Digitalis Digitarium Alpha User Manual

Digitarium Alpha

Portable Digital Planetarium Projector

User Manual

Version 1.20

February 23, 2006

Copyright 2004-2006, Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc. logo, Digitarium,

and Digitarium Alpha are trademarks of

Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc.

PO Box 2976

Bremerton, WA 98310 USA

DigitalisEducation.com

Phone: [phone]

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 2

Table of Contents

Introduction 4
Features of Note 4
Drawbacks 4
Safety 5
Feature Identifier 5
Set up and Turning on the Projector

Power On
Begin Projection
Stop Projection
Restart Projection

Turning off the Projector

Indicator Light States
Packing

Use

Remote Control
Normal Operating Mode
Menu Mode
Script Playback Mode

Media Mode (Using the DVD Drive)
Creating Multimedia Disks 22
Video-In Port 23
Maintenance

24

6

8

9

Updates

Lens Care

Lamp Life

Checking Remaining Lamp Life

Lamp Replacement
Troubleshooting 27
How to Get Help 29
Product Specifications 29
Warranty

Two year limited warranty

Limited liability
Software Licenses 30
Regulatory Information 31

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 3

30

Introduction

The Digitarium Alpha portable digital planetarium projector is a full-featured
projector ideal for portable or small fixed domes.

Our design goal was a planetarium projector for the small dome market that was
simple to set up and use, easily portable, full-featured, and affordable.

You will get the most out of your projector if you understand the components of
which it consists. The Digitarium Alpha is comprised of a computer, a DLP
projector, and two remote controls. The computer runs planetarium software
which is controlled by the Digitarium remote control. The computer produces
video output which is projected onto a dome by the DLP projector using a fisheye
lens. The DLP projector has its own remote control which is used to turn the
projector light on or off, as well as to view or reset bulb lifetime.

[This DLP projector remote control gives access to many projection specific
settings, but we recommend that you do not modify these, as improper settings
can potentially disable your Digitarium Alpha.]

Features of Note

• Easy, accurate, fast set up.

• Fixed focus regardless of dome size.

• Operated by hand-held remote control from anywhere in the dome.

• Updates itself over the Internet at your command.

• DVD drive for your own or third party images or video.

• Accounts for precession of the equinoxes.

• Adapts automatically to any power system in the world, using 110-240v 50-60

Hz AC power (with appropriate power cord).

Drawbacks

In the interest of affordability, some tradeoffs had to be made. You will probably
notice:

• Blue/violet chromatic aberration, especially near the horizon.

• The north horizon area is slightly dimmer than other areas.

We feel that neither of these should detract substantially from your audience's
enjoyment of the planetarium experience.

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 4

Safety

• Make sure vents are not blocked to avoid overheating.

• Do not stare into the lens while the projector is projecting as the light is very

bright.

• Change lamp after 2,000 hours of use, or catastrophic failure of the lamp can

result.

• Do not use projector when it is tilted toward either vent side. This can result in

significantly reduced lamp life.

• Be careful lifting the projector due to its weight.

Feature Identifier

Features, as labeled above:

1. Infrared receiver for Digitarium Alpha projector remote control

2. Projection lens

3. DVD drive

4. Video-in port

5. Audio jack

6. Ethernet jack

7. Reset button

8. Indicator light

9. AC power jack and switch

10.Infrared receiver for DLP projector remote control

11.Lens cap (hanging on retention cord)

12.Lamp access door

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 5

Set up/Turning on the Projector

Before turning on the projector, be sure to read the section below for
instructions on turning off the projector. Do not simply switch it off, or you
could burn out the expensive projector lamp.

Set Up

1) Remove the transit case lid by the handles and place it on the floor in the
center of your dome.

2) Lift the projector out of the transit case base by the projector handles. Place
the projector on top of the transit case lid. Orient the projector so that the
projection lens is roughly centered under the zenith of the dome. Rotate the
projector to orient the projected sky to your preference.

3) Attach the power cord to the projector and plug the other end into a surge
protector, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), or AC power conditioner
plugged into an acceptable AC power outlet. These devices protect against
damage from different types of electrical power disturbances, which is not
covered under your warranty.

4) Remove the lens cap by lifting straight up. Do not twist the cap off as this can
rotate the lens. If the cap is tight, gently pry up one side with a key or other
lever.

Warning: Do not rotate the lens as this can seriously damage the lens or
internal components. The lens focus is fixed and not user adjustable. If your lens
is loose or projection seems blurry even after the projector has fully warmed up
(about three minutes), contact Digitalis technical support.

Power On/Begin Projection

1) Switch on the projector. The start up process takes about one minute.

Meanwhile, hold down the power button on the DLP projector remote control
for two or three seconds to turn on the projector light. You will need to be next
to the projector and aim into the vents near the lens. The indicator light will
start flashing green. It will take about 30 seconds for the lamp to reach full
intensity.

2) When ready, you will see the sky projected onto the dome above you. Note:

Deep sky object images load in the background, which takes about 45 more
seconds. While these are loading, the drawing refresh rate is limited.

3) When Stellarium starts up, it will automatically run a script called

“ /scripts/startup.sts” if one exists on the disk in the projector's DVD drive. For
more information about scripts, see the section entitled “ Script Playback

Mode.” Press if you want to cancel the script.

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 6

4) If you want to make sure you are in the center of the dome, press to bring

up an azimuthal grid. Move the projector as needed to center the grid on the
dome, and then turn off the grid.

5) Don't forget to change your latitude, longitude, and time zone, if necessary.

See the section entitled “ Menu Mode” for instructions on changing these
settings. If you modify settings and want those modifications to become your
default settings, you will need to save them as default, using the menu.

Stop Projection

To stop projecting onto the dome, aim the DLP projector remote control into the
vents near the lens. Press and hold the power button until a dialog pops up,
asking whether you really want to stop projecting. If you do, hold down the power
button again. Otherwise, do nothing.

It takes 90 seconds to shut off and cool down the projector lamp safely.

During these 90 seconds do not shut off power to the projector or you

could damage the lamp. You will not be able to resume projection until after this

cooling period is completed. While cooling, the indicator light will flash orange.
Once finished, it will be steady orange.

Note that the computer components of the Digitarium Alpha are still running.
To resume projection, turn on the projection lamp just as you did the first time.

If you will not be restarting projection soon, place the lens cap over the lens to
protect it.

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 7

Turning off the Projector

To turn off the projector completely, stop projection as described above. Once
projection has stopped and the indicator light is steady orange, it is safe to switch
off the projector with the power switch.

Indicator Light States:

Light Meaning

Off No power, OR, if power is on, there is a problem with bulb or

projector. Safe to turn off.
Steady orange Standby mode (projection stopped); safe to turn off.
Flashing green Lamp turning on. If projection turns off and light flashes green,

the projector temperature is too high. See the troubleshooting

section for possible causes and solutions.
Steady green Projecting at maximum brightness.
Flashing orange Lamp cooling off; will take approximately 90 seconds.
Flashing red Fan not functioning; projector will automatically shut down.

Contact technical support.

REMEMBER: Only turn off the projector when the light is steady orange

or off to avoid lamp damage.

Packing

To assist you in packing your Digitarium Alpha projector, a small white circle is
attached to one corner of the transit case base foam. The lens of the Digitarium
Alpha projector should be placed in the corner marked by this circle. This lines up
the lens with a hole in the foam-lined top of the transit case, putting less pressure
on the lens.

If your lens cap seems loose or you will be transporting your projector far, we
recommend using a strip of masking tape to keep the cap on and the lens
protected during transit.

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 8

Use

Remote Control

The Digitarium Alpha remote control is pictured below. There are four modes for
the remote control: normal operating mode, menu mode, script playback mode,
and media mode. The following pages will explain what the buttons do in each
mode.

For best reception, point the remote at the zenith while sending commands.

The remote control is backlit. To backlight the remote for a few seconds, push
the button. You must release the button before you push another button.

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 9

Normal Operating Mode

In normal operating mode, the buttons do what is shown by the icons on their
faces.

Button Normal Operating Mode Function

Zoom in on selected object.

Zoom out to sky.

Reserved.

Move pointer toward zenith.

Move pointer counterclockwise around the zenith.

Move pointer toward horizon.

Move pointer clockwise around the zenith.

Select an object.

Pause/continue movement of time.

Stop time.

Accelerate speed of time backward. Can be pressed multiple
times.

Move forward in real time.

Accelerate speed of time forward. Can be pressed multiple
times.

Turn on/off labels for bright stars.

Toggle between planet labels, planet labels with orbits, and no
labels or orbits. To show one planet orbit at a time, select a

Digitarium Alpha User Manual 10