Sbig ALLSKY-340C, ALLSKY-340 User Manual

Operating Manual

AllSky-340 and AllSky-340C

CCD Cameras

SBIG Astronomical Instruments, A Division of Diffraction Limited.

Tel: 613.225.2732 | Fax: 225.225.9688| E-mail: tpuckett@sbig.com | www.sbig.com

© 2015 Diffraction Limited. All rights reserved. The SBIG wordmark and logo are trademarks of Diffraction Limited, All other trademarks, service marks and tradenames appearing in this brochure are the property of their respective owners.

59 Grenfell Crescent, Unit B, Ottawa, ON Canada, k2G 0G3

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the receiver and the equipment.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Shielded I/O cables must be used when operating this equipment. You are also warned, that any changes to this certified device will void your legal right to operate it. _________________________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW:.......................................... 2

MECHANICAL IMPLEMENTATION:........................................ 4

INITIAL SETUP AND FOCUSING:.............................................. 5

OCUS, TILT AND CENTERING ADJUSTMENTS: ............................... 7

ETTING UP THE SOFTWARE FOR LOGGING ALL SKY IMAGES TO

PC OR THE INTERNET: .......................................................... 8

YOUR

NSTALLING FIRMWARE UPDATES FOR THE ALLSKY340:............... 8

ISCELLANEOUS ISSUES: ............................................................... 9

ALLSKY-340 SOFTWARE........................................................... 11

ENUS ......................................................................................... 11

Setup Menu ............................................................................. 11

Display Menu.......................................................................... 12

Commands .............................................................................. 12

INDOWS AND DIALOGS.............................................................. 13

Main Window.......................................................................... 13

Status Bar................................................................................ 15

Serial Port Setup Dialog......................................................... 15

Dark Subtraction Setup Dialog............................................... 17

Still Images Setup Dialog........................................................ 17

Movies Setup Dialog ............................................................... 19

AVI Video Compression Setup Dialog .................................... 21

ETUP DIALOG...................................................................... 21

FTP S

Dialog Entries......................................................................... 22

Heater Schedule Setup Dialog ................................................ 22

Color Balance Dialog............................................................. 23

URTHER HELP............................................................................. 24

Contacting SBIG..................................................................... 24

APPENDIX A: BLUETOOTH RS-232 OPERATION .............. 25

APPENDIX B: CONNECTORS .................................................. 35

APPENDIX C: TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS.......................... 36

Introduction and Overview:

SBIG’s new All-Sky camera, the AllSky-340, is SBIG’s third version of a weatherproof AllSky camera for monitoring weather conditions. The first had to be obsoleted when we stopped production of the ST-237A, and the second went obsolete when the lens we were using became unavailable, with no suitable replacement. The third version is our best one yet! The sensor is the Kodak KAI340 CCD, with 640x480 pixels, 7.4 microns square, and a high gain output stage for excellent sensitivity. The camera containing the CCD is our SG-4 Smart Guider camera, our new autonomous guide camera that is also available.

The All Sky 340 camera, illustrated below in Figure One, incorporates the SG-4 Camera inside an aluminum enclosure with an acrylic dome to protect the fisheye lens. The fisheye lens recommended by SBIG is Fujinon’s new FE185C046HA-1, with a

1.4 mm focal length, F/1.4.

Figure One: All Sky 340 Camera

The image quality is excellent wide open, all the way to the horizon. Figure Two shows an All Sky camera image with the Fujinon lens and KAI-340 CCD. The exposure was 60 seconds from a light polluted backyard – the first quarter moon had just set behind the

roof. The field of view is slightly greater than 180 degrees in the horizontal direction.

Figure Two: All Sky Camera Image

The image illustrated was taken using a monochrome sensor. The unit is also available with a color CCD sensor. Note: with a monochrome sensor the daylight images are not particularly good – the sun and bright clouds saturate large portions of the field of view. With a color sensor the sun has a strong blooming streak top to bottom in the image, which mars the aesthetics of the image, but it still works well for cloud detection.

The new All Sky camera has some very interesting features that make it much more versatile than our previous offerings. First of all, it has an RS-232 link to the PC for control and image download. While this interface is very slow in comparison to USB, it will tolerate 150 foot (30 meter) cable runs. Or, you can throw away the cable and use a bluetooth wireless link with an optional inexpensive adapter. And, the unit is low power and can be powered by a solar array (also optional) so you don’t need any wires AT ALL running from your PC to the camera! The beauty of this is now the unit can be located where it has a good view of the sky, instead of good access to a power plug or PC. Your roof is now the preferred location, above the trees and neighbor’s houses.

By actual test, an RS-232 link, using a USB to RS-232 adapter running at 460.8 Kbaud, with a 150 foot long cable, downloads a full image reliably in ~15 seconds. At 115.2 Kbaud a full image takes ~60 seconds. Bluetooth wireless adapters will typically run at 115 Kbaud, and the one we have tried here worked reliably at a distance of 75 feet. With wireless links, one must minimize the number of walls you have to pass through. Each wall (2 layers of dry wall or wood) costs about a factor of two in signal and range.

The All Sky camera can take an image while transmitting, so with exposures longer than the download time the camera is only insensitive for the length of the readout of the CCD, which takes place in less than 1 second to an internal memory buffer in the camera. As a result, the camera is excellent for meteor detection. Its field of view is wider than our previous meteor camera, so it should see many more meteors near the horizon. One other plus – the software can run continuously in the background while you use your computer for other tasks. At these download rates the computer workload is so slight your applications won’t even notice. It will not interfere with regular imaging using the same PC. The All Sky image is there when you want to view it.

Mechanical Implementation:

The housing is lustrated in Figure One. The fisheye lens is mounted to a plate which can be translated, tipped, and focused relative to the CCD, so the full resolution of the lens can be achieved. This plate is also heated, to keep the lens free of condensation. The heat rises into the acrylic dome, warming it and keeping off the dew, and drying off raindrops. The inexpensive acrylic dome is easily replaced by removing a few screws, allowing for routine replacement in the field as the dome suffers the inevitable scratches and damage due to sunlight, windblown dust and disrespectful birds. The prototype shown in Figure one is black – the production version has a white body so it doesn’t get as hot in the sun. The unit is 5.5x5.5x11 inches in size (14x14x28 cm). The cables are designed to exit out the bottom of the unit so the connectors stay dry. If one runs the cables into a building make sure the last section of cable before entering the structure angles upward so water doesn’t drip down the cable into the wall. The housing has holes in the side so it can be easily mounted to a post with ¼-20 lag screws, or ¼-20 bolts.

Initial Setup and Focusing:

As with all of our products, we recommend a user become familiar with the product indoors in a well-lit setting before venturing outside. A rooftop may be the best place to mount an All Sky camera, but it is the worst place in the world to be installing software and learning camera operation, particularly in the dark. Also, do not try to go to Bluetooth immediately – start with a wired connection. Begin by installing the software to your PC. Make sure you have administrator privileges on the PC, and insert SBIG’s software disk. A screen should pop up in a few seconds. Select “SG-4, AllSKy340” software to install and, on the next screen, select “Install AllSKy-340”. The software should install automatically. You might also choose to install CCDOPS at this time. (Note – CCDOPS will not communicate with the AllSky 340. It can display FITS files saved with the AllSky Program, but that is all.) Next, connect the 9pin serial cable between a serial port on your PC and the AllSky Camera’s RS-232 port. If your computers does not have a serial port, one can be easily implemented using an USB-RS-232 converter. One we have had good luck with is the FTDI US232R-10-BLK, but there are many to choose from. We stock this converter if you wish to purchase it, and the drivers are also on the software disk. Finally, hook up the power to the AllSky camera, making sure the connector is well seated and does not wiggle (which would cause the power to be intermittent). Power up the unit, and flip the small recessed Power On/Off switch toward the lettering. The red LED in the switch should light steadily.

Launch the SBIG AllSky340 software. You will see the screen shown in Figure Three as well as one or two image windows.

Figure Three AllSky340 Main Software Screen

The first item to try is under the Setup menu item - Serial Port. This will open up a window you can use to test the RS-232 link. There you can enter the COM port and the baud rate, and hit TEST. If you

are successful, a box will pop up saying so. Note that when the window opens it automatically tries to communicate with the camera on the selected COM port, starting at 9600 baud and working it way up in speed. If it successfully finds a camera it tells the camera to switch to a higher baud rate and try that. If it cannot communicate at the higher baud rate, it reverts back to the last successful baud rate. This all happens automatically without user control. The reason you need to know this is if you try the camera indoors on a computer with a fast link, and then move outside to a laptop with a slower link, the camera will not communicate. When this happens, the camera can be reset to 9600 baud by turning off the power, and holding down the Guide On/Off button while powering up the camera, and holding it until the status LED turns red. Then when the Serial Port command is run it will start out at a baud rate that will work on any machine (9600).

Once you have successful communication, start the focus operation by clicking the Start Focus button on the Main Software Screen. The camera will start out by taking very short exposures and gradually working its way up to longer exposures until it senses adequate signal levels. The images displayed are binned 2x2 to speed this process up. When you start this command, you should have the AllSky camera in a well-lit room with something on the ceiling above it you can focus on (other than a way too bright light bulb!). When an image with adequate brightness is collected the software will ask you to select a region to focus on. Pick a structured area in the center half of the frame and the software will go into a rapid focus mode zoomed in on that area. Focus the area carefully and, when done, select STOP FOCUS to end the process and return to the Main Screen.

Once you have a pretty good focus, you might want to select START FOCUS again and work on the centering. When that looks good, you can select the START CAPTURE command which will capture and display full resolution images. You can use these images to set the final focus. Adjusting for best focus across the CCD by tilting the lens is best done outside with the unit looking up at a star field. Focusing the AllSky camera can take some time to get perfect, so don’t be in a rush to get through this step. Fortunately focus holds over temperature changes fairly well. Sometimes the day/night temperature cycling can initially cause some focus shift, but it should settle down after that.

Focus, Tilt and Centering Adjustments:

The focus, tilt and centering adjustments are shown in Figure Four. If you have the lens installed at the factory it will be close when you get it, but it can be tedious getting it perfect.

Figure Four: Focus, Tilt and Centering Adjustments

Focus can be adjusted with the three sets of push/pull screws around the periphery of the lens plate (marked P/P). They are adjusted by loosening one screw of the pair slightly, and tightening the other. You are trying to set focus to an accuracy of about 0.001 inch (25 microns), which is only 1/25 delicate touch is required when close. To set the centering, use the push/pull screws labeled C/C around the edge. Note that this adjustment can only be done when the focus screws are a little loose so the plate can translate. The proper order of adjustment is:

A) Inside, in a room:

1) Set the focus close to correct in the center of the image

2) Translate the lens so the centering is quite good

3) Set the focus in the center carefully

B) Outside, under the stars

1) Adjust the tilt of the lens plate to get the best focus

turn of the screw, so a very

across the image

2) Tighten up the screws, but do not over tighten them

3) Check focus in the center again

Setting up the software for logging All Sky images to your PC or the Internet:

The ABIG AllSky 340 software supports a variety of logging options you can use to monitor sky conditions. The simplest is to just have it running in the background on your computer, and when you want to see the latest still image, merely maximize the application. Other options are to log all images as JPEG and FITS files to your disk, to log a JPEG or FITS image to a fixed location on your disk over and over, to transmit the files to a web site where others can download them, to create movies out of these files saved on your disk for visualization on your PC or to be uploaded to an FTP site, etc. The most useful for users who want to share their sky information with others is just to write a JPEG to a fixed web address automatically. If you have a web page with FTP access, the software will allow you to repetitively write the latest image to a location there provided you have your user name and password. See the AllSky Software Section of this manual for more information on these options.

Installing Firmware Updates for the AllSky340:

The AllSKy340 can be easily reprogrammed in the field using the following procedure:

1) Within the AllSky340 program, select HELP from the top task bar menu, and select ABOUT,

2) Click the REPROGRAM button,

3) Browse to the new program file (.BFx),

4) Select “OK”

At the end of reprogramming turn power off to the camera and turn it back on to force a fresh boot of the camera.

Miscellaneous Issues:

The primary purpose of this camera for most users will be detection of cloud cover, both during day and night, but primarily night, at a remote site. Under massive saturation conditions, such as the sun in the field of view, a vertical column of saturated pixels will be seen in the image. This appears to be unavoidable at our shortest exposure of 50 microseconds. When thin clouds are near the sun it can blossom out horizontally, and be annoying. We feel that, while this is cosmetically irritating, it does not compromise the primary purpose of this device much. The monochrome sensors are more affected by this due to their approximately 4X greater sensitivity.

There is a vent hole underneath the lens plate to allow the enclosed space under the dome to ventilate to the outside air. There may be conditions where fogging can appear inside the dome under rapidly changing atmospheric conditions but it should dissipate quickly (within an hour) due to the action of the heater. The heater, when on, is injecting >4 watts into the lens plate to keep the lens clear of moisture and also the dome, as the heat rises from the plate. This power level has worked well here in Santa Barbara, which is really prone to fog due to the presence of the ocean – we think it will work well for most users. The heater is seldom needed in the day since the sun heats up the interior of the dome, but will hurt nothing if left on. The heater schedule can be set within the software mainly to conserve power for solar powered installations.

Be sure to ground the case. Do not assume the case is grounded through your PC RS-232 port. At SBIG we have had many cameras come in that were destroyed by lightning, but at least 4 times more than that were not actually struck, but simply in the presence of high electric fields when lightning is in the area. If the camera is on your rooftop it becomes a lightning rod unless your installation is solar powered and has a wireless connection. If it is on a roof, and you are running an RS-232 cable to your PC, we recommend you use an RS-232 isolator, such as the B&B Electronics 9SPOP2 (www.bb-

elec.com). It slows your baud rate to 115,200. There may be faster

ones out there, but we are not familiar with them.

Since the KAI-340 CCD used in the AllSky 340 camera is not cooled, dark frames are required on a regular basis to cancel out the pattern noise due to hot pixels scattered across the CCD. For this

reason the AllSky 340 camera has a built-in mechanical shutter. The software contains a control to schedule how often a dark frame is collected. A new dark should be collected if the ambient temperature changes by one degree, so each user may have different situations at their site. We recommend a new dark at least every 15 –30 minutes or so.

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