Advertisement
Quick Links
Issue September 2020
Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674
Manual for the TRIUS PRO 674 mono CCD
camera
Thank you for purchasing a Starlight Xpress 'TRIUS PRO 674' camera. We hope that you
will be very pleased with the performance of this product. Please register your product
and warranty at
https://forms.gle/tmsHEJfQG2bLJjr57
.
The TRIUS-PRO 674 is an advanced, high resolution, cooled CCD camera, especially
designed for astronomical imaging. It uses a third generation version of the very
popular Sony 'EXview' CCDs that offer very high QE and extremely low thermal noise.
This 'PRO' camera uses an updated version of the original TRIUS main board and has
both improved read noise and faster download time. It features an internal USB hub
with 3 external ports and a dry argon CCD chamber fill. The USB hub permits several
other devices to share the single USB connection and greatly reduces the number of
cables required in a typical set-up. For example, a Lodestar PRO or Ultrastar PRO guide
camera and an SX filter wheel could use two of the USB ports and the third might
connect to an electric focuser, or similar peripheral. The argon fill, along with other
improvements to the cooler stack, has improved the delta T to about -42 degrees C
below ambient.
The camera also includes a CCD temperature monitoring circuit that provides
regulated set-point cooling of the chip, an adjustable chip alignment plate and a very
compact overall size.
1
Advertisement
Related Manuals for Starlight Xpress TRIUS PRO 674
Summary of Contents for Starlight Xpress TRIUS PRO 674
- Page 1 Manual for the TRIUS PRO 674 mono CCD camera Thank you for purchasing a Starlight Xpress ‘TRIUS PRO 674’ camera. We hope that you will be very pleased with the performance of this product. Please register your product and warranty at https://forms.gle/tmsHEJfQG2bLJjr57...
- Page 2 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 The TRIUS-PRO 674 uses a Sony ICX674AL ‘EXview’ progressive scan CCD, with 1940 x 1460 x 4.54uM pixels in a 8.8 x 6.3mm active area. This EXview device has an excellent quantum efficiency, with a broad spectral response peaking at around 77% in yellow light, and an extremely low dark current, well below that of most other CCDs.
- Page 3 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 ‘Quick Starting’ your TRIUS-PRO system In the shipping container you will find the following items: 1) The TRIUS-PRO 674 camera head. 2) A universal AC power supply module. 3) A 3 metre USB camera cable.
- Page 4 Now connect the USB cable to the socket on the camera rear panel. Windows will report ‘Found new hardware’ and will automatically find the drivers. You can check this by opening ‘Device Manager’ and looking for a ‘Starlight Xpress CCD’ in the USB Devices list.
- Page 5 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 Now connect up the power supply and switch it on. The supply is a very efficient ‘switch mode’ unit, which can operate from either 110v or 220v AC, via an appropriate mains power cable (supplied). You can now start the software by double clicking on the Starlight Vision icon, when you should see the main menu and image panel appear.
- Page 6 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 Recording your first image: We now have the camera and computer set up to take pictures, but an optical system is needed to project an image onto the CCD surface. You could use your telescope, but this introduces additional complications, which are best avoided at this early stage.
- Page 7 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 If you use a normal lens, then stop it down to the smallest aperture number possible, (usually F22), as this will minimise focus problems and keep the light level reasonable for daytime testing. The pin hole needs no such adjustments and will...
- Page 8 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 After the exposure and download have completed (about 4 seconds) an image of some kind will appear on the computer monitor. It will probably be poorly focused and incorrectly exposed, but any sort of image is good. In the case of the pinhole, all...
- Page 9 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 ********************************************************************* Astronomical Imaging with the TRIUS-PRO 1) Getting the image onto the CCD: It is fairly easy to find the correct focus setting for the camera when using a standard SLR lens, but quite a different matter when the camera is attached to a telescope!
- Page 10 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 It is necessary to set up a good optical match between your camera and the telescope. Most SCTs have a focal ratio of around F10, which is too high for most...
- Page 11 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Starlight Vision has a focus routine that will repeatedly download and display a 128 x 128 pixel segment of the image at relatively high speed. This focus window may be positioned anywhere in the camera field. To use this mode, start up the software and select the Exposure mode.
- Page 12 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Many competitive brands of CCD camera require a ‘dark frame’ to be subtracted from your images to achieve the best results. A dark frame is simply a picture which was taken with the same exposure as your ‘light frame’, but with the telescope objective covered, so that no light can enter.
- Page 13 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 Processing a deep-sky image: Further small refinements are usually possible and you will become expert at judging the best way to achieve these as your experience increases. As a rough guide, software filters can be used to sharpen, soften or noise reduce the image.
- Page 14 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Although the star will also suffer from blurring, the eye can more easily gauge when the most compact blur has been achieved! You could begin by imaging lunar craters, or the planets, Jupiter, Saturn or Mars. The...
- Page 15 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 more sophisticated software can automatically align planetary images and you may find these programs (e.g. ‘Registax’) to be very useful. ********************************************************************* Taking and using a flat field: Flat fields are images that display only the variations of illumination and sensitivity of the CCD and are used to mathematically modify a wanted image in such a way that the errors are removed.
- Page 16 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 peaking at around 20,000 is ideal. Averaging flat fields together is a good way to reduce their noise contribution and so recording 4, or more, images is a good idea. To use your flat fields, they must first have a dark frame subtracted. Although this may appear to be unimportant with such brightly lit and short exposures, there is the ‘bias offset’...
- Page 17 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 adjustment is needed. Before making any changes, you may like to see the information at https://www.sxccd.com/maintenance_info/Aligning_CCD.pdf This describes a simple setup for checking the alignment and may save you a lot of time and effort caused by aligning by experiment.
- Page 18 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 3) Generally speaking, it is possible to unscrew the ring by inserting the tip of a small screwdriver into one of the notches and pushing it round. Clearly, you need to be...
- Page 19 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Issue September 2020 The ports are sealed by M4 stainless set-screws and soft plugs, which may be removed to provide access to the chamber gas fill. You will need to make some kind of nozzle to fit the gas ports, but simply tapering the end of the standard 4 mm plastic gas tubing that is used with small welding bottles, will probably be sufficient.
- Page 20 Issue September 2020 Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Some details of the camera and CCD characteristics The TRIUS-PRO 674 uses a Sony ICX674ALG ‘EXview’ progressive scan CCD, with 1940 x 1460 x 4.54uM pixels in a 8.8 x 6.63mm active area. This EXview device has the...
-
Page 21: Conditions Of Guarantee
Handbook for the TRIUS PRO 674 Dear Observer, Thank you for purchasing a Starlight Xpress CCD Imaging System. We are confident that you will gain much satisfaction from this equipment, but please read carefully the accompanying instruction manual to ensure that you achieve the best performance that is capable of providing.
Need help?
Do you have a question about the TRIUS PRO 674 and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers