CCD Control Plug-ins

CCD Control Plug-ins

For MSB Astroart 2.0 under Windows Me, 98, 95, NT, 2000, XP.
Copyright 1998-2002 MSB Software. All rights reserved.

Version 2.50 for the Starlight Xpress^TM SX CCD Camera

LICENSE

This driver is copyrighted freeware. This means that this driver can be freely copied, but not sold or used as a separate product. This driver should be used only with Astroart software, by the owner of the Astroart license.
This driver, its documentation and the gwiopm.sys driver (created by Graham Wideman) are provided "AS IS". It's not guaranteed that they will work properly on all PCs and all CCD cameras and related hardware. This driver and its documentation are provided without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including the fitness for every purpose. In no event shall MSB software be liable to you for any special, consequential, indirect, or similar damages, including any lost profits or lost data arising out of the use or inability to use this product even if MSB software has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation may not apply to you. In no case shall the MSB software liability exceed the purchase price for the product. MSB Software will help to solve the most common problems related to the setup of this driver and the host PC, but it's not guaranteed that this driver is able to work on all systems.
If you don't accept these terms don't install the driver in the system.

INSTALLATION

To install this plug-in copy the file d_sx.dll and gwiopm.sys into the Astroart directory. Remember to install also a User Interface, available at the Astroart web site. Under Windows 2000/NT the driver must be used with administrator privilege.

SETUP

Start Astroart and click CCD Camera from the menu Tools / Plug-ins, then click "Setup CCD"
The first option to select is the parallel port address of your PC, this is usually 378H, sometimes 3BCH or 278H. The parallel port address can be read or configured in the BIOS of the PC.

Download bits: Select here if you want to download the image at 16, 14 or 12 bits. 12 bit is the true dynamic of the CCD camera.
Long cable delay: Useful for cables longer than 10 meters; this option sets an extra delay for the stabilization of signals on the parallel port.
Disable interrupts: If enabled (not recommended) Windows will be totally stopped during the download of the image.
Visualization: The view mode for every new image. It's possible to set the minimum threshold, the maximum threshold and the transfer function; for more details see the on-line guide. "Progress bar" enables or disables the red gauge which indicates the download status; on some slow PCs the bar causes stripes over the images.
High priority: Useful to prevent that Windows interrupts the driver too often during the download, less drastic than disabling interrupts.

HISTORY

2000/04/12: 1.00 The first release.
2001/09/10: 2.00 Autoguide and sequences.
2002/05/15: 2.50 Focus, Windows 2000/XP compatible.

1998-2002 MSB Software. All rights reserved.
1998 Graham Wideman. All rights reserved.

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