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QSI 520 User Manual Download Page 1

 

500 Series User Guide 

Revision 1.1 
March, 2007

 

 

Disclaimer: 

The specifications in this document are subject to change without notice. 

All trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners,  

and are used herein for informational purposes only. 

 

©

 2007 Quantum Scientific Imaging 

Phone 888-QSI-4CCD • www.QSImaging.com  

Summary of Contents for 520

Page 1: ...cations in this document are subject to change without notice All trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for informational purposes only...

Page 2: ...e Camera 14 Standard Air Cooling 14 Liquid Assisted Cooling 14 How Much Cooling Is Enough 15 Controlling the Cooler 16 Internal Color Filter Wheel 18 Advanced Setup Options 19 Camera Selection 20 Stat...

Page 3: ...mount adapter 69 LR lens adapter 70 iquid heat exchanger 70 70 70 ox 70 E N A N C E 71 oving color filters 71 72 Cleaning the CCD cover glass 72 echnical support 73 E S Series Specifications 74 77 Ta...

Page 4: ...uded in a hurry to try out your new camera and are familiar with the general operation of ed section provides the basi take yo r first i nd the ed with MaxI LE fo h es ectrically cooled CCD ca to e dy...

Page 5: ...40VAC 50 60Hz with detachable region specific AC power cord ing py of MaxIm LE with custom cut examine your ase contains the rder may be Nosepiece 2 or 1 d Mounting Adapter T Mount or C AC Power Adapt...

Page 6: ...res of your camera Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the external connections The image above shows the major external features of a typical QSI 500 Series camera The depth of the Camera...

Page 7: ...MaxIm LE icon on your desktop or by selecting Programs MaxIm LE MaxIm LE from the Windows Start menu The first time you run MaxIm LE you will be asked to enter your temporary User Registration informa...

Page 8: ...mera Control Window from the View menu to open the Camera Control Window MaxIm will open the Camera Control window and display the Setup tab After MaxIm is installed it must be told which camera to us...

Page 9: ...lick OK That will take you back to the Camera Control Window If you have a QSI camera with an internal color filter wheel you ll also need to tell MaxIm about that by clicking Setup under Filter Wheel...

Page 10: ...heel QSI Universal will be displayed under Filter Wheel in the dialog above Take an image Click the Expose tab along the top of the Camera Control window There are several fields and buttons in this w...

Page 11: ...very exciting this does provide confirmation that your software and camera are installed and working properly Congratulations you have just connected your new QSI 500 Series camera and acquired your f...

Page 12: ...ent such a a 1 25 onal C Adapter adapter is also available The C Adapter replaces the T Adapte patible with many standard lenses lens mounting accessories and other equipm s microscopes Note The T Ad...

Page 13: ...ue or non standard mounting requirements Contact QSI for the dimensions and requirements for custom mounting adapters Attach the camera to your telescope The picture below shows a QSI 500 Series camer...

Page 14: ...ortly after power is applied to the camera the Camera Status Indi camera will start glowing yellow indicating that the camera is starting up The make a small chirp sound and then a few seconds later w...

Page 15: ...onnects to any standard USB port on your computer All camera control commands and resulting images are passed over the USB cable Note Do not connect your camera to your computer unless you have succes...

Page 16: ...ount This newer approach is compatible with most modern telescope mounts Meade Losmandy Software Bisque etc that employ logic inputs pulled to VCC with a suitable load resistor QSI also offers a Guide...

Page 17: ...chieved with the optional Liquid Heat Exchanger or LHX The LHX utilizes recirculating water for more efficient removal of heat from the camera All things being equal the LHX can provide an additional...

Page 18: ...30 C lowers the dark current by a factor of 130 and 400 respectively Cooling below 30 C results in a diminishing improvement as the noise from the dark current is outweighe Fahrenheit 40F 20F 0F 20F 3...

Page 19: ...rating instructions and changing the CCD setpoint temperature see Section 4 Below is a snapshot of the Setup tab in the Camera Control window just after the Connec and then Cooler On button was clicke...

Page 20: ...is achieved when the power to the cooler is kept below 85 This gives the camera some headroom to compensate for variations in the ambient temperature If the camera can not reach the desired temperatu...

Page 21: ...lementary colors with this set of astro imaging LRGB filers Note QSI offers LRGB filter sets from a number of respected manufacturers as well as other specialized filters for astro imaging Alternative...

Page 22: ...Main CCD Camera to open the Setup QSI Universal dialog box for the Main camera If the Camera Model list box does not indicate QSI Universal select it now Click the Advanced button The QSI Configurati...

Page 23: ...used as a Main camera and when being used as a Guider camera Only those settings that are relevant to a particular camera model are enabled Options that Camera Selection USB Interface Select the speci...

Page 24: ...he Audible Beeper Sounds associated with camera initialization and error notification can not be disabled Fa begins to exceeds a predefined safe level At that point the fans are turned on and run at f...

Page 25: ...al window Click OK again and you ll be returned to the Setu a CCD are flushed between exposures The default value is 2 It can be lowered to decrease the time between exposures o increased if you want...

Page 26: ...nd computer or hub Yellow solid Busy with internal operation Not ready to accept commands This state is seen while the camera is performing power up initialization moving the filter wheel or shutter o...

Page 27: ...USB connection between the camera and temperatu Flash Red 1 Flash Yellow 2 The CCD is under temperature The CCD has exceeded the 40 C minimum recommended operating tempe remains under temperature Flas...

Page 28: ...perator in case the Sta no ced or not visible dible Beeper cated inside the camera that is used to provide notification of ter power is applied to the camera the Beeper will make a short at the camera...

Page 29: ...ixel is proportional to the number of photons that struck that pixel This linear response is ptionally well suited to astronomical imaging A s ypes of CCDs CDs are available in a variety of designs an...

Page 30: ...his masked storag are now under the mask stop building additional charge and the same fashion as a full frame CCD Interline transfer CC the masked o Anti Blooming CCDs CCDs are subject to an electroni...

Page 31: ...itry on the surface of the CCD reducing the physical size and consequently the light gathering area of each pixel Anti blooming CCDs also have a non linear response to light This non linearity becomes...

Page 32: ...especially light The green p luminance and record the greatest detail while the red and blue filters record chrominance After the raw image is r CCD a demosaicing algorithm must be applied to the imag...

Page 33: ...n Some bright stars are clearly visible along with some nebulosity but there are also scattered bright spots around the image caused by hot pixels ild easy e image Dark Frames Dark frames are used to...

Page 34: ...bias frame can subtracted from a light frame to remove the dark current from the image l t a r of dark frames you collect by using a set of bias frames but in general p o be a bit disconcerting for a...

Page 35: ...optical systems have a signature which gets recorded on the CCD This unique signature is caused by how light travels through the telescope illuminating the CCD and how each pixel responds to that illu...

Page 36: ...ming your telescope at a white card placed somewhere on the inside of the dome Sky flats Taking sky flats requires taking dozens or hundreds of images with ction on Sky Flats in the Handbook of Astron...

Page 37: ...in any given pixel lly better off taking dark frames that match the exposure time One common use of bias frames is for scaling dark frames By subtracting a bias frame from a dark frame you end up with...

Page 38: ...se ratio SNR of the combined image This is becaus random va combined resu the night sky you re trying to take a picture of reinforce each other getting you closer to a true representation of the patch...

Page 39: ...g the same exposure times as the luminance image will yield a combined LRBG image that the human eye would perceive as being very close to the true colors of the object MaxIm LE can be used with your...

Page 40: ...r select Programs MaxIm LE MaxIm LE from the Windows Start menu The MaxIm LE window should open looking similar to this Your window may look slightly different If the Screen Stretch and Information wi...

Page 41: ...menu to open the Cam Window era Control MaxIm should open the window and display the Setup tab If another tab is displayed click the Setup tab MaxIm may recognize your QSI camera and automatically sh...

Page 42: ...OK That will take you back to the Camera Control Window Click the Connect button to establish communication between MaxIm and your QSI camera If MaxIm connects properly the Camera Control window will...

Page 43: ...ooler button at the bottom left of the Main CCD Camera field That will open the Set Camera Cooler window on top of the Camera Control window Enter a new temperature in the Setpoint field and click OK...

Page 44: ...tography but they make focusing even more of a challenge The smaller the focal ratio the shorter the critical focus zone With some optical systems the size of the critical focus zone can be less than...

Page 45: ...s Click o not visible The window After n the Camera Control window to make it active If the Camera Control window is select Camera Control Window from the View menu Click the Expose tab will look simi...

Page 46: ...After a long night of pri imaging it is difficult to remember what settings were used with which image files Tip The FITS file format used as the default file format by MaxIm LE and most astronomical...

Page 47: ...and click on the Sequence tab less frustrating to throw away one 5 minute exposure out of a total of 12 than a single 60 minute exposure Establish a base file name for the sequence of images by enteri...

Page 48: ...r 001 and the filter and exposure length R360 You can of course choose your own naming scheme When you ve setup the sequence of image you would like to take click OK to return to the Camera Control wi...

Page 49: ...ubtract the build up of dark current from raw CCD images Subtracting dark current is generally considered the most important image calibration step ient because taking dark frames consumes a lot of ti...

Page 50: ...h a dark frame taken at the same exposure as the flat field Taking flat darks is easier and less time consuming than regular dark frames because the exposure time of flat field images is typically muc...

Page 51: ...eld a better combined image than averaging just the clean frames Experim After y each o the Pro dark frame above shows two cosmi Cosmic rays are energetic part from any direction and depending on the...

Page 52: ...ws a similar process to subtracting dark frames Subtract for the operation Click OK You should see many of the bright pixels scattered around the light frame disappear or get visibly darker Do this wi...

Page 53: ...st control over the calibrat amount images Begin b ur calibration frames into the same directory as your light frames This makes it easier for MaxIm to automatically find and characterize each of the...

Page 54: ...we re only going to show calibrating with bias fram ark frames and flat fields es and dark frames Note MaxIm also has a Calibration Wizard that steps you through the process of setting up your image...

Page 55: ...bration frames into subfolders within the main folder Click the Auto Generate button in the lower left hand corner of the Set Calibration window MaxIm will search the specified folder for any calibrat...

Page 56: ...pixel Setting the Combine Type to average will generally yield the lowest noise master frame but any irregularities in any of the images such as from a cosmic ray hit will show up in the master image...

Page 57: ...ndow Calibrate Images in MaxIm LE r Now that you ve told MaxIm about all your calibration frames you re ready to calibrate you light frames We re going to show an example of calibrating the luminance...

Page 58: ...o the original uncalibrated images Combine Frames in MaxIm LE After you ve calibrated the individual light frames you can then combine them into a master frame Continuing with the example above we ll...

Page 59: ...tar allowing sub pixel alignment With Auto Next set each time you click on an image to pick the alignment star MaxIm will automatically proceed to the next image Select a star fairly near the edge of...

Page 60: ...image When you click on the star in the last image MaxIm will make a bell sound indicating that the alignment process is complete Make sure the Output field is set like you want Sum Average or Median...

Page 61: ...h a name that allows you to identif ages Please refer to the online help on fter performing image calibration in dual or combined image files into Adob gram for further proce hat are effectively large...

Page 62: ...he QSI 504 from 768x512 to 384x256 You can also select different binning modes when setting up a sequence of images under the Sequence tab of the Camera Control window In the example above the red gre...

Page 63: ...mbined pixel charge to a numeric value This results in lower overall noise than reading each pixel separately and combining them numerically in your computer With 2x2 binning for instance only one pix...

Page 64: ...up menu g the internal Color Filter Wheel QSI 500 Series cameras include an internal 5 position color filter wheel The co eel is controlled automatically by MaxIm LE or other camera control software t...

Page 65: ...erature of the CCD begins to stabilize near the air temperature click Disconnect to disconnect from the camera Unplug the power plug from the camera Controlling your camera with other software QSI cam...

Page 66: ...I 500 Series camera can be used as you main i MaxIm LE supports the following cameras as autoguide such as MaxIm DL support additional autoguiders with Autoguider support in MaxIm LE Any QSI camera An...

Page 67: ...Hook up your nect the guider camera to your computer ries camera as your or guiding For this e instructions on axIm LE guider camera to your guide scope and con Go to the Setup tab of the Camera Cont...

Page 68: ...I D E 65 Click the Guide tab to the left of the Setup tab The Start button will be enabled if the autoguider camera was setup correctly Click the black arrowhead to the right of Options below the Sto...

Page 69: ...help in MaxIm LE for complete details Click OK to close the Guider eed to focus your guide scope You can take an image with your autoguider by pressing the Start button Set the exposure only as long...

Page 70: ...tions Your QSI 500 Series can be used as an autoguider with another camera as your m imaging camera If using MaxIm LE the main CCD camera must be set as a QSI camera or No Camera The full versio Note...

Page 71: ...This instructs MaxIm to send the autoguider control signals through the Guider port on the QSI 500 Series camera now being used as the autoguider Click OK to close the Guider Settings window and retur...

Page 72: ...s SLR lens adapters There are two different versions of the C mount adapter plate for the slim and mid sized QSI 500 Series cameras You must use the correct version of the C mount adapter plate for yo...

Page 73: ...adapter screws int Liquid heat excha The liquid heat exchanger LHX provides additional cooling of the CCD beyond what can be achieved using the standard air cooling The liquid heat exchanger attaches...

Page 74: ...of the 5 available To replace the color filter wheel a slight pressure must be applied with the outside O ring against the capstan motor that drives the color filter wheel Carefully line up the er ti...

Page 75: ...ccant chamber The present in the environmental chamber and stores it behin membrane Over time the desiccant will lose its ability to you may begin to see frost or dew forming on the CCD c To recharge...

Page 76: ...to the as soon as it has cooled to n the fine grid face down toward the inside of the camera Screw the nameplate back down to the camera making sure that the O ring surrounding the nameplate is carefu...

Page 77: ...1 C 0 C to 40 C CCD temperature In free air Fans Full Speed Typically 38 C below ambient air with 85 cooling power With Opt Liquid Cooling Fans Off Typically 45 C below circulating liquid with 85 cool...

Page 78: ...electrons RMS Dynamic Range 76db 76db 70db Charge Transfer Efficiency 0 99 999 0 99999 0 99999 Model 516 CCD Specifications Feature Standard Optional Optional Model 516 CCD Options Kod ak KAF 1603E Ko...

Page 79: ...20 Pixel Dark Current 1 0 electron per second at 0 C 0 1 electron per second at 25 C Dark Current Doubling 6 3 C 6 6 3 C 3 C Intrinsic Read Noise 15 electrons RMS 1 15 5 electrons RMS electrons RMS Dy...

Page 80: ...pt of the d custo from mechanical ge electr r misuse of the device electrical storage he ns a lifetime un ir cases arranty The limited warranty forth below by Quant Imaging Scientific Came limited war...

Page 81: ...FOR LOSS OF REVENUES OR PROFITS INCONVENIENCE EXPENSE FOR SUBSTITUTE EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE STORAGE CHARGES LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR ANY OTHER SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES CAUSED BY...

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