CCD Control Plug-ins

Camera Control Plug-ins

For MSB Astroart 6/5/4 under Windows^TM 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP.
Copyright 1998-2017 MSB Software. All rights reserved.

Version 1.01 for the Starlight Xpress^TM Lodestar and Lodestar X2 USB camera.

LICENSE

This driver is copyrighted freeware. This means that the driver can be freely used with Astroart software, but it cannot be sold or used as a separate product. This driver should be used only with Astroart, by the owner of the software license.
This driver and its documentation are provided "AS IS". It's not guaranteed that they will work properly on all PCs and all CCD cameras and related hardware. This driver and its documentation are provided without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including the fitness for every purpose. In no event shall MSB software be liable to you for any special, consequential, indirect, or similar damages, including any lost profits or lost data arising out of the use or inability to use this product even if MSB software has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation may not apply to you. In no case shall the MSB software liability exceed the purchase price for the product. MSB Software will help to solve the most common problems related to the setup of this driver and the host PC, but it's not guaranteed that this driver is able to work on all systems.
If you don't accept these terms don't install the driver in the system.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the CCD plug-ins for the Starlight-Xpress Lodestar cameras.
This plug-in contains many advanced features like selfguide, subframes, fast focus, binning which let you command at the best your CCD camera.
Please note that this document uses some words like "venetian blind", "progressive", "interlaced", "fast", etc, which are specific to Starlight Xpress MX cameras. For more information we recommend to consult the handbook of your CCD camera.

INSTALLATION

To install this plug-in copy the file d_lodestar.dll into the Astroart directory, then follow this procedure:

If you didn't do it yet, install the Starlight-Xpress USB2 software. This will install all the required DLLs into Windows. Check your CCD camera with this software.
Restart Windows. If it doesn't work at the first try, turn off and on the PC and the camera, then try again.

SETUP

Start Astroart and click CCD Camera from the menu TPlug-ins, then click "Setup".
Click OK. If the camera and the USB driver is correctly installed the dialog window will close, if not, an error will be shown. To reset completely the camera follow this procedure: turn off the camera, turn off the PC, turn on the camera, then turn on the PC.

High precision timer: Enabled by default. Useful for Windows 98/Me to provide a precise exposure time for short exposures.
Full CCD Flush: Enabled by default. If disabled this option provide faster exposure startup, this can be useful for fast sequences or very short exposures (1-10 ms)
Correct border in guide: Some CCD cameras have a lot of noise in the first two columns, select this option to correct it.
Primary device: This option can be changed to support two Lodestar Starlight-Xpress USB2 camera on the same PC, just select it in only one of the instances of Astroart and deselect it in the other. It is not guaranteed that two identical USB2 MX cameras can work on all PCs, but it's guaranteed that a USB2 will work with another USB1.1 Starlight camera.
Check VID/PID: This option must be enabled if two different Starlight-Xpress SXV USB2 cameras are connected to the same PC, just write the correct PID in every instance of Astroart, keeping selected the option "primary camera".
Autoguide: Select "selfguide" to guide and take images at the same time using the main CCD. Select "autoguide" to use the camera as an autoguider for another instrument.
Interlacing: Change from "even/odd" to "odd/even" if the interlaced images are not assembled correctly, for example during Hires Progressive. The suggested setup is "odd-even" for all new cameras and "even odd" for USB1 camera upgraded to USB2.
VBE correction: Select the correction for the "venetian blind" effect (stripes caused by the interlaced download). The best way is to find the time offset which is exact for your PC, usually between +0.4 and -0.4 seconds.

SETTINGS

These options control the download of images from the CCD camera.

High-res. fast: this is the highest resolution without interlacing. At the end of all processing the image can be resized by 200% on the Y-axis to obtain a correct aspect ratio.

Binning 2x2 B/W: this is the standard mode, four pixel will be added to achive a very high signal to noise ratio.

Binning 4x4 B/W: many pixels are grouped into one, and the download of images is faster. This mode is very useful to find or center an image.

Binning High-res: using interlacing, this means that the even rows are read out before the odd rows; this is not a problem for deep-sky shots, but moving objects may cause artifacts. The progressive high resolution should be used for long exposures (longer than 15 seconds), while the interlaced high resolution (which is a double exposure) for short exposures. Since the 580-rows modes perform a double readout they cannot be used with good results on planets, instead it is recommeded to use "Hi-res fast" or binning 2x2 and a Barlow lens. For very short exposures (1..10 ms) it is possible to disable the option "Full CCD flush".

Binning High-res Selfguide: This was the recommended mode for "selfguided" exposures: The even rows of the CCD camera are exposed in the first half of the exposure time (while the odd rows are used for guiding) then they are switched, and the odd rows are used for imaging (and the even ones for guiding). Be careful that during the switch the telescope won't be guided for a few seconds. To prevent the "venetian blind effect" the two semi-exposures will be timed accurately, so the effective elapsed time may be different (a few seconds) from what the blue progress bar shows.
The minimum exposure time for this binning mode is 15 seconds.
Binning Low-res Selfguide: Not recommended. This mode is not necessary for lowres selfguided exposures. Binning Hires Fast or 2x2 provides almost the same results without switching the rows in the middle of the exposure.

"SELFGUIDE"

This function allowed the simultaneous guide and imaging, using the interlaced structure of the MX CCDs. Half rows will be used for imaging, half for guiding. This is an a obsolete feature which can be used with camera interfaces up to 6.01.

Select binning mode "Hires selfguide" or "2x2" or "Hires fast".
Be sure that the telescope settings are correct and telescope control is active. To set these parameters click "Telescope Setup" button.
Select the exposure time for the guide (0.5 - 2 seconds), select a rectangle around a star (10 - 20 pixels wide), select Binning Selfguide and click "Guide". (These are the same steps required also for focus)
Click "Mark guide star". The green cross will mark the original position, the red cross the current position. Enlarge the window if needed.
Start a common long exposure. The first time check the guide precision watching the dx and dy parameters.
The dark frame should be taken while the guide window is active, to compensate the amplifier glow.

HISTORY