QSI 520c Guide de l'utilisateur

500 Series User Guide Revision 1.9 September, 2010 Disclaimer: The specifications in this document are subject to change without notice. All tradema

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Click the “Connect” button to establish communication between MaxIm and your QSI camera. If MaxIm fails to connect to the c

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE View the image MaxIm will instruct the camera to acquire a bias frame and then automatically download and display the result

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 9 Camera Features and Operation Camera Attachment Options The camera can be attached to your telescope or lens in a varie

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Using SLR Lenses The C-Adapter and T-adapter can be used to attach many standard SLR lens attached to your camera. The image

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 11 Electrical Connections The image at the left is a close-up of the bottom of the camera body. All electrical connection

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Note: The camera power connecter uses a standard 2.1mm coaxial DC power connector with center positive. Inside diameter 2.

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Guider Control Port All QSI 500 Series cameras have a Guider Control Port that can be used in conjunction with MaxIm LE (or

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Cooling the Camera Cooling the CCD is essential for successful astro-imaging. Cooling dramatically reduces the dark current

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE There are numerous ways of supplying recirculating water for the camera. One of the simpler and more common methods for astr

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE When using forced-air cooling the body of the camera and the window of the CCD chamber can be up to 12ºC warmer than the su

Table of Contents 1. GETTING STARTED What’s In the Box? 2 Get to Know Your Camera 3 Install Software and Drivers 4 Confirm Installation and Came

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE The following is an image of the same Camera Control window 5 minutes after clicking the Cooler On button. Notice that the C

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Internal Color Filter Wheel A five position filter wheel is available for some models of QSI 500 Series cameras. The filter

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Advanced Setup Options The QSI Configuration dialog box is used to view or change camera settings that are seldom modified.

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Note: The very first time a QSI camera is connected to the computer it will set the relevant options shown above to defau

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE If a camera has previously been assigned to another role, it will not appear in the list. For example, if a camera is cu

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Imaging Options Camera Gain Default setting is “High”. This setting can only be changed on cameras that support switchabl

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Cooling Control For camera control applications that do not provide a way to enable cooling or control the set point temper

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Advanced Dialog box showing the “Mask Pixels” table The current camera status is shown in the text field to the left of th

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Status and Notification QSI 500 Series camera utilizes a variety of methods to inform the operator of the camera's oper

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Camera Soft Error State Indication Flash Red: 1 Flash Yellow: 1 The camera is over-temperature. Camera has exceeded the 4

4. TAKING IMAGES Launch MaxIm LE 39 Camera Control Window 40 Cool the CCD 42 Focusing with MaxIm LE 43 Take a single image 44 View the image i

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Camera Hard Error State Indication Flash Red: 2 Flash Yellow: N The number of yellow flashes of the Status Indicator spec

Section 3 QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 28 CCD Imaging Overview This section is intended only as a brief overview of CCDs and CCD Imaging. If you are new

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE prevent light from falling on the CCD surface while the image is being shifted out of the CCD. Interline Transfer CCDs Inter

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 30 draining off excess electrons before they exceed the capacity of the pixel. This can increase the dynamic rage of the CC

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 31 red, green and blue filters. The resulting images are then combined using computer image processing programs into a fin

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Reducing noise in CCD images CCD imagers have developed a standard set of calibration techniques to reduce or eliminate diff

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 6-minute Dark Frame Above is a 6-minute dark frame taken during the same imaging session with the above image of M78. Noti

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Original image Original image minus dark frame Look at the two images above. The top image is the original image as it ca

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE The image above has been manipulated to highlight the effect of dust motes on a filter or CCD cover glass. Note the 3 dark

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE because flat fields tend to use fairly short exposures, you can often take a full series of flat fields and flat-darks in ju

Section 1 QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Getting Started Thank you for your purchase of a QSI 500 Series Camera. The QSI 500 Series family of thermoelectr

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Stacking Images After calibrating each of your raw images with dark frames, flat fields and bias frames, combining or “stack

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE of diminishing returns. Combining 18 frames will not yield a final image twice as good as combining 9 frames. Also note t

Section 4 QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 39 Taking Images with your QSI 500 Series Camera Launch MaxIm LE Note: This section uses MaxIm LE as the camera c

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Camera Control Window Select “Camera Control Window” from the View menu to open the Camera Control Window. MaxIm should op

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE If you don’t see “QSI Universal” listed in the Main CCD Camera field, click the “Setup” button in the upper left corner und

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Cool the CCD To set the CCD cooling temperature you must first turn Cooling on by clicking the “Cooler On” button just to th

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Note: Please refer to the Cooling the Camera discussion in Section 2 Camera Features and Controls for in-depth informatio

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Focus tab window should be set as shown above. You may need to adjust the exposure time in the “Seconds” field to the time

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE View the image in MaxIm LE When an exposure has completed, MaxIm will automatically download and display the image in a new

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE minute image. Tracking errors, improper polar alignment, airplanes, satellites, and cosmic rays all conspire to make it dif

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE What’s In the Box? Your QSI 500 Series camera was shipped in a water-tight Pelican case with custom-cut foam to provide the

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE The Setup Sequence window allows you to set up 16 different groups of images to take during a single automated sequence. In

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE The above numbers represent the minimum of each type of frame you should use. Taking more of each type of frame will furthe

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE taken with the CCD at the same temperature as your light frames. If you’re taking LRGB or other filtered images, ideally yo

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Dark frame showing two cosmic ray hits in lower right hand quadrant Inspect your dark frames for cosmic ray strikes or othe

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Screenshot showing Pixel Math command ready to subtract a master dark frame. Select your light frame for Image A at the top

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 1. Produce a master dark flat following the steps above for creating a master dark frame. 2. Subtract the master dark flat f

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Launch MaxIm LE. Choose “Set Calibration” from the Process menu. That will open the Set Calibration window. By default, M

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE In the “Auto-Generation” panel near the bottom of the window, click the “…” button to the right of the text field and navig

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE The upper panel lists the groups of calibration frames that MaxIm identified. The first calibration group should be select

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE If MaxIm correctly identified all the calibration groups you created, you can click OK to close the Set Calibration window.

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Get to Know Your Camera Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the external connections and features of your cam

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE MaxIm will apply each of the calibration groups you specified in the Set Calibration step to each of the open images. You c

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE The dialog box above will open showing a list of all currently open files on the left. Select individual image files and t

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 59 The first image file is again the top window in MaxIm. Select a second alignment star near the opposite edge of the ima

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE If everything was done correctly the calibrated and combined image should show additional detail with less noise and greater

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Select the binning mode for a single exposure in MaxIm LE on the Settings tab of the Camera Control window. Note: MaxIm aut

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Note: When using binning other than 1x1, the pixels are combined inside the CCD before reading and converting the combined p

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Using the internal Color Filter Wheel Some QSI 500 Series cameras include an internal 5-position color filter wheel. The co

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Shutting down your camera QSI cameras can safely be turned off by removing the power cable at any time, however it is best t

Section 5 QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 65 Guiding The QSI 500 Series camera can be used as you main imaging camera or as an autoguider. MaxIm LE support

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Using an AutoGuider This section provides basic instructions on how to use your QSI 500 Series camera as your main imaging c

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Install Software and Drivers The USB drivers and associated software included on the installation CD-ROM must be installed b

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Click the “Guide” tab to the left of the Setup tab. The Start button will be enabled if the autoguider camera was setup co

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE In the guider settings window, make sure that “Main Relays” is selected in the “Control Via” pop-up list under Autoguider O

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE MaxIm LE automatically selects the brightest star as the guide star. You are now set up for guiding. Continue with instr

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Universal” under Camera Model and click OK to return to the Camera Control Window. Click Connect. Click the Guide tab and

Section 6 QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 71 Accessories T-mount adapter The T-mount adapter plate attaches to the front of the camera body. It comes stan

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 72 SLR lens adapter SLR lens adapters are available for the following lens mounts:  Canon EF (EOS)  Nikon F The SLR lens

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE 73 Care & Maintenance Cleaning the exterior The QSI 500 Series cameras are machined from military grade 6061 aluminum wi

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Installing or removing 31mm color filters Some QSI 500 Series Color Filter Wheels are configured to hold unmounted 31mm filt

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Cleaning the color filters As with any precision optical surface, the optical coatings or glass of color filters can be perm

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE If a single QSI camera is selected, its serial number will be shown in the “Select Camera” pop-up menu. Click Refresh to s

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Connect the camera Select “Camera Control Window” from the View menu to open the Camera Control Window. MaxIm will open

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Recharging the desiccant The environmental chamber enclosing the CCD is filled with UHP argon during manufacturing to increa

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Note: Your camera can also be returned to QSI to have the environmental chamber purged and refilled with UHP argon gas and

79 Appendix A – 500 Series Specifications General Camera Specifications Feature QSI 500i Models QSI 500s Models QSI 500ws Models Electronic Shutt

Model 504 CCD Specifications Feature Standard Optional Optional Model 532 CCD Options Kodak KAF-0402ME Kodak KAF-0402E Koda

Model 532 CCD Specifications Feature Standard Optional Model 532 CCD Options Kodak KAF-3200ME Kodak KAF-3200E CCD Architectu

Model 540 CCD Specifications Feature 540 540c CCD Manufacturer & Model Kodak KAI-04022 Kodak KAI-04022 (Color) CCD Architecture

Appendix B – Warranty QSI Warranty Policy The limited warranty set forth below is provided by Quantum Scientific Imaging, Inc. for QSI Scientific Cam

84Shipping Costs The customer is responsible for all costs in shipping to QSI. QSI will pay shipping costs when returning a product to the customer.

QSI 500 SERIES USER GUIDE Select “QSI Universal” from the Camera Model list box. Click OK. That will take you back to the Camera Control Window. If