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Gain offers three options
1. High Gain - High Gain is optimized for 1x1 binning.
2. Low Gain - Low Gain is optimized for binning higher than 1x1.
3. Auto - Auto selects “High” gain for images with 1x1 binning and “Low” gain for images with
binning higher than 1x1.
In the example below Gain is set to “Auto” for the Light frames in sequence positions 1
through 4, to “High Gain” for the bin 1x1 Dark frame in position 5 and to “Low Gain” for
the bin 2x2 Dark frame in position 6. In most situations Gain can be set to “Auto.”
Readout Mode Optimization offers three options:
4. Use Adv Dialog
Use the Optimization setting from the Advanced Dialog box.
5. Image Quality
Set Optimization to Image Quality – lowest noise.
6. Fast Readout
Set Optimization to Readout Speed – fastest downloads.
Cooling control
- For camera control applications that do not provide a way to enable cooling
or control the set point temperature, cooling can be turned on by clicking the checkbox next to
“Cooler On.” The desired temperature can then be set in the text box in degrees Celsius.
Filter wheel
- For camera control applications that do not provide a way to setup and/or control
the filter wheel, click the “Setup…” button to assign names to the filter positions of your camera.
Enable pixel masking
Enable Pixel Masking is an advanced function that does not need to be used under most normal
circumstances. Click the “Enable Pixel Masking” checkbox to expose a table of pixel X, Y values
(see dialog box below) Enter the X,Y coordinates of a pixel that you wish to be “masked” or
ignored.
When a pixel value is “masked” its original value is replaced with a constant, typically 200. It can
be used to replace the value of excessively bright or dark pixels with a known value. This
function can sometimes be handy, for instance, when using guiding or focusing software the
automatically selects the brightest pixel in the image. If the brightest pixel is a hot pixel rather
than a star, then masking the pixel will allow the software to function correctly.
Some camera control applications offer more sophisticated methods of interpolating missing
values from the values of surrounding pixels. See your software’s User Guide for additional
details.
Click “Add Pixel” to add another entry in the Mask Pixels table. If a pixel entry is selected, the
new entry will be entered above the current entry. If no pixel is selected, a new entry will be
added at the end of the table.
