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Diffraction SBIG STC-7, User Manual

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SBIG STC-7  CAMERA 

USER’S MANUAL

 

7

 

 

Camera Features 

The STC-7 imaging camera

’s main

 features include: 

•

 

The high sensitivity, low noise 7.1 megapixel IMX428 imaging 
sensor 

•

 

Two-stage thermoelectric cooling for minimal noise on long 
exposures 

•

 

SmartCooling™ active temperature regulation to 0.1 degrees C for 

high calibration stability 

•

 

Integrated filter wheel with custom L-R-G-B-Ha-SII-OIII-Dark 
filters 

•

 

High-speed USB 3.0 interface (USB 2.0 compatible) 

•

 

I

2

C and Trigger I/O interface 

•

 

Centered optical axis for optimum instrument balance 

•

 

Multiplatform software API and sample code availability 

Refer to 

Appendix A-2 STC-7 Specifications

 for detailed camera 

specifications. 

 

 

Summary of Contents for SBIG STC-7

Page 1: ...SBIG STC 7 CAMERA USER S MANUAL 1 SBIG STC 7 Imaging Camera User s Manual Version 1 02 September 25 2020...

Page 2: ...apparatus complies with Canadian ICES 003 European Union Compliance to the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive This product is in conformity with the protection requirements of EU Council Directiv...

Page 3: ...the Hardware 10 1 4 Testing the Camera 13 2 Operating the SBIG STC 7 camera with MaxIm LT 14 2 1 Connecting the STC Camera to MaxIm LT 14 2 2 Basic Imaging Procedure 18 2 3 StackProTM Subexposure Func...

Page 4: ...ers and firmware 38 Appendix C Troubleshooting 40 Appendix D Technical and Warranty Support 41 Appendix E Compatible software products 42 Appendix F Concepts and Terminology 43 IMPORTANT Please read t...

Page 5: ...CCD models the STC 7 features higher sensitivity 78 QE versus 56 significantly lower read noise 2 5 e versus 9 3 e and 20X faster readout While a single exposure can equal CCD dynamic range the combin...

Page 6: ...Effective Full Well 80 000 e Read Noise 7 6 e For comparison our STF 8300M CCD camera sports typical read noise of 9 3 e with a full well depth of 25 000 e In the medium gain 16X stack mode the STC 7...

Page 7: ...ures SmartCooling active temperature regulation to 0 1 degrees C for high calibration stability Integrated filter wheel with custom L R G B Ha SII OIII Dark filters High speed USB 3 0 interface USB 2...

Page 8: ...Green o Blue o Hydrogen alpha 7 nm pass o Sulphur II 6 5 nm pass o Oxygen III 6 5 nm pass o Opaque 0 transmission for taking dark frames Installed desiccant plug T Thread lens mount M42 x 0 75 2 Nose...

Page 9: ...mber 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 3 Insert the supp...

Page 10: ...filters plus an opaque filter used to take dark frames Follow this procedure to install the filters 1 Place the camera on a firm flat surface with the filter wheel facing up 2 Remove the four indicat...

Page 11: ...III o Slot 8 Dark opaque filter for taking dark frames NOTE The dark filter MUST be in Slot 8 5 Replace the filter retainer and secure it with the eight Allen screws you removed in step 3 6 Replace t...

Page 12: ...do not connect it at this time for initial testing of the camera Attach the power supply cable between the POWER connector and the power supply The connector clicks into place in the camera body Pull...

Page 13: ...Connector pinouts for details on creating a custom power cable 3 Open MaxIm LT and connect to the camera by following the procedure in Section 2 1 Connecting the STC Camera to MaxIm LT 4 Take a set o...

Page 14: ...ailed in that file will be enabled in MaxIm LT Full feature access requires MaxIm DL Pro The procedures in this chapter are intended as a basic introduction to connecting and operating the STC hardwar...

Page 15: ...aging form opens 3 Click the Camera Model drop down Select DL Imaging 4 Ensure that the AO selector parameter is set to Off a Click the Advanced button The DL Config form opens This form allows you to...

Page 16: ...Im DL Help file and at https diffractionlimited com help maximdl SBIG_Gen_3 htm Click OK to confirm your camera selection and close the DL Config form 5 Click OK to accept the settings and close the S...

Page 17: ...d to the Camera Control form 12 Leave Camera 2 set to No Camera 13 Click the Connect button to establish camera communications 14 Enable the camera cooler by clicking the On button 15 Click the Cooler...

Page 18: ...he form displays the following 2 Click the Options menu and select Camera Settings Applicable settings for the STC 7 camera include Use Ext Trigger This is not selected by default Refer to Appendix A...

Page 19: ...order by default in MaxIm LT and correspond to the installation order suggested in the Filter installation section If you chose to install the filters in a different order you can change a slot name...

Page 20: ...ollowing Autosave Filename Enter the base filename e g Area A you want to use for the sequence of images Each image file taken will use this name appended with an individual frame number for example A...

Page 21: ...over six times greater The STC 7 automatically performs the subframe exposures internally so they appear from the outside to be a single exposure The camera also automatically adjusts the number and d...

Page 22: ...t going to cause sensor saturation you may wish to avoid the extra read noise for short exposures You may therefore wish to increase the Subframe Exposure target to 10 seconds If you are taking very l...

Page 23: ...ions can provide a huge improvement in the signal to noise ratio resulting in much greater sensitivity Normalizing these variations also provides a truer representation of the subject in the working i...

Page 24: ...dom noise produced by the square root of 2 approximately 1 414 This means the hot pixels produce significantly more noise Since the noise is random and therefore unpredictable it cannot be removed in...

Page 25: ...must be set to the same as your Light frames Repeat Set to the number of exposures you want Click OK when done 5 Click the Start button to begin the sequence NOTE Since the STC 7 camera does not have...

Page 26: ...uniform light source and an exposure is taken To avoid non linearity at the top and noise at the bottom of the camera s range the exposure is usually chosen to get an average value of 30 to 50 of the...

Page 27: ...ick the Autosave radio button to configure a sequence of 10 to 20 identical exposures for each filter you used in your light exposures Configure one slot per filter with the required parameters and nu...

Page 28: ...ould be another These groups can be automatically generated by scanning a folder or folder tree All image files with matching characteristics are grouped together based on the information in their ima...

Page 29: ...l to pixel variations in the average accumulation of dark current but it will also increase the random noise in the light frame by 41 If instead you averaged sixteen dark frames together prior to subt...

Page 30: ...in the same folder that contains the individual calibration files If you choose not to create such master calibration files MaxIm LT will stack the calibration automatically when you calibrate your li...

Page 31: ...Sigma Factor of 0 5 and Number of Passes set to 3 The remaining Combine parameters and options are detailed in the Help file Set these as required g Click Go to start the stacking process This may ta...

Page 32: ...StarChaser SC 2 off axis guide camera AO 8A adaptive optics unit requires StarChaser SC 2 Canon and Nikon lens adapters Nosepiece adapters C mount adapter NOTE Vignetting may occur Desiccant plugs Ca...

Page 33: ...pin mini DIN The diagram shows the pin number identification when looking into the camera connector Pin 1 GND Pin 6 3 3V Out Pin 2 I2C SDA Pin 7 12V Out Pin 3 I2C SCL Pin 8 Trigger Out 0 Pin 4 Trigger...

Page 34: ...tor Pins 1 3 5 12V Pins 2 4 6 GND NOTES The shell of the connector is connected to ground via 1 Megaohm in parallel with 100 pF and should be connected to the cable shield Power ground is connected to...

Page 35: ...frame download 50 msec Binning modes 1x1 2x2 Power 12 VDC at 4A maximum Power cable USA European Australian Shutter Electronic plus dark frame slot on filter wheel Temperature regulation Yes Cooling d...

Page 36: ...If the camera side of a filter requires cleaning remove the filter retainer and gently remove the filter from the carousel handling it only by its edges while cleaning it The sensor chamber window ca...

Page 37: ...luminum desiccant knob facing upwards 2 The container screws into the side of the camera body Use your fingers and turn it counter clockwise to extract it 3 Remove the O ring from the container and pl...

Page 38: ...ig stc 7 Click the DOWNLOADS button for your specific camera There you will find a link to the latest version of the utility program Download and run the program New drivers are automatically installe...

Page 39: ...firm the upload process in any pop up dialogs 9 Wait until the process is completed Do not interrupt the process or it will revert to old firmware 10 When complete power down the camera and power it u...

Page 40: ...t the USB cable is undamaged and securely attached Avoid using a USB hub if possible If you do need a hub try to avoid putting two cameras on the same hub If you are operating in outdoor ambient tempe...

Page 41: ...ailable here Technical Support Technical Support http forum diffractionlimited com Technical Support Phone 613 225 2732 Authorized Repair Center Bill Lynch SBIG Service Repair Center 554 Andromeda Dri...

Page 42: ...s computers only Refer to the Windows Installation section in this guide for details installation MaxIm DL MaxIm DL is a full featured camera control and image processing program available from Diffra...

Page 43: ...ensional array of very small light detectors referred to as pixels Each pixel acts like a bucket for electrons The electrons are created by photons light absorbed in the pixel During an exposure each...

Page 44: ...is a technique employed to lower the digitization errors due to residual charge in the readout capacitors of the camera This results in lower readout noise False Color False Color images are images th...

Page 45: ...gle pixel Doing so decreases the effective resolution but increases relative sensitivity It also shortens the image download time Maximum absolute resolution is determined by the size of an individual...

Page 46: ...in a finely transparent air mass and conversely poor transparency can occur when there is little or no cloud present Man made light pollution and aerosols i e industrial pollutants volcanic ash pollen...

Page 47: ...SBIG STC 7 CAMERA USER S MANUAL 47...

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