For MSB Astroart 2.0 under Windows^TM Me, 98, 95, NT, 2000.
Copyright 1998-2001 MSB Software. All rights reserved.

Version 2.60 for the Starlight Xpress^TM MX7C CCD cameras

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.

Welcome to the CCD plug-ins for the Starlight MX cameras.
This plug-in contains many advanced features like selfguide, subframes, fast focus (up to 4 frames/sec.), binning which will help you to enjoy your CCD camera.
Please note that this document uses some words like "venetian blind", "progressive", "interlaced", "fast", etc. which are specific to Starlight Xpress cameras; for more information we recommend to consult the handbook of your CCD camera.

To install this plug-in copy the files d_mx7.dll and gwiopm.sys into the Astroart directory. Remember to install also a user interface, available at our web site.
Under Windows 2000/NT the driver must be used with administrator privilege.

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 faster mode but 16 bit is recommended.
  
• Mk1 / Mk2 Fast Interface: click here if the Fast Interface ( "Port Accelerator" ) is used with the camera. This option works with the Mk1 and most Mk2 interfaces.
• Mk2 Fast Interface: This option works only with the Mk2 interface.
• Autoguide: Select "STAR2000 selfguide" only if the interface is attached to the serial port, if not select "Simple autoguide" to use the camera as an autoguider for an another instrument.
• Venetian blind: Select the correction for the "venetian blind" effect (stripes caused by the interlaced download). The best way is to find the time offset which is exact for your PC, usually between +2 and -2 seconds.
• 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. Does not work under Windows 2000.
• Overclock: Speed-up the download by 10% on most FastInterfaces.
• Hardware delay: The time in microseconds to wait for the digitization of every pixel. (default = 10). Decrease this value for a faster download, or modify it to match the speed of FastInterfaces.

To perform the LRGB color synthesis install the plug-in pimxcol.dll, available in the Astroart web site. Read carefully the documentation included.

These options control the download of images from the CCD camera.

• Binning 376x290 (2x2): this is the standard mode, which provides pixels 17 microns wide; the image size is 376 x 290 pixels.
• Binning 376x290 (2x2 B/W): the image is downloaded as gray tones. This option is very useful to use this camera for scientific applications, astrometry, photometry, etc.
• Binning 188x145 (4x4 B/W): many pixels are grouped into one, and the download of images is faster. The image size is 188 x 145: this mode is very useful to find or center an image.
• Binning 752x290 (High res. fast): this is the highest resolution without interlacing. The pixels are rectangular (8.5 x 17 microns). At the end of all processing the image should be resized by 200% on the Y-axis to obtain a correct aspect ratio.
• Binning High res: 752 x 580 pixels using interlacing, this means that the even rows are read out before the odd rows; this is not a problem for deep-sky shots, but moving objects may cause artifacts. The progressive high resolution should be used for long exposures (more than 16 sec), while the interlaced high resolution (which is a double exposure) for short exposures. Since the 580-rows modes perform a double readout they cannot be used with good results on planets, instead it is recommeded to use "Hi-res fast" or binning 2x2 and a Barlow lens.
• Binning Selfguide: This is the recommended mode for selfguided exposures. The even rows of the CCD camera are exposed in the first half of the exposure time (while the odd rows are used for guiding) then they are switched, and the odd rows are used for imaging (and the even ones for guiding). Please note that during the switch the telescope won't be guided for a few seconds, however before to start the second semi-exposure the star will be recentered. To prevent the "venetian blind effect" the two semi-exposures will be timed accurately, so the effective elapsed time may be different (a few seconds) from what the blue progress bar shows.
  The minimum exposure time for this binning mode is 30 seconds.
• Sub-frame: This a useful feature for planetary imaging at high resolution.
  To speed-up the download and save space on disk it is possible to acquire only a part of the CCD array. To use this feature download a full frame, select a rectangle on it, then click the "Select ..." button. The frame boundaries will be written into the four edit boxes, (as percentage). If needed it is also possible to input these boundaries by hand.

This function allows the simultaneous manual guide and imaging, thanks to the interlaced structure of the MX CCDs.

• Select the exposure time for the guide (0.2 - 1.5 seconds), select a rectangle around a star (10 - 20 pixels wide), select Binning Selfguide and click "Guide". (These are the same steps required also for focus)
• Click "Mark guide star". The green cross will mark the original position, the red cross the current position. Enlarge the window if needed.
• Start a common long exposure. During the exposure take a look at the guide window and keep the guide star in the original position using the keypad of the telescope.

This function allows the simultaneous automatic guide and imaging, using the STAR 2000 interface box.
Be sure that the CCD camera is mounted without rotation (max 25-30 degrees).

• Be sure that the telescope settings are correct and the telescope control is enabled. To setup these parameters click "Telescope.." in the Guide page.
• Select the exposure time for the guide (0.5 - 2 seconds), select a rectangle around a star (10 - 20 pixels wide), select Binning Selfguide and click "Guide". (These are the same steps required also for focus)
• Click "Mark guide star". The green cross will mark the original position, the red cross the current position. Enlarge the window if needed.
• Enable the "X guide" and "Y guide" checkboxes. If the correction goes in the wrong direction reopen the Telescope window and select "reverse" to swap the E-W axis (or the N-S one). If the CCD is mounted rotated by 90° enable the "Swap X-Y" checkbox.
• Start a common long exposure. The first time check the guide precision watching the dx and dy parameters.
• The dark frame should be taken while the guide window is active, to compensate the amplifier glow.

2000/12/12: 2.00 The first release.
2001/01/08: 2.40 Selfguide using both even and odd rows.
2001/03/07: 2.50 Windows NT/2000 support.
2001/06/21: 2.52 Autoguide/Selfguide option.
2001/08/27: 2.60 Improved selfguide.

1998-2001 MSB Software. All rights reserved.
1998 Graham Wideman. All rights reserved.

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