User`s Manual
Contents
1. Cable LVI REF Nikon L 2m Cable LVI REF Sony L 2m FOCUSER Section co T nnn gt Cable LVI FOC L 2m MOUNT Section Cable LVI LXD L 2m Cable LVI LX L 2m ot A O x 9 O ke 9 LVI TAK Adapter LVI VIX Adapter 23 messa STAR NOT FOUND 1 clouds in the sky 2 fog on lens 3 too faint star MOVING MOTORS 3 6 Hoving DEC REFLEX INFO Exposure 4951 Shots 962 Pause 100 Mirror OFF REFLEX INFO Sequence completed t Cap the telescope to take dark frames REFLEX INFO Exposure Shots Pause Mirror REFLEX INFO Session completed t Images and dark fr were captured YOUR SMARZZUIDER IS READY MADE IN ITALY FIRMWARE ver 2 3 SERIAL NUM 8801 THRESHOLD value 148 Set the sensor image background threshold MENU ADVANCED AGGRESSIVENESS X value Set guiding tolerance AGGRESSIVENESS Y value Set guiding tolerance PULSE GUIDE value mseo Set pulse duration X MAX EXPOSURE value sec Set maximum exposure YO DI THER ZN DITHERING value Set dithering function ON OFF a of each shot sec NY BRACKETING Zs REFLEX SETTI Exposure Set the duration REFLEX SETTINGS Bracketing Set the stop down with the new sequenc REFLEX SETTINGS Shots Set the number of shots to be taken2. STAR FOUND Dive ser LEO back Light Janin Inas USER MANUAL ENG Version 1 0 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Mem Checklisten 3 2 Quick Start Gulden anita 3 3 Using the SmartGuider 2 cccccseeeeeeeeesseeseeeseeseeeeeeeeeeees 4 3 1 Nen BASIC ZRRPRRREERERERARRPRSERRREEEERREEREFEFAEREERERHFFFEPEFAFEEREEEREERRFEVRRRFEEERREREEFEFRFEFEFERAPEFEPERER 4 32 Menu ADVANCED T 7 A MGA UNI 2 9 4 1 Section REFLEX nun 9 4 2 Section FOGUSENR anne 11 9 U sr NG TOKS csd aiai 13 5 1 Error and Warning Messages ssssssssseeeeeeesssssseeeeeeeesssssseeeeeee cesses eee 14 5 2 How 10 choose a guide Scope nn ereenn reenn 17 5 3 How to choose a guide Star ccseeessssssseeeeeeeessssseeereee rees reenn reenn 17 5 4 Mount Gallbra om 18 5 5 How to set AGGRESSIVENESS and PULSE GU IDE uuussssnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 19 5 6 DITHERING T nen ne kun n euren ehe ee nennen 20 6 Technical Specifications uunu 0n u ennenen 21 7 Autoguider Porn 22 8 Optional Accessories uuueruunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 23 1 Item Checklist Thank you for purchasing the LVI SmartGuider autoguiding camera Upon receipt please check that your package is complete and contains the following items O JR M ZM M 2 Control hand paddle Control Paddle SmartGuider Camera Head MGA Unit One SmartEye parfocal eyepiece One power supply cable Two 8 pin RJ cables 1 meter and 2 met
3. STATUS GUIDING The two graphs allow real time monitoring of guiding corrections issued to the mount You can stop the autoguiding process by pressing STOP at any time while EXIT will take you back to the MENU BASIC It might happen the guide star gets lost 1 beep per second and STAR LOST message appearing this can be due to a number of different reasons e g because the sky has clouded over the optics have dewed up or the star has been thrown off the field of view by a wind gust or even because the telescope has been touched If the star remains invisible for up to 30 seconds the camera will still be able to resume autoguiding otherwise the current session is aborted and the execution flow goes back to the MENU BASIC screen to search for a new star 3 2 Menu ADVANCED This menu contains several advanced parameters which ensure optimal guiding performance in a broad range of different conditions For a detailed description of these options please refer to Section 5 Tips and tricks 7 EXIT will take us back to the previous menu STATUS READY while by choosing AGGRESS X with the central button we get to the two following screens With the two arrow shaped buttons UP and DOWN on the camera pad you can adjust the aggressiveness along the X axis upper left screen and along the Y axis upper right screen of the detector By choosing PULSE we get to the screen where we can set the length of the guiding
4. corrections the SmartGuider 2 sends to the mount These corrections are sent as pulses of given duration in milliseconds which can be adjusted via the two arrow shaped buttons MAX EXPO brings up the menu where the user can set the maximum length in seconds of the exposure time used by the camera to perform the initial search for a guide star Higher values will result in higher sensitivity but will also increase the duration of the guide search process STAR SEARCH Next with DITHER we get to the DITHERING menu If turned on YES the SmartGuider 2 will apply a very small displacement to the field of view along both axes after each exposure taken with the reflex camera controlled by the MGA With dithering off NO in the menu the guide star will always be staying in the same position where it originally was when autoguiding started 4 MGA Unit The MGA Multi Guiding Adapter is the interface that allows total control of reflex cameras motorized focusers and Meade LXD55 75 mounts that are compatible with the SmartGuider 2 camera For a list of compatible devices please refer to Section 6 Technical Specifications To go back to the MENU BASIC screen we can choose the leftmost option EXIT By pressing the central key REFLEX we go to the Reflex management menu whereas with FOCUSER we access the motorized focuser control section 4 1 Section REFLEX The REFLEX option from the MGA settings scr
5. camera Case 1 Pick a brighter guide star Case 2 Clean the guide scope objective and or use some dew removing device e g a dew cap or a heater Case 3 Make sure your autoguiding setup is reasonably flexure free Case 4 If the camera has been previously focused with the SmartEye eyepiece make sure the drawtube holds firm and NEVER move it away from its position This can easily throw focus off and cause vibrations either way the camera is very likely to lose the star especially if a dim one was being used Case 5 If the guide star is bright enough see page 5 Technical Specifications and all your gear is sturdy enough then your SmartEye eyepiece might not be perfectly parfocal with the camera In this case please return it to either your dealer or LVI for service and fine tuning The following message is displayed during calibration if 1 The SmartGuider 2 camera cannot communicate with your mount 2 The guiding speed is either too high or too low 3 The guide star has been lost Huge backlash is experienced along the declination axis A Case 1 Check your mount compatibility on the chart that can be found in download area of the LVI website 15 Case 2 Carefully take note of when this message is displayed If this happens within about a dozen seconds since the start of step 1 6 Moving RA the guiding speed must be lowered with your mount control box If it happens after a
6. choosing TEST with the middle button a new screen is open with three different options From left to right CALIBR goes to the thermal coefficient calibration screen SHOOT takes a test shot when pressing and holding down the central button the DSLR shutter stays open until the button is released and EXIT goes out of the FOCUSER section back to the MGA SETTINGS menu CALIBR brings up the screen on the right where the user can start the self learning procedure of the thermal coefficient by pushing LEARN with the central button EXIT jumps back to the MGA SETTINGS main menu The coefficient learning strictly requires the thermo probe supplied with the focuser and the OTA temperature must vary at least by 0 5 C best if 1 C or more in order to properly learn the coefficient The SmartGuider 2 will disable the STOP button until a 0 5 C difference is reached When the STOP button is enabled on the left side you can push it to store the coefficient into the SmartGuider 2 s permanent memory Press the TEST central button to take a focus testing shot with your Reflex camera 5 Tips and Tricks The SmartGuider 2 is simple and intuitive to use However as with any setup when taking long exposure astronomical images you may be faced with problems in autoguiding The following are some messages which could show up during the setup phase or while autoguiding For further information please don t hesitate to contact LVI 13
7. couple of minutes the guiding speed must be increased Suggested values range from 0 10x 10 of the sidereal rate up to 0 50x 50 of the sidereal rate Case 3 See above message 1 1 1 STAR LOST Case 4 Adjust your mount so as to minimize the backlash between the worm and the gear Such an error could pop up during the 3 6 Moving DEC calibration step The following message is displayed if the cable connecting the Control Paddle and the camera head is accidentally disconnected or in case it s too long or faulty This message could as well be displayed also if your camera is faulty In this occurrence please contact your vendor or LVI to return the camera for service If a star about 3 pixels across unexpectedly appears quite far off the sensor center most likely it is a hot pixel This happens most often in summer when high temperatures can randomly turn hot pixels on especially if the camera has been in use for quite a long time To make sure about the nature of this star power off the camera for a while and then turn it back on with the nosepiece tightly capped This operation can be performed also at daytime in a dark environment Run STAR SEARCH in this condition and if the STAR FOUND message is displayed go to the OPTION menu and then to NOISE THRESHOLD Turn up the threshold to values higher than 140 until the camera no longer detects fake stars 16 5 2 How to choose a guide scope
8. motor FOCUSER SETTINGS Then upon pressing SAVE the SmartGuider 2 starts calibrating the focuser to find its zero G R EL ns position You can stop calibration as soon as al the drawtube has traveled all the way in by choosing STOP with the central button Once the calibration process is over itis also TTT possible to turn on temperature compensation irre ne on This ensures that optimal focus is preserved even with strong ambient temperature Bde zen mpensation OHM OFF T COEFF variations For best results the thermal coefficient of your telescope should be known E with great precision FOCUSER SETTINGS Coefficient 3 106 Selecting the T COEFF option takes you to the temperature coefficient menu which can be et the coefficient set manually by using the two arrow buttons nally UP and DOWN Se ma WARNING using a wrong value of the temperature coefficient can even make things worse In this case it is recommended that temperature compensation be turned off or that the camera be allowed to figure out the coefficient automatically by means of the automatic calibration routine described below 12 Upon pressing SAVE the user is presented with an overview screen showing the current absolute focuser position the ambient temperature the thermal coefficient value and the thermal compensation status on off By using the two arrow shaped buttons UP and DOWN the focuser can be moved in or out By
9. thumb the higher the MAX EXPOSURE the deeper the limiting magnitude but the longer it takes to locate a star When a star has been found the SmartGuider 2 automatically adjusts the exposure according to the star s brightness The lengths of the exposure directly affects the frequency of corrections sent to the mount bright stars do allow for continuous position control which also ensures that all sorts of tracking errors including the component resulting from periodic error and atmospheric 17 turbulence will be easily guided out Bright stars are best to compensate for the most erratic periodic errors or with guide scopes having a focal length shorter than that of the main optics In this case we advise using a moderate guiding speed 0 15 0 5X with HIGH aggressiveness see detailed explanation below On the other hand fainter stars imply a less frequent correction of tracking errors this makes them not as suitable for mounts with an irregular periodic error However long exposure times required by faint stars could come in handy to minimize the influence of bad seeing Here we suggest a very low guiding speed best if no higher than 0 25X with MILD aggressiveness When the search for the guide star fails you can push the MAX EXPOSURE to 4 seconds and try again If in spite of that the camera does not manage to find a star then mount your guide scope on a pair of rings and orient it slightly off axis until you find a suit
10. 5 1 Error and Warning Messages 1 1 1 STAR LOST This message is accompanied by an audible signal until the star becomes visible again It is displayed only during autoguiding and may occur if The sky has clouded over The guide scope lens has dewed up The guiding speed is too high The telescope was hit Strained cables OA AON Cases 1 2 The SmartGuider can no longer find the guide star and starts beeping every second for up to 30 seconds until the star becomes visible again otherwise autoguiding is aborted Case 3 The mount guiding speed is too high and the guide star keeps wobbling in the field of view so the camera has trouble tracking it In this case the guiding speed should be lowered through the mount control box Typical suggested values are between 0 125x 12 5 of the sidereal rate and 0 50x 50 of the sidereal rate Cases 4 5 If the telescope gets hit or the cables strained the SmartGuider 2 camera can lose the star temporarily or permanently depending how on much the telescope aim has been thrown off This message can be displayed after STAR SEARCH and occurs if 1 The guide star is too faint See page 21 Technical Specifications 2 The guide scope objective has dewed up 3 The guide scope support and or focuser are not sturdy enough 14 4 The guide scope focuser is moved in or out from the correct focus position 5 The SmartEye eyepiece is not perfectly parfocal with the
11. ORT 6 5432 1 QO UU UT d O Z Pinout diagram of the RJ11 SmartGuider 2 autoguiding port The SmartGuider 2 camera comes with an open collector autoguiding port fully compliant with the ST4 standard This means it can be plugged straight into all most popular equatorial mounts having such an autoguiding port The MGA unit features an optically isolated port that can work with any mount Losmandy models included However there can be some exceptions plugs other than RJ11 different pinout or even electrical incompatibility could cause communication problems between the mount and the camera In this case an optional cable or adapter is required to ensure compatibility of the SmartGuider camera with such mounts A detailed chart is available in the Download Area section of the LVI website which shows the compatibility of the camera towards a broad selection of popular mounts and a list of optional add ons that are necessary for proper operation If this manual didn t help solve your problems LVI technical support will be glad to give you a timely assistance in getting rid of any kind of malfunction 22 8 Optional Accessories Find here below a list of optional accessories to plug the SmartGuider 2 camera to a variety of Focusers DSLRs and mounts Visit LVI website for further details REFLEX Section axl N mi Cable LVI REF Can1 L 2m Cable LVI REF Can2 L 2m a lT aes
12. REFLEX SETTINGS Pauses Set the pause sec between the shots REFLEX SETTINGS Mirror Look up Set mirror position before exposure REFLEX SETTINGS Dark framing Set the number of dark frames REFLEX SETTINGS Delayed start 1000 Set the delayed start of the sequence REFLEX INFO 1 Exposure 5000 Shots 1000 Pause 100 Mirror REFLEX INFO 2 Bracketing 3 Dark frames 6 Delayed start 1000 Set the motor driver of the focuser FOCUSER SETTINGS 1000 T Compensation ON Set the temperature Set the coefficient FOCUSER SETTINGS Model Steeldrive FOCUSER SETTINGS MOVING MOTOR ON OFF FOCUSER SETTINGS 100 Coefficient 0 100 FOCUSER INFO OFF Position Temperature 12 7 C Coefficient Compensation 00 00 mm 8 100 Im FOCUSER SETTINGS Press SHOOT to take a picture with your Reflex camer R 09 7111 FOCUSER SETTINGS Press LEARN to start the calibration THIS WILL ERASE THE OLD CALIBRATION ttt FOCUSER INFO Position 80 00 mm Tenperature 12 7 C Coefficient learning Conpensation FOCUSER SETTINGS Press SHOOT to take a picture with your Reflex camera REFLEX TEST Exposure 4851 Check the set exposure prior to sequence
13. Thanks to its sub pixel guiding capability the SmartGuider 2 does not call for telescopes with very long focal length or particularly wide aperture As a rule of thumb when imaging with DSLRs or CCDs pixel size between 5 and 8 microns the guide scope should have no less than the half of the focal length as that of the main instrument In any case it is advisable to use refractors instead of slow catadioptric reflectors e g Maksutov with f ratio of 10 and higher since focusing by movable primary mirror can easily lead to exposure trailing even if the tracking performance looks apparently good Moreover there are cases where high magnification is not always an advantage due to lower brightness and increased sensitivity to atmospheric turbulence seeing 5 3 How to choose a guide star The limiting magnitude reached by SmartGuider 2 is about 9 with an 80mm aperture scope Such a limit is valid under very dark and still skies and may be lower under less than ideal visibility conditions and or MAX EXPOSURE is not set to 4 and or your guiding scope has a smaller aperture Guide stars should always be chosen taking all these factors into account The SmartGuider 2 camera automatically looks for the star that was previously centered and focused via the supplied SmartEye eyepiece A partial scan of the sensor is performed with the exposure set in MAX EXPOSURE function so the actual duration of the search phase is rather variable As a rule of
14. able star In case an off axis guider is being used the pick off prism and tube can be moved and or rotated to find a brighter star If your camera still fails to detect a guide star you may want to recheck the quality of focusing When the atmosphere is very unstable poor seeing and stars are twinkling fast a slight defocus can help in mitigating scintillation This will result in a smoother autoguiding 5 4 Mount Calibration Once calibration is over the parameters are permanently stored into the SmartGuider 2 internal memory for later use provided that the following precautions are taken into account 1 Always guide on stars lying in the same side of the sky with respect to the local meridian where the calibration was last performed 2 NEVER take the camera off the guide scope 3 NEVER rotate the camera in the guide scope focuser 18 In all other cases the camera must always be recalibrated It might take a relatively long time for the calibration process to complete especially with guide scopes of short focal length under 500 mm and slow guiding rates 0 25X or slower When the autoguiding mode is set to ONE AXIS the SmartGuider 2 loads a special parameter which requires the camera head to be oriented so that the longer edge of the sensor is parallel to the right ascension RA axis Calibration is not available with this option 5 5 How to set AGGRESSIVENESS and PULSE GUIDE The AGGRESSIVENESS paramet
15. ccccccccccceceeeeceeeeeeeeeteeeess about 9 0 Dimensions and Weight see D 65mm H 50mm Weight 110g CONTROL PADDLE OV OAC este Three membrane keys with back illumination ENSDIEV sus essen 2 5 inch graphical backlit LCD 128x64 pixel resolution Dimensions and weight gt LxHxW 55x96x28mm Weight 220g Voltage and CONSUMDION a 6 14V DC 110mA MGA UNIT Power SUDO sese eee 3xAA alkaline batteries FOCUSER section only Controlled Mount eee Any including Meade LXD55 75 and LX 90 Controlled Reflex Canon EOS Nikon D Pentax ist and K Sony Minolta Dimage Fujifilm S Controlled Eocuser Baader Steeltrack Starlight FeatherTouch Dimensions and weight LxWxH 118x102x33mm Weight 125g Requires the optional Steeldrive motor to be purchased apart Requires the optional MSM motor with dedicated adapter to be purchased apart FEATURES Automatic guide star search Automatic axes calibration with permanent saving Adjustable noise threshold level Real time monitoring of any technical information Adjustable display backlight and buzzer volume Dithering to get rid of cosmetic defects in DSLR images Adjustable aggressiveness and pulse duration for maximum guiding performances High precision 2X sub pixel autoguiding Advanced Control with Reflex Focusers and Meade LXD mounts 21 7 Autoguider port LVI SMARTGUIDER GUIDE P
16. comes almost negligible If the oscillation still persists decrease the AGGRESSIVENESS or the PULSE GUIDE duration or both In case the profile of one or both graphs keeps steadily above or below the zero value undercorrection the guiding rate must be gradually increased until the graph profile goes back to hovering around the zero position If no improvement is noticed the AGGRESSIVENESS or the PULSE GUIDE or both have to be increased Should the graphs still be showing a small jerky oscillation in spite of the above precautions please make sure your equipment is properly balanced in both axes 5 6 DITHERING With ideally perfect autoguiding the field of view and the target will always stay in the same position throughout all the exposures unfortunately so will hot pixels Therefore they will be very difficult to filter out during post processing That s where the DITHERING function comes in handy When it is activated ON the telescope is shifted slightly between exposures to offset each image slightly This results in fixed pixel defects being misaligned in the final composite image thus it will be much easier for image combine methods such as median or Sigma Clip to remove them 20 6 Technical Specifications CAMERA HEAD leel Mono 1 3 Aptina MT9V032 Sensor Ge i ns el ee 752x480 pixel 6 um square pixels Exposure time Tangente een Auto 0 01 4 seconds Limiting magnitude Scope With D 8OMIM c
17. e end of the current sequence With the SET option in the second screen one can go back to the initial DSLR configuration menu REFLEX SETTINGS Exposure to look again through all the reflex parameters and fine tune them if needed If the TEST option is selected with the round button on the Control Paddle a single test shot is taken with the DSLR with the current exposure setting This can be useful to check if the framing and the exposure time chosen are suitable for the current target Finally pressing SAVE on the REFLEX INFO 2 screen will save the current DSLR configuration parameters and will take the user back to the MGA SETTINGS screen 4 2 Section FOCUSER Looking back at the main MGA SETTINGS menu there is a FOCUSER option which brings up the section containing all the motorized focuser parameters 11 Please refer to Section 6 Technical Specifications for a list of devices compatible with the SmartGuider 2 camera Firstly select the proper focuser model with Teia the two arrow shaped buttons to scroll the list Model EQADER NT 2 of available options BAADER NT2 2 Steeltrack for Newtonians BAADER SC2 2 set the motor dr iver Steeltrack for Schmidt Cassegrains the Foc user BAADER RT2 2 Steeltrack for refractors BAADER RT3 3 Steeltrack for refractors S I MSM20 FeatherTouch with MSM20 motor S I MSM30 FeatherTouch with MSM30 motor S I MSM35 FeatherTouch with MSM35
18. een takes us to the section where we can set the length of the individual exposures of the main shooting sequence By the use of the two arrow shaped buttons UP and DOWN the exposure time can be set to anything between 1 and 5000 seconds Then we have the BRACKETING menu This feature allows to set up an additional imaging sequence whose exposure time is calculated by applying the stop down setting to the main sequence s value The stop down can take four values OFF bracketing off 1 1 stop i e secondary exposure time 1 2 the main one 2 2 stops or Ya of the main exposure and 3 3 stops or Ys of the main exposure these values can be changed by pressing the two arrow shaped buttons So for example if the exposure time is 800 seconds for the main sequence then the secondary one will be taking values of either 400 seconds if set to 1 or 200 seconds 2 or 100 seconds 3 stops The number of exposures for the secondary sequence is the same as that for the main one By pressing the central button we get to the SHOTS screen where the user can set the number of exposures for the main sequence and for the secondary one if active With the two arrow buttons UP DOWN any value between 1 and 1000 can be selected PAUSE brings up a screen where the pause in seconds between two consecutive shots can be adjusted this interval is useful especially to allow the camera detector and electronics to cool dow
19. er defines the reaction threshold in terms of sensor pixels i e the value of the offset between two consecutive exposure cycles above which the camera will make a correction The lower the aggressiveness the higher the tracking error allowed and vice versa HIGH values are suitable when using small refractors featuring a focal length 1 5 2 times smaller than the main instrument MILD values are for guide scopes of about the same focal length and LOW ones are best in case of very long guide scopes or off axis guiding typically SCTs Default values 5 for both axes X and Y are generally suitable for a wide range of cases and should be varied only if necessary for example in case of unsatisfactory guiding accuracy The PULSE GUIDE parameter sets the duration for the individual corrections sent to the mount As a rule of thumb the better the tracking precision of the mount the lower the value 19 The default value 250 msec has been chosen to ensure optimal results with most mounts currently available on the market First class models e g 10Micron Astrophysics Paramount etc with low within 5 arcsec and smooth periodic error and extremely low gear backlash all require a value in the 25 50 msec range If you notice any significant oscillations across the zero line in one or both graphs overcorrection the guiding rate should be decreased with the mount drive keypad until the oscillation decreases ideally until it be
20. ers in length respectively One 6 pin RJ cable Control paddle to mount s ST 4 port One User s Manual Quick Start Guide Thanks to its ease of use you can hook up your SmartGuider and be ready within minutes Once your imaging rig has been set up polar aligned and carefully balanced here are the main steps to follow 1 N NSG RW Make allthe necessary connections a Connect the Control Paddle to the MGA and the Camera Head to the MGA with the two RJ45 8 pin cables b Connect the MGA to the mount s autoguiding port using the RJ11 6 pin cable c Connect the Control Paddle to a 12V DC power supply Look for an adequate guide star and focus it through the enclosed SmartEye eyepiece Replace the eyepiece with the camera head and tighten the screws Turn the LVI SmartGuider 2 on Press OK then BASIC and FOCUS to launch STAR SEARCH Calibrate the mount Start autoguiding 3 Using the SmartGuider 2 In this section we describe the content and functionality for all of the available user screens as displayed in the wide LCD of the Control Paddle For a quick and effective overview of their usage please check out the flowchart available from the download section of LVI s web site Most screens can have up to three different options on their bottom line which can be activated by pressing the corresponding button on the Control Paddle After connecting the power supply turn the camera on by pressing and holdin
21. g the central button until the LVI logo shows up Shortly thereafter the message YOUR SMARTGUIDER 2 IS READY informs you that the startup phase is complete and the camera has come online Press OK to continue In the above screen you can turn off the camera by pressing and holding the left button OFF The central button BASIC will take you to the basic settings screen MENU BASIC while the right button MGA will open the MGA SETTINGS menu 3 1 Menu BASIC The MENU BASIC contains the basic set of functions which are required to correctly operate your SmartGuider 2 such as the search for a guide star the calibration of the mount and other useful options By pressing EXIT you can go back to the previous menu while FOCUS takes you to the next step guide star search OPTION enables to adjust the display and keyboard BACKLIGHT level the BUZZER volume and the AUTOGUIDING PORT You can adjust both the brightness and the buzzer volume with the two triangular keys on the control paddle four levels are available from 1 minimum to 4 maximum EXIT takes you back to the basic settings screen By choosing THRESHOLD you can access the sensor noise level adjustment menu This prevents any hot pixels from being mistaken as stars when the SmartGuider 2 looks for a star STAR SEARCH If your camera detects a star about 3 pixel wide when the telescope is capped slightly increase the value 140 till the fake star is no
22. longer detected Selecting GUIDING PORT brings up the autoguider interface menu Four options are available ST4 ONE AXIS AUTOSTAR and LOSMANDY ST4 works for all the mounts with the classical ST4 like autoguider port ONE AXIS works with astro trackers allowing corrections in one axis only AUTOSTAR is only valid for Meade LXD55 75 mounts and LX90 telescopes LOSMANDY is only valid for Digital Drive 492 non goto NO Gemini motor drives EXIT takes you back to the MENU BASIC Now let us have a closer look at the focusing procedure Before mounting the camera onto the guide scope s drawtube you have first to center the brightest star in the field of view which is closest to your imaging target with a wide field low power eyepiece then use the special SmartEye eyepiece to focus the guide scope and fine tune the position of the star chosen This eyepiece will deliver a perfectly focused and centered star in the camera head field of view When you press on FOCUS the SmartGuider 2 scans the whole frame to look for the previously selected guide star After a while the actual duration of the search phase may vary the SmartGuider 2 will inform you of the outcome with a simple message STAR FOUND or STAR NOT FOUND If the guide star was not found bottom right the SmartGuider 2 goes automatically back to the MENU BASIC screen in this case a brighter star has to be chosen If the star has been found you can proceed
23. n The two arrows will let us to choose any value in the range 1 to 100 seconds In the MIRROR menu the camera mirror lockup can be enabled If this feature is on the mirror will be swung up before the exposure is made this prevents mirror induced micro vibrations which might blur the image Toggle between ON lockup enabled and OFF lockup disabled with the two arrow shaped buttons Next choosing DARK FRAME opens the dark frame configuration screen Dark frames will have to be subtracted from raw shots during the post processing phase this helps in cutting down thermal noise which is present especially in long exposure images With the two arrow buttons we can select from 1 up to 10 dark frames whose exposure length will be the same as that of the main sequence 10 With the DELAY option the user gets to a screen where a delay can be set before starting the main imaging sequence This can be useful to let our setup settle down especially from unwanted vibrations The delay can be set to any value between 1 and 1000 seconds by means of the two arrow shaped buttons UP and DOWN INFO brings up two consecutive screens which contain a handy preview of all the current settings REFLEX INFO 1 is also displayed while autoguiding as an alternative screen to the tracking graphs The sign displayed near the values for Exposure Shots and Pause indicates the number of shots or seconds that are left until th
24. to the next step In this screen the X and Y OFFSET 1 offset unit 4 sensor pixels denote the position of the guide star relative to the detector center and the small cross in the rectangular box see above indicates the star s approximate location in a graphical form Two focusing aids are available the FOCUS STAR index and the circle on the right hand side of the screen they both show the diameter of the star in pixels on the detector in numerical and graphical form respectively Therefore the lower the number the better the focus a properly focused star should be 3 to 8 pixels wide according to the brightness and air turbulence Once the guide star has been correctly centered and focused we can select CALIBR to get to the calibration screen press OK to start calibrating the mount The calibration process can last up to a few minutes Upon completion the new calibration parameters are automatically stored into the camera s non volatile memory the SAVE icon showed here on the bottom left In case you want to reuse the parameters from last calibration just choose LOAD from the focusing menu screen on the lower right Please see note on calibration on page 18 6 You have now come to the AUTOGUIDING menu The initial screen bottom left indicated that the camera is ready to start guiding STATUS READY On pressing the START button bottom right the camera will start compensating all the mount tracking errors
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