Orion 52083 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion® StarShoot

™

Deep Space Monochrome Imager II

#5 208 3

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

Customer Support [phone]

E-mail: support@telescope .c om

Corpo rate Offices ( 831) 763- 7000

P.O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061

IN 320 Rev. A 10/07

Welcome to a new world of adventure. Your new
StarShoot Deep Space Monochrome Imaging camera
II (SSDSMI-2) is capable of capturing detailed images
of astronomical objects; galaxies, star clusters, and
nebula, as well as the planets, Moon, and the Sun (with
optional solar filter). These objects can be imaged to
create spectacular views on your computer (laptop
recommended, see “System Requirements”) which
can be saved for emailing or printing later. You’ll find
that this relatively inexpensive, yet powerful, camera
will enhance your astronomical journeys with your
telescope.

Please read this instruction manual before attempting to use the camera or
install the needed software. For the most detailed information on specific
camera and software functions, consult the Maxim DL Essentials Help menu;
the

tutorials found there are especially useful for familiarizing yourself with how

the software and camera are typically used.

Parts List

• StarShoot Deep Space Monochrome Imager II

• USB cable

• 3V Power supply for TEC (requires 2x D-cell batteries, not included)

• CD-ROM

System Requirements (refer to Figure 1)

Telescope

The SSDSMI-2 can be used with virtually any telescope that is compatible with

1.25" format eyepieces. The camera simply is inserted into a focuser in the
same way as a standard eyepiece (Figure 2a).

Important Note: Be sure to always firmly tighten the thumbscrew(s) that
secures the SSDSMI-2 in the telescope focuser, or it could fall out and onto
the ground!

If your telescope is has T-threads for direct camera attachment, a more secure
connection can be made. First, unthread the nosepiece from the SSDSMI-2.
This exposes the camera’s T-threads. Now, simply thread the camera onto your
telescope (Figure 2b).

2

Figure 1. To use the SSDSMI-2, a telescope, mount, and computer are required.

Securing thumbscrew

Figure 2a. The SSDSMI-2 fits into 1.25" focuser, just like a standard 1.25" eyepiece.

Firmly tighten the thumbscrew that secures the SSDSI in the focuser.

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T-threads

Figure 2b. If your telescope has T-threads, remove the nosepiece from the SSDSMI-

2 and thread the camera directly onto the telescope. This provides the most secure
connection.

In order to reach focus, the telescope must have approximately 0.6" (15mm)
of inward focus travel relative to where a standard eyepiece focuses. If your
telescope does not have enough inward focus travel, you will need to use
and optional 1.25" barlow lens to extend the telescope’s focal plane to the
camera’s imaging plane.

For most types of astro-imaging with the SSDSMI-2 (except planetary imag­ing),

using a telescope with a focal length of under 1000mm is recommended.
Otherwise, the field of view may be too small to capture the entire deep sky
object. To decrease the effective focal length of your telescope, use a focal
reducer lens (available from Orion). If you are imaging planets, however, you
will benefit from using a telescope with a long (over 1000mm) focal length. Or
you can use a barlow lens to extend the effective focal length of your telescope
to increase planetary image scale.

Mount

An

equatorial mount with right ascension motor drive is required for deep sky
imaging with the SSDSMI-2. Otherwise, objects will drift in the field of view as
the image is being captured. It is also very important that the mount tracks
very accurately with little periodic error. If not, stars will not appear round in the
final image. Use a sturdy mount that is appropriately sized for the telescope
tube being used. Accurate polar alignment will also be required.

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Computer

A computer is needed. For astro-imaging in the field at night, a laptop com­puter

is highly recommended. Maxim DL Essentials requires Windows 2000,

Windows XP, or Windows Vista.

The following hardware is also required:

• Processor – Pentium™ or equivalent, or higher

• Recommended minimum memory size is 64 MB.

• Disk Space – 67 MB for program installation, 100 MB swap file recom-

mended

• Video Display – 800 X 600, 16-bit color or higher. 1024x768 or higher is

recommended.

• Mouse

• Internet Explorer 4 or higher required to display on-line help

• USB port (USB 2.0 recommended)

Maxim DL Essentials benefits greatly from increased memory size.

Note: Some computers have USB ports that are known to not meet the USB
specification for the output voltage. These computers may not be able to run
the SSDSMI-2 without the use of an external powered hub. The vast majority of
computers, however, do meet the proper USB specification, and should have no
problems running the SSDSMI-2 off of regular USB power. The SSDSMI-2 itself is
fully USB compliant regarding its power requirements.

Power and the TEC

In order to provide power for the SSDSMI-2’s thermoelectric cooler (TEC), an
external 3VDC power supply is needed. The SSDSMI-2 camera itself runs off
the power supplied by your computer’s USB port; only the TEC requires exter­nal

power. So, if you happen to run out of external 3VDC power in the field, you
can still run the camera without the TEC.

The TEC is like a refrigerator in the camera. When the camera is running, it pro­duces

internal heat, which causes “noise” in images. The TEC counteracts this
by cooling the CCD chip, which reduces thermal noise. This produces better
quality images than similar uncooled cameras can provide. Also, cameras with
simple air-cooling (i.e. with an onboard fan) cannot reduce the internal cam­era

temperature below ambient (outside) temperature, and therefore produce
images that are inherently inferior. The TEC in the SSDSMI-2 will reduce the
temperature of the camera’s interior to approximately 36°F (20° C) below the
ambient outside temperature.

The included 3VDC power supply requires two D-cell batteries (not included).
To install the batteries, open the battery holder by pulling and lifting the tab
on the cover labeled “OPEN”. Then, insert the batteries so the polarity is as
indicated on the interior of the holder.

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Tab

- +

USB

cable

D-cell batteries (2)

3VDC Power supply

Figure 3. The 3V power supply (with two D-cell batteries installed) turns the TEC on

when it is plugged into the SSDSMI-2.

When the 3VDC power supply is plugged into the SSDSMI-2, the TEC is on
(Figure 3). It takes about a minute for the TEC to provide maximum cooling, so
wait a couple of minutes before you begin to capture images. When the power
source is not plugged in, the TEC is off. Remember to unplug the TEC when it
is not in use, or you will drain the power supply. Keeping a spare set of D-cell
batteries in your equipment case is also a good idea!

Input

jack for

TEC power

Software and Driver Installation

Before the camera can be used, software and camera drivers must be installed
onto your computer. Turn on your computer and allow the Windows operating
system to load as normal. Insert the included CD-ROM into your computer’s
CD-ROM drive, and the Launcher will appear (Figure 4). This allows you to
install

the Maxim DL Essentials software. After the software is installed, the
drivers will install automatically once the SSDSMI-2 is initially connected to
the computer. Do not connect the camera to your computer before you have
installed the software.

Figure 4. The Launcher provides an

easy menu for software installation.

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Software Installation

To install Maxim DL Essentials Edition:

1. Insert the CD-ROM into the drive. The Launcher will appear. For Windows

Vista computers, the AutoPlay window will appear. Select Run Launcher.exe,
then the Launcher will appear.

2. Click Install.

3. The InstallShield Wizard will start. Click Next.

Read the Maxim DL License Agreement. If you agree with the terms, then

4.

select I

5. You are now ready to install. Click Install. The installation will proceed.

The installation is now complete. Click the Finish button.

6.

ou can start Maxim DL Essentials Edition using the desktop icon, or using the

Y
Windows Start menu.

Camera Driver Installation

Now that the software is installed, the camera driver must also be installed.
The system will automatically guide you through driver installation when the
SSDSMI-2 is initially connected to the computer. You must plug-in the camera
before starting Maxim DL Essentials Edition, or the software and computer will
not recognize the camera.

To install the camera driver on a Windows XP computer:

1. Make sure the CD-ROM is in the computer.

2. Connect the Orion StarShoot Deep Space Imager II to a USB port on the

computer with the supplied USB cable. Windows will automatically detect
the camera and start the Found New Hardware Wizard (Figure 5a).

Note: For best results, use a USB 2.0 port. If you only have USB 1.1, the cam­era

will run slower. We highly recommend upgrading to USB 2.0 if you have

USB 1.1. A USB upgrade card can be found from a computer parts supplier.

Note: You do not need to connect the SSDSMI-2 to the external 3VDC power
supply at this time. The external power is for the camera’s thermoelectric
cooler (TEC) only, and normal camera operation does not require it to be on
(i.e. when the TEC is powered it is on, when it is not powered it is off). Use
of the TEC is highly recommended for long exposure astro-imaging, however
(see “Imaging Deep Sky Objects”).

3. Select No, not this time and click Next.

4.

Select Install from a list of specific location (Advanced) and click Next.

Select Search removable media (floppy, CD-ROM...). Turn off the other

5.

options. Click Next.

Windows will start looking for the driver files on the CD-ROM.

6.

accept the terms in this license agreement and click Next.

7

Figure 5a. When initially connecting the SSDSMI-2 to a

Windows XP computer, the Found New Hardware Wizard will
appear and guide you through driver installation.

7. Windows will note that the driver has not passed Windows Logo testing.

This is normal. Click the Continue Anyway button.

8. When the Wizard has completed, click the Finish button. This completes the

driver installation process.

Now, start the Maxim DL Essentials Edition software. The camera will now be
recognized, and the Camera Control Window (Figure 6) will appear. Once the
driver is installed, the computer and software will recognize the SSDSMI-2
whenever it is plugged in.

To install the camera driver on Windows Vista computer:

1. Make sure the CD-ROM is in the computer.

2. Connect the SSDSMI-2 to a USB port on the computer with the supplied

USB cable. Windows will automatically detect the camera and display the
Found New Hardware window (Figure 5b.)

3. Select Locate and install driver software (recommended).

4. In the next window that appears, select Don’t search online.

The next window that appears will ask you to “Insert the disc that came

5.

with your StarShoot Camera”. Click Next.

6. A Windows Security window will appear and mention that “Windows can’t

verify the publisher of this driver software”. Choose Install this driver soft-

e anyway.

war

8

Figure 5b. When

initially connecting
the SSDSMI-2 to
a Windows Vista
computer, the Found
New Hardware
window will appear
and guide you through
driver installation.

7. When the window appears telling you “The software for this device has

been successfully installed”, click Close. This completes the driver instal­lation

process.

Now, start the MaxIm DL Essentials Edition software. The camera will now be
recognized, and the Camera Control Window (Figure 6) will appear. Once the
driver is installed, the computer and software will recognize the SSDSMI-2
whenever it is plugged in.

Figure 6.

The Camera
Control Window

automatically
appears when the
SSDSI is connected
to the computer
and the Maxim DL
Essentials program
is started.

Note: If your computer (Windows XP or Vista) has multiple USB ports, you will need
to install the driver again if the SSDSMI-2 is connected to a different USB port.

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Getting Started During Daylight

We recommend using the SSDSMI-2 for the first time during the day. This
way, you can become familiar with the camera and its functions without hav­ing

to stumble around in the dark. Setup your telescope and mount so the
optical tube is pointing at an object that is at least a couple of hundred feet
away. Insert an eyepiece and focus as you normally would.

Since the SSDSMI-2 camera is so sensitive to light, you will need to “stop
down” your telescope aperture to do any imaging in daylight. This can be done
by creating a simple aperture mask out of a piece of cardboard. The piece of
cardboard should be larger than the telescope’s aperture. Cut a circular hole in
the cardboard approximately 1⁄2" in diameter, and place the cardboard over the
front of the telescope so that it completely covers the aperture except for the
1⁄2" circle. If you are using a refractor telescope, then the hole should be cut so
it is centered on the piece of cardboard. If you are using a reflector that has a
central aperture obstruction, then the hole should be cut off to one side (in order
to bypass the central obstruction). Affix your aperture mask to your telescope
with tape (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Because the SSDSMI-2 is sensitive to light, an aperture mask is needed

on the telescope for any imaging during daylight. For a refractor, the hole should be
centered on the aperture mask. For a reflector, the hole should be off to one side of the
aperture mask.

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Obtaining First Images

To obtain first images (in daylight) with the SSDSMI-2, follow these step-by­step instructions:

1. With an eyepiece inserted in the telescope, center and focus an object

that is approximately 1⁄4 mile away. If you cannot focus your telescope this

closely (due to lack of back-focus travel), then you will need to utilize an

optional extension tube (available from Orion).

2. Plug the camera into your computer’s USB port.

3. Open Maxim DL Essentials by clicking on the icon now installed on your

computer’s desktop.

4. Once open, Essentials should connect directly to your camera with the

Camera Control Window.

5.

To connect the camera to the telescope, simply replace the telescope’s

eyepiece with the camera. Make sure the securing thumbscrew on the

focuser drawtube is firmly tightened. If your telescope has built-in T-

threads, then remove the eyepiece from the telescope and the nosepiece

from the SSDSMI-2, and thread the camera onto the telescope (see Figures

2a-b).

6.

You will now need to refocus the camera for the centered object. Focusing

will be the hardest thing to do in the initial stages. In the Camera Control

Window, set the mode to Light

.01 to begin with. In the box underneath the Mode box, select Focus. Make

sur

e the Dark Subtract box is unchecked.

7. Press the Expose button in the Camera

will now rapidly take short exposures and display them on the computer

screen. For daytime imaging, open the Screen Stretch Window (in the

View menu), and set the stretch mode to Moon.

8.

If the image brightness is too bright for the camera, an all (or mostly) black

screen will result. You will also notice that the Max Pixel (in the lower right

corner of the Camera Control Window, see Figure 6) will be at 65535,

which is the maximum pixel brightness value. Try to get a Max Pixel of

around 50000 to 60000 by increasing or decreasing exposure time (.002

sec is the minimum exposure time). If the (daytime) image is still too bright

to produce an acceptable image on your computer screen, you may need

to stop-down the aperture of your telescope further. Try making another

aperture mask with a diameter of only 1⁄4".

9. Now, turn the telescope’s focus knob so the focuser drawtube moves

slowly inward. The drawtube needs to go approximately 15mm inward from

where the eyepiece focuses (for most eyepieces). Look at the computer

screen and adjust the focus knob accordingly to determine best image

focus.

1x1. Set the Seconds (exposure time) to

Control Window. The camera

11

Note: The camera’s field of view is fairly small. It is approximately equivalent to
the field of view through the telescope when looking through a typical (i.e. not
wide-field) 10mm focal length eyepiece. So make sure the object to be imaged
is well centered in the telescope before connecting the SSDSMI-2, otherwise
it may not appear in the field of view of the camera.

10.

Once focused, image orientation can be changed by rotating the camera

within the focuser drawtube. Simply loosen the thumbscrew on the draw-

ube and rotate the camera until the desired image orientation is achieved.

t

Retighten the thumbscrew on the focuser drawtube when done. You may

need to slightly refocus (using the telescope’s focus knob) if the focuser

drawtube has moved a bit inward or outward when the camera was rotated.

11. When the image is focused and the image looks acceptable, press the

Stop button in the Camera

12. Beneath the Mode box in the Camera

13. Click the Expose button in the Camera

appear in a window.

14. You can now save the image for later processing, if you wish. This is done

by selecting Save from the File menu.

Y

ou have captured your first image with the SSDSMI-2! This simple method
of imaging is exactly how the camera could be used to capture terrestrial
subjects during daylight hours. Close-up images of birds and other wildlife or
faraway vistas can all be obtained in this way with the SSDSMI-2. Solar images
can also be taken during the day with an optional full-aperture solar filter over
the front of the telescope.

Take some time to use the camera and Maxim DL Essential software during the
day to become familiar and comfortable with their basic operation.

Note: All of the images taken with the SSDSMI-2 are black and white. To obtain
color images with this camera, see “Color Filter Imaging Using the SSDSMI-2
Monochrome”.

Note:

In the Camera Control Window, there is a Setup button. Clicking on

button will allow you to toggle the High Speed Readout Mode on and

this
off. High
specific reason (i.e. your computer system cannot process the higher speed
readout) to turn it off.

Speed Readout Mode should generally be left on unless there is a

Control Window.

Control Window select Single.

Control Window. An image will

Screen Stretch Window

The function of the Screen Stretch Window (Figure 9) is to properly map the
image brightness levels captured by the camera into corresponding image
brightness levels on the computer screen. A typical camera image has each
pixel (light detecting site, over 437,000 pixels form a single SSDSMI-2 image)
represented as a number (from 1 to 65535) depending on brightness. This has
to be mapped into the video monitor’s brightness range (from 1 to 255). It is
important to set the screen stretch appropriately, or a great image may look
terrible!

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Figure 9.

image will appear on your computer screen.

The settings in the Screen Stretch Window greatly determine how an

Figure 10. A histogram is a visual

representation of the range and levels
of brightness in an image.

Number of pixels

at brightness

level

Range of brightness levels

When an image is displayed, you will notice a graph in the Screen Stretch
Window. This is called the “histogram” of the currently displayed image (Figure

10).

A histogram is a simple bar graph that shows the range of brightness in
an image. Each bar in the graph represents a level of brightness; the bar to
the far left in the histogram represents the dimmest pixels, and the bar to the
far right is for the brightest pixels. The height of the bar is the total number of
pixels at that brightness level in the image. Every image has a different histo­gram

depending on how much of the image is bright or dark. Directly viewing
the histogram of your image in the Screen Stretch Window provides an easy
interface for making decisions on how the screen stretch should be set.

In Maxim DL Essentials, the two parameters entered in the Screen Stretch
Window are Minimum and Maximum. A pixel that is at the Minimum value
is

set to zero (black), and a pixel at the Maximum value is set to 255 (white).

An

easy way to adjust the Maximum and Minimum values is to move the

slider

arrows located directly under the histogram of the image in the Screen

13

Stretch Window. The red slider arrow corresponds to the Minimum value and
the green arrow corresponds to the Maximum value. Simply left-click and then
drag

each arrow to adjust it to the desired level. The best results are obtained

by adjusting the arrows (numbers) until the most pleasing display appears.

There are also seven automatic settings in the Screen Stretch Window.
T

ypically, Medium will give good results for deep sky objects, so the default

scr

een stretch setting is Medium.

Instead

Str

small up/down and left/right movements of the mouse. To do this, hold down
the Shift key, then left-click and drag the mouse on the image. You’ll find this
feature to be a great convenience when fine adjusting the screen stretch to get
an image to look its best.

The trick with stretching is determining exactly how to stretch the image for
best effect. Often there are several different possibilities for the same image.
Trial-and-error will be the best way to judge what the best screen stretch set­ting
When the image is subsequently saved, the screen stretch setting information
will be kept when the image is next opened.

of using the Screen Stretch Window, it is faster to use the Quick

etch facility. This allows you to modify the image appearance instantly with

is. Try several different settings until you find one you think looks best.

Astronomical Imaging

Now that you’re familiar with basic camera and software operation, it’s time to
take the SSDSMI-2 out at night under the stars to capture some astronomical
images. We recommend starting with the Moon, as it is easy to acquire into
the camera’s field of view, and typically does not require stacking of multiple
exposures as planetary and deep sky images do.

Imaging the Moon

Imaging the Moon is much like imaging terrestrial objects during the day. Since
the exposure is very short, it is not critical that the telescope mount be pre­cisely

polar aligned. Best focusing will be achieved by first focusing on a bright

star near the Moon. Start with short exposures of less than 0.1 seconds.

When the moon is past half full, it is hard to get detail due to the tremendous
glare off of the lunar surface. Most detail, even on a sliver of a moon, will be at
the terminator (the tiny thin line between the shadow and light, see Figure 12).
To get more of the moon in the image, a focal reducer will need to be used.
For close-ups of craters use a barlow lens (see “Using Focal Reducers and
Barlow Lenses”).

Imaging Planets

The best planetary images will be obtained by stacking (combining) many
individual images in order to improve image contrast, brightness, and detail.
Because the angular diameter of planets is quite small, you will need to use a

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