed and removed
• Optional 5" 800x480 touchscreen full color display (removable)
• Optional mini wireless keyboard/touchpad
• Integrated WiFi connection and Gbit Ethernet to PC / Tablet / Smartphone
• 16 GB (expandable up to 32 GB) internal storage plus external USB thumb drive or hard-disk
• 2 HS USB, TX/RX serial port, I2C, SPI, +3.3V, +5V, +12V DC output power supplies
• User configurable I/O lines to implement triggers, alarms, custom interfaces
• SmartCamera Approach

The Astrel Instruments cameras are powered by a 1000MHz Processor with 1Gb of memory and up to 32Gb of on-board storage.

The camera can autonomously autoguide with many commercial USB autoguider cameras and use planetarium applications to control the mount operations (alignment, goto, etc) on most commercial mounts. Many other commercial devices like motorized focusers, external filter wheels, can also be directly connected and managed autonomously by the camera.

The wireless mode lets the user communicate with the camera through a WiFi connection established between his Tablet / Smartphone (or of course a PC) and the camera.

Integrated Swapable Filter Wheel

The AST16200-B features an integrated filter wheel with 7, 5 or 4 positions. The whole wheel can be easily swapped with another one if more than 4 or 5 filters are required. The following integrated wheels are available:
• 7 positions: 36 mm round unmounted filters
• 5 positions: custom 42 mm unmounted filters available at the moment only from Astronomik
• 4 positions: 2" or 50 mm round unmounted filters, 1 to 3 mm thickness
Astrel cameras with an integrated filter-wheel can be fit with filters directly during camera assembly. We can directly buy and mount the filters selected by the customer.

Cooling and Vacuum Chamber

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.

No desiccant is needed

The Base Package Includes

• Suitcase filled with protective foam for camera and accessories
• AST16200-B camera body with WiFi antenna
• Vacuum pump with incorporated pressure gauge, tube and joint
• Ethernet cable
• Battery power cable: power cable extension with car lighter plug

Optional Accessories

• 5" Touch Screen LCD
• Select up to 5 filters for the integrated filter wheel
• Mini wireless keyboard touchpad with backlight
• Flatbox controller for perfect and quick flats
• USB cable adapter for serial connection