Willing to test EQAlign I decided to grab an old webcam I had here (Logitech C270 HD) and convert it to a so called "planetary camera". It consists of removing the built-in lens and replacing it with a telescope. So I removed the lens and glued a 1.25" ocular tube to the plastic case, then I could easily attach/detach it to/from telescope focusers.
Starting to disassembly:
This black dusty thing is the lens, I need to remove it:
Two screws in the back held it in place:
Sensor exposed (I forgot to photograph, but this component marked as D1 is a green LED that lights up when the camera is being used. I covered it with black electrical tape so it won't mess with the sensor):
Reassembly without the lens and gluing the 1.25" ocular tube. It's really important to center the sensor on the tube. (Used super glue here):
I got this tube from a crappy ocular I had here, so I used the ocular lens itself as a dust cover for the sensor:
Cut off the webcam support:
Added black tape all around it to prevent light from entering:
And just out of curiosity, you can use this on a DSLR lens:
I was able to take this picture using this lens, kinda funny:
Now it's time to test it on a telescope:
Pointing it to the top of a far away building:
Used the notebook on Google Hangouts for a proof of concept and it worked great, just a little bit of dust on the sensor but that is easily cleaned (The low quality is due to atmospheric perturbations):
So I decided to connect my control station with Ekos / INDI:
And got it streaming wireless to my workstation, where I can also control the mount using a X Box joystick:
It was fun to do this, now I'll manage to clean the sensor and proceed to try polar alignment using EQAlign.