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Moravian Instruments G0 Operating Manual

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G0 and G1 CCD Camera
Operating Manual

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Summary of Contents for Moravian Instruments G0

  • Page 1 G0 and G1 CCD Camera Operating Manual...
  • Page 2 Moravian Instruments reserves the right to change any information contained herein without notice. G0 and G1 CCD devices are not authorized for and should not be used within Life Support Systems without the specific written consent of the Moravian Instruments. Product warranty is limited to repair or replacement of defective components and does not cover injury or property or other consequential damages.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Camera System Driver Installation...........21 Windows 7 and 8 System Driver Installation......22 Windows XP and Windows Vista System Driver Installation..23 SIPS Software Installation..............24 SIPS configuration files...............25 G0/G1 CCD Camera Driver for SIPS..........26 Camera Connection................26 Camera LED state indicator............27 Working with Multiple Cameras............27 Camera Operation...................29 Camera and the Telescope..............29...
  • Page 4 “Guiding Setup” tab of the CCD Camera control tool....44 “Guiding” tab of the CCD Camera control tool......49 Calibration of guiding subsystem..........51 Some General Rules for Successful Imaging.........53 Camera Maintenance................55 Changing the Telescope Adapter of the G1 Camera......55...

  • Page 5: Introduction

    USB powered operation etc.) makes using of these cameras for guiding of telescope mount very simple. Using of G0 or G1 CCD for guiding is described later in this manual. Simplicity, compactness and quick image download took precedence to some other features, so G0 and G1 series of CCD cameras lack mechanical shutter and filter wheel.
  • Page 6 4. Alternatively it is possible to use the Gx Camera Ethernet Adapter. This device can connect up to four Gx cameras of any type (not only G0 and G1, but also G2, G3 and G4) and offers 1 Gbps and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface for direct connection to the host...
  • Page 7 WiFi bridge or other networking device to the communication path. The G0 or G1 CCD camera must be connected to some optical system (e.g. the telescope) to capture images. G1 cameras are equipped with CS-thread adapter, which allows usage of CCTV lens with C/CS thread with the camera (it is necessary to use 5 mm distance ring for C-mount lenses).

  • Page 8: Camera Technical Specifications

    Camera Technical Specifications The G0 series of CCD cameras comprises of the following models: Model G0-0300 G0-0300C G0-0800 G0-0800C CCD chip ICX424AL ICX424AQ ICX204AL ICX204AK 656×494 656×494 1032×778 1032×778 Resolution 7.4×7.4 µm 7.4×7.4 µm 4.65×4.65 µ 4.65×4.65 µ Pixel size...
  • Page 9 The G1 series of CCD cameras comprises of the following models: Model G1-0300 G1-0300C G1-0301 G1-0301C CCD chip ICX424AL ICX424AQ ICX414AL ICX414AQ 656×494 656×494 656×494 656×494 Resolution 7.4×7.4 µm 7.4×7.4 µm 9.9×9.9 µm 9.9×9.9 µm Pixel size Read mode Progressive Progressive Progressive Progressive...

  • Page 10: Ccd Chip

    Strong anti-blooming protection keeps even bright stars round, ● without blooming streaks. G1 cameras also provide very fas readout – pixel digitization speed ● is 8 Mpx/s in fast read mode. Model G0-0300 and G1-0300 ×480 G0/G1-0300 model uses progressive-scan VGA (640 pixels) Sony ICX424AL CCD chip.

  • Page 11: Model G0-0300C And G1-0300C

    Imaging area Color mask Not present Model G0-0300C and G1-0300C G0/G1-0300C model uses progressive-scan VGA (640 ×480 pixels) Sony ICX424AQ CCD chip with Red, Green and Blue color mask (Bayer mask) applied directly on the CCD, which allows capturing of color images by single exposure.

  • Page 12: Model G0-0800 And G1-0800

    Color mask Not present Model G0-0800C and G1-0800C G0/G1-0800C uses progressive-scan XGA (1024×768 pixels) Sony Super HAD ICX204AK chip with Red, Green and Blue color mask (Bayer mask) applied directly on the CCD, which allows capturing of color images by single exposure.

  • Page 13: Model G1-1200

    4.4 × 4.4 µm Pixel size 7.2 × 5.4 mm Imaging area Color mask RGBG (Bayer mask) Model G1-1200 G1-1200 model uses progressive-scan HD (1280 ×960 pixels) Sony ICX445ALA chip. The ICX445 detector is manufactured using so-called ExView HAD technology, which enhances its sensitivity especially in red and near infra-red portion of the spectrum.

  • Page 14: Model G1-1400C

    efficiency of this CCD chip is highest from all detectors used in other G1 camera models. 1392 × 1040 pixels Resolution 6.45 × 6.45 µm Pixel size 9.0 × 6.7 mm Imaging area Color mask Not present Model G1-1400C ×1024 G1-1400C model uses progressive-scan SXGA (1280 pixels) Sony ICX285AQ chip with Red, Green and Blue color mask (Bayer mask)

  • Page 15: Ccd Chip Cooling

    CCD parameters (e.g. output node sensitivity), which are not published by Sony. CCD Chip Cooling The G0 and G1 series of CCD cameras does not use active cooling with Peltier TEC modules, so the CCD cannot be cooled below ambient temperature.

  • Page 16: Power Supply

    Power Supply G0 and G1 cameras are powered from the USB cable. No external power supply is necessary. The current limit for single USB device is 500 mA from 5 V supply. The current required by G1 CCD cameras varies depending on the camera operation mode.

  • Page 17: G0 Camera Mechanical Specifications

    G0 Camera Mechanical Specifications G0 camera head has just 40 mm diameter (approx. 1.6 inch) and 85 mm length (approx. 3.3 inch), including the 18 mm long 1.25” nose in the front part of the camera. All connectors (USB and autoguider) are placed on the rear side of the camera.

  • Page 18: G1 Camera Mechanical Specifications

    Illustration 2: G0 camera dimensions The G0 cameras use Interline Transfer CCDs allowing electronic exposure control, so they do not contain mechanical shutter. But it is necessary to cover the telescope manually to take dark or bias frame. Internal mechanical shutter No Shortest exposure time 0.000125 s...
  • Page 19 Both C and CS standards use the same thread specification (C-thread with 1 inch diameter, 32 threads per inch). The difference between them is in the back focal distance – while the standard C-thread back focal distance is 17.5 mm, the CS back focal distance is 12.5 mm. Both variants are available for G1 CCD cameras.
  • Page 20 Illustration 4: G1 camera dimensions...

  • Page 21: Getting Started

    Disk dongles) conform to some predefined class (USB mass-storage device class in this case), so they can use the driver already present in the operating system. But this is not the case of the G0/G1 CCD camera – it requires its own system driver to be installed.

  • Page 22: Windows 7 And 8 System Driver Installation

    For instance. G1-0300 uses g1sx0300.sys driver, G1-2000 uses g1sx2000.sys driver etc. However, G0 and G1 cameras are software compatible and they use the same driver (g1sx0300.sys works for both G0-0300 and G1-0300). Still, G0 cameras are supported from driver version 2.8 and higher. If the user have some older driver installed and then connects G0 camera, camera will not work.

  • Page 23: Windows Xp And Windows Vista System Driver Installation

    Please note the Windows system keeps the information about installed devices separately for each USB port. If you later connect G0/ G1 CCD camera to different USB port (different USB connector on the PC or through the USB hub), Windows reports “found new hardware”...

  • Page 24: Sips Software Installation

    the “\windows\inf” folder) and e.g. “g1sx0300.sys” (in the “\windows\system32\drivers” folder) files, which are already installed. SIPS Software Installation The Scientific Image Processing System (SIPS) software package is designed to operate without the necessity to be installed in any particular folder. The package can be even run directly from USB Flash Drive or CD- ROM.

  • Page 25: Sips Configuration Files

    Uninstalling of the SIPS portable version is also quite easy – just delete the SIPS folder. No matter how is the package installed, the software is run by launching the 'SIPS.exe' main program file. SIPS configuration files The software package distinguishes two types of configuration: Global configuration, common for all users.

  • Page 26: G0/G1 Ccd Camera Driver For Sips

    Common drivers for all Gx cameras were introduced in SIPS version 2.3, previous SIPS versions used different drivers for G0/G1 and for G2/G3/G4 cameras. G0 and G1 cameras used the 'g1ccd.dll' driver, but it was replaced with the 'gxusb.dll' common driver.

  • Page 27: Camera Led State Indicator

    Camera LED state indicator There is a two-color LED on the camera back side just close to the USB connector. The LED is functional only upon camera start-up not to influence observations. Camera firmware finishes initialization by signaling the USB speed, on which it is currently operating.
  • Page 28 But the user always needs to distinguish individual cameras – for instance one camera should be used for guiding, another for imaging. This is why every camera has assigned unique identifier (ID number). This number is engraved into camera body and it is also displayed in the list of all available cameras in the CCD Camera tool in SIPS.

  • Page 29: Camera Operation

    Select it (click its name by mouse – its name should be highlighted) and press “Select Camera” button. If the G0/G1 CCD does not appear in the tree of available cameras, check the following items: 1.

  • Page 30: Temperature Control

    Temperature Control The following chapters provide only a brief description of G0/G1 camera operation under SIPS (Scientific Image Processing System) program, supplied with the camera. Refer to the SIPS User's Guide (click “Help” and “Contents”...

  • Page 31: First Images

    “Fan On/Off” can be set/reset to switch the fan on and off. G0 cameras are not equipped with a fan so switching it on and off has no effect. The CCD Camera tool also displays the current CCD chip temperature ant its 20 minutes long history.

  • Page 32: Brightness And Contrast - Image Stretching

    Brightness and Contrast – Image Stretching The G0/G1 CCD dynamic range spans 65 536 levels. But only imaging of perfectly illuminated and perfectly exposed scenes can result in images with pixels spanning this range. Usually only a fraction of this range is used, e.g.
  • Page 33 Open the “Histogram ans Stretch” tool Illustration 8: Histogram and Stretch tool The exact meaning of the histogram chart is explained in the SIPS software documentation. Now only try to play with “Low” and “High” count-boxes or better with the related horizontal sliders. Observe how the image view is changed when you alter these values.

  • Page 34: Calibration

    Note the brighter background of the upper left corner of long exposure images taken by G0/G1 cameras. It is caused by the electro-luminescence of the CCD chip output amplifier and it is inherent to this type of CCD detectors.
  • Page 35 The Dark frame is taken with the same exposition time at the same CCD chip temperature. Because hot pixels are less stable than normal pixels, it is always better to take more dark frames and to create resulting dark frame as average or median of multiple dark frames.

  • Page 36: Color Images

    Single-shot color cameras use special CCD detectors with red, green and blue color filters applied directly on individual pixels. G0/G1 CCD cameras can be equipped with such detectors (the name of the camera is then followed by the letter “C” to indicate color CCD).
  • Page 37 There are even more sophisticated algorithms like pixel grouping etc. No G0 or G1 camera performs the Debayer processing itself. The raw image is always passed to the host PC and processed by control software. It is also possible not to perform Debayer filtering and save images in the raw form for processing by some other software packages.
  • Page 38 from the camera (color image is then immediately displayed and/or saved and no raw monochrome image is shown) or to perform this processing anytime later. Debayer processing can be performed from “Image Transform” tool (to open this tool click button in the tool-bar or choose “Image Transform” from the “Tools”...

  • Page 39: Balancing Colors

    mix pixels of different colors. Images must be Debayer processed first and then stacked. Balancing colors CCD chip sensitivity to red, green and blue light is different. This means the exposure of uniformly illuminated white surface does not produce the same signal in pixels covered with different color filters.
  • Page 40 As already described in the “Brightness and Contrast – Image Stretching” chapter, image can be visually brightened by altering its stretch limits. SIPS “Histogram and Stretch” tool displays and also enables altering of stretching curve limits and shape for red, green and blue color individually.

  • Page 41: Guiding

    Calculated corrections can be sent back to mount using PC-to-mount link, but more accurate guiding can be achieved using so called “Autoguider” port. It is enough to connect the G0 or G1 camera and the mount using 6- wire cable and guide the mount through the camera.
  • Page 42 Illustration 14: Bottom side of the G0 and G1 camera heads with USB and Autoguider connectors The Autoguider port follows the de-facto standard introduced by SBIG ST- 4 autoguider. The pins have the following functions: 1. R.A. + (Right) 2. Dec + (Up) 3.

  • Page 43: Guiding Using Sips Software Package

    The maximum sinking current of each pin of the G0 or G1 camera is 100 mA. If the mount does not treat the autoguider port as logical input only, but switches the guiding motors directly by these signals, a relay box must be inserted between the camera and the mount.

  • Page 44: Guiding Setup" Tab Of The Ccd Camera Control Tool

    Guiding itself is rather complex task and requires lot of parameters on the one side and also provides the user with information about mount performance, guiding reliability etc. on the other side. This is why the CCD Control tool offers two guiding-related tabs: Guiding Setup tab allow definition of guiding parameters like ●...
  • Page 45 Illustration 15: “Guiding Setup” tab of the SIPS CCD Camera tool Individual parameters have the following meaning: Guider read mode: mode for reading of guider images (enabled ● only if the particular camera used for guiding provides more than one read mode). Guide using: only guiding through guider camera “Autoguider”...
  • Page 46 R.A. backslash:, Dec. backslash: time to move the telescope in ● addition to calculated correction pulse length if the movement direction changed from the last movement. Aggressivity: the correction pulse can be shortened compared co ● calculated length. Setting of this parameter to approx. 80% eliminates to possible overshots of guiding corrections.
  • Page 47 A toolbar offers the following commands: – read guider image. Note image is not displayed, if the ● “Open guider image in window” option is not checked. – read guider dark frame. ● If dark frame should be subtracted from the guiding image, it must have the same size.
  • Page 48 The dialog box allows definition of just three numbers, but these numbers are very important for star search algorithm. Aperture is the diameter of pixel area, in which a centroid is searched. General rule is the star image should well fit in the aperture else the star will be not recognized.

  • Page 49: Guiding" Tab Of The Ccd Camera Control Tool

    Overwrite image in selected window causes replacing of the ● image in currently selected image window by the image downloaded from guider camera. If no image window is opened, new window is created. “Guiding” tab of the CCD Camera control tool Guiding tab is used to start and stop guiding and to monitor guiding performance.
  • Page 50 which can help to solve guiding-related problems (e.g. the log states that the reference star was not found when the clouds covered the field of view etc.). The Keep guide star at specified coordinates option slightly changes the way the reference star position is determined. Normally, reference frame is taken upon guiding start, reference star position is measured and subsequent guiding images are compared to this position.

  • Page 51: Calibration Of Guiding Subsystem

    SIPS performs automatic calibration in several steps: 1. SIPS takes the first reference frame. 2. The mount is moved in R.A. for the period defined as R.A. Calibration pulse (the first one). 3. SIPS then takes another frame and calculates the difference between centroids of reference star on these two frames.
  • Page 52 Some General Rules for Successful Imaging Advanced CCD cameras caused a revolution in amateur astronomy. Amateurs started to capture images of deep-sky objects similar or surpassing the ones captured on film by multi-meter telescopes on professional observatories. While CCD technology allows capturing of beautiful images, doing so is definitely not easy and straightforward as it may seems.

  • Page 53: Some General Rules For Successful Imaging

    resolutions/binnings and take new dark frames if the CCD temperature changes more than several degrees. If the image is processed to be as aesthetic as possible, other ● processing than basic calibration can significantly improve its appearance. Nonlinear stretching (called “curves” in some image- editing packages), special filters (hot/cold pixels removal, noise reduction etc.) and other processing (e.g.

  • Page 54: Camera Maintenance

    Camera Maintenance The G0 and G1 cameras require no special maintenance. However, it is a precision optical and mechanical instrument so it should be handled with care. Camera should be protected from moisture and dust. Always cover the telescope adapter when the camera is removed from the telescope or put the whole camera into protective plastic bag.

This manual is also suitable for:

G1

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