CDAR Family Dew Controllers

Astro-Smart’s Computerized Dew Annihilator Remote Family Controllers With Options For Integrated Rain, Sky Quality Meter and

Observatory Control with PC Remote Control Capability for any telescope.

 

(CDA Family Models:  SM-RS-CDA-R, OC-RS-CDA-R, RS-CDA-R, SM-CDA-R, RC-CDA-R Or CDA-R)

These products are an Observatory Class Dew Heater Controller With Long Distance Remote Control Dew Removal Operation.

[CLICK THIS LINK–>FOR USER MANUAL!]

[CLICK THIS LINK–>ORDER NOW!

 

In the following pictures above you can see  Model SM-RS-CDA-R, OC-RS-CDA-R, SM-CDA-R,  RS-CDA-R, RC-CDA-R and CDA-R- system break out pictures.

Typical Configuration for the CDA-R Family Controllers are shown below on a ritchey-chretien but can be used with any reflector, refractor, newtonian or schmidt-cassegrain telescope.

 

The CDA-R Family controllers can be setup with your telescope As-is placed in automatic mode for trouble-free operation or can be controlled and monitored remotely via automatic or manual modes via a computer with the supplied com port interface. Astro-Smart is the innovator of this elegant automatic solution to your dew problem. The CDA-R Family controllers are one to the most advanced dew controllers made available to the amateur or professional Astronomer and at a price comparable by no other  system on the market. The CDA-R Family controllers are designed to be used with any make or model of telescope which has more features than any other dew control system being offered at a fraction of the cost.  Whether you have a refractor, newtonian, schmidt-cassegrain, or a ritchey-chretien, the CDA-R Family controllers will solve your dew problems automatically while informing you every step of the way. Its like having a hired dew specialist posted at your telescope 24/7 operating at 12V DC and supplying upto 15 Amps for dew straps.

The CDA-R Family controllers systems incorporates a common four port heater capability controlling multiple channels using multiple channel temperature sensors . For instance, one sensor(DTS-12) may be used for the main imaging telescopes corrector plate for dew control while the second(DTS-34)is used for another mounted imaging scope, guider or finder scope or your eyepieces. Each monitored sensor channel location is then paired with its associated output heat strap channel for dew control. For instance, DTS12 sensor would be placed on the optical corrector and the heat strap would go around the optical interface tube for instance CH1 or CH2 or both.   All CDA family controllers come with the following features.

1. Common 4 heat channels and coupled temperature sensor  channels(CH1/CH2<—>DTS-12)(CH3/CH4<—>DTS-34).
2. Center ATHS channel is for ambient temperature and humidity monitoring normally placed against the optical tube of your main imaging telescope.

3. PWM LED indicators to show the dew control PWM rate and a low voltage cutoff circuit with LED indicator for power supplies for battery source protection.

The integrated approach adds these base features from the CDA family with other features with your dew controller to perform integrated tasks. The new RC-CDA-R systems adds additional features over the CDA-R such as a low voltage cutoff circuit protection with LED cutoff indicators for power supplies using battery sources and a fan cool down feature for primary mirror RC’s. As an example in this configuration as shown above, DTS sensors and heater channels 1/2 would be attached to secondary while DTS sensors and heat channels 3/4 would be attached to the primary of your RC and or SCT.  With the FAN control offering for the primary, any time the temperature of primary exceeds ambient, the FAN would come on and cool the primary and turn off primary heat. The new RS-CDA-R has the features of the CDA-R plus rain sensor detection, alarm and output relay control capabilities to close and observatory or operate an AC or DC appliance.

The new SM-CDA-R  system has all the features of the CDA-R plus a sky quality meter (SQM) system. This informs the user of sky conditions and a intelligent computer software GUI consultant informing the user if the sky conditions are suitable for imaging, visual, technical work or too just cloudy and or presence of non-steady sky’s due to too much atmospheric fluctuation and reflectivity. The SQM features of the SM-CDA-R include a graphical reporting system on the software GUI which graphically maps NELM(Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude)  and MPSAS (Magnitude Per Square Arc Sec) over a programmable measurement scale as low as 1 sample every 3 seconds.  The SM-RS-CDA-R includes all features the RS-CDA-R has plus rain sensor detection and power cut off features as included in all CDA family series controllers.  The OC-RS-CDA-R has a relay output control for observatory control plus rain sensor detection added to the integrated dew controller.  For more information on operation of these products, see the user manual links and video tutorial links on this page.

Since, the inception of this unique product at Astro-Smart, the CDA-R Family controllers was many years in the making, over long periods in astronomy using existing products on the market to control dew, identifying their weaknesses and limitations making the product you see before you. Features such as Patent Pending Heat Distribution which minimizes heat currents on optics during imaging,  Humidity Measurement, Dew point and Differential Temperature Alarms with automated  decision making on Dew Control, Updateable Firmware, Computer Control and Intelligent Software Computer GUI interface to name a few. The CDA-R Family controllers are finally here!!! The Astro-Smart CDA-R Family controllers are an Observatory Class Dew Removal System designed to be user friendly, serviceable, elegant and reliable and include the following features shown in the following table: 

The PC SW remote interface snap shot main screen is shown to the left has been tested across multiple PC operating system platforms.   The snapshot on the Computerized Dew Annihilator(CDA-R) family product page shows current remote activity of all parametric values, virtual keypad and various graphs to track ambient temperature, Optic temperatures, Power Out per channel,  Dew Point and monitoring of Alarms.

This super professional version software gives you the capability of data acquisition and processing suite for Multi-Channel Real Time Data Acquisition, Variable Acquisition Rate, Variable Power Distribution Algorithm Selection, Flash Memory Storage Of Critical Sensor Calibration Data, File Storage and Plot Retrieval for Extended Regression Data Analysis including .csv, .txt, .png file formats for easy interface to Office Products(Excel, etc) and a Simulator Trainer Mode. Snapshot shown below.

Below is the new SQM interface tab for the CDA-R Family Controller which have purchased the SQM option on any of the dew controller models. The sky quality meter (SQM)

system which informs the user of sky conditions and a intelligent computer software GUI consultant informing the user if the sky conditions are suitable for imaging, visual, technical work or too just cloudy and or presence of non steady skys due to too much atmospheric fluctuation and reflectivity. The SQM featuers include a graphical reporting system on the software GUI which graphically maps NELM(Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude)  and MPSAS (Magnitude Per Square Arc Sec) over a programmable measurement scale as low as 1 sample every 3 seconds.

Please, see the video links below on these products. List of key videos shown below but are plenty of others…

-New SM-RS-CDA-R integrated Dew, SQM and RAIN Sensor Demo .

–New User Select-able Output Heat Power Curve Algorithm Selection and Help Tool.

The package contents are shown below with choice of:

 

SM-RS-CDA-R, OC-RS-CDA-R, RS-CDA-R, SM-CDA-R, RC-CDA-R or CDA-R.

 

1. CDA-R family controller with Dew Point, Humidity, Ambient temperature sensor with various Sensor Add-on and Remote Capability.

2. One Ambient/Humidity Temperture Sensor Probe.

3. One USB interface assembly Cable For Remote Control Operation.

4. One Car Cigarette Fused Power Adapter Harness.

5. One CD with user manual, CDA-R PC Remote Software Platform, Videos, Tutorials.

Sensor Options:

Optional  remote sensors for your CDA-R Product Family are available (2RSCDDDH-D) to operate differential mode dew removal. One sensor is needed to operate Channels 1 and 2 output and a second sensor is required to operate Channels 3 and 4. These Remote Sensors allows you to control the heating of separate optical elements. For instance, one remote sensor would be placed with your heater at the corrector and a second sensor could be placed on your finder scope objective lens or eyepiece or use two sensors on one large objective with two heater straps control. In these setups, each pair of heaters are controlled by their respective sensor while the supplied ambient temp sensor which comes with standard CDA-R Product Family purchase can be placed on the main optical tube objective for ambient sensor collection. Using these sensors in this configuration  allows greater dew control for the user. These items can be purchased at the same time as you purchase your CDA-R Product Family or at a later time.

 

 

 

Optional  Professional  remote sensors are available (3RSCDDDH-D) to operate differential mode dew removal that are suitable for higher accuracy and faster response in all environments  . One sensor is needed to operate Channels 1 and 2 output and a second sensor is required to operate Channels 3 and 4. These Remote Sensors allows you to control the heating of separate optical elements. For instance, one remote sensor would be placed with your heater at the corrector and a second sensor could be placed on your finder scope objective lens or eyepiece or use two sensors on one large objective with two heater straps control. In these setups, each pair of heaters are controlled by their respective sensor while the supplied ambient temp sensor which comes with standard CDA-R Product Family purchase can be placed on the main optical tube objective for ambient sensor collection. Using these sensors in this configuration  allows greater dew control for the user. These items can be purchased at the same time as you purchase your CDA-R Product Family or at a later time.

 Optional accessory that Astro-Smart offers is the rain sensor (4RAINSENSOR). For use with SM-RS-CDA-R or add on CDA-R Product Family or any Astro-Smart Model with custom build option. That is correct. I can add this sensor to all variants of the CDAP-PRO model  as a custom build option to new or preowned models. Goto the purchase page for this option. This sensor informs the user of rain fall when observing remotely.   The rain sensor can be used for informative purposes to close your observatory until rain has abated.

 

Optional accessory that Astro-Smart offers is the SQM(Sky Quality Meter) Standard  sensor (4SQMS). For use with with SM-CDA-R or SM-RS-CDA-R standard products or any Astro-Smart communication Model with custom build option. That is correct. I can add this sensor to the CDA-R Product Family as a custom build option to new or preowned models as well. Goto the purchase page for this option. This sensor informs the user of the quality of the sky conditions for imaging, visual or technical work communicating with the user GUI interface which gives the user immediate feedback on cloud and sky conditions letting the user know if imaging, visual, technical work or a poor night for setting up your telescope.   The SQM standard sensor provides dual graphing of MPSAS(Magnitude per square arc second) and NELM(Naked Eye Limting Magnitude. See the video for this new amazing tool.

Mounting, Jacks and Power Supply Options:

Another convenient accessory that Astro-Smart offers is a right angle mounting brackets (RAMB-DM).This allows your CDA-R Product Family controller to be mounted securely on a variety of surfaces.

Another convenient accessory that Astro-Smart offers for your CDA-R Product Family is a right angle heater connector (RAHC-DM).This allows your heater to be connected to the CDA-R Product Family at a right angle. This may be convenient for you to alleviate any bending that you have of your heater connector and wire.

Another convenient accessory that Astro-Smart offers is the Y RCA heater connector (YHC-DM).This allows your heater to be connected to the Computerized Dew Annihilator family with more than one heat strap. This may be convenient for you if you want to distribute two heat straps evenly or you need 5 straps on a 4 port system.

Another convenient accessory for your CDA-R Product Family that Astro-Smart offers is Three versions of power supplies based on your dew heating needs  choosing between 6, 8 or 10Amp // 12 VDC supplies(PS12VXAMP-D).

Communication Upgrade Options:

Note: The Computerized Dew Annihilator family controller comes included with a serial to USB-A cable and converter.  The reason, I use the base serial connector on my units is it yields the greatest flexibility for distance reaching upto 700 feet if necessary to your host computer. With this base serial port, the user can add a variety of add-on options to produce the range desired. Serial port communication can give upto a 700 foot run if needed which is why I picked this port choice in my design. However, if your communication run is shorter, the USB-B option can be requested along with other communication options are listed below.

Another convenient accessory add-on that Astro-Smart offers is the USB2-B  printer port style optional add on interface specifically designed for the Computerized Dew Annihilator family. For dedicated communication distances less than 80 feet to your computer, the USB2-B option is right for you. You just plug the supplied USB2-B printer cable style cable into your your Computerized Dew Annihilator family controller USB2-B connector and the other USB2-A end of the cable into your computer or other backhaul interface to your computer(ie ethernet or wireless options)(USB2-B-DM).This add on gives the user ability for simultaneous use of supplied standard serial port interface plus the addition of the USB2-B port which can run two remote software applications at once if desired. A video of this feature is coming shortly.

Another convenient accessory add-on that Astro-Smart offers is the USB-3/2 7 Port Astro-Hub optional add on interface specifically designed for the Computerized Dew Annihilator family controller. For dedicated communication distances less than 50 feet with USB-3 equipment and 80 feet for USB-2 equipment to your computer. The Astro-Hub can be used with your  Computerized Dew Annihilator family controller  and other telescope equipment such as cameras, focusers, mount, etc to your computer or other backhaul interface (ie ethernet or wireless options)(USB-3/2-Astro-Hub).
  

 

Another convenient accessory add-on that Astro-Smart offers is a Ethernet interface specifically designed for the Computerized Dew Annihilator family. For dedicated communication distances of 100 feet or shorter to your computer from the CDA-R Family controller, the ETHER-DM is right for you. You just plug the supplied RS-232-USB connector that comes with your Computerized Dew Annihilator family  into the female USB to Ethernet converter. Now, plug in the desired length of ethernet CAT-5 to your remote control computer location to the other CAT-5 termination and simply plug in the USB connector to your computer(ETHER-DM) .