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1. HOME FEATURES HOW IT WORKS DOWNLOADING QUESTIONS CONTACT US new user email address newuser optictracker com Subscriptions OpticTracker Free Since 2011 10 01 First Name new Last Name user Username new user Phone Number OpticTracker User s Manual Page 5 To download the software click Download eoo My Account 4 http www optictracker com My_Account html v Q7 Google 69 M E58 DIY Drones MobileMe TV AlchemyBETA1 HWD AlchemyBETA2 BUR AlchemyBETA3 BUR HOME FEATURES HOW IT WORKS DOWNLOADING QUESTIONS CONTACT US My Account Download OpticTraker 1 0 Download OpticTraker 1 1 Beta My OpticTracker ew in 1 1 Beta polar alignment support and enhanced image processing To upgrade to paid versions click My OpticTracker Optic Tracker User s Manual o eoo My Account a Lf http www optictracker com My Account html Q7 Google ie eo HH DIY Drones MobileMe TV AlchemyBETA1 HWD AlchemyBETA2 BUR AlchemyBETA3 BUR HOME FEATURES HOW IT WORKS DOWNLOADING QUESTIONS CONTACT US My Account Summary Edit Profile Download OpticTracker Free Since 2011 10 01 new user s Account Choose a version Basic 29 99 E So eee Page 6 Software Installation The downloaded package OpticTracker zip contains different installers for different operating systems Choose the one that matches your system If your computer cannot open the zip file you2. enne vni Main Camera Video Main Camera Digital Zoom Main Camera Target Tracking Main Camera Digital Target Stabilization Finder Scope Video Finder Scope Target Tracking Hardware Requirement OpticTracker requires the following hardware e A PC running windows XP Vista or 7 e A supported telescope connected to the host computer e At least one telescope imager e A joystick with at least 4 axis 6 buttons and 1 hat switch 1 Recommended configuration 2 8GHz dual core or faster CPU 4G or more RAM 2 OpticTracker currently supports Meade LX200 and Celestron computerized telescopes 3 Please refer to telescope s manual for computer connection instructions 4 The imagers have to support windows DirectShow A simple way to test is try to select the imager as a webcam in video chatting applications like MSN and Skype If you can see the image in those applications you can use it in OpticTracker OpticTracker User s Manual Page 3 Hardware Setup Examples for Starters OpticTracker is designed to give our users as much flexibility with hardware as possible These setup examples are only intended for users who are yet to buy their first set of tracking equipments The recommendations are on the economic side and they are dependent on the version of our software you intend to use NexStar 4 SE NexStar 5 SE Meade L X200 8 inch Accessories Celestron Serial Cable Celestron Serial Cable Meade Serial Cable Celestron Pi
3. Detected Joystick Device ID Logitech Extreme 3D boba faa For every camera it finds setup utility also takes a picture from the camera and open up a window showing the picture with the camera ID 1n the title bar Finally the utility brings up a form in which we can fill in the system configuration OpticTracker User s Manual Page 8 Configuration 1 Mount Type Select from the list Meade or Celestron 2 Mount COM Port select the ID of the serial port to which your telescope 1s connected 3 Joystick Port Choose joystick by which you would like to control OpticTracker 4 Primary Camera Device ID Fill in the device ID of the primary tracking camera This 1s the imager mounted behind your telescope 5 Primary Camera Mounting If your imager is mounted on a diagonal select Diagonal Otherwise choose Direct 6 Primary Camera Focal Length Fill in the focal length of your telescope 7 Primary Camera Chip Width 1 Oo OND O gt C N 7 amp Optic Tracker Setup e amp J 23 Mount Type Celestron Mount COM Port 1 Joystick Port ID 0 Primary Camera Device ID 0 Primary Camera Mounting Direct Primary Camera Focal Length mm 1350 Primary Camera Chip Width mm 4 Primary Camera Chip Height mm 3 View Finder Camera ID 1 View Finder Camera Mounting Direct View Finder Focal Length mm 200 View Finder Chip Width mm 4 View Finder Chip Height m
4. Tos NEL Ld Ik amo OpticTracker User s Manual Page 11 The joystick movement controls your telescope s movement The throttle level adjusts the sensitivity of the controls OpticTracker User s Manual Page 12 Track a Target Tracking a target can be as easy as 3 steps 1 Point your telescope in the sky and click button 4 to reset the system 2 Click button 3 to enable auto designation 3 Use the joystick try to keep the telescope pointing at whatever you would like to track As soon anything enters your tracking camera s field of view OpticTracker starts analyzing its trajectory Once OpticTracker gathered enough information about an object it will disable your manual control and start tracking all by itself This process can take as little as a second If the object exits the frame the process starts over OpticTracker also starts recording on all your cameras upon acquiring a lock A red dot will appear in each window that is being recorded If you chose a folder that is not writable to OpticTracker as the recording folder an error message will appear on your screen Eventually press button 4 again to stop the system Please remain close to your joystick while the telescope is tracking your target You need to be ready to stop the telescope in case OpticTracker looses lock 1 Easy tracking is only available in OpticTracker Basic and above Please check the Advanced Operations section for tracking operation f
5. and Auto Tracking Designation is the process of locking the seeker onto the target OpticTracker marks the available targets by drawing a green square on top of it These targets include external targets like satellites and moving objects in the video feed Move the joystick hat switch left and right picture on the left to select different target Selected target is marked with a diamond picture on the right on top of the main engine nozzle of the space shuttle 3 Track Monitor NI th f Bm bh FAITE EE aaa Be ij j jj M j i HU Aili I AI HL Hie tH THA j j 1 Moving targets in video feed is only selectable in OpticTracker Basic version and up OpticTracker User s Manual Page 17 Once the target is selected pulling the hat switch downward will designate the target This locks the seeker onto the target Pushing it up will release the seeker from the target Remember designation only tells the seeker to follow the target To have the telescope follow the target as well the telescope has to be put into Caged mode Manual Tracking Sometimes the visual target cannot be designated either because the version of OpticTracker does not support it or because the background is too noisy and OpticTracker cannot distinguish the object Manual tracking is essential in cases where visual targets cannot be designated During manual tracking the telescope is put in the caged mode and the user contr
6. can download softwares like WinRAR or 7zip to unzip it D Y OpticTracker zip WinRAR evaluation copy e J js E WinRAR self extracting archive gt B EJ File Commands Tools Favorites Options Help JA eel By aa WP wD Add ExractTo Test View Delete Find Wizard Info e Press Install button to start extraction Ro 4 VirusScan Comment SFX e Use Browse button to select the destination folder from the folders tree It can be also entered manually e Ifthe destination folder does not exist it will be created automatically before extraction v E B OpticTracker zip OpticTrackerV1 0 1 ZIP archive unpacked size 50 076 248 bytes Name Size Packed Z OpticTracker Vista 32bit exe LL OpticTracker Win7 32bit exe V OpticTracker zip C OpticTracker Win7 64bit exe z 47 4 MB optictracker com C OpticTracker_XP_32bit exe ASCOMPlatform6 exe 23 8 MB ascom standards org ASCOMPlatform6Developer exe 9 8 MB ascom standards org Destination folder x EN spec TV IP422WN v10R pdf C Users MACHEN 1 App Data Local Temp Rar EX41 Browse wie 895 KB trendnet com Installation progress 4 K Search ingal Cancel g a Choose the location where you would like to install OpticTracker OpticTracker is a green software It does not touch your windows environment and runs directly from the installation folder You can move the installatio
7. install folder You will be asked to provide your user name and password Put in the user name you created at the OpticTracker website to continue 3 rere Ke JE gt OTinstalled Search OTinst Organize v Include in library v Share with v New folder r fl Hx Favorites iA J m z AM iae cation exten i ud Z License 6 23 2011 10 21 PM Adobe Acrobat D ue L j License 6 23 2011 10 21 PM Text Document rc S MSACM32 dll 7 3 20080615 PM Application exten MEE amp MSVFW32 dll 11 20 2010 4 19 AM Application extens Novo OLEPRO32 DLL 11 20 2010 4 20 AM Application exte E E amp opency_ffmpeg210 dll 4 5 2010 5 05 PM Application extens d s opencv ffmpeg210d dll 4 5 2010 5 12 PM Application extens E xl rs E OpticTracker M 7 35 PM Application E Videos POWRPROF dIl 7 13 2009 6 16 PM Application exten uj iE MEE BD pyespat pyd 4 14 2009 10 46 PM PYD File L pygame arraysurfarray pyd 5 09 AM PYD File a8 Homegroup L pygame numericsndarray pyd 9 5 08 AM PYD File 95 M PYD Fil pygame numericsurfarray pyd jE Computer amp Local Disk C Seco p cx Windows XP D L pese aiies a Applications E 80 items Click Main Cam on the upper left corner of the screen to bring the Track Monitor to the front Optic Tracker Professional User mimm Main Cam View Finder a View Finder re UTC 2010 10 28T01 15 59 0 Auto Designate ON A
8. rely solely on swinging your head around to follow it Instead your eyeball fixates on the fly and your head moves along The seeker is like the eyeball it moves fast and smooth and it is designed to fixate on the target With its help the bulkier telescope can just move along during tracking operations In weapon systems such as missals the seeker 1s typically a fast response sensor platform which can raptly change the orientation of sensors such as cameras to track a target In OpticTracker the seeker is a virtual device implemented by software The seeker s orientation is drawn in both the Track Monitor window and View Finder window Under the free slew mode which will be explained in detail shortly you can bring the seeker to the center of the screen by clicking button 1 When you click button 1 multiple times OpticTracker will automatically calculate the movement between the last two clicks and apply the target speed to the seeker Optic Tracker User s Manual Page 16 Caged Mode and Free Slew Mode Caged mode refers to the mode in which the telescope s movement is slaved to the seeker Under caged mode OpticTracker adjusts the movement of the telescope tens of times per second allowing it to follow the seeker the best way it can The joystick movements no longer controls the telescope Instead they move the seeker Button 5 turns on the Caged Mode and button 6 turns it off Target Designation
9. Click Save button to save the configurations After getting the confirmation that the settings are saved you can close the windows and fire up the main program Review Joystick Button Mapping Every button on the joystick has an ID number starting with 1 OpticTracker decides what to do when a button is pressed by its button ID Since the location of buttons are different between different Joysticks it is very important that the user be sure about the button mapping for his her joystick Typically the button IDs should be printed on the joystick either on the button itself or right next to the buttons Or a user can always find out a button s ID in the Game Controller settings in windows control panel gt Logitech Extreme 3D properties Settings Test Test the game controller If the controller is not functioning properly it may need to be calibrated To calibrate it go to the Settings page Axes ET Slider T Z Rotation X Axis Y Axis Buttons Point of View Hat m M 00o 4 1 i b A Cancel OpticTracker User s Manual Page 10 Press a button on your joystick the ID that lights up in the Buttons section is the ID of the button you just pressed Running OpticTracker Before starting OpticTracker make sure your telescope is aligned Please refer to telescope user s manual for instructions on alignment procedures Start OpticTracker main program by double clicking OpticTracker exe in OpticTracker s
10. OV OpticTracker will lock on it and start visual tracking Usually the calculated position is off by a few degrees If your FOV is not wide enough to capture the target you can use the joystick to make adjustments Use the sensitivity lever to adjust joystick sensitivity You should see the seeker leaving the satellite marker in response to your joystick input You can click button l the trigger to make the current seeker position the new neutral point Once visual lock is established OpticTracker will automatically turn on recording If you already have the recording turned on it will stay on OpticTracker User s Manual Page 20
11. OpticTracker User s Manual Important Note NEVER use a laser view finder when tracking airplanes Shining laser at an airplane is a CRIME OpticTracker is a electro optical tracking software that enables your computerized telescope to lock on and track any moving object visible through your telescope OpticTracker User s Manual Page 1 Table of Content Installation Choose a version Hardware Hequirement Hardware Setup Examples for Starters Register Download and Upgrade Software Installation Getting Started Setup Configuration Review Joystick Button Mapping Running OpticTracker Track a Target User Interface Overview Track Monitor Advanced Operations The Seeker Caged Mode and Free Slew Mode Target Designation and Auto Tracking Manual Tracking Satellites TLE Tracking Satellites OpticTracker User s Manual N m A QO Q o 10 17 13 14 14 15 16 16 17 17 18 19 19 20 Page 2 Installation Choose a version OpticTracker offers 4 different version from which users can choose The main difference between the versions is the number of cameras the system can use In a high powered optical tracking setup the field of view of the main camera is often too small to efficiently search for and acquire targets With OpticTracker Enthusiastic and Professional the system can include a wider angel camera or view finder camera Below is a chart with different features in different versions Tee eme
12. OpticTracker User s Manual Page 19 Open TLE txt with notepad copy and past the TLE into the file save and exit 7 TLE Notepad a fC m FlemidienFommt oriri ISS ZARYA 1 25544U 98067A 10362 34579394 00011736 00000 0 91435 4 2 25544 051 6479 316 6737 0005351 079 9159 056 5182 15 72221316694018 IRIDI d 20 1 25577U 98074A 11273 45976790 00000331 00000 0 11118 3 0 4576 ld T 086 3943 047 6048 0002258 081 8458 278 2989 14 34215113669349 angong i 37820U 11053A 11275 14988921 00054308 00000 0 35287 3 0 122 2 37820 042 7847 181 5607 0013358 053 9337 092 0015 15 75008p67 413 There are several places where you can get the TLE data for example www space track org and www heavens above com Tracking Satellites Before tracking a satellite make sure you download the latest TLE data and sync your computer clock to one of the internet time servers Up to date TLE and time is crucial for satellite position calculation satellite tracking can be as simple as 3 steps 1 Select satellite to track with your hat switch 2 Enable Auto Designate by pressing button 3 3 Use joystick to make adjustments until OpticTracker acquires the target visually When you enable Auto Designate the telescope will be switched into the caged mode and the seeker will be locked to the calculated position of the selected satellite Your telescope will slew rapidly to the satellite s calculated position Once the satellite appears in your F
13. ggyback Mount ADM Dovetail and Guide Ring System Finder Scope DN Orion 50mm Guide Scope Celestron Firstscope Optical Tube Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Note if your computer does not have serial ports you will also need a USB to RS232 adaptor Warning Warning Warning Do NOT use a laser view finder if you intend to track airplanes Do not even leave the laser on your telescope Shining a laser at an airplane is a CRIME OpticTracker User s Manual Page 4 Register Download and Upgrade Visit www optictracker com click My Account eoo My Account Ea 4 T http www optictracker com My Account html L Q Google BE eo m SE DIY Drones MobileMe TV AlchemyBETA1 HWD AlchemyBETA2 BUR AlchemyBETA3 BUR Alchemy Login HOME FEATURES HOW IT WORKS DOWNLOADING QUESTIONS CONTACT US New User Register Existing User Login w optictracker com User Name 3 S User Name Password IESU 5 5 58 Confirm Password First Name Last Name Email Address Phone Number Forgot Password Note Fields marked with are required fields Create Account Upon of registration a new user is immediately granted access to the free version of OpticTracker eoo My Account e 4 http www optictracker com My_Account html EKQ Google ilo eo DD ZH DiYDrones MobileMe TV AlchemyBETA1 HWD AlchemyBETA2 BUR AlchemyBETA3 BUR Alchemy Login
14. m 3 Recording Folder C vi Main Window Recording Enable Target Window Recording Enable Finder Window Recording Enable Save Fill in the width of your CCD CMOS chip on your imager in millimeters Please refer to the imager s manual for this information Typically this should be a few millimeters 8 Primary Camera Chip Height Fill in the height of your CCD CMOS chip on your imager in millimeters Typically this should be a few millimeters too 9 13 View Finder Camera Settings Identical to primary camera settings but for the view finder The viewfinder should always have shorter focal length or wider field of view than the main camera If you have the Enthusiastic or Professional version but choose not to use a view finder you can select None for the View Finder Camera ID 1 Setting has no effect in Free and Basic versions OpticTracker User s Manual Page 9 14 Recording Folder This 1s where the video recordings will be stored Some folders are protected from write access by the windows operating system Choosing those folders will result in an error message on the screen when OpticTracker tries to write the video file there 15 17 Recording Switches Turning on recording only on wanted video stream may increase tracking performance on slower computers Please refer to the User Interface section of this manual for distinction between different video streams Save Settings
15. n folder after installation without corrupting the application OpticTracker User s Manual Page 7 Getting Started Setup Before running OpticTracker we need to tell OpticTracker what kind of hardware it 1s dealing with Make sure your cameras telescope and joystick are all connected then double click Setup exe in the installation folder to bring up the setup utility X QW JE gt OTinstalled Organize v Include in library v Ft Favorites RE Desktop Downloads Recent Places E Homegroup j Computer amp Local Disk C cs Windows XP D The setup utility will scan the system and list all available hardware ports L pygame time pyd _ pygame transform pyd python26 dll pywintypes26 dll 7 5 2009 5 35 AM Appli SDL dll 7 15 2009 10 56 AM SDL image dll SDL mixer dll select pyd 4 14 2009 10 46 PM Setup o S smpeg dll amp tcl85 dll 11 6 2008 8 29 PM amp tk85 dil 11 6 2008 8 37 PM unicodedata pyd 4 14 2 wO9xpopen win32api pyd zlib1 dll hardware ports and list all available Detecting connected hardwares Please examine the system settings focal length and pixel size are in millimeter Scanning Serial Ports Serial Port 1 Device Serial Port 3 Device Scanning Camera Ports Camera Port Camera Camera Port 1 Camera Camera Port 2 Camera Scanning Joystick Ports Connected Connected Detected Detected
16. ols the seeker to follow the target The telescope follows the seeker s position and movement 1 Press button 4 to reset the system 2 Slew the telescope until the target falls into the FOV field of view 3 Click button 1 to bring the seeker into the FOV Repeat this process until the seeker stays inside the FOV 4 Press button 5 to enable caged mode 5 Use the joystick to keep the seeker on top of the target If you have to keep pushing the joystick to one direction to keep the seeker on top of your target click button 1 This will trigger the re calculation of target speed Be aware doing so at a high frequency can reduce the accuracy of the target speed calculation Only re calculate every a few seconds OpticTracker User s Manual Page 18 Satellites TLE TLE stands for Two Line Element It is a data format to describe the orbit of a satellite This data can be used to calculate the position of a satellite at a given time ISS ZARYA 1 25544U 98067A 11273 56068844 00006343 00000 0 69670 4 0 1559 2 25544 051 6425 350 2542 0017148 269 0895 183 2994 15 60116027737367 OpticTracker can load up to 5 sets of two line or three line form of TLE at start up The satellites realtime locations are overlaid on top of the video images just like that of regular visual objects Satellites are selectable and designable just like other targets When a satellite 1s selected satellite name pass start and end time will show up in the Ex
17. or the Free version OpticTracker User s Manual Page 13 User Interface Overview Optic Tracker Professional User maim Exit ocket 233 084 B p B bi OOF NP I 5 rain OpticTracker main program consists of a navigation bar and 3 video windows Track Monitor Track Target and the View Finder Tracking information is overlaid on top of the image from the main video source and is displayed in the Track Monitor Another copy of the video stream from the main camera is digitally zoomed and stabilized and is displayed in the target window without any information overlay You can use the navigation bar to bring any of the windows to the front To exist the program click the Exit button at the right hand side of the nav bar 1 In the case of OpticTracker Free and Basic only the Track Monitor and Track Target will appear since they only support one video source OpticTracker User s Manual Page 14 8 Track Monitor Track Monitor 1 Time UTC and local time 2 AZM ALT The position of the telescope 3 Center Cross hair 4 Seeker 5 Visual Target 6 External Target 7 Recording Indicator 8 Auto Designate Indicator OpticTracker User s Manual Page 15 Advanced Operations The Seeker More advanced operations require an understanding about how OpticTracker works Imagine yourself trying to follow a fly You will get a big headache and probably loose the fly too if you had to
18. ternal Target Information section picture on the right bottom left corner 3 Track Monitor cames mem 3 Track Monitor aes To load TLE open TLE txt in the program folder OpticTracker main program will create an empty file if 1t does not exists S sro OW J gt OT Installed Search OT Inst P Organize v Include in library v Share with v New folder v HN o9 y Name Date modified Type BE Desktop SDL dll 7 15 2009 10 56 AM Application extens Downloads S SDL image dll 7 15 2009 10 57 AM Application extens Recent Places amp SDL mixer dll 7 15 2009 10 58 Al Application extens _ select pyd 4 14 2009 10 46 PM PYD File SS Libraries 1 7 Setup 12 28 2010 5 02 PM Application 4 Documents amp smpeg dll 7 15 2009 10 57 Al Application extens 2 Music amp tcl85 dll 11 6 2008 8 29 PM Application extens El Pictures 1 TestEnthusiastic 12 29 2010 11 00 DAT File Videos amp tk85 dll 11 6 2008 8 37 PM Application extens al AREFE TLE Am 2 28 2010 5 09 PM Text Document unicodedata pyd 4 14 2009 10 43 PM PYD File E Homegroup _ vidcap pyd 10 15 2008 9 22PM PYD File B VideoSettings 2 28 2010 5 02 PM Application jE Computer a wOxpopen 4 14 2009 10 39 PN Application amp L Local Disk C _ win32api pyd 7 5 2009 5 35 AM PYD File cx Windows XP D zlibl dll 7 15 2009 10 56 Al Application extens a Applications E TE Ji 89 items
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