Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Acquisition Camera CCDS Curtis Computer
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CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual J. Marshall 05 August 2005 Background: The CCDS acquisition (slitviewer) camera was replaced in August 2005. This modern CCD camera is much more sensitive than the old system! It should also be easier to use. The new acquisition camera is a SBIG ST-9 CCD camera.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 2 System Specifications (Measured) Camera model SBIG ST-9 CCD chip KAF0261E Format 512x512 20x20 _m pixels Cooling Single-stage TEC Readout Time ~ 1 second Gain 1.8 e-/DN Dark Current ~1 DN/s/pixel @ 0 C Read Noise 6.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 3 Quick Start Guide 1. If the system is not running when you start observing, open the CCDOps program on the control computer (it should open up automatically when you log on as “Visitor”). The CCDOps toolbar should be displayed on the desktop.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 4 Using the Acquisition Camera 1. Startup Log on to the ccdsacqcam machine by clicking on the “Visitor” account on the Welcome Screen. There is no password associated with this account. CCDOps should open automatically when you log on to this account.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 5 Figure 2. Setup dialog box Make sure Temperature Regulation is set to “Active” and that the Setpoint is about 20 degrees below ambient. IMPORTANT : The system temperature setpoint should be set to about 20 degrees C below the ambient temperature in the dome.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 6 3. Normal Acquisition Operation Once a link is established with the camera and the temperature regulation is turned on, you are ready to use the system. Under most circumstances you will want to use the “Focus” mode of the camera.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 7 You may also use the “Grab” button on the toolbar. This will take only one image instead of a continuous sequence of images. This may be useful if you want to take an image of your object’s position on the slit for reference on a future night.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 8 Exposure time guide: For very bright objects (V<8 mag), minimum exposure times of 0.12 seconds are plenty long; in fact, the object will most likely be saturated. Very faint objects (V>19 mag) are detected easily on a clear moonless night in 5 seconds in unbinned (high-res) mode.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 9 To place a filter in the beam, find the “Filter” pull-down menu and simply select the filter you desire. The camera will rotate the correct filter in front of the CCD. If for some reason the items on the pull-down menu are greyed out, select Filter Wheel Setup.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 10 One exception to this is that on clear, moonless nights it may be difficult to see the slit for short exposure times.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 11 Appendix A. Restarting the system from a connection failure If CCDOps fails to connect with the camera or gives an error message when you attempt to establish a link, you need to reboot the computer and may need to reinstall the drivers for the camera.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 12 6. The Found New Hardware Wizard will help you to install the new drivers. FOLLOW THESE STEPS EXACTLY or you will have to reboot the computer again! • You may need to be logged in as Administrator to make these changes.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 13 • The Wizard will allow you to choose your search and install options: Select “Don’t search, I will choose”. • The Wizard will ask you to select the device driver for this hardware: Highlight the first driver on the list, then click Next.
CCDS Acquisition Camera User’s Manual 14 • A pop-up will appear warning about Windows compatibility issues Select “Continue Anyway” • Select Finish to complete the wizard. You may now re-open CCDOps and establish a link to the camera as normal.
An important point after buying a device Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Curtis Computer Acquisition Camera CCDS along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
