User Manual PLxCAM V2.1f
Contents
1. PleCapture Noya PLA Mx amp ra Planetary PS Deep sky El Preview T About b ar Capture Ova PlxCapture 2 0 0 61 Copyright 2011 i Mowa English translation by i Movea J Camera information Camera Nova PLA Mx Sensor Sony ICX618AL Type Monochrome Pixel size 5 6 Resolution Wwidth 640 Height 480 Can bin Yes Filterwheel F ova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 3 2 Files 19 34 This command configures the folder for storing captured images or videos The file name to be used in the series of files must be specified In our example the file will be named Capture 2 Settings OY User info Filterwheel gt gt Mount Focus Files amp capture Folder filename Folder T temp un Filename Capture 27 F4 File format DFITS e SER RAW _ AVI RGB m Options v Create plx file v Buffer SER files EE _ Lucam Recorder compatibility Serie 1 E Leading 0 0 i _ Display summary when capture done 62 fps The selected file name can include operators preceded by the symbol as follows 0 OBSERVER field See Chapter 3 6 for definition t TELESCOPE field See Chapter 3 6 for definition s current number of the sequence This code will be replaced by an index 15t value defined that is incremented with each capture d local date Will be replac2. User guide PLxCapture software I Nova Version 2 1f Nova www inova ccd com 33 rue des gros gres 92700 Colombes France T l 33 0 1 47 84 70 27 Fax 33 0 9 50 53 50 80 Contents 1 A mn PR RRL 3 da tt 5 1 2 Re te sy CC RC RU Ce 6 1 3 O E AA EE EA EA EE E A S 7 1 4 a A A N AI A E AS 8 1 5 E A A A E E E a tn a E EE 9 1 6 barbe __ _ _ 10 1 7 IN E ASS AI PP UN OOO 12 PERC OD UNS Pres ON EEEE EEEE EEEE EEEE ia 14 PEE Con nn T 15 3 1 A E A a ieeniceeeneeanstenaca se 15 Pa a AE npn A chp iG EE E a A E pnp E A 15 a a DO a EE A 17 18 FA AO D eee ee 18 3 2 a E AE E E AE E TE oer siieeet 19 Che OCR ee ee ee ere eee ree 21 3 4 A ricci O 22 3 5 eE EEE EE E EO T EE TE EE EE E E E E TET 22 3 6 R Se A PA A 22 Sl A RUT er ee E een en eee eee 24 sb onda rr AP care esc vce A A 25 4 1 SR ee ee eee eee 25 4 2 Distance Ie a SU PMC meee mn n Er EEEN ENEEK oc 25 4 3 Beia AE E E A E E EE E AE T E EA 25 4 4 A APP o UE II A AA AAE A AEE EE T A A 25 4 5 NN a N E E E E 25 4 6 EEEE e APPO EEA E O TS PEO Un e TTE 25 USO PLACA DTU scsi didas 26 el Pane AA oo A e O AA AAE A A A 26 52 DS Pur E a 27 5 3 AA A a te stiles AE a en ed 28 SL PamplewkthFADGUdNE Lina 28 Sola pde o y AA o PP e e UP Con mI A 31 6 1 COTE A PP A 31 6 2 Conversion SER to FIT IRIS compatible numbering nissan 32 O aE a a a iia J3 Vel S pport by phone AREAS an te a ubdeandenaensslnidel 33 O e TUE seg IEN PANANET AN AAAA
3. Source files E icapturesitest Capture_20110218 235141 207 SER Select Information Total number of images 600 Pixel depth 16bits Monochrome Image dimensions 640x480 Capture date 2011 02 18T23 52 31 504 Instrument i Nowa PL4 Mx Observer Not set Telescope Not set Capture program PlxCapture Individual image datation Present Image 1 600 2011 02 18T23 51 41 222 x fka lt a gt px 3 Output file index can be configured as needed Destination files Format FITS O PNG Directory and naming Folder E capturesitest File name ConvertCapture_20110218 235141 207 Start numbering at Number of leading 0 Resulting Filename First one E capturesitest ConvertCapture_20110218 235141 207_00003 FIT Conversion 4 Click on Begin Conversion to start conversion a progress bar displays while the file is being converted Nava User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 32 34 Nova Batch processing English translation by I Nova Conversion Options Source files Destination files Conversion NO p X Stop conversion Progress D o Image 132 600 ConwertingE capturesltestiCapture_20110218 235141 207 SER q lt a be po 6 2 Conversion SER to FIT IRIS compatible numbering 1 Select the file to convert Specify the output folder generally the working directory of IRIS Fulfill a generic name e g Sat for Saturn gt
4. 3 Autoguiding ASCOM V6 and plugin ASCOM I Nova PLx camera are required to use the camera for autoguiding Various softwares can be used e PHDGuiding freeware e Prism e AstroArt e MaximDL etc 5 3 1 Example with PHDGuiding V1 12 1 Install pre requisites as follows included in the installation CDRom a Net Framework 3 5 b Net Framework 4 c Ascom V6 d Redist 2010 e Plugin Ascom PLxCam EJPHD Guiding 1 12 0 www stark labs com 2 Launch PHDGuiding application clicking on the icon Camera connection Select your camera 3 Select ASCOM V6 Camera then i Nova camera in the ASCOM window StarShoot Planetary Imager amp Autoguider A Opticstar PL 130M Opticstar PL 130C Orion StarShoot DSCI MagZero M2 5 Meade DSI I II or III 54C4 2 SBIG Starlight Xpress SXY The Imaging Source DCAM Firewire Windows WDM style webcam camera Windows VFW style webcam camera older amp SACS Long exposure webcam LXUSB Long exposure webcam Parallel Serial ee 5 Camera v Select the binning 2 2 option to autoguide using a faint star C amp PHD Guiding 1 12 0 www stark labs com gD lios y Like PHD Consider donating No carn No scope No cal Settings for the camera Settings Gain 18 6 A Y Black level 0 Y C Bin2x2 if available Select the type of camera you have then be sure
5. 640 x 480 pixel array with a very high quantum efficiency from the visible spectrum to the near infrared IR region e ideally suited for planetary high resolution imaging thanks to an excellent sensitivity from the visible spectrum to the near infrared IR region e Provides 2x2 hardware binning 640 x 480 to get a 11 2um square pixel to be able to detect a faint star for autoguiding e C mount thread this standard allows users to take different kinds of adapters like 1 25 eyepiece holder camera objective lens with step down ring ET Hardware ROI region of interest Yes A D converter 10 1 2bit Frame rate 8 1 2bit Up to 63 FPS at full resolution For filter wheel control focusing motors control and telescope mount control ASCOM V6 Communication port Sony ICX618ALA Performance Method to reduce readout noise with lower frequency Fast mode Planetary 8 12bit 24Mhz Normal mode Planetary 12bit 12Mhz Ce Visual enhancement amp GMhz Deepsky 12bit Wavelength nm ICX618ALA Quantum Efficiency QE 0 60 Source SONY Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 9 34 1 5 PLB Mx e Sony Exview ICX445ALA CCD sensor 1280 x 960 pixel array with a very high quantum efficiency from the visible spectrum to the near infrared IR region e ideally suited for lunar solar high resolution imaging thanks to an excellent sensitivity from the visible spectral range to the near infrared region with a
6. A 34 8 1 Ba o E E tp an oer hin EE E E 34 Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 3 34 1 Introduction Nova cameras PLxCam Series are ideally designed for specific usage in Astronomy optimization of the electronics makes them suitable for applications such as acquisition with very low light e The PLxCapture software was specially developed to fully exploit the potential of our cameras e An integrated circuit including specific IC FPGA allows significant reduction of electronic noise e 3 speeds of reading of the CCD Cmos matrix High speed for planetary lunar solar imaging 8 and 12bit Half maximum speed to reduce readout noise 12bit 1 4 maximum speed for deepsky imaging and enhanced visual mode 2bit with a minimal readout noise e During a long exposure deepsky or enhanced visual mode the non essential components will go into energy saving mode which reduces the heating of these components and helps to reduce thermal noise as well e Cameras are equipped with a TTL Serial communication port which allows communication with other devices such as a GPS module or a cooling system kit for temperature regulation e The possibility to connect several Nova cameras on the same PC and to control every camera by one PLxCapture instance each and or to add a PHDGuiding instance autoguiding software to the running system e The PLxCapture software works in client server mode Several configurations are possible
7. Windows Forms Form OnLoad EventArgs e DevExpress XtraEditors XtraForm OnlLoad EventArgs e System Windows Forms Form OnCreateControl System Windows Forms Control CreateControl Boolean flgnoreVisible System Windows Forms Control CreateControl System Windows Forms Control WmShowWindow Message amp m System Windows Forms Control WndProc Message m System Windows Forms ScrollableControl WndProc Message m System Windows Forms Form WmShowWindow Message m System Windows Forms Form WndProc Message m DevExpress XtraEditors XtraForm WndProc Messageg msg System Windows Forms Control ControlNativeWindow OnMessage Message m System Windows Forms Control ControlNativeWindow WndProc Message m System Windows Forms NativeWindow Callback IntPtr hWnd Int32 msg IntPtr wparam IntPtr lparam DataWidth 64 Name Intel R Core TM 17 CPU 920 2 6 GHZ Caption Microsoft Windows Vista Edition Familiale Premium ServicePackMajorVersion 2 TotalVisibleMemorySize 6281392 CurrentBitsPerPixel 32 CurrentHorizontalResolution 1280 CurrentVerticalResolution 1024 Description ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series Nova
8. computer 2 ENova Ple series cameras disk 2 3 0 1 el DE VC Redist 2010 EQAign 2 3 10 Misc de AS N Ova 1 Third party components installation Windows XP Vista PLxCapture software requires the installation of the following prerequisites Net Framework 3 5 Net Framework 4 Ascom V6 and VC Redist 2010 Windows 7 8 and 8 1 x64 Only Ascom V6 needs to be installed 2 For all applications it is necessary to install software drivers Click on Windows Drivers and select the camera model to be installed 3 For planetary imaging long exposure and Visual enhancement install PLxCapture application Nava User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 13 34 4 For Polar pointing PE analysis and autoguiding install EQAlign application 5 To use the camera with other third party software it is necessary to install PLx ASCOM driver 6 Connect the camera to the PC and confirm the choice of Windows during the procedure Add peripheral Wizard 7 Fora complete documentation of the software package click on Documentation We recommend to check frequently our FTP site and download the latest software package version from this link http www inova ccd fr download Nava User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 14 34 2 PLxCapture presentation Once the PLX capture software is installed you can use your PLA Mx camera to make your first capture The main window will look like the following image without lens OANE on
9. i ey Filterwheel On Camera modes and Ascom use respectively l Nova and i i i On OnCame Ascom interfaces to select the automatized filterwheel us Die e Manual Ascom Be User info de Slots 5H Manual Filter wheel 2 Settings 3 6 User Under this menu the user will configure PLxCapture for his personal settings It is possible to name files see Chapter 3 2 Files or provide digital elements for PLxCapture computation Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g FA User information Observer MPA Telescope Cll Focal length 2800 Location Toulouse 23 34 Observer and Telescope this information will be used to populate the fields OBSERVER and TELESCOP in FIT files fields OBSERVER and TELESCOPE in SER files Field Focal Length will be used for some computations see Chapter 4 PLxCapture Mesures Field location defined by default as Mydocuments Capture e Field INSTRUMEN FIT file contains the camera model e PROGRAM field is I Nova PlxCapture Here is a header FIT file with some parameters SIMPLE BITPIX NAXIS NAXIS1 NAXIS2 OBSERVER INSTRUME i Nova PLA Mx TELE SCOP DATE 0B5 2011 04 20T14 52 54 751 EXPTIME 0 016 XBINNING L YBINNING 1 PROGRAM I Nova PlxCapture END Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 3 7 Settings In this window you can set w D _ D T 54 User info Settings 24 34 Language used f
10. not _ Logarithmic exist During capture a countdown of images is displayed Nota in deepsky mode capture is automatically done in 12bit mode in a slow readout which improves the CCD readout noise Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 18 34 3 1 3 Preview PlxCapture i Noya PLA Mx y Planetary This window contains options to configure image display Configuration nee CET is ONLY for image display and does not affect the image recording E Filters Preview rate e ltis possible to reduce the dynamic image viewing by raising 1 iA gia the black level default zero and reducing the white level C Flip vertical DE default 255 p CrossHair C Show rulers e Commands alow images to reverse horizontal and or senile vertical axes F G ad aa e For less powerful machines it is possible to display only one pan picture every N recorded a SAA e For an accurate calibration dark level can be adjusted manually o Us D ur e A zoom function allows to simplify focus operation by enlarging the image in a ratio of 2 to 4 It can also reduce the image size in a ratio of 1 2 to 1 4 2 Settings Acrosshair is available and can be rotated degree by degree Of course this crosshair is not registered with the stream from the camera Enable _ Logarithmic W 49 fps 3 1 4 About The tab About displays information PLxCapture software version and information about the used camera
11. sensitivity for a monochrome sensor tripling for a color sensor Its use is uncommon in planetary mode as it is usually more efficient to work with a focal length reduced by half when possible But for autoguiding this is useful to catch faint stars PlxCapture Nova PLA Mx About W Planetary Bl Deep sky ay Capture VW Files Exposure time ms Capture duration 13 Readout mode Camera preview Bin2x2 amp Focus Secondes 8bits 2 Images 12bits 1200 E 12bits Fast fn ROI amp Binning Bin 2x2 ROI 320x240 amp Filterwheel 5 User info 2 Settings C Enable C Logarithmic ROI Region of Interest function allows to process a part of the total image again to optimize the bandwidth of the USB port By default several image sizes are predefined according to ROI A Custom size can be defined manually see ROI definition in Chapter 4 6 Finally the Start button starts capture process following configured settings The button is deactivated when backup is impossible e g if path does not exist PlxCapture i Noya PLA Mx El Preview About W Planetary Bl Deep sky Gain 1 0 Capture Exposure time ms Capture duration 13 Readout mode Secondes 8bits 2 Images O 12bits 1200 E 12bits Fast ROI amp Binning Filter C Bin 2x2 orean CI ROI 320x240 V Start T D t D 2 i 5 User info 2 Settings C Ena
12. the came ra om El Preview About Planetary By Deep sky Gain 412 40 Camera preview Exposure time ms C Capture duration 13 Readout mode Secondes gbits 2 Images O 12bits 1200 8 12bits Fast ROI amp Binning Filter C Bin 2x2 Red m ROI 320x240 y Start TD D fe pS D 2 i ow User info Settings _ Enable _ Logarithmic w 37 fps The window can be split in two parts e On the left the preview window which displays the camera image e On the right exposure image control and major functions All these functions are presented in the following chapter 3 Windows used in PLxCapture are sized to be compatible with netbook platforms Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 15 34 3 PLxCapture commands Current chapter will enumerate all available software funtionnalities We select a functionnality by clicking on the navigation tabs on the left side of the window Upper tabs are generally considered as sub functions 3 1 Capture In this window 4 tabs are available to configure the camera in order to capture Planetary Deepsky Preview About Color cameras use an additional tab to manage color balance 3 1 1 Planetary In planetary mode it is possible to adjust exposure time from one up to 1000ms with one millisecond accuracy The 1000ms is an arbitrary limit used to distinguish planetary and deepsky modes Pl
13. the size of the generated files See Chapter 3 1 1 Planetary mode for more information on ROI To do so start in a corner of the area to define and while holding the left mouse button pressed draw a rectangle to the opposite corner ROI is the minimum size of 320x240 and its size must be a multiple of 8 PLxCapture will correct automatically invalid values Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 26 34 5 Using PLxCapture 5 1 Planetary The best way to use PLxCapture software to capture planets or moon is to run the planetary camera in 8bit or 12bit mode as appropriate 12bit mode requires twice the bandwidth vs 8bit mode on the USB 2 0 link thus maximum frame rates decreases from about 55 fps in 8bit mode to around 25 fps in 12bit mode 12bit mode contains more information than 8bit mode In planetary mode capture is realized with a global compromise between exposure time often dependent on turbulence and gain brightness of the sky object With a monochrome camera capture has to be performed several times to compose a color image in this case we talk about capturing RGB Red Green Blue To do so the best way is to deal with a filtering device it is strongly not recommended to disassemble the camera to change the color filter lt is also possible to add an additional layer to RGB capture that contains all details e L RGB with an additional filter L which lets the entire visible spectrum e or IR RGB with a filter allowi
14. Matrix L H 1280 960 Hardware binning 2x2 Yes ET NETO TORNA Yes A D converter 10 12bit Frame rate 8 1 2bit Up to 30 FPS at full resolution Exposure time from 0 1ms to infinity USB2 0 For filter wheel control focusing motors control and telescope mount control ASCOM V6 Communication port Monochrome sensor PLB Mx2 Color sensor PLB Cx 70 qn un Y ye uN RS o gt un an o o o w gt o o Quantum Efficiency uy o N o N o 10 hh o Ww o 50 450 550 650 750 850 950 1 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050 Wavelength nm Wavelength nm MT9M034 Quantum Efficiency Source Aptina Performance Frame rate FPS 8bit mode F ova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g Resolution Frame rate 1280 480 68 FPS 800 600 82 FPS 400 400 119 FPS Nova 11 34 User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 12 34 1 7 Getting started NOTICE The PLx cameras are only compliant with PC running under one of the following operating systems Windows XP SP3 Vista or Win 7 8 8 1 x86 x64 Insert the disk into a drive to start the installation program At this stage of the installation do not connect the camera to the USB 2 0 port of your PC If you do not have an autorun feature or have it disabled you may launch the installation program named autorun exe in the root of the CD ROM The installation window below appears to select programs to install on the
15. PA Y Indicate FIT as output format and run Begin Conversion As a result files are created and can be directly used including numbering with the Iris software that allows to launch operations Iris operating on sets e g PREGISTER ADD NORM Nava User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 33 34 7 Technical support 7 1 Support by phone and Email I Nova provides technical support and regular updates You can contact us by email to support inova ccd com or by phone 33 0 1 47 84 70 27 For an effective technical support tell us as much information as possible about your setup type of instrument frame accessories computer operating system etc and if possible a screen shot with the error message In case of major problem software crash PLxCapture will automatically create a data file and a screen shot to be sent to the support team There is no personal information other than defining the working environment when the bug occurs Attached is a default file example Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 34 34 8 Annex 8 1 Default file Hereafter is a typical file sent to support team PlxCapture 2 0 0 43 Un l ment avec la m me cl a d j t ajout System ThrowHelper ThrowArgumentException ExceptionResource resource System Collections Generic Dictionary 2 Insert TKey key TValue value Boolean add PlxCapture Main InitLangues PlxCapture Main Main Load Object sender EventArgs e System
16. PLxCapture in server mode and the Sequencer module in client mode Several Nova cameras connected on several PCs can be controlled by a third party module via an Internet browser for example e The SDK is available on request for programming Microsoft C or C Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 4 34 Sony sony sony sony sony sony at Aptina Aptina Aptina ICXO98BQ ICXO98BQ ICK2044K ICXO9BBL E ICK61BALA ICX445ALA MTSIM001 MT9M034 MTIM034 CCD CMOS sensor size format 1 4 1 4 1 3 1 A 1 4 1 3 1 aS 1 3 OE E Se e E E 640 480 640 480 1024 768 640 480 640 480 1296 966 1280 1024 1280 960 1280 960 12bit 12bit 12bit 12bit 12bit 12bit 10bit 12bit 12bit sofps 60fps 24fps SOfps SOfps 23fps 30fps 30fps 30fps USBZO USB2D USB2O USB2O USBZO USB2O USB2O US820 USB20 Autoguiding port ST4 style N Y Y y CCD CMOS sensor Planetary imaging ee bic A due Lunar Solar imaging lo pad beled ours DeepSky imaging Real time stacking Du polo jou s ER Option Nopten N Option Option Nopton N Opton N Opton N Opton Option Software package multilanguages G ai Y ye W Y Y Y Y SDK XP Vista Win 7 8 and 8 1 86 64 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y ASCOM V5 5 V6SP1 V6SP2 compliant Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y How to read PlxCam Series nomenclature PLx tsn X sensor size A 1 4 n version B 1 3 C 1 2 t sensor type s sensitivity M Monochrome x High sensitivity C Color Nova User ma
17. When calibration is complete the software starts to autoguide grde sr v a W calibration 9 dx 5 6 dy 2 1 dist 5 9 24 0 Camera Scope No cal To change the autoguiding configuration of PHDGuiding simply click on the icon To stop autoguiding or exit the CA PHD Guiding 1 12 0 www stark labs com application it is necessary to click s nen AE on the STOP icon before any ie other action Dec guide mode Dec Algorithm Max Dec duration ms Dec slope weight Calibration step ms Min motion pixels Search region pixels Noise Reduction Time lapse ms Camera gain LE Port Port 378 M LE Read Delay Force calibration C Use subframes Log info Disable guide output Camera Scope Cal L Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 6 Batch processing 6 1 Generalities 31 34 This command allows to convert files from one format to another one If an image processing software can not read the format of a captured video the batch processing functionality can convert a video file into multiple single images 1 the first frame is displayed file name l Nova Batch processing English translation by I Nova The conversion begins with selection of the file to convert AVI or SER Then a summary is provided and Top right specify the output image format FIT in the following example and the output directory output Conversion Options fee
18. ble Logarithmic 119 fps Nava User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 17 34 3 1 2 Deepsky In deepsky mode maximum exposure of 1000ms is removed and there is virtually no limit for exposure time However spending a few tens of seconds an electronic noise will appear but this non statistical noise which depends only on PlxCapture Nova PLA Mx temperature and exposure can be manually removed by a dark El Preview E About frame performed without flow putting a cap on the objective Es Planetary E deep sky da Capture lens of the camera in the same temperature and gain exposure conditions U Files Exposure time sec We have then the possibility to capture Deep Sky Objects or planets in special conditions e g Jupiter with a CH4 filter or distant outer planets with at high F D when seeing condition is correct E Capture duration Focus Remaining 49 images ee Mount Again gain value is adjustable from 1 to 1023 EROI amp Binning Filter Bin 2x2 areen s Exposure time is now in second and capture duration is given ROT in frames 320x240 x Stop t T mu di iL A progress bar informs you about the status of the current acquisition Other commands ROI binning histogram are similar to those found in paragraph 3 1 1 User info e Settings The START button shall activate the capture sequence and is deactivated when backup is impossible e g if path does
19. ed by YYYYMoDD_HHMISS mmm with YYYY year Mo month DD day HH hour Mi minute SS seconds and mmm milliseconds u UTC date Same format as d but taking into account time zone and winter summer time f filter number n filter name For example to conform with the notation of planetary observations one can use the notation S uTU_ o for Saturn capture images The recording format can be set to one of the following AVI format is stored in RGB DIB format and limited to 2Gb SER format manages 8bit and 12 16bit images that are compatible with Registax 5 6 as well as Avistack 1 8 or 2 0 all platforms Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 20 34 It is possible to produce a PLX file associated to each capture This file in text format contains a number of specific data related to the achieved capture An example for a SER file DateStart 2011 03 09T20 31 49 234 DateEnd 2011 03 09T21 12 02 531 ExposureDuration 30sec Gain 104 Mode 16 Low Images 80 FileFormat SER This acts as a notepad to record captures with all configured settings It is possible to use buffer RAM to increase acquisition speed Number of acquisitions will depend on resolution 8 1 2bit Max images that can be buffered is 2344 It is also possible to produce compatible SER files with LUCAM Recorder In mode Compatible Lucam Recorder header of the SER file contains LUCAM RECORDER in order to make the capt
20. ng only the infra red Throughout this document is used the generic term L RGB but everything applies with IR RGB in the same way 1 Having captured 3 or 4 shots processing has to be done on each one independently considering that each one is a single black and white image To do so Registax v6 1 AviStack 2 0 or Autostakkert 2 are among the best tools currently available included in PLxCapture CDROM All of them are able to handle the flow of 8bit or 12bit images from the camera in TIFF FIT or SER format see Section 3 2 for recording formats available Unprocessed composite images still in black and white at this stage are usually backed up in FITS 16 or 32bit format 2 To build a RGB or L RGB image all images have to have the same dimensions for example 640x480 maximum size for PLA Mx as Registax v6 1 is not able to process images with various sizes Select 3 or 4 FIT images and check RGB composite image LRGB for 4 pictures 3 Press R G or B on each image of the frame list to indicate which image corresponds to which color respectively Red Green and Blue plane this step is not necessary if names of image files end with _R _G_B _L for the luminance before the extension FIT 4 Registration picture alignment will be done as usual In case one image is deleted from the list it is necessary to lower the quality threshold Compositing process provides a color picture directly 5 At this stage it is possible
21. nual PLxCapture 2 0g 1 1 PLA C2 5 34 e The PLA C2 is not a webcam as it may look like Of course it is the same color sensor ICX098 that many astrophotographers have already experienced However mentionning features such as 12 bit binning and hardware ROI USB2 interface is sufficient to clearly differentiate PLA C2 from webcams e USB2 interface allows to get a rate of 60fps ten times higher than what is available in USB1 1 e Electronic noise is remarkably maintained low on this sensor which allows long exposure times Relative Response Communication ports 0 8 0 6 0 4 0 2 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 Wave Length nm ICX098BQ Quantum Efficiency QE 0 45 Source SONY e ST4 interface for autoguiding e TTL serial for filter wheel control focusing motors control and telescope mount control ASCOM V6 Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 6 34 Quantum Efficient 1 2 PLB C2 e Sony Super HAD ICX204AK CCD sensor 1024 x 768 pixel array with a very high quantum efficiency in the whole visible spectrum e ideally suited for lunar solar high resolution imaging and deepsky imaging thanks to a very good sensitivity in the whole visible spectrum range with a low electronic noise which allows long exposure times e Provides 2x2 hardware binning 512 x 384 to get a 9 3um square pixel to be able to detect a faint star for autoguiding e C mount thread this standard allows use
22. o be enabled Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 25 34 4 PLxCapture Mesures In this section are described all operations that can be achieved on the preview window Right clicking on the preview window we get the following list Stats image Mesure distances Calcul diam tre ADU Pause preview Define ROI 4 1 Stats image In dynamic mode this functionality is deactivated It allows to get statistics on the image It provides minimum maximum and average ADU and also standard deviation 0 4 2 Distance measurement This operation involves linking two points on the window eg 2 stars and using focal value see section 3 6 the result gives the distance between the 2 selected points in arcsecond When focal length is not given result is given in pixels 4 3 Diameter This operation involves selecting three points of the window eg 3 points over a moon crater and using focal value see section 3 6 the result gives the object diameter in arcsecond When focal is not given result is given in pixels 4 4 ADU ADU stands for Analog Digital Unit and gives the level of the selected pixel Of course preview needs to be in pause mode to get the result 4 5 Pause preview Start preview This operation freezes or restart display as well as communications with the camera 4 6 ROI definition This functionality defines a rectangular area that will be read from the sensor This optimizes the USB bandwidth while reducing
23. or PLxCapture interface and a color mode default is english We can also activate tooltips same language as interface Misc Language English y Info refresh rate 10Hz _ Show tooltips Enable expert settings lt Expert settings _ Enable black level adjustment _ Show internal buffer level _ Enable Avistack 16bits compatible data Enable 12bits fast readout 77 Profile EJ Load EA Save BY Reset e Refresh rate information histogram FPS displays internal buffer display and star refresh to focus is adjustable to 1 2 5 default or 10Hz This helps not to overburden CPU load for lowest configurations e Expert setting black level to precisely tune resulting gamma visualization of filling and emptying of PLxCapture internal buffer This buffer shows the software s ability to maintain the best possible speed from the camera and to absorb a temporary disk latency When buffer is full PLxCapture has to wait until free space is available If this occurs often try to activate the buffering files SER chapitre 3 2 Files PLxCapture generates 16bit files or 2 bytes but only 12 data bits are used Generally data is stored in the lower bits representing values from 0 to 4095 The higher bits 4096 to 65535 are forced to zero AviStack software reads these data but only the higher byte for display to make PLxCapture compliant with this mode option Avistack compatible data has t
24. rs to take different kinds of adapters like 1 25 eyepiece holder camera objective lens with step down ring 1024 768 4 65um x 4 65um Yes Yes A D converter 10 1 2bit Frame rate 8 1 2bit Up to 24 FPS at full resolution Exposure time From 0 1ms to infinity USB2 0 For filter wheel control focusing motors control and telescope Communication port mount control ASCOM V6 Performance Frame rate FPS at full ion 12bit until 12 FPS The surplus of pixels in the image we get is very useful to realize Wavelength nm lunar or solar images at 24 fps ICX204AK Quantum Efficiency Hardware ROI function provides maximum frame rate in Source SONY planetary mode Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 7 34 1 3 PLA M e Monochrome sensor ICX098 e 12 bit binning and hardware ROI e USB2 interface allows to get a rate of 60fps ten times higher than what is available in USB1 1 e Electronic noise is remarkably maintained low on this sensor which allows long exposure times 0 8 07 0 6 0 5 0 4 Relative Response 0 3 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 ICX 098BL Quantum Efficiency QE 0 45 Source SONY Communication ports e ST4 interface for autoguiding e TTL serial for filter wheel control focusing motors control and telescope mount control ASCOM V6 Nova Quantum Efficient User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 8 34 1 4 PLA Mx e New Sony Exview ICX618ALA CCD sensor
25. to click the Properties button to configure the driver for pour camera Nova Camera v Click the logo to learn more ok we about ASCOM a set of SEA standards for inter operation of ee astronomy software nao Like PHD Consider donating CET No cam No scope No cal User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 29 34 Notice For a color camera in binning 2 2 sensitivity is twice or three times sensitivity at full resolution For a monochrome camera this ratio increases to four times 4 Click on Mount and verify that interface On camera is selected EI PHD Guiding 1 12 0 www stark labs com File ihe Tools Help Donate ASCOM GPUSB GPINT 3BC GPINT 378 GPINT 278 e On camera G D 5 Kl Like PHD Consider donating Camera Scope No cal EMA PHD Guiding 1 12 0 www stark labs com LK File Mount Tools Help Donate 5 Click on the icon to activate the ST4 interface 6 Select the exposure time 1 second default value is 7 Click on the icon to activate the camera display D ra m 36631 SNR 14 1 Camera Scope No cal Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 30 34 10 11 PHD Guiding 1 12 0 www stark labs com File Mount Tools Help Donate to start rae Click on the icon the calibration process allows the software to measure and configure the correction pulses applied to the mount for a high quality autoguiding process
26. to refine plan alignement align RGB edit proportion of Red Green and Blue in the image RGB scale In case of a RGB image wavelet filtering is applied to all three planes simultaneously or to an internally built image using the Colour Mixing functionality Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 27 34 This very important Colour Mixing button will allow you to play with coefficients P Y of luminance following equation Luminance Red Green y Blue Wavelet filtering applies on this Luminance plane R G and B planes only gives a color overlay You can also choose not to apply color Create B W image or to use a real luminance image separately Use Luminance file 5 2 Deep sky To use long time exposure it is possible to use either PLxCapture or third party software via the ASCOM plugin Signal Flat Dark Offset PLxCapture software can achieve pre processing of images such as OFFSET BIAS images This image type contains the readout noise of the camera DARK images Contain hot pixels of the CCD as well as the thermal noise for a given exposure time FLAT Field images This type of image allows to remove vignetting and dust on the sensor from deepsky images Images produced by PLxCapture can be processed by third party softwares such as DeepSkyStacker Freeware IRIS Freeware Prism AstroArt MaximDL Photoshop Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 28 34 5
27. ure compatible with third party programs that require such label Otherwise the name PlxCapture is included in the header of the SER file See example below of an extract of a SER file Highlighted fields are acquisition software the two configured user fields user and device see Section 3 6 e Field i Nova PLA MX indicates camera model 000000000 000000010 000000020 000000030 000000040 000000050 000000060 000000070 000000080 A summary of the capture can be displayed in a window on demand This avoids having to go and open the PLX file when it is created 3 contents may change in future versions Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 21 34 3 3 Focus This command helps to focus from PLxCapture software and allows to control a focus motor working under ASCOM V6 protocol To do so 1 Select a star a green box will appear around your target The frame size can be modified 20 to 40 pixels to best fit the targeted star PlxCapture i Noya PLA Mx Focuser Rect size 2 A cross section of the star is displayed with a FWHM computation in real time Warning this measure is given in pixels not in arcseconds 3 The navigation buttons can be used to control a motorized device via ASCOM protocol D 2 At a 0 pl un 2 ww un J y LL Cc 2 5 L D D Mer D ae iL o ae a D un e Conne
28. very low electronic noise which allows long exposure times e Provides 2x2 hardware binning 640 x 480 to get a 7 5um square pixel to be able to detect a faint star for autoguiding e C mount thread this standard allows users to take different kinds of adapters like 1 25 eyepiece holder camera objective lens with step down ring ToT Sony exview IOXAASALA MA Hardware ROI region of interest Yes Up to 23 FPS at full resolution USB2 0 For filter wheel control focusing motors control and telescope Communication port mount control ASCOM V6 sony ICX445ALA Quantum Efficient Wavelength nm ICX445ALA Quantum Efficiency Source SONY Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 10 34 Quantum Efficiency 1 6 PLB Mx2 PLB C2 e New Aptina MT9M034 Cmos sensor 1280 x 960 pixel array with a very high quantum efficiency from the visible spectrum to the near infrared IR region e ideally suited for lunar solar high resolution imaging and deepsky imaging thanks to an excellent sensitivity from the visible spectral range to the near infrared region with a very low electronic noise which allows long exposure times e Provides 2x2 hardware binning 640 x 480 to get a 7 5um square pixel to be able to detect a faint star for autoguiding e C mount thread this standard allows users to take different kinds of adapters like 1 25 eyepiece holder camera objective lens with step down ring CCD
29. xCapture 1 Noya PLA Mx El Preview About Ya Planetary EM Deep sky Gain is adjustable from 1 to 1023 0 to 100 The window A LL preview reproduces changes immediately even if the ee ie histogram is enabled Exposure time ms Be careful higher gain values produces Capture duration 12 Readout mode noise on images Secondes 8bits Images 12bits O 12bits fast Capture can be made in 8bit or 12bit mode ROI amp Binning Bin 2x2 ROI 320x240 In 12bit mode frame rate may be reduced by a factor of 2 Start D D Bt r a D 2 iL 54 User info Then the capture itself can be configured either in frames or in time in seconds Settings The histogram can be displayed in linear or logarithmic and EAN i ei shows the pixel saturation if the curve reaches the right hand side of the windows it means the image is over exposed The camera can also operate in 2x2 binning mode and in this mode each block of 2x2 pixels is seen as a single pixel The camera sensitivity is increased in a ratio of 4 but its resolution is reduced in the same ratio For example 4 pixels of intensity 7 8 9 and 11 the resulting pixel will be seen as a single pixel with an intensity of 35 Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 16 34 This greatly enhances sensor sensitivity by quadrupling the collecting area of a pixel and thus also quadrupling its
30. xion e On camera Connect C Ascom 2 Settings Auto connect Nova User manual PLxCapture 2 0g 22 34 3 4 Mount ATTE Nr This command controls telescope s mount using ST4 interface available on 4 Control Nova cameras or using an ASCOM interface _ Cardinal point RA Dec Pressing buttons generates pulses on the required axis Pulse duration DEC _ a _ parameter can be adjusted default value is 100ms me x ms DEC Pulse duration 100 gt Connexion C None ST4 a D in a Q Ww un 2 T C un y TE w 2 o 5 LA T D del D iL o pa T D un un o o gt D un amp Mount on ST4 port PlxCapture i Wova PLA Mx a Control 3 5 Filterwheel This command allows to specify the name of filters used de Capture The user will fill in the name of each filter for each wheel position W Files and this information will be automatically available from communication with the filter wheel I Nova ir Filters 48 Focus This information is integrated into the FIT format and in all cases ee in the PLX file backup settings see chapter 3 2 Files for more information Slot 1 Slot 2 ro Mount Slot 3 A Slot 4 IR pro 742 If no filterwheel filter selection is deactivated ae In manual mode functionality is available ast D JE ES D iL c
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