FIRST DETAILS OF HB 740E Type 1/2 CAMERA

Summary

The new HB 740E camera is based on the Type 1/2 Sony HAD ExView chip believed to be ICX248AL or a later derivative of that chip. The driver chips are also Sony, and are CXA1310AQ (Monochrome CCD Processing) and CXD2463R (Timer Controller). These chips are used in the Type 1/3 cameras such as the ExView 1004X board and PC23C, PC164C camera series. So much of the work of Ron Grove, Robins, Dave Molyneaux, and many other pioneers, may also be applicable to these larger chip cameras. The HB 740EWP camera is about a 2" cube with lots of space inside for cooling arrangements, and is manufactured by Hicams in Korea ( www.hicam.co.kr/main/ ) and can be obtained in USA, complete with a 4 mm lens (or others), cables, and the required stable power supply, from SCS Inc( www.spycameras.com ) This camera is the EIA version that works with NTSC recorders and TVs. These cameras are so new that they do not appear yet on webpages, but ask directly about them at the web sites.

Significant Specifications For Astronomical Use

8 mm diagonal chip 7.98 mm (H) x 6.45 mm (V)
Pixels 8.4 (H) x 9.8 (V) microns
Usable pixels 768 (H) x 494 (V)
Spectral performance. Good up into the blue region, much better than the Cookbook chips
Minimum illumination 0.0003 lux at f1.2
Shutter Auto or manual, with many options.
(I used the manual shutter to reduce the illumination from Mars and had to also insert a high attenuation filter,so as not to saturate the chip for video recordings).
Auto Iris settings are also possible, but I have yet to discover whether these are useful. It has Video, and DC options available apparently.

Practical Aspects

Although it sees quite faint stars in the basic TV mode, it clearly needs more integration time, probably based on the "Jon Grove Modifications" ( www.geocities.com/jgroveuk/ExView.html ), or something similar. I have not carried out these modifications, and have yet to find anyone who has. It looks very promising though.
The video output is a BNC socket, but a conversion from BNC to RCA socket came with the camera. RCA is the standard TV video plug.
The camera has a C-fitting at the front when the lens is unscrewed, and this can be coupled to the telescope using a standard C to T adapter, obtainable from Astronomy stores. It then exactly equivalent mechanically to any camera with its T coupling to the end of the telescope.

First External and Internal Pictures

These images were taken using a colour scanner. The first images show the camera with the 4 mm lens and the rear control panel supplied with the camera.This rear panel is supported for the photo on a wooden rod as the video plug sticks out some way. Click on each image to see a larger view, and use the browser "Back" button to return to this page.

Side View of Camera Back of Camera
The next images show the inside views without demounting either board. The two Sony control chips are at the top of the board with the 2463 chip on the left and the A1310 chip on the right; pin 1 is the lowest left pin of each chip.
Back of Camera Board Rear board
Has anyone modified this camera yet ? Anyone who is interested in modifying this camera can contact me at ( rad@direct.ca )