Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!ahenden
From: ahenden@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Arne A Henden)
Subject: Re: CCD Camera Part Sources?
Message-ID: <1991May1.123534.15572@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Summary: Chinon has one 
Keywords: CCD rockets 
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Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 1 May 1991 12:35:34 GMT
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In article <44900004@primerd> os@primerd.prime.com writes:
>
>Does anyone know where to get CCD imaging chips and associated driving logic
>chips to build a video camera?  Just a pointer in a known right directions is
>appreciated.
>
>Explanation:  I am attempting to build a very small camera.  The idea is to
>launch it on an Estes-type rocket.  The image will be transmitted back to the
>ground via Amateur TV (Ham Radio).  I can acquire/build a small transmitter and
>adequate antenna.  However, the camera is the problem.  Most Hams regard a
>camera as a black box as they concentrate on transmitters, receivers, and
>antennas.  The cameras I can find are either too big, too heavy, black & white,
>or are too expensive.  As I only need a small, fixed focus device, this should
>be easy - just a few chips, right?  If I look at the average camcorder, much
>of it is taken up by the case, the battery, the tape, the recorder load/play/
>write mechanism, and other associated motors and controls.  The amount of room
>taken up by the actual imaging electronics must be very small.  The way I
>figure it, it must consist of the CCD imaging chip (which is probably viewed
>as one large shift register), an external clock crystal, and a driver chip
>which takes the output of the CCD and turns it into RS170A compatible signals.
>At least, this is what I hope to reduce it to.
>
Radio Electronics, March 1991 page 33 describes a video telephone.  They
used a CCD module from Chinon, the XP CCD-1 ($305 incl shipping) that
sounds like it would fit your requirements.  It has a 240x320 resolution,
size of 1 x 1 3/16 x 2 3/4 inches, weight 2.1 ounces.  This is about the
smallest CCD camera that I have found.
  A group in England has just announced a CCD chip with all supporting
electronics built on the chip.  In other words, with just a few external
parts you can have an RS170 video camera.  They hope to market the chip
for around $40, so this may be another source in a year or so.
  Another option is to buy one of the survelance (sp) cameras from DAK.
They were going for $300 or so, I think including the monitor.  Don't
know if it was RS170 tho, and one person I know who bought one thought
the sensitivity was pretty low (ok for rocket launches which invariably
occur in the daytime!).
  Hope that helps.
Arne Henden