Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 11:43:58 -0800
From: Andy Berkun <aberkun@ampersand.jpl.nasa.gov>

Minutes of the CCD meeting :

1.  Of primary concern is to decide how the CCD will be used before we can
plan how to implement it.  The answer (thus far) is that the CCD will be
used as part of one of the SEDs telescopes and operated on a rooftop in
pasadena.  We may take it to Joshua tree some day but not very often (can
shlep a lot of stuff)  This has two implications:
We can (and will) use a regular desktop computer to operate the CCD. Power
is not a problem.
There will be significant background light level.  This will prevent
extremely long integration times.  Slow read is OK if it saves us effort
(20 seconds).

2.  We need a shutter.  Westfeld says its cheap to buy,  we still have to
wire it in and control the exposure time.

3.  Linear power supplies only.  No problem because we wont be going
portable - we have endless power at our disposal.

4.  Several meters of cable between telescope and computer.  We may need
some buffering to drive this cable.  Westfeld suggests we may want to put
the ADC out in the middle of this cable.  I suggest this will be a lot of
effort.  I run an audio signal 20 meters in my apartment with little
degradation.

Basic CCD reader structure:

computer, timing control, level shift (to produce 8 volt signals for the
CCD), mechanical shutter, cooling,  CCD device,  analog amplifier,  ADC,
buffer,  computer,  buffer read software,  image display software.

I suggest we can use a sound card in a PC to do everything after the CCD
except the image display software.  Timing control and level shifters are
already done in Charlie's equipment,  but we may want to redo it.  We can
use an oscilloscope to check out the timing control and CCD.  

			Andy Berkun