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Alcor System OMEA 6M Installation And User Manual

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OMEA "All Sky" Camera
Installation and user manual
June 16th, 2022 revision
© ALCOR-SYSTEM
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  • Page 1 OMEA “All Sky” Camera Installation and user manual June 16th, 2022 revision © ALCOR-SYSTEM...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Camera installation ..............................4 Camera installation ............................4 Camera optical settings ........................... 11 OMEA camera connections (USB version) ...................... 11 1.3.1 Temperature sensor and humidity connector (#1) ................. 12 1.3.2 Power connector and RS232 (#2)......................13 1.3.3 USB connector (#3) ..........................
  • Page 3 Introduction ..............................59 Adjusting and start-up ............................ 59 Weather measurement module ..........................63 Sensors software management ........................66 Sensor specifications and operating range ..................... 69 Camera maintenance .............................. 69 Sphere cleaning ............................... 69 Camera internal desiccant replacement ......................69 Trouble shooting ..............................69 Camera does not deliver images ........................

  • Page 4: Camera Installation

    List of applicable products of this documentation OMEA 6M OMEA 6C OMEA 3M OMEA 3C OMEA 5M OMEA 5C OMEA 8M OMEA 8C OMEA 9M OMEA 9C OMEA 7C OMEA 7M 1 Camera installation Camera installation The camera works outdoor, it is weather-tight. Warning, the system is not submersible: it is not a diving camera.
  • Page 5 Optional stand for the camera Fig. 1 The position of the three screws securing the USB camera (yellow holes) Fig. 2 © ALCOR-SYSTEM...
  • Page 6 There are three other "holes" that are filled with waterproof connectors, leave this space free and 100mm underneath to allow the cables to run. The N, S, E and W direction is defined by rotating the camera accordingly. This is up to the user to define camera orientation according to its needs.
  • Page 7 Three cables straight descent. Fig. 4 © ALCOR-SYSTEM...
  • Page 8 Minimum cable radius curvature. Fig. 5 The waterproof connectors connect as follows:  Identify the number of connector pins of the camera, its type (male / female)  Identify the number of pins of the connector cord and match. © ALCOR-SYSTEM...
  • Page 9  Identify the key pin inside the camera connector and the key at the connector cord side.  Apply a rectilinear motion. If insertion force strength persists please repeat steps for locating the pin number and key. Excessive force applied to connector can cause the destruction of the connector or a bad connection can damage the camera.
  • Page 10 Push the connector straight Fig. 7 Then turn the connector’s collar in clockwise fashion Fig. 8 © ALCOR-SYSTEM...

  • Page 11: Camera Optical Settings

    Camera optical settings 1.2.1. OMEA 3x, 5x and OMEA 6x The focus of the lens with respect to the image sensor is factory tuned. It is not possible to perform focus changes from outside, for tightness reasons. F-number is fixed set to its lowest value, F1.6 allowing very sensitive operation of the camera. This cannot be changed from outside.

  • Page 12: Temperature Sensor And Humidity Connector (#1)

    Rear of USB camera Fig. 9 Connector Role Gender (camera side) Temperature / Humidity sensor Female 5 pins Weather station module (optional) Male 7 pins Power connector and RS232 link Male 4 pins USB link Male 6 pins For more information about the pins of these connectors, please ask us. If Weather module is present, never touch with your fingers the 7 pins of the connector (Connector #1).

  • Page 13: Power Connector And Rs232 (#2)

    p / down and horizontal temperature sensor and humidity directions for installation Fig. 10 U This sensor is intended to provide outdoor temperature and relative humidity in order to automatically trigger dome heating, (only when weather conditions are prone to develop dew on the camera’s dome). 1.3.2 Power connector and RS232 (#2) This is providing power to the camera and RS232 link.
  • Page 14 RS232 connector and 24V 2.5A power Fig. 11 The power supply is provided as 24V 2.5A, 110V 60Hz and 220V 50Hz compliant. The current provided by the PSU is enough to power the camera and the dome heater. Three kind of cord plugs are provided on request: EU, US and UK type.
  • Page 15  Weather information from the camera (outdoor temperature, outdoor relative humidity, inner camera temperature and humidity, dome heater temperature)  Optional Weather station module information (wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure …)  For OMEA 8x/9x/7x camera, the lens focus and iris can be set by this link. Fig.

  • Page 16: Usb Connector (#3)

    Serial to USB converter, as it appears in the device manager Fig. 15 Always have the RS232 link connected to the camera in one side and to the PC in the other side. Failure to comply with this requirement will jeopardize camera operation and performance. Keep somewhere the COM number, this is very important.

  • Page 17: Omea Camera Connections (Ethernet Version)

    OMEA camera connections (ETHERNET version) This is the same as USB camera, except the USB 6 pins connector is replaced by 8 pins male connector. Also, the cable is different. It is a blue/cyan cable, that has in one side, 8 pin female connector and ethernet connector in the other side.
  • Page 18 In the end, the host PC sees the camera as a regular USB device, despite data goes throughout ethernet cable. The embedded Silex DS-600 is designed to easily connect and share USB 3.0 and 2.0 devices over a network. Printers, Scanners, Disk Drives, Cameras, Card Readers, or virtually any other USB device can be enabled with network capability.

  • Page 19: Omea Camera Connections With External Weather Module

    OMEA camera connections with External Weather Module It very important to connect all the cables first, at the camera back plate, and then connect the 24V power supply in a second step. If not achieved in this order, this can damage the internal board of the camera or the weather board located in the additional external box.
  • Page 20 Fig. 19 Camera installed into a camera support Fig. 20 Drawing of the base plate, yellow Ø8 mm holes are intended to attach the support to wooden or concrete flat surface. This is an upside- down view. © ALCOR-SYSTEM...

  • Page 21: Software

    2 Software Latest camera software can be found in our web site: https://www.alcor-system.com/common/allSky/sw/setup_skywatch.exe System requirement and operating system Hardware requirement (Minimum) OMEA 3x/6x  PC with AMD or Intel CPU, (with passmark index above 2000) o Intel Core i3-4012Y @ 1.50GHz (passmark index : 2000) Hardware requirement (Minimum) OMEA 7/8/9x...
  • Page 22 Lists of Windows’ devices (ASIxxxx is the ALL SKY camera) Fig. 21 Run setup_skywatch.exe, it will install all the software required for this camera. Be sure that this is “Skywatch OMEA/ALPHEA Setup” and not any other setup software (another setup software for EUDA camera is available).
  • Page 23 Fig. 24 Then comes the camera driver installation software: OMEA Camera device driver installation process. Fig. 25 © ALCOR-SYSTEM...
  • Page 24 XVID video compressor installation. Fig. 26 Once the drivers are installed, the camera appears in the device manager either as ZWO ASI178MC, ZWO ASI178MM, ZWO ASI1600-MM Cooled or ZWO ASI1600-MC Cooled, depending on the model of the camera. Camera properly installed in the device manager. Fig.

  • Page 25: Embedded Ethernet Camera Software Installation

    Icon of the camera software, double click to start it up. Fig. 28 Embedded Ethernet camera software installation Warning: basic knowledge of IP LAN setup is required. An additional step is required for Ethernet cameras, please download software here https://www.silextechnology.com/connectivity-solutions/device-connectivity/ds-600 The “SX-Virtual Link for windows”...
  • Page 26 More documentation can be obtained here: Once installed, the connect.exe software (or “SX virtual Link”) must be started. Once “connect.exe” software is started, a panel appears. The default IP address of the camera (embedded DS-600) is 192.168.1.28 (or something in the 192.168.1.x sub network, X is a figure variable from 2 to 254) or can be set by DHCP server.
  • Page 27 The ALL sky camera is now connected: To set/tune the USB to Ethernet device, this link provides access to the configuration panel http://192.168.1.28/login.htm?lang=eng The password is either to be defined on first access to the web interface or to be provided and is by default “1234”...
  • Page 28 System status and other information and settings can be accessed and modified. Note: for Linux user, please go to this page and request for Linux SDK to the USB to ethernet converter company that designed it : https://www.silextechnology.com/sx-virtual-link-sdk-linux © ALCOR-SYSTEM...

  • Page 29: Using The Camera Software Control

    The camera is now visible on the window device manager when connected to DS-600: Camera detected in device manager of Windows 10 Fig. 29 More information can be found here: Or locally here: C:\Program Files\silex technology\SX Virtual Link\Help - Software installation is now completed - 3 Using the camera software control This software is fairly intuitive;...

  • Page 30: Omea 8X/7X/9X Specific Initialization Phases

    Heating window software. Fig. 30 Put here the correct COM number, it can retrieved from the “Device Manager form”, see §1.3.2 Port COM setting to connect to the camera, can be any figure from 0 to 255. Fig. 31 Fig. 32 Once connection is fine, outdoor temperature and relative humidity will display figures instead of “??”.
  • Page 31 Fig. 33 This form opens, in the “Focus tab”, press “Reference to zero”, then enter 1150 in the “Startup reference position” field, and then go to “Position to Reach”, enter the same figure and press “Apply”. Fig. 34 Focus must be achieved overnight, F2.8 full opened. Zoom must be set to 1 .The focus tilt is set on factory, user shall not bother with that.
  • Page 32 1200 steps 1300 steps 1400 steps Fig. 36 To save the focuser figure on windows’ database registry, do not forget to put it as a reference in the bottom field. Fig. 37 1250 (that is in this case the best focus) is entered here in order to be saved F/ ratio can be set in the “Iris”...

  • Page 33: Camera Setup

    3.1.3 Camera setup The software is set to simulation camera, and must be changed to the proper camera. Click “Options/Camera Setup…” Fig. 39 « Select OMEA camera….", accordingly to your model, the connected camera must appear below: OMEA 8M/8C has been selected. Fig.
  • Page 34 Fig. 41 The next panel appears, and must be filled accordingly, especially this is very important to setup place (longitude and latitude). Fig. 42 © ALCOR-SYSTEM...

  • Page 35: Omea 8X/7X/9X Cooling Setup

    3.1.4 OMEA 8x/7x/9x cooling setup OMEA 8x/7x/9x has the ability to cool down the image sensor inside the camera. This only need to be a moderate cooling, because exposure time of the camera is 60s at the maximum. To access cooling control, use this menu: Fig.
  • Page 36 Fig. 44 It is recommended to set temperature set point to 0°C in summer, and -10°C in winter. In any case, the system will raise automatically sensor temperature if power used is larger than 60%. Also on software exit, the camera cooling is turned off. Image sensor temperature is plotted in the temperature tab plot.

  • Page 37: Exposure Control

    3.1.5 Exposure control Once the camera is selected, the exposures start immediately. Then, do not forget to check the "Auto Exposure" box after the first image has been displayed. It should be by default. For color camera, the raw image from color camera is a black and white, this is called Bayer pattern image.

  • Page 38: Storage Of Files Produced By The Camera Control Software

    Fig. 47 Defaults settings for ALPHEA cameras Fig. 48 Setting of the field circle that represents horizon, and cross for stars Storage of files produced by the camera control software The software stores all the files it produces into a directory that is specific to the user. ©...
  • Page 39 This directory (and subdirectories) is created automatically by the software. It is set by default, as shown in the next image, i.e This PC > Documents > Skywatch, that translates into C:\Users\[Login name]\Documents\skywatch, where [login name] is the name used to log into your windows session.

  • Page 40: Camera Exposure Time And Gain

    This file can be automatically generated from a feature from this software (see next paragraph)  The Logs files subdirectory: contains the log files of the software, in which are written the software actions and events as a text file. This is for debugging purposes. A new file is created each time you start up the camera control software.

  • Page 41: Image Hot Pixel Removal Using Dark Frame Image

    Fig. 51 If the computing area for auto exposure is set to 512x512 image center, this shape is drawn to show where the bounds of this area are located. When determining the maximum exposure time, the user shall bear in mind that the minimum exposure time is 32μs (0.000032 sec) and the maximum exposure time will depend on when the stars will start to leave traces due to earth rotation.
  • Page 42 quality. image sensor Production of hot pixels depends mainly on the temperature of the camera that is bound to external temperature. More the camera is being used under conditions of high temperatures, more the number of hot pixels. Exposure time also affects strongly the number of hot pixels: the higher the exposure time, the higher the number of hot pixels.
  • Page 43 Fig. 55 Fig. 54 Without correction of "dark" and hot pixels With correction of "dark" and hot pixels The software performs hot pixels fixing in three ways: By subtracting a master dark frame. Local pixel correction from a list of hot pixels Automatic local hot pixel removal based on two parameters Activation of these corrections is achieved using the main camera control panel, camera tab, then on the based...
  • Page 44 This dark frame subtraction is performed through an optimization algorithm of the coefficient to be applied to the master dark frame image. If many files are present, the software will select the master dark frame that provides a result that is closest to 1.0. Fig.

  • Page 45: Achieving Master Dark Frame

    Fig. 59 It contains a list of hot pixels to repair/fix. 3.4.1 Achieving master dark frame The files located into DarkFrames folder, whose fundamental purpose has been presented above, may, in some cases no longer be adapted to the current image shooting conditions (due to seasonal temperature changes).
  • Page 46 Fig. 60 The software switches into a particular mode that allows it to produce "dark" frames and performs the median stack when the number of required dark frames have been reached in order to achieve a dark master frame and a list of hot pixels. Fig.

  • Page 47: Residual Hot Pixels Repair/Fix

    Fig. 62 For each image recorded by the camera, the dark master frame file will be used in the form: Displayed_image = Raw_Image - ( k * Master_dark_frame_Image) Where k is a coefficient optimized by the software. More k is close to 1, the better. In the following scenario, k = 0.95, which is a good value. Fig.
  • Page 48 Fig. 64 The algorithm automatically eliminates hot pixels by inspecting all pixels from the incoming image. Two parameters to set two conditions are necessary. The first parameter defines the difference of the pixel compared to its eight neighbors for which that pixel will be considered as potential hot pixels because it exceeds the defined gap (as ADU).

  • Page 49: Setting The Overlay Grid

    A pixel density corrected that implies one pixel every 7x7 pixels box is maximum, beyond this density, such as one pixel each 5x5 pixel, you will have to achieve your "dark" frame and the list of hot pixels bound to it. 3.5.
  • Page 50 Fig. 69  Use night time when a star of magnitude 0 to 3 passes to zenith (or say +/- 2° from the zenith)  Force fixed exposure time of 5s to 10s  Get to "Enable grid display" and "Show Main object" (Check “Only horizon”) ...
  • Page 51 displacement in X and Y to adjust the position of the zenith symbol Fig. 70 Star passing nearby zenith (Deneb) and zenith marker Fig. 71  Once the zenith marker found, you have to set the "north position" to have the grid (circle and star’s name) matching with star position.

  • Page 52: Cyanogen Boldwood Or Sentinel Cloud Sensors Link With Camera Control Software

    Cyanogen Boldwood or Sentinel cloud sensors link with camera control software cloud If you own a monitor from Cyanogen or Shelyak companies, it is possible to display, at the top right of the image, some weather information. In the main Setup Panel, enter appropriate information. The software uses simply the output file generated by each measurement from cloud sensor.

  • Page 53: Magnitude Per Square Second Display Image Mode

    List of information coming from Sentinel or Boltwood Fig. 73 cloud sensor included in the image Magnitude per square second display image mode The software allows the calculation of radiometric magnitude per square second across the sky. It works on color and monochrome cameras.
  • Page 54  A camera gain reference  Opening aperture reference (which is usually fixed as the aperture setting is not accessible).  Subtracting the reference image by a master dark frame  The camera gamma adjustment must be set to 100. ...

  • Page 55: Telescope Control Software Link

    Telescope control software link Telescope's pointing direction can be display and embedded to the last all Sky Image. The telescope pointing software shall be able to generate a simple text file, containing date and time of the measured position and equinox 2000 RA/DEC coming from the telescope current position.

  • Page 56: 24H Overview

    During the night, the software is able to extract stars, and count them up. Thresholds can be applied to define what is regarded as clear skies, or mid overcast skies. The software output this data either into a text file, or uses a COM interface that can be used by other any software.
  • Page 57 Fig. 81 : 24h image overview construction scheme Fig. 82 : Resulting image © ALCOR-SYSTEM...
  • Page 58 Fig. 83 : Previous image zoom to the end of the night, star are visible then sky clear up with dawn. © ALCOR-SYSTEM...

  • Page 59: Sphere Condensation Heater Management

    4 Sphere condensation heater management Introduction The heating of the sphere is achieved throughout a set of resistors placed under the sphere base. It can defog or defrost the outside side of the acrylic sphere. The system is autonomous (works without link to PC and without user's supervision). It sets out the conditions when temperature and humidity levels enable occurrence of water condensation.
  • Page 60 Temperature curves Fig. 85 It provides outdoor temperature, camera temperature, outdoor humidity and dew point (light blue). The software records the data and curves are constructed progressively (if connected to the PC all the time). Beware, if this window is closed, recording data cannot occur anymore. We recommend that you simply hide it.
  • Page 61 Heating plot (as purple) warning there is not unit bound to it Fig. 86 The tab "% RH" provides access to humidity plot expressed as % RH (Relative Humidity). Outdoor temperature and humidity is measured by the external probe, and is used to trigger the dome heating. Relative humidity plot Fig.
  • Page 62 The next plot shows as red the external camera humidity, and the marron plot is the internal caùera humidity. The internal humidity shall be kept under 20% RH. The camera embeds a desiccant (molecular sieve) inside it, to have the humidity as low as possible, to prevent dew from forming in the inner side of the dome.

  • Page 63: Weather Measurement Module

    Finally, it is possible to transfer these plots to website for remote control. Website setting for temperature and humidity plot posting Fig. 90 5 Weather measurement module A weather module can be attached to the camera (optional). It consists into an external box that is attached to the camera and includes: ...
  • Page 64 Wind speed and Wind direction sensor Fig. 91 The next picture shows different part of the weather module:  Relative Humidity and temperature module  Cable going to the ALL-SKY camera  25m cable going to the wind speed and wind direction sensors The 4 screws (green arrows), holding the top cover of the box can be unscrewed.
  • Page 65 Sensors control box Fig. 92 The wind sensor must be installed into a mast that is at least 5 m from the ground (10m is better). A system to clamp the wind sensors to the mast is provided. Orientate the wind direction to the north, and put the sensor horizontally.

  • Page 66: Sensors Software Management

    Sensors software management Click “Options/Dome Heating control/ Camera cooling / Weather cond.” It will bring up the usual sensor panels with plots. Select the appropriate COM port. Menu Fig. 94 Temperature from the different sensor of the camera. Red is external temperature, brown is internal camera Fig.
  • Page 67 Wind speed plot Fig. 96 The wind speed raw data can be offset by some figure, because the electronic has a small offset when the wind speed is zero. Also, the measurement can be corrected from some drift induced by temperature changes inside the weather box.
  • Page 68 Atmospheric Pressure Fig. 98 The pressure is corrected to the sea-level, because the software knows all the parameters to carry out the computation. WARNING: never disconnect/connect the seven-pin connector attached to the camera while the latter is powered. This can lead to false measurements (i.e., temperature set to +104°C!). To regain proper measurements, reconnect this cable, and power cycle (OFF/ON) the camera for 30s in order to get proper measurements.

  • Page 69: Sensor Specifications And Operating Range

    Sensor specifications and operating range Sensor type Min value Max value Resolution Absolute Accuracy Wind speed 0 m/s 50 m/s 0.012 m/s +/- 3% Wind direction 0° 360° 0.1° +/- 5% Pressure 40 kPa 115 kPa 0.073 kPa +/- 1.2 kPa External relative humidity 100 % 0.03 %...

  • Page 70: Camera Does Not Deliver Images

    This section aims at providing hints to solve issues. Camera does not deliver images The USB port driver might be outdated, please update USB port driver. Also change USB port on your PC, sometime some USB are slightly damaged (ESD) with the course of the time. If the issue persists, please contact us, the long 20 m USB extender cable might be also damaged, check that no damage has occurred on this cable (no small animal has started to eat the USB cable for instance, or lightening has not hit the camera).

  • Page 71: Dew Inside The Dome

    Use of this product involving people's lives is the responsibility of the user and in no way ALCOR SYSTEM will be held liable for injuries to persons or property theft as the use of this camera described in this manual.

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