K3PGP - Experimenters Corner - Mintron DX-8263SL Mods

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Polaris DX-8263SL Mods - Adding external switches (Remote Control) to the DX-8263SL camera DX8263SL
WARNING: Making any modifications to your equipment will VOID THE WARRANTY. You do so at your own risk.

NOTE: Work in progress !!!

Do NOT hook external wiring directly to any circuitry inside the camera. Doing so will make the camera sensitive to static discharge and you most likely will end up with a VERY expensive repair bill or perhaps something that is not worth repairing. The remote control described here uses opto couplers to isolate the internal circuitry from the outside world.

The Polaris DX-8263SL CCD color camera is similar to the Mintron camera but has an extra circuit board in it that the Mintron monochrome camera does not have. Although I have not had time to check the function of this board, I assume this is where the color circuitry is located. Unfortunately this leaves less space inside the camera for the remote control interface.

In order to reduce the size of the remote control interface I am using the PS2501-4 quad opto isolator. This device is used to replace four of the single opto isolators in the Mintron design. Of course it can also be used to control the Mintron camera but I only had the 4N32 opto isolators on hand at the time when I built the Mintron remote control so that's what I used.

< Backside of the switches controlling the DX8263SL camera.
U=UP D=DOWN C=ENTER R=RIGHT L=LEFT G=GROUND

The DX-8263SL camera is very similar to the Mintron 12V1E-EX with the exception of an additional circuit board inside the camera which occupies the space where the remote control interface was mounted in the monochrome Mintron Camera. You can use the Mintron design which will work just fine on the DX-8263SL provided you reduce the physical size of the circuit board. The most obvious way to do this is by making use of the PS2501-4 quad opto isolator as described here.

Preliminary schematics above NOT checked for errors!
Voltage is not critical. Anything in the +/- 6 to 12 vdc range will work.

The remote control interface	Remote control hooked to the camera
Board trimmed to fit in camera	Board wrapped in thin cardboard to prevent shorts
Remote controlled DX-8263SL Ready to be mounted on telescope	- BLANK -

This remote control is much smaller than the original remote control built for the
GMV-EX6K / MINTRON 12V1E-EX CAMERA camera and will also work with the MINTRON camera.

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