User manual SBIG ST-402

[. . . ] Operating Manual ST-402 Very Important: Before you attach the ST-402 to your computer for the first time you MUST install the software as described Section 2. Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. [. . . ] Now, use the Grab command in the Camera menu and set the dialog as shown below: The key items in this dialog are described individually below. Temperature Regulation ­ This allows you to turn the TE cooling on and off. Typically at the start of an imaging session you'll turn the cooling on and then back off at the end of the night. For now let's just leave it off. Page 12 Page 13 SBIG ST-402 Operating Manual SBIG ST-402 Operating Manual automatically. Use the Focus command in the Camera menu and set it up in the Focus Setup dialog as shown below: Here we're asking for a 1. 0-second dark frame of the full CCD. Click the OK button and in a few seconds you'll see an image that looks a lot like the Image 1 from the tutorial. Hot pixels, readout glow and salt-and-pepper noise, they're all there. Congratulations: You've just taken your first dark frame!Let's experiment with the settings in the Grab dialog. Try changing the Exposure Time to 10 seconds and grabbing another image but this time watch the LED on the back of the camera. It blinks while the camera is exposing the image. That's a handy thing to remember when you're in the observatory. Don't bump the telescope when the LED is blinking. Anyway, the new image should look just like Image 2. Try setting the Exposure Time back to 1. 0 and the Dark frame to Also. What happens here is the camera takes a dark frame first, and then takes a light frame, subtracting the dark frame from it. The result should be uniform noise without hot pixels and without readout glow. Had we had the camera on the telescope we would have seen the object but because we had the nosepiece covered we took a dark subtracted image of the dark. If you take enough of these, and stare at them long enough you'll see all kinds of patterns in the random noise, including even pictures of Elvis!You can read about the other items in the Grab dialog by clicking the Help button, but in general the Grab command is used to take a single image and optionally do an automatic dark subtraction. Note: Dark subtracted images have an offset of 100 ADU added to them to ensure values near zero are not clipped. Focus Command Using the Grab command to focus your telescope would drive you crazy, taking a single image at a time, tweaking the telescope etc. [. . . ] If the CCD cover glass is spotted it is easily cleaned with a cotton swab and isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Dust here is very critical, so take care. Appendix B ­ Maintenance This Appendix describes the periodic maintenance items you need to perform on your camera to keep it in optimal condition. Updating CCDOps and Drivers We are constantly adding new features and fixing software bugs in our software, which is available for free download from our web site. You should periodically visit our website to check for updated versions of the CCDOps software and you should also periodically run the Driver Checker to download and update your drivers. [. . . ]