Diffraction SBIG Aluma AC Series User Manual
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Diffraction SBIG Aluma AC Series User Manual

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SBIG
Aluma AC Series
Imaging Cameras
User's Manual
Version 1.0 - October 02, 2020
SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER'S MANUAL
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  • Page 1 ® SBIG Aluma AC Series Imaging Cameras User’s Manual Version 1.0 - October 02, 2020 SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 2 59 Grenfell Crescent, Unit B, Ottawa, ON Canada, K2G 0G3 Telephone: 613-225-2732 Fax: 613-225-9688 © 2020 Diffraction Limited. All rights reserved. Cyanogen Imaging®, SBIG®, and Aluma® are registered trademarks of Diffraction Limited. StackPro, SmartCooling, ST-4, MaxIm DL, and MaxIm LT are trademarks of Diffraction Limited. GSENSE4040, GSENSE4040BSI, and GSENSE2020BSI are trademarks of Gpixel.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    SBIG Aluma AC Series User’s Manual Table of Contents SBIG Aluma AC Series Imaging Cameras ........ 5 1 – Installation ................9 1.1 Supplied Components ................9 1.2 Installing the Software ................10 1.3 Installing the Hardware ................11 1.4 Connecting the Water Hoses ..............
  • Page 4 Appendix A: SBIG Aluma AC Series Camera Details ... 33 A-1 Connector pinouts ................... 33 A-2 Aluma AC Series Specifications .............. 35 Appendix B: Maintenance ............37 B-1 Cleaning the filters and sensor window ..........37 B-2 Regenerating the desiccant ..............38 B-3 Updating the camera drivers and firmware ...........

  • Page 5: Sbig Aluma Ac Series Imaging Cameras

    SBIG Aluma AC Series Imaging Cameras The SBIG Aluma AC Series represents the state-of-the-art in advanced scientific CMOS cameras for astronomical imaging systems. The SBIG Aluma AC4040 and AC4040BSI utilize the Gpixel GSENSE4040 and GSENSE4040BSI scientific CMOS sensors with 16.8 million 9 micron pixels, arranged in a 4,096 x 4,096 array almost 37 mm square.
  • Page 6 QE of 95%. In addition the premium BSI sensor features significant UV sensitivity beyond 250 nm, and excellent near IR sensitivity. The Aluma AC2020BSI is only available with the Back-Side Illuminated (BSI) sensor and also boasts a peak QE of 95%. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 7 This eliminates the need for costly service – not to mention the associated down-time and shipping costs. This feature is especially important in high-humidity locations. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 8 If you wish you can upgrade to MaxIm DL Pro to get complete observatory integration and even more processing and analysis capabilities. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 9: Installation

     USB flash drive  Ferrite snap-on chokes (2) to reduce radio frequency interference  USB 3.0 cable, 12 feet (3.7 meters)  MaxIm LT software  7/64” (0.109") Allen key SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 10: Installing The Software

     Internet browser Windows installation 1. Go to the Registration page on the Diffraction Limited website at: https://diffractionlimited.com/maxim-lt-registration 2. Enter the requested information and serial number to register for the MaxIm LT application. Use your camera’s serial number for this. If your camera is authorized for a free license you will be automatically emailed a license key.

  • Page 11: Installing The Hardware

     The AUX connector is used for various accessories, such as a filter wheel. If you have such an accessory do not connect it at this time for initial testing of the camera. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 12: Connecting The Water Hoses

    These types of pumps and the required tubing can be purchased at most hardware stores for this purpose. The water inlet and outlet connections on the camera body are reversible – the water can flow in either direction. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 13: Testing The Camera

    1.5 Testing the Camera Once MaxIm LT is installed and the camera hardware is connected, Diffraction Limited recommends that you perform a simple bench test of the system. Do this before mounting your camera on your optics. You should read Chapter 2 to familiarize yourself with the basic software connection and operating instructions prior to performing this test.

  • Page 14: Operating The Aluma Camera With Maxim Lt

    The following is the basic MaxIm LT procedure used to configure and connect to the Aluma camera. Launch the MaxIm LT application. Click the Camera Control icon or press Ctrl-W to open the Camera Control form and click the Setup tab. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 15 Ensure that the AO selector parameter is set to Off. Click the Advanced button. The DL :: Config form opens. This form allows you to check camera parameters and also to perform firmware updates and additional camera configuration. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 16 Access camera from separate thread and Access filter wheel from separate thread must both be selected for both Camera 1 and Camera 2 (if used). Click OK to accept the settings. The Options form closes and you are returned to the Camera Control form. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 17 19. The Aluma AC Series camera is now connected and ready to begin imaging. Note that the next time you open MaxIm LT, your option selections will automatically appear in the Setup DL Imaging form. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 18: Basic Imaging Procedure

    Enable Status LED (Normally enabled. Turn this off to disable the LED on the side of the camera for darkness.)  Subexposure Duration (refer to 2.3 StackPro Subexposure Function for details) Configure the parameters as required and click OK to accept. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 19 Stop. This mode is generally used for focusing and framing purposes, and the acquired images are not saved. To configure a custom sequence of exposures, click the Autosave button. The Autosave Setup form opens. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 20: Stackpro Tm Subexposure Function

    16X, but the readout noise only increases 4X. The read noise is now 14.8 electrons, and the stacked exposure can record 52,800 electrons, corresponding to a readout value of 65,535 (16 bits). SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 21 As a general rule, the ideal Subexposure Duration target should be modestly below the level where you expect to see sensor saturation occur. That provides the maximum dynamic range with the minimum extra read noise. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 22: Readout Modes

    In this mode the typical read noise is 1.2 e-, and the linear full-well capacity is 1,500 e-. Tools are available in MaxIm LT for performing the necessary merge function. Please refer to the MaxIm DL online manual for more information. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 23: Image Calibration

    Please note that calibration images must be taken using the same Readout Mode as the images you intend to calibrate. Otherwise the calibration will not be performed correctly. Refer to the online Help file for further information and more detailed procedures, as required. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 24: Dark Frame Calibration

    Subframe: Set to Off. MaxIm LT will automatically extract a subframe from the full frame if required. 3. Click the Options arrow and set the following:  Click on No Calibration.  Click on Set Image Save Path and specify the desired file location. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 25 5. Click the Start button to begin the sequence. When the sequence completes, you will have a set of dark frames that can subsequently be used to create a calibration group and apply a dark calibration to your light frames. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 26: Flat-Field Frame Calibration

    The flat-field frames themselves must be calibrated. To do this you must use flat-darks, which are dark frames having the same exposure duration and settings as the flat-field frames. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 27 In other words, you will usually need a set of "darks" and a set of "flat-darks". SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 28: Understanding Calibration Groups

    When the masters are saved to disk, they are tagged with image header keywords to indicate whether these subtractions have been done. In that way when they are loaded again later, MaxIm LT will know whether they need to have these subtractions performed or not. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 29: Calibrating And Combining Images

    Refer to the MaxIm DL Help file for full tutorials, further information, and more detailed procedures, as required. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 30 Groups tree at left. You can also deselect individual files from the tree so that they will not be included in the stacking process. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 31 For other applications, we recommend using 16-bit TIFF images. The choice of TIFF or FITS can be set under: File menu > Settings > Files tab > Default File Extensions Setting. This determines the default file type created when MaxIm LT takes images. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 32: Accessories

     StarChaser SC-3-SHORT off-axis guide camera  AO-X adaptive optics unit (requires StarChaser SC-3-SHORT)  Nosepiece adapters  Desiccant plugs  Cables  Power supplies Accessories are available from your authorized SBIG dealer and at: https://www.diffractionlimited.com SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 33: Appendix A: Sbig Aluma Ac Series Camera Details

    Appendix A: SBIG Aluma AC Series Camera Details A-1 Connector pinouts USB connector pinout is to the USB standard. The connector works with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 cables. AUX connector (DB-9 Male) The diagram shows the pin number identification when looking into the camera’s connector.
  • Page 34 GND) only during an exposure. POWER: The POWER barrel connector is centre-positive and requires an input of +12.0 VDC (range: 10.0 to 14.5 VDC) at 8 amps. For a suitable mating connector, we recommend the Switchcraft S10KS17 connector. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 35: Aluma Ac Series Specifications

    Off-axis guiding Yes, with StarChaser SC-3-SHORT Self-guiding in front of filters Yes, with StarChaser SC-3-SHORT Filter wheel Yes, with FW7-STX Filter Wheel (uses 50 mm square filters) Adaptive optics Yes, with AO-X plus StarChaser SC-3-SHORT SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 36 Off-axis guiding Yes, with StarChaser SC-3-SHORT Self-guiding in front of filters Yes, with StarChaser SC-3-SHORT Filter wheel Yes, with FW7-STX Filter Wheel (uses 50 mm square filters) Adaptive optics Yes, with AO-X plus StarChaser SC-3-SHORT SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 37: Appendix B: Maintenance

    Keep the can vertical to avoid expelling the propellant. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, but also test it on another surface prior to using it on the camera. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 38: Regenerating The Desiccant

    If you need to capture images prior to this time and it frosts again, reduce your cooling to the 0° C range - the dark current will still be quite low. Additional desiccant plugs are available from Diffraction Limited. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 39: Updating The Camera Drivers And Firmware

    B-3 Updating the camera drivers and firmware You should periodically check for updates to your camera’s drivers and firmware to ensure the best possible performance. Diffraction Limited supplies a software utility program named DL Config that will update the firmware elements in the camera via USB.
  • Page 40 Use Factory File button in DL Config. This file is updated with every release of DL Config, and may not be the latest, depending on which version of DL Config you have installed. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 41: Appendix C: Troubleshooting

    Avoid using front panel USB ports on desktop computers. They have internal wiring that will degrade USB signal quality.  Diffraction Limited suggests tie wrapping the USB cable and power cable together near the camera in order to minimize risk of the USB connector coming loose or being pulling out.

  • Page 42: Appendix D: Technical And Warranty Support

    Appendix D: Technical and Warranty Support Software Downloads Downloads are included on the Diffraction Limited website product pages: http://diffractionlimited.com/ Navigate to your product and click the Downloads tab. Software utilities, drivers, user documentation, and a Software Development Kit are available here.

  • Page 43: Appendix E: Compatible Software Products

    MaxIm DL MaxIm DL is a full-featured camera control and image processing program available from Diffraction Limited. It can control all SBIG camera models and a wide variety third-party cameras. For product details, refer to the Software page of the Diffraction Limited web site at: http://diffractionlimited.com/products/software-products/...

  • Page 44: Appendix F: Concepts And Terminology

    It works because the retina in the human eye itself is based on red, green, and blue light-sensitive cells. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 45 Histogram – A histogram is a simple bar graph that shows the range of brightness in an image. Each bar in the graph represents a range of brightness. The leftmost bar represents the dimmest pixels, and the rightmost SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 46 Every camera sensor produces a certain amount of dark current, which accumulates in the pixels during an exposure. This unwanted dark current is produced by heat, and high-performance cameras cool their sensors to minimize this effect. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 47 This can be compensated for by using flat-fielding calibration, but it is usually preferable to physically avoid vignetting if possible. SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...
  • Page 48 SBIG ALUMA AC SERIES USER’S MANUAL...

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