AutoStar #497 HANDBOX
Appendix B
52
APPENDIX B:
STARLOCK UTILITY
The StarLock Utility program provides the ability to:
• Install Firmware Updates
• Monitor StarLock Tracking Performance
Meade is constantly working to improve the performance of
the product and it is common for new features or performance
improvements in the software to be developed. Use the StarLock
Utility to update your Starlock fi rmware.
If you use your telescope with a computer in the fi eld, the StarLock
utility will also allow you to monitor how your image session is
going and help you tune the guide rate to optimize performance.
Installation
The StarLock utility will normally be installed when you install
the Autostar Suite DVD that comes with your telescope. If you
have download the program from Meade’s website, the StarLock
Utility program is packaged in an install fi le with a fi le name of
the form StarLockUtilSetup_Vx.y.zip, where x and y are version
and sub-version numbers. To install the program, download it to
a working directory and execute the program. It will walk you
through the setup.
Connection
In order to run the Utility program the StarLock needs to attach to
a Meade telescope by the StarLock interface cable connected to
the “StarLock Telescope Connector” on the left side of the back
of the StarLock. The telescope will need to be turned on to supply
power to the StarLock. Next you need to attach a standard Meade
AutoStar #507 telescope interface cable to the “PC” connector on
the right side of rear of the StarLock. This cable is attached to a
serial port on the back of your PC or via an USB/Serial connector.
Running The Software
From your Start Menu, click on Programs, Meade and then
StarLockUtility to start the program. .
When the program executes, the dialog below will appear
Before beginning to use the program, check that the correct
COMM port number is entered in the dialog box, and if you have
changed serial ports, click on the Reset Connection button on the
display.
Viewing StarLock Images
To view StarLock images you should point your telescope at a bright
or fi rst magnitude star. It is best to start by viewing the wide fi eld
sensor. You can use the slow motion controls of the telescope to
move the star the precise center of the sensor’s fi eld of view. The
center of the your optical fi eld of view may not exactly match the
sensor’s fi eld of view. For this exercise you want to center your star
on the StarLock’s center, not the eyepiece’s. Once you have viewed
the wide fi eld sensor, you can then view the star in the narrow
fi eld sensor.
To view your StarLock images click on the Reset Connection
button. Then, select which Imager you wish to view by clicking
on the “Wide Field” or “Narrow Field” button. Now click on the
“Focus” button. After a few seconds a “Downloading” progress
message should appear on the bottom line of the display.
At this point you should see an image from the StarLock in
the main window of the dialog. The sensors on the StarLock
are 1280x1024 pixels. In order to speed the update process,
the downloaded images are a maximum of 320x240 pixels.
The “Zoom” control allows you to select how many pixels
of the original image are binned together to make the
displayed image.
For example, zooming 4x4 results in 16 pixels being combined into
a single pixel of the fi nal display and image size being 320x240.
If you use a lower zoom number, the image is cropped, showing
you only the center 320x240 pixels of the resulting image.
It is therefore important that your target be as well centered as
possible as you switch between the wide fi eld and narrow fi eld
images.
Additional controls that will be helpful are the “Exposure” control
and the “Contrast” control. For most nighttime viewing the
contrast control should be set about 2/3rds toward the right. For
daylight viewing the contrast should be all the way to the left.
This control allows you to look at only a subrange of an image.
It is primarily for testing the StarLock using nighttime stars that
may be very faint.
When viewing StarLock images, the location and intensity of
brightest feature in the image are displayed below the image
and updated each time the image is refreshed. It is important to
adjust your exposure downward if your peak values are hitting a
maximum of 255.
