User Manual in PDF format (is already included
Contents
1. Focus broadly and press Stop Move the cursor to a Aln but not saturated star and click on it Ee Expose Light Frame 031s ee i Max 29501 Average 742 Background 488 Exp_ s 0 31s Max 26 16 Maximum ADU value in the field Val 2351 5 Value of the center area of the star D 25 19 Diameter of the star in pixel Max 26 716 Storage of the best values in this Val 23515 session D 25 19 Press Stop if you are perfectly focused On cameras with internal guide chip normally it should be focused now However you can do this focus function also with the button Focus in the Guide panel Step 11 Find a guide star Use Focus in the Guide panel to position a guide star approximate in the middle of the guide chip SbigControl 10 Step 12 Calibrate relays by pressing Calibrate button Calibrate If there are problems with calibration look at the detailed description If you use small focal length telescope you should uncheck Remove Hotpixel in the Setting window look at chapter Settings Step 12a If you use AO calibrate it by pressing Calibrate AO only first time necessary Calibrate AO Calibration Ok You have to check the box AO if you want to use AO optics If more than one stars is recognized you get a message and you have to select the preferred star at each calibration image with a mouse click If you have selected Pattern2. e Automatic save of images in an automatically created folder structure e Automatic change of guiding exposure time during guiding if star brightness changes e Automatically find of optimal Flatfield exposure time e Open shutter during guiding without imaging most software turns the shutter off permanently e Selectable acoustic alarm for end of image end of sequence or error condition e Log file for imaging with time stamps and much more data e Many user changeable parameters to customize the software for your needs e Easy to use SbigControl is developed by a user me who has worked over the last 12 years with Sbig cameras SbigControl 1 Content FC OS essere ek ote gece E N EE E E ETE E E snes icc neghe st esate tere E estes eee 1 CODISE areca tne cont gece sears cane nec sent sede asset aee deinen eevee na see os emcee S 4 Si 0 ae E a ee eer 4 General description and system FEQUIFEMENTS cccccccssscccccesececeeseccceeeecceesusecesseneceseensceeseeeeeeseeecetsenesss 5 HAST AICO i EEE E EE EEEN EEEIEE AEREA EE EE EAA EAE AT AT EEN EEE A EN 5 Difference between Demo Version and Full Version sssssessssssssssrresssssrserresssssssrreresssssserrreeesssserrresesssseene 7 ON K O e A E E A E A E A pane reaeatecteeen 8 Detailed description of FUNCTIONS essssssssesesserssrreresrrrsssreresrrersrerressrrrssrereserenssetreserereseeressrereseereserereseeresere 13 B NEVO IS ITNT WAT CIO A E EA A E RE E AEE E E T
3. e Focus better solution for changing exposure time e Focus bigger data display for detailed focus values e Color Filter colored symbols additional to filter text e Select color filter click on filter radio button changes immediately the filter no Ok press is necessary e New Guide Exp time after CFW change checkbox if you have a guide chip behind the filter check it to get new guide exposure measurement after filter change e Image Delete button to remove the file from disk e Object field If you have nothing entered in object field you get a warning that file will be unsaved e Settings focus with Shutter checkbox If unchecked shutter is open during whole focus activity e Settings Flat Histo target brightness value for auto flats SbigControl 36 Settings Loose Star Abort s time to break the image or sequence if star is lost Settings Add s to sequ calc additional time in seconds per image for download and filter change for sequence time calculation Generally better handling with buttons and colors of buttons Sequence display the calculated end time e g 23 1h 53 min 22 46 Histogram Display shows now every time the histogram of the real data and not the histogram of the displayed data Meridian flip checkbox for relay calibration Alternative Sound Settings Star pattern match for calibration and re position Detailed focus sub window follows the star if it is moving C
4. 100 values e Maxim X Y maximum deviation in pixels since the guiding or imaging started e AO X Y tilt of AO 100 to 100 0 is centered Button Clear Max clears the Maxim value also during guiding After starting the guiding SbigControl takes a dark corrected image with 1s exposure time to calculate the optimum exposure time for fast guiding After that it takes 5 dark frames to be able to change the exposure time during guiding on the fly Exposure time sets 1 0 5 optimum exposure time 2 0 75 optimum exposure time 3 optimum exposure time 4 1 5 optimum exposure time 5 2 optimum exposure time The guiding starts with exposure time set number 3 optimum exposure time If the star value falls under Start min ADU minus fade diff ADU look at Settings for more than fade react s time the exposure time set will incremented by 1 If the star value goes over double of Start min ADU for more than fade react s time the exposure time set will decremented by 1 If the star is lost more than Loose Star Abort s time the guiding breaks and if Automatic Refind is checked the guide star will searched and repositioned automatically Moving mount manually over guider port o Eammta You can move the mount via the guider relays by pressing one of the 4 X Y buttons The mount moves so long as the button is pressed minimum 0 1s If guider is active yo
5. E E E 13 Configuration first time Only sincicsssisevsssesanessacdsiesaasennseoesehslevaneenmesinnwevacsadussdeontdasewsneeanesoeudaieeaswnnboaiahtewanies 13 Kind of guide chip and camera interface seseeesssrensseresesrrresrreresrrressreressrressrereserressreresererssrereseeresseeee 13 Per Vy FICC lic ea teens E E E A E EE A E A 13 Rer NGO a E A R E E E T E A E E 14 OE OS E A E E E E S 14 Working path and folder file StrUCtUre cccccccccssssseeeececeeccecccccseseeeeeuueuesesseeeeceeceseseeseeseuuaueeessseeeeess 14 OD SCEA e A eee ee 15 Connectyour SBIG Cat ha eccsccsaasasernecsecasnecceesancnuccnsntnsndasnous E a EE EEEE E Ria ra 15 Disconnect ihe SBIG CINE i ic cas choosescansoeseee conspsaamnonyercorsensvincanites E eam eaneetratonnus andes 16 OCF area ce E E te rayerntvars cccoesverntucciss E 16 SITUA e p PER E A E E E AEE E E E EEA E E E E E A E E E E T 17 CROO ECON EET e E E E E 17 POCU S E N r E seca cnet oases gouttanet eentaeuonare sees uencceesiencasesceeceeuaee 18 EITC iG aS ACD HVC ee E covewursboueriueaedteuecsesiaenbdedteGacaensaneseevaunes 20 EDOS ONS PS ea E E E E AE unaamneintacreninta EE 21 BINNE eee EE EAR 21 EDO U a A ete 21 CS A E E E conned acupersiuaimecseus 22 Focus or eaide CND oea Re ne rae Sane nr eT coer nee sane ence eee ee ere ee eres 23 AIAN OP GS lays FO cx ase ceca src ese resrdc ealeaect ccs oe cece occesennces wee tap ace seus bax oce eeeaackimaneegars enact 23 SOV C LS SUS SUE asec etc T A nee tmasanut
6. MGC Visual Studio 7 Runtime Mentor Graphics Corporation 09 01 2014 E Microsoft NET Framework 4 5 Multi Targeting Pack Microsoft Corporation 19 06 2013 Microsoft NET Framework 4 5 SDK Microsoft Corporation 19 06 2013 Sich ai id le ea e le abn Microsoft Corporation 19 06 2013 Microsoft Corporation 01 03 2014 STS et eae r a Microsoft Corporation 01 03 2014 ie Microsoft ASP NET and Web Frameworks 2012 2 Microsoft Corporation 19 06 2013 ie Microsoft ASP NET and Web Frameworks 2012 2 DEU Microsoft Corporation 13 06 2013 tala a Fe AOM RIT E Nnr E ar Fe Fe 4 Pir 2 A ns a Momentan installierte Programme Gesamtgr Ge 20 0 GB q 177 Programme installiert If NET Framework 4 5 isn t installed then download dotNetFx45_Full_setup exe from http www astrophoto at SbigControl dotNetFx45 Full setup exe and install it During installation of NET you will need an internet connection Install the last SBIGDriverChecker64 from http www sbig com support software Install the last Sbig driver E 5B1GDriverChecker64 ce A D SBIG 64 Bit Driver Checker Utility Hit the About Help button for Help r Currently Installed Divers Driver Name Version Date sbigudrv dll 477 1 08 26 14 sbiqu64 sys 24101338 01 1349 igp 2 46 01 20 09 220 05 25 10 2 29 07 1310 2004 11 10 01 2009 Note Just because the Curent column says your drivers are all curent doesnt mean they are To be sure you need to click Download
7. Use it for Calibration in the Settings window SbigControl works with a star pattern match algorithm and should work automatically with more than one star SbigControl 11 Step 13 Select the guide Star by pressing Select Star Click on the guide star meeer Step 14 Change the minimum guide exposure time if you want and start guiding with Guide button Guide Min Exp T 0 01 sec mi a a Mia l Step 15 Set the object name Object M74 sa Step 16 Set the exposure time and binning Light Dak Bias Aa C Aat A Exposure 180 sec 1x1 2x2 Set Sequence nee Step 17 Start exposure by pressing Exposure After finishing an exposure your image is automatically stored in a sub folder under the working directory The folder name is a compound of date and object name e g 2014 04 21 M74 The file name is a compound of object name filter binning exposure time temperature and running number e g M74_L_1x1_ 180s _ m20C_001 fit SbigControl 12 Detailed description of functions Title line of the main window ce SbigControl V 1 1 Rev 0 c 2014 by Manfred Schwarz Austria D EE pen Next to the program name SbigControl you find the software version number e g V 1 1 and the revision number Rev 0 Configuration first time only If you always work with the same camera setup you need to set the following parameters only at the fir
8. have to go to work next morning and want to have some hours sleep during exposure If you check Alarm Image End you get an acoustic alarm for every exposure image User Manual Press User Manua your PC to get this manual in PDF format on the screen You need a PDF viewer installed on SbigControl 30 Settings Please be carefully when changing these values Settings oa Focus Calibration of Relays Guiding Patten Overview Main Overview Guider n a ee Start min ADU Use it for Calibration a alki 120 a fade diff ADU Use it for Reposition 22 22 23 x3 with Shutter Calibration of AO ial 1 Tote Ange T E 9 AD X AD Y fade react s 1 gt a Tol Length pix 2016 016 Calibration Star Search Guiding Loose Star Abort a max diff of Value for Refind min Pixel move AO X Y max Avg to start 100 Calib Star Poeel fr border Min Relay Time ms Remove Hotpixel 4 Min Star Size Alat Histo 45000 AO Threshold l STX STXLSSTT Options Main Image Window heater Aip horizontal Pre Flash Default Values Help Text The above window shows the default values Focus settings You can change the focus overview binning of main chip 1x1 2x2 3x3 default and 9x9 9x9 is not possible for all camera types please check it before you use 9x9 binning You can change the focus overview binning of guide chip 1x1 2x2 default and 3x3 You ca
9. not mirrored it is rotated by 180 Pattern SbigControl can operate with star pattern match in case of calibration and or re position That s very helpful in case of small telescope focal length Pattern Match is done in following way In the first image on calibration or in the reference image on re position SbigControl search in the center rectangle the 5 brightest stars Then it builds triangles for all possible combination of the 5 stars The software gets a lot of vectors with length and angles On the next image all bright stars will marked and all possible combinations of triangles will calculated Then SbigControl verify all new data vector lebgth and angles with the reference data to find a correlation Toler Angel maximal allowed deviation of angle in Tol Length pix maximal allowed deviation of vector length in pixels Help and Sound Help Text Check it to get help text if you move the cursor over a control or text all important controls and text are supported Alt Sound Check it to get an alternative sound on alarm Bell ring instead of alarm siren Default Values If you had made a mistake in parameter settings you can press Default Values to set all settings back to default values Log File If you check Log File all auto saved exposures are logged in the file log csv in the same folder as the images are stored You can open it for example with Microsoft
10. warning that SbigControl exe want to access your network Allow it The recognized IP address of the main camera is shown under the Ethernet checkbox after connecting If you have checked 2 Camera for Guiding you have to select main and guider camera SbigControl 15 o Select Comen A 7 mw d amp TTphr Main Guider USB USB SBIG STF 8300 CCD Camera 10 camera SBIG STF 8300 CCD Camera SBIG STi CCD Camera 10 camera SBIG STi CCD Camera Disconnect the SBIG camera Press the green button with the camera name to disconnect the camera from SbigControl You should do it before you disconnect the USB or Ethernet cable or power off the camera The cooler is switched off automatically if Leave it on is unchecked look below If you close SbigControl with the red X the application forces a disconnect before closing the windows Cooler Chip Temp 6 4 C arcra M Cooler 100 Main E Leave it on Auto On With Set Temp you can change the chip temperature set point Set Cooler Temperature Main Camera 20 Soft Cool Down Temperature Setpoint Max Cooler Power Soft Warm Up Enter the desired temperature If you check Soft Cool Down SbigControl cools down in a soft way especially in the area of 0 C This should avoid freezing of the chip In this case you can set the desired temperature without making small manual steps If you check Soft Warm U
11. will be overwritten With Cancel the actual reference star will be taken and the object reference star will be overwritten Two windows opens one with the reference image one with the actual image SbigControl tries to bring the guide star back on the right guide chip position f Reposition Exposure Light 1s Guider binning lair OSI Automatic Refind 22 bin Dithe ae a ee eS T You should only check the 2x2 bin of Guide panel if you cannot find a bright enough guide star Normally the guider works in 1x1 binning This is more precise than guiding in 2x2 binning If you already had selected a guide star and you change the binning of the guider then you have to select the guide star again SbigControl 26 Dither bin Dither V change Dithering is to move each image a little bit to avoid the bad pixels that are always on a fixed position With dithering it is easy to remove bad pixel with your processing software If Dither is checked SbigControl holds on to the guider after each image and moves the guide star ina random direction with random number of pixels maximum 2 pixels against the origin selected guide star position You can see the actual position deviation from the initial star position display in the parenthesis 2 pixels means that 15 different positions are possible 2280 3140 J a Dither New Guide Exp time after CFW change Size of guide window You can change th
12. Excel Do not open during imaging because Excel locks the file and it is not possible for SbigControl to write additional data to this file SbigControl 33 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 File Camera Start Time Exp Time s Filter Temp C Binning Guide Exp Ti Guiding Hz A Corr X Corr Y Max X Max Y Guide Star X Y 2 M104 L 2x2_30s_ 36 C_001 fit STXL 6303 19 33 00 30 L 35 811x1___ ol 0 0 0 0 0 Star Position 3 M104 _R_2x2_300s_ 35 C_001 fit STXL 6303 19 42 55 300 R 35 1x1 0 08 5 2 no 0 01 0 01 0 52 0 54 521 0 193 0 4 M104 R_1x1_300s_ 35 C_001 fit STXL 6303 19 58 58 300 R 35 1 1x1 1 0 9 no 0 02 0 0 52 0 54 343 0 237 0 5 M104 G 1x1 300s 35 C_001 fit STXL 6303 20 05 51 300 G 35 1x1 0 55 1 7 no 0 03 0 02 L 0 59 343 0 237 0 6 M104 B 1x1 _ 300s 35 C 001 fit STXL 6303 20 11 23 300 B 35 1x1 0 51 1 6 no 0 05 0 0 52 0 54 343 0 237 0 7 IRMAINA R 1v1 A2NNe 25 C NNI Fit CTY A2N2 2N 792 A2 2nn R 25 1v1 n sS 17nn NNS N N Nn Se 152 2290 NM 772 N File file name Camera used Sbig camera Start Time Local time PC Time on starting exposure Exp Time s exposure time in seconds Filter used filter Temp C main chip temperature Binning main chip binning Guide Exp Time s exposure time of guide chip during guiding Guiding Hz update time for guiding correction in Hz AO AO used or not Corr X average correction of X axis during imaging Corr Y average correction of Y axis d
13. Gudini sinesscsccccrtivenshaisycyoseqcaracesicteancchesve ari 31 P O a opp tre nue one E A E E E A E E 32 COE aa E E EE nae ase de aeec ines auensoaaaeseneaeaes ea 32 Reno a a E oe vac oats ctyseaton ogg eae onsite ene cnet egnce enue anon 32 Repos Guider after exposure AO checked ceeeccccccessecccceeeesecccceeeesecccseaeeeececeseeneceeeeeueneceeesaneneeess 32 Add ict rosea lee Gc Cana Cr ee een een ean ea oe eee nn ee ete eee eee eee 32 Remember Binning and Default Filter POS ccccsssscssssssesconsvectnssscneossseseoussscneusssensoussestenssseneusssense 33 SPA PU TEFODUON nee neo E eee ee eee 33 Ye WINS Cae cacct areca ntoacxdncigatuias E A E A A E E ctisadeebesnadies 33 AELE a EE E ees ece ses nce EEEE sconces AE E EEEE EE EP E 33 aE ieia Eee T e DOA E E EEEE E AEE A E TA E E E EE E AE EAA 33 Dera V ACS e eE A E E E A 33 LO FIE eere E eens ca esate cnn eanenseaeeenaenaneateana 33 Be VOIP ODIEN esses T EE EA E TEE E yon teehee neem vanstoenness 34 Installation Problem by using Tools like Norton cccccsesccccessececeesecceeeesececeuseceeeeeeccesaeececseeceeseneeeetas 34 Problem on displaying controls ANC teOXt cesccccssseccccesscccceesececceeccceeenececeuseceeeeueeesausecessuneceeseneeeeeas 34 Preguen IVA SCL OCS INS E ectwtaa a enti nc oat ices snc E 34 After start SbigControl get the message missing MSVCR120 dII cccceseccccessececeeseceeeeeeeeeeeeseeeees 34 My Sbig camera is connect
14. S 0 Fo Loy ahi 0 ee OKey en Veale A SbigControl V 1 1 Rev 0 c 2014 by Manfred Schwarz Austria ga Open Image X sec Yisec _ lt a 2 8 O Dark Bias Flat Alat Auto CCD Info SILT 180 sec F Night View MS Log File mm 150s 1x1 7 Main Guider gt 2x2 gt Value 551 enm S 2 4 Hz Chip Temp 5 94 C Sequence 0 15s 3 Set Temp 20 C 20 a Cooler 34 Actual X 0 70 Y 0 88 wa eis Averg X 0 10 Y 0 94 Main F Leaveiton V Auto On Aggressiveness ss Weak A aie AO S H Relay 10 FW8G STT or FW8G STXL l l Images average 2 1R Oo Filter Wheel Set Filters g Cir Max AO X 25 Y 16 V Dither Alarm Image End Settings New Guide Exp time after CFW change 7 Alam Seq End Eror _ Suspend Guiding Object M74 Set Working Path E CCDdata Version of Software 1 1 Version date of manual February 7 2015 Homepage http www astrophoto at Email ms astrophoto at Manfred Schwarz User Group https groups yahoo com neo groups SbigControl info Features e Supports Adaptive Optics AO and also AO X some other programs do not support it e Supports internal external guider chip and separate guider camera e Sequence you can define your full imaging program of an object for a night and let it work automatically e Refind guide star if a guide star is lost SbigControl can find it again automatically e Dithering
15. SBIG with their great support Many thanks to all users who sent and send me comments ideas and hints about bugs SbigControl 4 General description and system requirements SbigControl is an application to control SBIG cameras with USB or Ethernet interface from Santa Barbara Instrument Group You can control camera systems with main chip only or main chip with internal or external remote guide chip or extra guide cameras like STi This application was tested with several Sbig cameras and accessories but not with every model and combination If you have trouble with your combination please report it in the Yahoo user group or by email Please note that there is no guarantee that using SbigControl will not affect other software or the hardware Manfred Schwarz developer am not liable for such issues problems or any damages System requirements e Win 7 or higher Tested with Win 7 pro 32 and 64bit Win 8 64bit and Win 8 1 pro 64bit e 2GB memory more is better e Screen resolution 1024 x 768 more is better Microsoft Visual C Redistributable 2013 X86 For Win 7 Microsoft NET framework 4 5 x installed e g 4 5 1 e Sbig camera with USB connection or Ethernet connection e Latest SBIGDriverChecker64 http www sbig com and latest Sbig drivers e Guiding only via telescope port of Sbig camera Installation Download the setup exe file from given link if you haven t one send an email to ms astrophoto at If your web bro
16. The left one t is to change the exposure time in seconds if you are not lucky with the automatic calculated time The right one is to change the display contrast higher values to see more background details You can click on the small 4 and v icons in the boxes to change the value or you can edit it directly in the box If you are in perfect focus press Stop or Close to close the window Light Dark Bias and Flat Light Dak Bias Aa E Alat Auto ee Light and Flat are normal exposures with open shutter Dark and Bias works with closed shutter The auto save file name is different depending on this setting look at Working path and folder file structure If you take flat images and you have checked Flat Auto SbigControl find out automatically the best exposure time to get the histogram at appr 45000 ADU changeable with Settings Selecting Bias turns the exposure time automatically to the lowest possible SbigControl 20 Exposure Time ay ef Lek oy ae ef EEA Py IOn a Exposure 225 sec Enter the desired exposure time in seconds Attention if you use a decimal comma use the right one which is common in your country specific windows version or If you use the wrong one you get a wrong big value Binning fe TEC 1x1 Choose 1x1 or 2x2 binning E 2x2 Exposure Light Dak Bias Aa E Aat 1x1 After setting all exposure parameters and
17. W change If you have an internal guide chip behind the filters it makes sense to check this box Every time the filter is changed by button click or sequence the guider makes a test exposure and calculates the new guiding exposure time for this filter before starting to image Guiding Min Exp T w AO 001 sec A AD 2 Eri Ce l ya l Before you can start guiding SbigControl needs calibrate the relays and if AO is checked AO also You must also select a suitable guide star Start the guiding by pressing Guide ught rk E Bas to E Hat Auto O CDa _ Abt 180 sec E nuevo Calibrate AO E i bi 3 ae Value 740 ae a Set Sequence Pil Sequence 14 35 Hz x m Le 0 07s 1 Actual X 0 866 Y 1 39 Min Ep T Averg X 0 36 Y 0 35 0 01 sec aan ea 7 i Maxim X 3 66 Y 2 62 AO H Relay 2 G images average ClearMax AO X 99 Y 99 i W Dither Alarm Image End New CGuide Exp time after CFW change Alam Seq End Em Suspend Guiding SbigControl 28 Now you can see many parameters to the right of the guiding window e Value actual ADU value of the star center area average of centered 9 pixel e Hz actual guiding rate in Hz correction per seconds e Exposure time actual guiding exposure time exposure set look at description below e Actual X Y actual deviation in pixels Averg X Y average of deviation in pixels of the last 8 seconds maximum
18. ars increase MinStar Size b ADU over Average Guiding Start min ADU 350 fade dif ADU ADU over Average 100 To accept a star as a star the following calculation is done starValue gt imageAverage ADU over Average starValue is an average of 3x3 pixel around the star center imageAverage is the average of all pixels in the image or the sub image in case of guiding window or focusing window This calculation is done to get a gap between noise and real data If you have troubles where weak stars are not accepted you can decrease the value of ADU over Average but the chances to misinterpret a noise as data is higher in this case Note Only if the star is accepted as a star the Guide button become active SbigControl 35 Software Version Release Notes V1 1 Rev 2 2015 02 07 e Prefix for file names also for sequence e No filter name in file name in case of no filter wheel is defined V1 1 Rev 1 2014 10 17 e Complete reorganization of internal structure programming structure and camera communication e Ethernet support e Support of extra guiding camera e g STi e Continuous update of guiding graph and marking of imaging active e Cooler Soft warm up e Bias radio button switch automatically to lowest exposure time and file name begins with Bias e Help text on cursor over control switchable in Settings e Focus and imaging cross hair checkbox to find chip center
19. d Schwarz Telescope RC360A5 Aperture Diameter mm 356 Focal Length mm pga Step 5 Choose Working Path by pressing Set Working Path All images are stored automatically in sub folders date and object name of the working path Y Object Set Working Path E Privat astronomie SC_Test SbigControl 8 Step 6 Press Connect Sbig Camera SbigControl V 1 1 Re Chip Temp 6 38 C a Set Sequenc 20112 Cooler 22 Main M leave ition Ml Antatn Min Exp T Your camera model is shown in the Connect button Step 7 Press Set Temp to set the cooler temperature y Set Cooler Temperature a 50 20 Soft Cool Down Temperature Setpoint Max Cooler Power Soft Warm Up If you check Soft Cooldown you can set your desired target temperature and SbigControl will cool down in soft steps to avoid freezing of the chip E 20 C 20 Actual chip temperature Set Point internal set point of soft cooldown Power level of cooler Main Chip Temp 21 53 C Cooler 41 Main C Leaveiton W Auto On Ifyou have a separate cooled camera for guiding click on Guider tab Step 9 Press color button to choose a filter Select required filter e g L SbigControl 9 Step st Press Focus in the main panel to i overview focus i images C Stop Close t 1 Log 500 H Max55704 Average 677 Background 488
20. e field Line by Line is checked you can change the field Repetitions For example the value is 2 the sequence is working line by line After finishing it reruns again Check the box Sequence and the Exposure button turns to Sequence button Press Sequence and take one coffee or more SbigControl 22 in Main light Dak Bias Aat C Alat Auto P 259s A 1x1 60 7h38min 1745 2x2 Set Sequence V Sequence Under the Abort button you see the bar for remaining time of the actual exposure Below of it there is the number of remaining images and the sum of exposure time included pauses for dithering filter change and download image The pauses time is defined in Settings Then you see the estimated end time of the sequence If you have checked Automatic Refind and the guide star is lost during a sequence the current image is aborted After refind procedure automatically finds the guide star the sequence continues and starts automatically with the aborted image again Focus of guide chip The same procedure as focusing of main chip please read this chapter page 18 Calibration of relays and AO r D Into Merdian Aip 4 Value 551 ee Be sure that you have connected the guiding port of camera with the guider port of your mount X sec and Y sec are the times for moving the X RA and Y DEC of the mount during the cal
21. e size of the guide window The effect of this is that the guiding speed increase a little bit but not much Therefore normally it is better to have a x12 bigger window to avoid losing the guide star by disturbances such as wind or 16x iG vibration of the mount 24x24 However it is also a question of focal length and seeing in deciding to decrease Pyp window size Guiding parameters Aggressiveness Image average Aggressiveness AQ 3 Relay 9 G ear z See ca Images average 2 These are very important parameters to get a good guiding result The parameters depend on your equipment focal length mount reaction time and also on the actual seeing and wind influences Image average SbigControl corrects the AO and or the relays after each guiding exposure But if there is a greater value than 1 entered in this field the average of deviations of the last guider images e g Image average 4 the last 4 images to the optimal position is the basis for correction With this parameter you can smooth the reaction to avoid over reactions If you use AO and need very high frequency of corrections this parameter should be small 1 or 2 Aggressiveness If the software recognize a deviation of the guide star position it calculates the vectors to correct the differences But normally if you correct it 100 you get an oscillation through overcorrection Change this parameter to avoid this The optimal correction is a c
22. ed with Ethernet but SbigControl don t find it eee ceeccceeeseeeeeseeeeeeens 34 Why it is not possible to select a displayed guide Star ceeccccessecccceseccceeesececeesececseneceeseeeceesenseeeeas 35 Software Version Release Notes ccccccccssssssseecceccesaeeseeeccceeeseeesseeeceeeesseeesseeececeessaaaaseeceesesauaaseeseeeeeesagas 36 VERRY 2 ed Oi ho O 0 a E nn Ten Semetterr srt cre rer ter ren teeter rer rr cn cere er 36 SbigControl 3 NOT A RET DO 141 1G cance cc scnc TiTe e Tea a TEN TTi 36 VARNA NEP Eoy i 37 V1 0 Rev 8 2014 06 22 cccsecescecesessscescecsceececsceesacsesevaceesecsesecacsesavaceesacscsesaceecavaceesacacestateecevacessacseeess 37 V1 0 Rev 7 2014 06 21 cccccececescecesescscescecsceececsececacsesevaceesacscsesacsesavacessscsesevaceecavaceesasaceevaceecevseeetacseeess 38 V1 0 REV 5 2014 06 15 cccccecesccecessscescecsceececsceesacsesevaceesacscsecaesesavseeesacseeesaceecavaceesacseeesaceecevacersacseeees 38 Copyright You can use copies of this purchased software on different computer for your personal use Please do not copy it for other persons have spent much time creating this software and worked full time to develop and make it better for you The price of the program is fair please also be fair Credits Many thanks to John Galle for correction of my bad English in this manual Many thanks to all helpful users who were tested the preliminary releases Many thanks to
23. enter Sequence 2x Sequence P 3 p At first you have to fill out the sequence table press Set Sequence Sequence s i M O Line by Line Repetitions You have to check the left check box if you want to use the sequence line Then you have to choose Light Flat Dark Bias in example all images are Light ATTENTION Do not mix Light and Flat in one sequence ATTENTION if guiding is active do not start a sequence with Dark or Bias closed shutter Next you have to set the binning 1x1 or 2x2 in example Light is 1x1 RGB is 2x2 Next you have to select the filter If you have no filter wheel this selection is without effect Next you have to set the exposure time in seconds in example Light is 600s RGB each 300s Next you have to set the number of images you want in example Light 30 RGB each 10 Lastly you can add a prefix for the file name in example R G and B get a prefix RGB_ Press Ok to close sequence table If the field Line by Line is unchecked the sequence take one image of the first active line the next of the second active line and so on After reach the last position the next image of the first active line is taken and so on If the field Line by Line is checked the sequence takes all images of first active line then all images of second active line and so on This makes sense if you take flatfields for different filters in a sequence If th
24. eoayaenteeeecesessaraeks 25 PUM AIG FET OL gulde SCA acacia setics cose cce teste eT sone seaeene aeedinncea NT 25 Manual Reposition of Guide Star sccisicxiedsranvsedccrussecrcenseudeacveedscansiaddesauiansecersecdboaraestnewvendeesenmedeesseceesinnece 26 Guider DINNING sessar E E ar Ri 26 DER a E E E E kien eaten datvenenteneseseaeuatenes 27 EO EE VN OWN e E E Cee oe an ee eee 27 Guiding parameters Aggressiveness Image AVELALE ccccssscccesecccesececsnececeneceeeeceseeeceseecetsueceeeeeesens 27 SbigControl 2 SUSPEN UINE ees sie E eonaetse 28 Py CIMA SS WS TIME cerra E duoea spec Nous ska danctnetnace de E 28 Find new Guiding Exposure Time after Filter change ccccceseccccssecccceeseccceeeceeceeeeceseeecesseeceeseeeeeetes 28 CUCU aer ceo tnecetac onasueeceranccecnnessaeeneancesnannesummnasucacosacaeoennesstas E E E 28 Moving Mount Manually Over guider POT ccccceeseccccessececeesececceeecceceesececeusecesseeeeeeseeecessuaeceeseneeeetas 29 EU Fe Taree a oe aaa 0 g Renteeneete Cree ne arn ec en Ene are ee en ee nee oe eens 29 CED TNA gts etre vs care E E E E E E E aeaaneconen acess 30 NIEM VICAN o E cecuaanneauscnaeseeneecenoaee genes ees 30 i AE e E E E E E E E E ie E ore E E O 30 ACO CAE E E E OEE EE E N E 30 De T e S E nus E E E T E T A anes 30 EUNE E A S 31 FOCUS SEINES eae A EAEE EE EA EAEE 31 CANO AUIO UI ORE I a E E E E NA 31 Caron O AO r E econ vg peng A T E O OE OE A E O AS 31 Calibrations StarSearch
25. eridian flip of your mount will you have to calibrate the relays again SbigControl 24 If you have an AO you have to calibrate it with Calibrate AO for one once You do not need to calibrate it every night Only if you demount the AO from the camera or if you install SbigControl on another computer will you have to calibrate it again Meridian Flip if this box is checked the relay Y axis changes direction You can use it after a meridian flip if you don t rotate the camera and you do not want to make a new calibration In simulator mode the calibration data are stored only if you have never done a calibration before This avoid overwriting real calibration data by simulator Select a guide star 0 01 sec ac Select Star otar Posiifon FEl A a oe oa rl 7 Before you can guide you have to select a guide star by pressing Select Star Select Star X 117 Y 277 ADU 412 o e SbigControl finds automatically the best guide star If there are more than one star the best star is marked but you can choose your preferred star by yourself In this case click on the preferred guide star Now you can see the X Y position of the guide star in blue letters 326 314 Automatic Refind If the message Refind Guide Star appears SbigControl moves the guide star back to this position on the chip Automatic refind of guide star Check the box Automatic Refind if you want
26. h x and y coordinates and ADU value of the center pixels of the star where the cursor is located Take care that you select a star with ADU smaller than 50000 but not too small to get lower exposure time for precise focusing ES OO E Click on the desired star SbigControl 19 Max 26716 Val 23515 D 25 19 Max 26716 Val 23515 D 29 19 Now you get a 120 x 120 pixel sub window of the chip size is changeable with Settings and a continuous imaging in 1x1 binning The display is zoomed to 2 1 The exposure time is automatically calculated and shown on the top line in blue EXP s If the star moves because of non optimal aligned telescope mount the detailed window moves to hold the star in the middle position In the header line are the center coordinates of sub window displayed with X and Y On the top line you find also the actual Max Average and Background values of the whole sub window On the right side you find in black letters the actual parameters for the brightest star in displayed window e Max maximum pixel value ADU of the star e Value the average value ADU of the star center area 3x3 pixel e D diameter of the star star size until ADU value falls under sub window average value On the right side you find in blue letters the best values Therefore you can see if you are over the focus Max and Value are better if higher D is better if lower On the top you have 2 numeric boxes
27. ibration The time depends on the focus length Small focus length needs longer time to get the minimum pixel move for calibration You must find out the optimum parameters for your equipment by trial and error At first you should position a star not too weak in approximate the middle of the guide chip by using Focus in the Guide panel Press Calibrate to start calibration for relays SbigControl 23 Calibrate Relay Calibration Ok The calibration works automatically and you will see a result like the upper example lf there are more than one stars in the blue rectangle and you haven t selected star pattern match for calibration in Settings SbigControl asks you to select the best star manually to avoid a confusion If you have checked the Parameter Pattern Use it for Calibration in Settings SbigControl can work with more than one star for calibration Calibration Relay Exposure Light 1s J Ld Calibation of Relay Ok If the automatic process produces a wrong result takes in one step the wrong star or the axis are not in a right angle check the box manual and do the calibration again The calibration data are stored in a file so if you close SbigControl and open it again it is not necessary to calibrate again Only if you change the camera rotation against the mount axis or you change the declination axis of your telescope mount more than 5 or you make a m
28. is the minimum tilt of AO in over this value the reposition starts before the next image Add s to sequ Calc The time estimate for a sequence to end is the sum of exposure times and other times like e Image download time e Filter change time SbigControl 32 e Time for finding new guider exposure time For these other times you can enter an approximate value in second per image to get an estimated end time for the entire sequence Default 8s Remember Binning and Default Filter Pos Both hhese parameters have an effect on starting SbigControl and on end of sequence Remember Binning records the last selected binning on closing the application and uses it on starting SbigControl Also the binning set before sequence is set back at the end of sequence Default Filter Pos is to set the filter position automatically after starting SbigControl or finishing a sequence to the entered filter position For example you have defined Luminance at filter position 4 and you want to have this as default filter check this parameter and enter the number 4 STX STXL STT Options STX STXL and STT camera models support Window heater and Pre Flash function Check the parameter if you want to activate it If you have another camera model these parameters have no effect Main Image Depending your optics it is possible that your image is mirrored You can flip it horizontally or vertically If you check both it is
29. n change the size of the detailed focus window A smaller size makes the update response time for focusing faster Default 120 On some chips you get white stripes on stars if the shutter is permanently open during focusing In this case check with Shutter to avoid this The focus speed decrease with shutter use Calibration of Relays Here you can change the minimum number of pixels the star has to move on the calibration Higher values makes the result of calibration better Default 40 If you have a small focal length decrease this parameter It makes no sense to go under 5 pixel Calibration of AO AO X and AO Y are DAC Values for the Digital Analog converter of the AO tip tilt mechanic The maximum value of AO 2047 These two parameters set the tip of AO for X and Y on calibration Higher values are better Default 2016 The 3 parameter is the minimum number of pixels the star has to move during calibration Default 14 Calibration Star Search Guiding max diff of Value for Refind is the maximum value change in to accept a refind star This is needed on calibration and on refind guide star Default 40 If you have problem where the wrong star is found permanently try to lower this value Calib Star Pixel fr border sets the number of pixel that the guide star has to be away from the border for calibration blue rectangle in calibration window Default 100 Remove Hotpixel should prevent the g
30. normally after commencing guiding see later chapters you can press Exposure to take a single image After finishing the image is stored automatically look at Working path and folder file structure If you abort the exposure by pressing Abort button the image is not stored After finishing the exposure the image is displayed in a new window E Privat astronomie SC_Test 2014 08 28 M74 M74_R_2x2_60s_m20C_001fit 1 1 Zoom Out Zoomin Close DeleteFile V X 1433 Y 1007 ADU 2163 X 1431 Y 1005 D 8 V 2528 M 2717 V Histo V Log 500 Background 1109 Average 1218 Max 65535 You can zoom in and out Check the box Histo to display a histogram with ADU range 0 to 65535 Check the box Log to stretch the display not the image data in a logarithmic function The histo display is NOT changed with logarithmic display changed at SbigControl V 1 1 Check the box to get a cross hair A change of the numeric value changes the stretch parameter of the display if Log is checked A higher value makes it brighter SbigControl 21 If you move the cursor over the image you can see on the top line in black letters X and Y position and the pixel ADU value If you click on a star you get a green rectangle on the display not in the data and on the top line in green letters X and Y position D diameter of star in pixel V average value of the star center area M maximum ADU in the star c
31. ombination of Image average and Aggressiveness Formula for relay correction correction deviation Aggressiveness Relay 50 Formula for AO correction correction deviation Aggressiveness AO 10 If you guide with AO and the tilt is higher than for example 40 parameter defined in Settings the relays will activated to reposition the AO These parameters can changed during guiding so you can see the reaction immediately SbigControl 27 Suspend Guiding Suspend Guiding Check Suspend Guiding if you want to see the difference between guided und unguided imaging in the guiding window That makes sense in determine if jumping star is a result of overcorrection or not An acoustic signal reminds you to uncheck it before you start imaging Minimum exposure time Min Exp T Al 0 01 sec c A Select Star The minimum guider exposure time is usually 0 01s for Sbig guiding chips However sometimes it makes sense to increase this time If you are working without AO and you don t want the guider react to the poor seeing then you should increase this value to 0 5s or higher Normally the guider finds the minimum exposure time automatically to guide as fast as possible But if the automatic time is lower than Min Exp T the exposure time will set to this value Find new Guiding Exposure Time after Filter change W Automatic Hetind O 2 bin W Dither New Guide Exp time after CF
32. ompiled with VC 2013 you need Visual C 2013 Redistributable Installation with setup exe no manual file copy is necessary NET 4 5 and Visual C 2013 Redistributable downloadable from www astrophoto at several bug fixes V1 0 Rev 9 2014 07 01 New Settings parameter Repos min pixel defines the minimum divergence after repositioning the guide star to the target value New Settings parameter Repos Guider after exposure AO checked after each exposure SbigControl checks the tilt of AO and if it s over Min AO thres f repos an automatic reposition follows V1 0 Rev 8 2014 06 22 Problem of sometimes shifted images solved New Settings parameter STX STXL STT Window Heater and Pre Flash New Settings parameter Remember binning to reset binning to last setting after program start and after sequence finishing New Settings parameter Default Filter Pos to reset filter position to defined filter after program start and after sequence finishing New checkbox Leave it On to leave the cooler on by disconnecting camera or closing program SbigControl 37 V1 0 Rev 7 2014 06 21 e Slow download speed of some cameras solved Works now with maximum download speed e loosing guide star problem solved that SbigControl switched immediately to guide step 5 without taking care on fade react s timeout e error message ERROR Division through 0 DisFunc cpp 494 sometimes if guide star is lost sol
33. ot for bias or dark frames e Binning 1x1 or 2x2 e Exposure time 180s for 3 minutes or Os45 for 0 45 seconds e Chip temperature in C 15C for 15 C or m20C for 20 C e Running number to avoid an overwrite of images Example M51_L_1x1_180s_m30C_001 fit Object name Object M51 Set v Enter the name of the object This is stored in the FlTs header and is a part of the auto save folder and filename You can only use characters which are allowed in file names If you leave it blank and you start an exposure you get following warning LL _ No Object Name defined Press Ok to continue with UNSAVED imaging Press CANCEL and define Object Name fe NGC2044 If you want to take only an unsaved test image press Ok Otherwise press Cancel and fill out the Object field Connect your SBIG camera SbigControl supports Sbig cameras with USB or Ethernet ports After connecting the camera with a USB or Ethernet cable to your PC and powering on the camera you can press Connect Sbig Camera SbigControl V 1 1 Re Don t forget to check Ethernet if you want to work with Ethernet Ethernet is slower than USB for i downloading images from the camera with intemal Guide Chip Simulate F an O with extemal Guide Chip Ethemet 2nd Camera for Guiding Log File C If you are working with Ethernet connection your firewall will display a
34. p SbigControl does not switch off the cooler immediately The cooler steps up in a soft way especially in the area of 0 C This should avoid condensation water on the chip SbigControl 16 Main After pressing Cooler off the button turns to orange Temp 4 82 C 20 C 5 After reach more than 5 C the cooler turns off Cooler 73 automatically Main E Leave it on Aton Max Cooler Power is to limit the maximum cooler power to avoid disturbances in the image from the cooler If it is not possible to reach the set point temperature with the entered maximum power SbigControl adjusts the internal set point automatically increasing by 5 C after 5 minutes That makes it easier to handle dark libraries Example your set point 30 C is not reached with entered maximum power the adjusted internal set point 25 C In this case the displayed set point turns to a blue color If the power of the cooler falls SbigControl try to set the desired temperature again Auto On Really I m one of the persons who often forget to start the cooler and consequently loose the first images because the chip is at ambient temperature Check this field to switch on the cooler automatically after connecting the camera If you have not checked the Auto On option press Cooler On to start the cooler Leave it on If you want to disconnect the camera and re connect it again later in the session and yo
35. st time e Kind of guide chip e Filter wheel e Filter names e Options e Working Path Kind of guide chip and camera interface ce SbigControl V 1 1 Rev 0 c 2014 by Mantre with intemal Guide Chip Simulate with extemal Guide Chip Genet F without Guide Chip 2nd Camera for Guiding Log Fle F e with internal Guide Chip your camera has an internal guide chip e g ST 10 e with external Guide Chip external remote chip or a chip in a self guiding filter wheel e without Guide Chip only imaging camera without guide chip e 2 Camera for Guiding separate camera for guiding e g STi If your camera s works with Ethernet connection check Ethernet After connecting the IP address of the main camera is displayed under Ethernet checkbox Filter Wheel Fitter Wheel Choose your filter wheel from the list If you don t have a filter wheel select none FWOG STT x FWSG STXL If you don t find your filter wheel in the list select CFW8 Sbig Universal CFW10 Sbig Universal If you don t have a listed filter wheel and are having troubles with selection Sbig Universa report it will add your filter wheel in the next revision SbigControl please Filter Names After pressing Set Filters a new window pops up There are up to 10 filter positions Here you can define your filter setup Fiter1 Fo Filter6 om Fil
36. t STX STT gt IP Properties e Check DHCP option SbigControl 34 e Select Camera gt Shutdown and leave CCDops e Switch camera off e Connect the camera to your router or Ethernet switch e Switch camera on e Start SbigControl and wait a little bit it can take time until camera gets the IP from your router e Check Ethernet on SbigControl and then connect e The camera should be find now and the IP is shown under the Ethernet checkbox Why it is not possible to select a displayed guide star Also if you can see the start on the display after pressing Select Star it is not guaranteed that SbigControl will accept it as star Two parameters of Settings are important for this a Remove Hotpixel together with Min Star Size Calibration Star Search Guiding of Value for Refind s Remove Hotpixel ar Pixel fr border Min Star Size h T You should only check Remove Hotpixel if you are working with longer focal lengths lf the stars are very small undersampled and you have checked it the software can interpret the star as a hotpixel and not as star If you are in a situation of having smaller stars and also hotpixels you can check Remove Hotpixel but you should change Min Star Size to a lower value to find out the limit between real stars and hotpixels If you have a long focal length and you have checked Remove Hotpixel and still have problems where hotpixel are interpreted as st
37. t Corporation 01 12 2012 B Microsoft Visual C 2005 Redistributable KB2467175 Microsoft Corporation 19 11 2013 i i istri icrosoft Corporation 19 11 2013 g Microsoft Visual C 2013 Redistributable x86 12 0 icrosoft Corporation 26 08 2014 9 Mozilla Firefox 19 0 2 x86 de Mozilla 03 04 2013 iid on Momentan installierte Programme GesamtgroGe 485 MB 29 Programm e installiert A SbigControl 5 If Microsoft Visual C 2013 x86 Redistributeable isn t installed then download vcredist_x86 exe from http www astrophoto at SbigControl vcredist_x86 exe and install it If you use Win 7 check if NET 4 5 x is installed Win 8 includes Net 4 5 e Open Control Panel e Open Programs and Features e Look if there is an entry with Microsoft NET Framework 4 5 x e g 4 5 1 a Lo i 7 E a it a E Alle Systemsteuerungselemente Programme und Funktionen Programme und Funktionen durchsuc JO i E n F Fo n n Startseite der Systemsteuerung Programm deinstallieren oder ndern Installierte Updates anzeigen W hlen Sie ein Programm aus der Liste aus und klicken Sie auf Deinstallieren ndern oder Ta Windows Funktionen Reparieren um es zu deinstallieren aktwieren oder deaktivieren Organisieren c Name Herausgeber Installiert am i Mentor Graphics Products Mentor Graphics Corporation 09 01 2014 E
38. ter G Filter SIl Fiter3 B Filter 6 Clear Filter 4 L O Filtler3 9 Fiter 5 Ha Filter 10 10 The filter names are also stored in the FITs header of your images and in the file names Click on the color symbols beside the filter names to change the color of the symbol Options Observer Manfred Schwarz Telescope RC360A5 Aperture Diameter mm 356 Focal Length mm 2600 These parameters are stored in the FlTs header of each image You have the possibility to define 2 different telescope settings and switch easily by selecting Left Set or Right Set Working path and folder file structure The working path is the base folder for auto save Each exposed image from the main chip is stored automatically in a sub folder of working path The sub folder name is a combination of date and object name see below The date range is not the same as the normal clock range that means e Images taken from 8am to 12am have the actual date e Images taken from 12am to 8am have the date of the prior day There is a practical reason for this You will imaging over midnight and want all images from one object in the same folder Example Working path D CCDdata Object M51 date 21th April 2014 time 1 30am Sub Folder D CCDdata 2014 04 20 M51 The image name is a combination of several parameters e Prefix if you have entered one e Object name or Bias or Dark or Flat SbigControl 14 e Filter name n
39. that SbigControl to refind and reposition guide star automatically if the guide star is lost If you don t check it and the guide star is lost guiding stops and also thr imaging sequence stops SbigControl 25 Manual Reposition of Guide Star Every time you press Select Star Sbigcontrol stores following files in the folder C SbigControl GuideStarData e Actual _Dark fit the dark frame image of guider e Actual Light fit the light frame image of guider e _ Actual txt the parameters of selected guide star If you have entered a name in the field Object you get additional following files example Object name is M51 e M51 Dark fit the dark frame image of guider e M51 Light fit the light frame image of guider e M51 txt the parameters of selected guide star If you want to bring the guide star automatically on the last position on chip press Repos If you have entered a new name in the field Object and there are already exists reference data with this object name you get following message Auto On m r 0 sec TA 24x24 AO 2 r Relay 32x32 Select Star Repos Select Star Repos Images average 2 327 316 Guide star data of object M51 exists Press Ok if you wantto use it Press Cancel if you wantto use the last guide star data cance With Ok the existing reference guide star will be taken and the actual reference guide star
40. to check SbigControl 6 Note there is no entry in the registry If you want to uninstall the software you have only to start C SbigControl uninsO00 exe You can be sure that no remnants remains Difference between Demo Version and Full Version There is only one thing different in the Demo Version The files will not be stored automatically Instead a Demo FIT file is stored into the working area to show you the auto save structure Therefore it is possible to verify all functions and see the result on screen SbigControl 7 Quick Start If you want to start very quickly read this chapter but you really should read the full detailed description following this chapter Step 1 Choose internal external or no guide chip or extra camera for guiding SbigControl V 1 1 Rev 0 c 201 Connect Shig Camera E with intemal Guide Chip simul with extemal Guide Chip Bhen without Guide Chip and Camera for Guiding Step 2 choose the correct filter wheel Filter Wheel none none FW8G 5STT or FW8G STXL CANE CFW10 Sbig Universal If your filter wheel isn t in the list choose Sbig Universa Step 3 Press Set Filters and check or change filter names my Set Filters Press on the colored filter symbol Filter 1 5 Patera ON to change it to the desired color Filter 2 G Filter 7 Sill Fiter3 B Fiter amp Clear Filter 4 L Fiter 9 9 Filter 5 Ha Filter 10 10 Observer Manfre
41. u want the cooler to remain active in between check this box If it is unchecked the cooler will switch off automatically if you disconnect the camera by pressing Camera button or if you close SbigControl with the red X Simulation If you haven t connected a camera to your PC and you want to play with the software check Simulate before aoc Connect sal Camera with intemal Guide Chip Simulate 7 i i aera a Weenie aa Sears Most functions work in the simulation mode Try it and have fun Choose color filter I R Jo man reas Light Dak Bias Aa E Aa Exposure sec In the main camera panel is a button top left hand side with the actual filter name On the right side of the button is a symbol for the filter color You can define it with Set Filters Press the button to choose another filter SbigControl 17 SelectColor eS be O A Select the required filter and the window close automatically and the filter wheel moves to the selected position As the filter wheel is working the button shows moving If you don t want to change the filter press Cancel Clear 9 10 A On a Press Focus in the main camera panel A new window pops up showing a continuously updating exposure of the main chip starts dark frame corrected Normally it is in 3x3 binning but you can change it with Settings The exposure time starts
42. u can also see relay actions by the green color of the active guide relay Guiding error graph Lar net Alam image cna Options Settings C New Guide Exp time after CFW change F Mam Seq End Eror Suspend Guiding Ohiact Set Workina Path F Privat astmnamie SC Test User Manual Each measured guide star deviation from the target guide star position on the chip is shown in this graph as a guiding error for X and Y axis That means if you have a guiding speed of 8 Hz you get 8 values per second Lines over the middle line shows positive deviation under the middle line negative deviation e Green color error lt 1 pixel SbigControl 29 e Orange color error lt 2 pixel e Red color error gt 2 pixel The blue line shows the actual position The colored lines on the top and bottom shows the imaging phases according to the used filter The graph display shows the last 800 guiding errors CCD Info Press CCD Info to get the complete camera information Night View Gs igControl 1 Check Night View to turn the control window to red Open image Press open image to view a stored FITs file The handling is the same as the viewed exposure image look at page 21 Acoustic Alarms Aam Image End SS F Alam Seq End Eror P Sapen If you check Alarm Seq End Error you will get at the end of a sequence or after an abort sequence through error an acoustic alarm my favorite if
43. uider taking a hotpixel as a guide star SbigControl 31 If you have very small stars small focus length and or big size pixels undersampled you should uncheck this parameter For bigger focal lengths oversampled it makes sense to check it to avoid hotpixels are recognized as stars If it is checked a median filter is used for the guider images Min Star Size is only available if Remove Hotpixel is checked It is the minimum diameter of star to accept it as star If still hotpixels are accepted as guide stars increase this parameter Flat Histo For Auto Flat Time you can set the target target value in histogram Normally should be over the middle of maximum ADU values Default 45000 Guiding Start min ADU is the base for calculating the guiding exposure time at the beginning of guiding This ADU value is the target star ADU value for guiding Is the star ADU is greater than the double of Start min ADU for more than fade react s time the next lower exposure set becomes active Is the star ADU is lower than Start min ADU minus fade diff ADU for more than fade react s time the next higher exposure set becomes active For calibration guiding and all functions where there is a need to find the star center the value ADU over Average is important An ADU value over the actual image or sub image average value is necessary to accept it as a star The reason for this is to a
44. uring imaging Max X maximum deviation of X axis during imaging Max Y maximum deviation of Y axis during imaging Guide Star X Y X and Y position of guide star In parenthesis the dither divergence to guide star position is shown in pixel Known Problems Installation Problem by using Tools like Norton Some tools mark SbigControl as unknown software and it is possible that the EXE file is deleted by this software or moved to a quarantine area In this case please try to enter an exception for sbigControl exe in these tools Problem on displaying controls and text The development was made under Win 7 and Win 8 1 with the standard display scheme e g Windows 7 scheme and with 100 text control size standard If there are different settings it is possible that text or controls are bigger and does not fit or are smaller as in the pictures of this manual Frequently Asked Questions After start SbigControl get the message missing MSVCR120 dll The Microsoft Visual C 2013 Redistributable X86 is missing Install it by starting vcredist_x86 exe it is a part of the downloaded installation ZIP file My Sbig camera is connected with Ethernet but SbigControl don t find it You have to set the Ethernet parameters of your Sbig camera before SbigControl can find it e Connect your camera via USB to your PC and switch it on e Start CCDops delivered with your camera or download it from www sbig com e Select Camera g
45. ved V1 0 Rev 5 2014 06 15 e New Settings parameter AO Threshold previous it was fixed 40 e Abort button of guide and exposure shows now wait after activated but software needs time to abort function e After pressing Abort on guiding some guiding values are hidden to avoid confusion e Bug Fix Zoom of image window to 2 1 wrong error message removed e Bug Fix Images with width which is not divide able through 4 was incorrectly displayed before e Bug Fix Select Star if no star found no coordinates are displayed on star position previous 0 O was displayed e Manual add FAQ chapter add version release notes SbigControl 38
46. void interpreting noise as stars If you lower this value weaker stars are accepted but also more noise errors occurs Loose Star Abort s is the time in seconds to break guiding after a star is lost If Automatic Refind is checked the guiding starts automatically after SbigControl has the guide star found and repositioned max Avg to start is the maximum permitted size of the pixel deviation averaged guiding error to starts the imaging This avoids starting the image if the guiding is unstable after filter moving for example You can see the average guiding error for X and Y on the right side of guiding window Averg X Y If you press Exposure or if the sequence wants to start the next exposure and the Averg X Y values are greater than max Avg to start SbigControl delays starting imaging It makes no sense to send ultra short impulses to the relay inputs of the mount Set the Min Relay Time ms to a value which makes sense for your mount Default 10 milliseconds AO Threshold is the maximum of AO tilt before relay correction is done You can change it between 20 and 80 default 40 Repos min pixel Is the value which is the maximum deviation in pixels that are allowed after reposition Default 2 pixel Repos Guider after exposure AO checked If you are working with AO and want imaging to start with a centered AO you can check this box The Min AO thres f repos value
47. with 1 second Pia EEE Expose Light Frame 1s WSR close t 1 Log 500 Max55704 Averag You can see 3 blue parameters e Max maximum ADU brightness value found in this image a full charged pixel can have normally 65535 but can be lower it depends on the camera hardware e Average average ADU of all pixels e Background background value of the image left shoulder of histogram SbigControl 18 You can switch on a cross hairs with the checkbox see below The change of cross hairs is shown after next focus exposure If you want to change the exposure time change the value t This represent the exposure time in seconds The value 0 sets the exposure time to 0 5s You can change the brightness of displayed images by changing the value Log Lower values generate darker images You can change it with the arrows 50 or enter it direct in the field The change is shown after next focus exposure Change the focus of your optics to get optical small stars and press Stop to stop the continuous imaging Please do not be impatient if the Stop button does not turn immediately to Start The current exposure has to be finished before the button changes Now you can move the cursor over the stars to find a suitable focus star EE Oe dl Expose Light Frame 1s Start Close t 1 Log 500 V Selecta star X 430 Y 71 ADU 12108 You can see the blue parameters wit
48. wser gives you a warning to avoid downloading executable files please ignore it Depending on your browser there are different ways to force it to download an exe file Start the setup exe Follow the installation by pressing Next until it is finished Check if necessary that the Microsoft components are installed e Open Control Pane e Open Programs and Features e Look if there is an entry with Microsoft Visual C 2013 x86 Redistributable G f Systemsteuerung Alle Systemsteuerungselemente Programme und Funktionen Startseite der Systemsteuerung Programm deinstallieren oder andern Installierte Updates anzeigen Wahlen Sie ein Programm aus der Liste aus und klicken Sie auf Deinstallieren ndern oder Reparieren um es zu a Windows Funktionen deinstallieren aktivieren oder deaktivieren Programm vom Netzwerk Organisieren installieren a Name Herausgeber Installiertam Gr e E Mentor Graphics Licensing Mentor Graphics Corporation 05 11 2013 Mentor Graphics Products Mentor Graphics Corporation 19 11 2013 Wf MicroCapture 2 5 05 11 2013 Erd Microsoft NET Framework 4 5 Microsoft Corporation 01 12 2012 RS Microsoft NET Framework 4 5 DEU Language Pack Microsoft Corporation 27 06 2014 a Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 Microsoft Corporation 09 07 2014 y Microsoft Silverlight Microsoft Corporation 18 06 2013 T Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition ENU Microsof
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