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Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Getting Started

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Astrel Instruments
AST-8300-B
Astrel Instruments
AST-8300-B
GETTING STARTED
rev A
Getting Started
1/21
rev A

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Summary of Contents for Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B

  • Page 1 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B GETTING STARTED rev A Getting Started 1/21 rev A...
  • Page 2 AST-8300-B Getting started with the Astrel Instruments AST8300 camera Thank you for purchasing an Astrel Instruments AST8300 CCD camera. Your new camera is a leading edge scientific instruments: please take your time to read carefully the following User's Manual to learn how to get the best out of your equipment.

  • Page 3: Camera Connections

    Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Camera connections The following picture shows the I/O interfaces available on the AST8300-B: Getting Started 3/21 rev A...
  • Page 4 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B The following connectors are available on the camera: • 12V: the camera needs a 12V 3A power supply. The use of the included 3 meters cable with its filter box is strongly suggested to connect the camera to a car lighter receptacle using the included adapter, or to the optional 12V 3A power supply.

  • Page 5: Powering Up The Camera

    Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Powering up the camera To correctly power up the camera, please follow this sequence: • When needed, connect the touch LCD monitor paying attention to the polarization key. • When needed, connect the Ethernet cable to the camera and to the PC.

  • Page 6: Powering Down The Camera

    Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Powering down the camera WARNING: never power down the camera by simply disconnecting power supply: your camera has a true PC inside running Linux and, as any other PC, you should shut it down in the correct way.
  • Page 7 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Wifi and Ethernet operations When the Wifi antenna is mounted the camera acts as a WiFi access point, like a normal wifi router, that you can connect to using a PC/tablet/smartphone. The wifi connection is open, no...
  • Page 8 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Stand Alone and PC/tablet/smartphone Connected modes The AST8300 camera is operated using the collection of applications available on-board, which can be accessed using the touch LCD monitor in the Stand Alone mode, or in the Connected mode using any compatible remote desktop application on a PC/tablet/smartphone with Ethernet/wifi connection.
  • Page 9 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B just touch the icon of the selected application to start it or touch a tab to navigate to other pages. When operated in Connected mode, you only have to install a VNC client application on the PC/tablet/smartphone, which is an application used to show the camera Desktop in a window in the PC screen.
  • Page 10 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Accessing the camera storage The camera main storage is the internal 8Gb SD card, where the operating system and the photos are stored. You can add more storage by simply connecting a USB dongle or even a USB hard disk to either USB connectors.
  • Page 11 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Using the touch LCD monitor The touch LCD monitor is used in the Stand Alone mode to operate the camera. It is mounted on the back cover by means of an articulated mount which allows a proper orientation in every telescope position.
  • Page 12 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Using the vacuum pump The AST8300 camera adopts a low vacuum approach to avoid frosting on the CCD glass, filters and optical window. Using the included vacuum pump, you can remove the air from inside the camera, so that there's no more water vapor to freeze on the CCD glass and filters. Moreover, reducing the air inside the camera minimizes the heat exchanges due to convection, so the optical window never get too cold due to the low CCD and cold finger temperature.
  • Page 13 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B Tutorial: from power up to the first photo This tutorial will guide you in the process of making your first photo with the AST8300 camera. We will use Windows in Connected mode: most of the steps are the same also with Linux in Connected mode, while many steps are not needed in Stand Alone mode.
  • Page 14 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B After booting (usually after few secons) the camera emits a sound and is ready for operation: the LCD monitor will display the Desktop in Stand Alone mode, while in Connected mode the camera is waiting for VNC connection.
  • Page 15 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B After connection, the TightVNC viewer window will display the Linux Desktop that includes the Astrel Desktop and the icons of the thid-party applications: STEP 4: start the cooling process • Start the Temperature Monitor application and insert the desired temperature set point,...
  • Page 16 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B • Push Done to leave the application: leaving the application doesn't stop the cooling process. Next time you open the Temperature Monitor application it will display the current cooling process state, until you push the Stop button, which will ramp down and switch off the cooling process.
  • Page 17 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B STEP 5: select a filterwheel position • Start the Filterwheel application by clicking/touching the icon on the desktop, then push the desired filter button and push go: • Push done to leave the Filterwheel application. STEP 6: find and focus •...
  • Page 18 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B • When in liveview, frame a medium brightness star, push focus and you will be asked to select the star in the field. After you touch/click the selected star, the focus interface is started displaying an enlargement of a small portion of sky around the star. The refresh rate depends on the exposure time and can be as fast as nearly 3 frames per second •...
  • Page 19 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B maintain a temperature stable to less then 0.1°C. To check that the temperature is stable, start the Temperature Monitor application again and monitor the temperature variations for a while • Push Done to leave the application and come back to the Desktop STEP 8: set the exposure parameters and start photographing •...
  • Page 20 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B • Start the photo sequence pushing the SHOT! Button. Note: During photo download from the ccd the camera turns off the display, the wifi, the ethernet and the fan in order to minimize read out noise. After the completion of the photo (buzzer sound signals it) all these functions turn on again.
  • Page 21 Astrel Instruments AST-8300-B exposure or the whole sequence • Push Preview to see a thumbnail of the last exposure • Push the Done button to come back to the Desktop STEP 9: download the images to a PC • The camera saves the photos on its internal SD card or on an external USB storage.