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Xtreme User Manual

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1. ccssssessseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeeeeeees 93 My Image has evenly spaced Horizontal lines cc cc cssssssssseeeeceeeeeeeceeeeeaaaeescsseeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaeeeness 93 When I have Miloslick connect to my Mallincam through my MCV 1 adapter I only see a Blue SCOE Ny a S A E NE ses cateeeencet es 93 When I start Miloslick I receive the error NilOjectexception and the program will run 94 Xtreme User Manual Page Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 My MallinCam is frozen or the commands do not seem to be working correctly the camera is acting SEAN DAE E E EE A E O E A E E A T E samenatees 94 My stars look elongated I have checked my focus and collimation and I know it is not an optical effect since my hot pixels are also elongated css csicantssiewnthessauissanesiceooinsswaboassiustiinseluaiedvbawataiedswsonssuuseeites 95 I have been imaging for a while and now my images on the screen are looking washed out almost TOO Vey E E E A E rected T A A T A Mune atasaenades len end tacos E T A TETN 95 Appendix J Xtreme s Settings NotesS esecsesecsesoesesossesossesossescesossesossesossesossesossessssesosse 96 MallinCam Hyper Mode Daytime Viewing Settings TEC cc ccccsescessssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeeeeneees 96 Malio atin NOON dee ctats gad sated cameutes ton Gta duwounds dadaitarceudinin teins N N 96 MallinG ame Planetary Vile Win siascotcsideuysiuen eden na tod pla cumsinen a e
2. For those wanting to use their Meade f 3 3 focal reducer with either their SCT or refractor and 2 diagonal follow the steps below An additional part will be needed from ScopeStuff a 2 Female Barrel to Female Schmidt Thread Adapter with Compression Ring Part Number ADT3 By placing the Meade f 3 3 Focal Reducer after the 2 Diagonal between the Diagonal and the Camera it is still possible to attain focus and an f 10 SCT will be operating at f 3 3 If the ScopesStuff 2 Female Barrell to Female Schmidt Thread Adapter with Compression Ring is removed then the assembly can be placed into a 2 focuser on a refractor for wide field viewing Xtreme User Manual Page 92 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix First Aid for the Xtreme The Image from the Xtreme is Blinking and Flashing Constantly Diagnosis This camera is incredibly sensitive to light and any stray light or an overload of light too long an exposure on a very bright object may trigger the safety inside the camera that will prevent overloading the internal camera electronics If you do trigger the safety you will see a flashing screen Cure Simply unplug the camera for about 5 seconds and reconnect the power and wait about 3 minutes for electronics to settle Change the exposure settings to eliminate the re occurrence of the same event If Day Time viewing Set Sense UP to OFF Set to Video Mode if using Miloslick Set AG
3. Version 1 0 Michael Burns Rock Mallin m JALLING AD Xtreme User Manual This document will introduce you to the wonders of the MallinCam Xtreme Camera It will include instructions on how to connect the Xtreme to your computer along with explanations of the camera s various settings Imaging techniques with the various hardware and software options will be covered Both the standard Composite Video output and SVideo output will be discussed along with hints and suggestions on how to resolve any problems that you encounter with this camera Enjoy the adventure with Rock Mallin s professional Deep Sky Video camera which will provide you with amazing images in near Real Time Xtreme User Manual Page Revision Sheet Revision History Version Revision Description 1 0 3 25 2014 Template Creation Xtreme User Manual Page ii Table of Contents Revision FAIS CORY 953 27 oe sed ete eracnescasu E a O E tected on eremeeoeehaaees ll TADS OF GOMLCIUS sseccesveascectesscecesG A E A E 0 t ideo leit 9 Mere anennns eee Se serene E ee es mee a 4 The Contents of the Xtreme Package cscsssccsssccssscsssscsssscsssssssscsssscssssssssssssssssssssssssees 5 Maline aim A tire me De WING EE artesian E AE te ciaden Goma AE N te eeae tanta 5 Malline Oh X2 De KS ar A E A A S 5 Malin aim Xtreme PC Verone csc cence E A A A A A ES 5 Malline ant A FPC vorio e e aa 5 The Camera Just the Facts janiai a O E 6 The
4. cre hans Fed gt ya 3 White Balance ATW AWC Set Red 2 Manual OFF 7 Me i oan OFF Lrosshaers ON Cossio Gasic Advanced Vides Contig About seree tp 20K gt Color Bars Ich Ganna 045 v Prorty ser ae Commagaoh 2 r o i APT H Gain 0 HREV VREY amp ON ON VG gt aom OFF Freeze Pos Nag ON FRAME Negetrve Proset Custom Sece o OF 0 00 14 8 S 0 htegrsoon Seat x Nose Oetectiion TEC Cortrel Ai ON Peest Leye es OFF pater on full Dew Remora Secs save Camera Presets 2 MALLINCAM EZ Wte To 5 April 17 2014 MENU gt gt OFF SENSE UP x128 LCA ale ALC sjUc DFF AGE MANU We MANU Soni DRAP ON ZAG 0 MONON DET gt or If the color bars do not appear in the window re check MCV Video input adapter Hold down both the UP and Down arrow on the back of the Xtreme for about 2 seconds The color should appear If it does then software is not communicating with the Xtreme double check com port and cable connection If No color Bar appears then follow Checking out the Xtreme Manually to help determine the issue Step 9 4 Click on the Color Bars CheckBox to turn off the color bars Xtreme User Manual Page 33 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Now that you are communicating with and can display an image of what the Xtreme is seeing It is time to have some fun with the camera The Xtreme Control S
5. Brightness 0 Cortras Save Software Configuration Save V ToolTips F Night Vision fed T Night Vision blue Gamma Hue Son Shapness fPte Belsnce NSW Mode Detads hapi Sueper a Ay MPG Reset SMP IPG TIFF Presets Read From Load Write To Save Xtreme User Manual Page 31 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Checking out the Xtreme with the Xtreme Control Software Step 6 To let the Xtreme Control Software know what capture devices you _ are using with the Xtreme select the lt Device gt Button in the Video Tab EA 2 Lapp negated sos a SSO ME arera PT Deary Discovery CI S Farm am video Source Sptl_er Yi Lapak When the Devices window pops up select the Video Capture Device you are using USB 2828x Device for the MCV on your system and click OK fo accept Step 7 Now click in the Preview CheckBox and a window displaying what 7 the Xtreme is imaging will open up if telescope is covered your may be seeing a black image Step 8 gt Select the Advanced Tab at the top of the screen and when there i A click on the Color Bars CheckBox top row near middle If the computer and software are communicating correctly with the Xtreme you should see the color test bar pattern on your screen Xtreme User Manual Page 32 Xtreme User Manual ka MallinCam Xtreme Control Exposure Cortro S DFF gt ALL BIC o OFF ON N M
6. Meade telecomp 23 5 82 38 2 49 0 311 3 ong half MFR5 Meade telecomp 18 2 41 65 89 07 269 0 337 3 6 4 g tween 142 6 a 40 long half MFR5 Meade f 6 3 41 between 172 6 5 114 28 0 432 long half MFR5 Meade f 6 3 64 between 129 1 64 5 96 05 0 363 1 5mm long half MFR5 Meade f 6 3 41 tween 145 6 9 5 longhalfMFR5 M f 6 3 pull out 10 51 43 tween 124 1 97 5 74 5 89 63 2 71 0 339 2 5 iN 66 2 Final Compound Focal Reducer Tests Aug 20th 2013 rN iN iN wo o D 79 9 76 TE p a 65 45 O 8 final 2filters empty ring 19 2mm tween 119 6 N long half MFR5 M f 6 3 Woadapt 5 10mmtween 142 6 telecomp m f 6 3 50 tween 155 4 Additional Compound Focal Reducer Tests Aug 23rd 2013 short half MFR5 Meade telecomp 40 g tween 442 0 ong half MFR5 MFR2 RC 20 tween 183 3 1 short half MFR5 MFR2 RC 40 tween 194 7 2 whole MFR5 MFR2 RC 157 3 4 102 70 05 92 31 0 349 84 6 61 35 98 99 0 374 O1 O1 ol O1 o gt 3 3 0 7 8 ong half MFR5 M f 6 3 Woadapt 2filters tween 137 99 long half MFR5 MFR2 RC 3 filters tween 54 9mm in front 142 79 6 121 20 3 66 0 458 Xtreme User Manual Page 91 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Jack Huerkamp has also done some incredible research on attaching various Focal Reducers to the Mallincam Cameras Below are options on using a diagonal with a Mallincam Camera
7. then CLICK on the SEND button to have it displayed When you are us and running and everything is working as it should you will change the message to indicate what telescope mount and camera you are using For that is the most frequently asked question from the NSN viewers Select the Camera l Step 12 Now is the time to activate the camera or in our case have NSN driver point to our Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max output gt RIGHT CLICK inside the NSN Video window to bring up a Settings Window Xtreme User Manual Page 48 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 CK TOGET THE FLASH PLAYER SETTINGS OULL SEE THIS Live Streaming v2 75 Broadcast Developed by VideoWhisper com Print About Adobe Flash Player 10 Embed Channel Eas HTML Code gt CLICK on the Settings choice and you will be presented with the Adobe Flash Player Settings Window Adobe Flash Player Settings Privacy O Allow www nightskiesnetwork com to access your camers and micophone Allow Oo Deny Remember moe Sf close gt CLICK onthe Camera Icon and you will be presented with a pull down menu to select your camera T G Close gt CLICK on the Pull Down list to select your camera of choice Adobe Flash Player Settings Camera 2 ManyCam Virtual Webcam i amp Close gt CLICK on CLOSE to Continue NSN will remember what camera you chose from the last visit S
8. INT SET OFF DFF SAVE Now adjust the colour on you Monitor to sharpen the image and thus providing a set of distinguished colours Once you are comfortable with the colours you can again navigate to the COLOR BAR Option which now says ON and activate the option with the RIGHT Button 4D which toggles off the Color Bar Now using the DOWN Button 9 move to RETURN Press the CENTRE Button 7 to return to the lt lt OPTION gt gt menu Press the CENTRE Button 7 to return to the lt MENU gt screen Use the DOWN Button 9 to move to EXIT Press the CENTRE Button 7 to turn off the menu display Xtreme User Manual Page 13 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 3 Operating the Xtreme The MallinCam Xtreme is a scientific grade instrument whose capabilities are in the hands of the user As you will discover when you become more confident with the camera that your images will the result of the combination both artistic prowess and scientific skill Both of these components will become enhanced as your Journey progresses and suggestions and advice from fellow explorers sharpen your skills and enrich your adventure One of the first pieces of advice we can offer you is that every telescope system is different the variety of optical sizes and attached accessories combined with the ever changing seeing conditions makes it impossible to determine the precise setting for the Xtreme to use with your telescope setup What
9. SYNC IMT OPT ION SE T 700M OFF TIMER 30SEC MOTION BET ON Return Emit SAJE Xtreme User Manual Page 70 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix C Special Button Power Sequences The Xtreme camera has a Quick set feature using the back buttons Press both buttons for about 2 seconds Button Function UP and DOWN Turns on off COLOR BAR Xtreme User Manual Page 71 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix D Installing the MCV The MCV 1 and the MCV 1e both come nicely packed in its own see through packaging The installation procedures will be the same for either package The following are the techniques have used on 4 different computers 3 laptops and 1 desktop Some are 32 bit and others are 64 bit all run windows 7 have not encountered any problems installing this way Do some pre planning to minimize frustration that may occur when Windows gets a bit temperamental use both the MallinCam Xtreme and the MallinCam Signature exclusively with computer control so needed to assign one USB port for my video input MCV and another USB port for my serial cable Belkin USB Serial cable even label which port is which on my lap top just in case forget will always use the same port for each device so that will not have multiple versions of the drivers for multiple USB ports you are just teasing the windows gods if you mix and match and they will get even The MCV 1 and MCV 1e are
10. Video Dance SeatCam Video Capture If you Go mot see your device in the ist BOPE instaled corectly or is incompatible with your operstng system Make sure that you have the latest drovers installed for your devise Occasionally the desce name es returned by the dower may be a bit confusing For example the MalinCarm MCV 1 video digitizer often shews up as USE 2878r Device since it is based an the Empia Technotoges 28285 chipset Xtreme User Manual Page 36 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Step 5 The Step 5 of 6 Window will appear Select the Video Input Composite or SVideo that you are using with your Xtreme and Click Next to Continue Some videe cigitizers have mere than ene input cormector of channel Fer sampile the MOV I has composte s wideo and component video inputs Chose which input you wall be using to Connect to your MalinCerm H your digrtineyg device only has one connection lesve thes es default Videc Input No Videt kerfi The MallevCaen has tee video cufguls which can be weed to view image on your computer and an etemal video monitor Often times uven use one gutzat connected to a small ideo mortor near the telescope to ad in Comterng and focussing and run the other inse to the computer Remember that many of the features of the software wil onhy Show up it the computer prevew histogram stacking etc andinet en a montor connected directly to the carters te
11. Where you set this depends on how well your telescope can track and how long you want to wait for new pictures April 17 2014 AGC has three settings OFF ON and MANU ON is an automatic mode which the Xtreme uses to adjust the image This is only useful for non astronomical daytime imaging OFF has the cleanest image no amplification of signal or noise is generated Use this setting for Planetary imaging in FIX SHUTTER MODE MANU manual setting allows you to manually adjust the gain used by the Xtreme Selecting this option and pressing CENTRE Button will display the lt lt AGC gt gt Sub Menu From here you can adjust the LEVEL with the LEFT and RIGHT Buttons Note you cannot change the AGC when the Xtreme is in HYPER Mode and is actively capturing an image You have to stop the exposure Make a single change Xtreme User Manual Page 5 7 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 generally place AGC to 3 or 4 for most this will take about 3 minutes to reset all Deep Sky Objects and set it OFF for registers Planetary Objects 2 You cannot reset the AGC while in Hyper Mode and the Xtreme is going an extended exposure You must stop the integration Then set your new gain level and then re enable the Hyper Mode If you don t do this the camera can get into any number of odd states at which time you must reboot it turn it off for 10 seconds Changing an AGC value will require the
12. Xtreme to reset its internals and reinitialize its processes This will take about 3 minutes to perform at X128 White Balance ALN Colours are adjusted automatically This is ideal for most viewing AWC Allows the Xtreme to set the White Balance based on image that is currently on the screen Press the Centre Button to activate The AWC is for calibrating the White Balance on the target you are currently Colour Balance for the Xtreme camera is viewing If you change targets you will controlled with the White Balance menu need to recalibrate it again or leave it on ATW since ATW will auto track the White Balance you previously calibrated on This menu has two Automatic states and one Manual state Xtreme User Manual Page 58 Xtreme User Manual The automatic states are called Auto Trace White Control ATW and Auto White Control AWC The Manual State allows you to select from two fixed temperature wavelengths when imaging Each of these fixed settings 3200K and 5600K has its own benefits Manual setting also gives you the opportunity to adjust the Blue and Red to help compensate for light pollution April 17 2014 The recommend technique when imaging is just select AWC at the start of your imaging and activate it then put the Xtreme in to ATW mode for the rest of the evening or move between ATW and MANU modes depending upon what objects you are imaging Manual MANU
13. OFF What saw live was a shape that s all Not sure if it was M 57 confirmed it by slewing the scope to Vega which can be seen live in the day time with the camera Once did the sync punched M57 on the keypad and the telescope brought me to M 57 took near 50 minutes studying the live view to see if could actually see something did but very faintly and once in a while That s where decided to snap a bunch of BMP images and see if could pull something out There was on frame that came out quite clearly while stacking them with RegiStax got to love that program Not sure if the 16 larger aperture helped know I had to use F 10 to reduce the daytime glow of the blue sky tried with F 3 3 and F 6 3 but the background was way too bright Only at F 10 was able to reduce the blue sky glow enough to find a contrast The part that amaze me the most is similar result with M 3 in the daytime was the excellent signal to noise ratio and color result and dynamics of the camera at high gain settings Some have commented about the high gain I use in the MallinCam but this is useful under situation as presented here High gain is important That s why change some IC s in the camera to obtain a cleaner gain at high gain settings Gain is very important contrary to some who commented on other lists Once gain is augmented circuit redesign must be done to filter or reduce the noise to achieve the best signal to noise ratio Once coupled wi
14. Press DOWN Button to get to GAMMA Press RIGHT Button to set to 0 45 Press DOWN Button to get to RETURN Press CENTRE Button fo return to lt MENU gt Press DOWN Button to get to MOTION DET Press RIGHT Button to set to ON Press CENTRE Button to enter lt MOTION DETECT gt Menu Use DOWN and RIGHT Buttons to Match image in previous page Press DOWN to get fo Return Press CENTRE Button to return to lt MENU gt Press Down Button fo get to Exif Press Centre Button fo turn off the Menu Display VVVV VV VV VV VV VV VV VV VV VV V WV We have set the Xtreme to have an exposure of 1 12000 sec and are ready to look at the image of the moon So remove the cover form the telescope You should be able to see something if may be out of focus or if may be too dim First Play with the focus to make the image as sharp as you can If the image is too dim the go back to the ACL and increase the exposure from 1 12000 to a value where the image of the Moon is bright enough Now is the time to change GAMMA from 0 45 to 1 00 to see if what works best for your monitor see Step 2 on how to activate the On Screen Display Don t forget your monitor also has adjustments so you may need fo play with them as well Xtreme User Manual Page 18 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 would read about White Balance W B in the Appendix so that later on you can play with those settings Again use the contrast capabilities of your monit
15. Skies network Click on the Login selection on the upper right hand side of the screen y NIGHT SKIES N ORK OBSERVING WITH TELESCOPES LIKE NEVER BEFORE WELCOME TO THE CHANNEL LINE UP OF NSN NIGHT SKIES NETWORK SPONSORED BY MALLINCAM You will be presented with the screen for NSN Again enter your Username and Password and click on Publish Channel button CHANNEL LAUNCH SIGN IN NIGHT SKIES NETWORK SPONSORED BY MALLINCAM Please verify your login to broadcast Channel Name Username Password Step 9 The window will pop up on your screen asking you for permission to use your camera and your microphone Select Allow Waterloo Observatory gt Xtreme User Manual Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 steo 10 Turn off your Microphone Until you have your microphone figured out it is best to initially turn it off If you do not the viewers on NSN may hear an extreme loud buzzing feedback noise Later on we will look at using the microphone but until then recommend CLICKING on the little microphone symbol on the upper right corner of the NSN video display window to disable the microphone Step 11 y Set a message for the NSN observers It is a good idea to display a message above the NSN display window so that the other NSN views understand what you are doing When initially setting up which usually takes longer when you are learning usually type the message Setting Up the Camera
16. Using your finder scope point your telescope at the Bright star or jJ Bright Deep Sky Object Xtreme User Manual Page 19 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 At this stage we are imaging objects that we can see in the finder scope therefore we know it should be in the main telescope s field of view Of cause it depends on how accurately the finder and the telescope are aligned so sometimes you may need to do some hunting Steo2 gt With your Telescope still covered Press and Hold Down the Centre m Button on the back of the Xtreme for about 2 seconds or the Centre Button on the Remote Wired Keypad The lt MENU gt screen will appear on your monitors screen with TITLE flashing Before uncovering the telescope we just want to make sure that the Xtreme is not in Hyper Mode but rather has SENSE UP set as OFF Go into the ALC menu see STEP 3 in Fixed Exposure Section and ensure that SHUTTER is also OFF and that the LEVEL bar is all the way to the right then return to the lt MENU gt A Remove the cover form the telescope Don t worry if you don t see anything in your monitor the Xtreme is still most likely in FIX SHUUTER Mode and the star may be too dim to see Step 4 P Using the DOWN Button select SENSE UP im Xtreme User Manual Page 20 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Steo5 gt Now press the RIGHT Button and SENSE UP will change to X2 you have just doubled t
17. XTREME RS232 cable from your vendor The USB to RS232 Adapter To control the camera through the Xtreme RS232 Port you will require a USB to RS232 Adapter Cable on the computer side and a MallinCam RS2332 adapter cable on the Xtreme side Xtreme User Manual Page 7 5 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The ideal USB to RS232 Adapter is Usually computer specific and sometimes Operating system specific When you purchase a USB to RS232 adapter purchase a brand name one that specifically states that it is 100 compatible with your operating system There are some cheap prolific chip set knock offs that are incompatible with updated drivers Error 10 failure to load drivers MallinCam users have had no issue with USB to RS232 Adapters with the FTDI chipset On the Macintosh excellent results with adapters from Tripplite formerly Keyspan IOGear FTDI and TrendNet since these manufactures provide up to date drivers compatible with most versions of Mac OS X Installing the USB to RS232 Adapter Windows 7 8 Specific Most USB to RS232 Adapters come with a CD that contains the driver for the adapter recommend using that CD as a last resort as Windows Operating system Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows 8 1 usually goes a fine job in automatically downloading the latest drivers for your adapter Step 1 4 Insert you USB to RS232 Adapter into a free USB Port on your computer Windows will beep to recognize that an adap
18. a white balance is mandatory in order to have the right color balance Use the AWC To do so while AWC flashing press the center button again to capture an auto white balance into the memory of the camera which will be used for all other settings in the W B mode find the color MallinCam requires more adjustments and experiment to achieve good color balance It is part of the fun W B Deep Sky Keep the W B white balance in the MAN mode with the red slider left and one notch up from the left Keep the BLUE in the middle or so The lower the F ratio the darker skies you will need Light pollution air pollution reflect easily in the red spectrum If you have humidity same applies Keep the RED down as all ccd sensors are more sensitive in the RED region W B AWC Have you done a AUTO WHITE BALANCE Go into the MENU under W B and choose AWC once there with your image centered hit the center key You will notice the AWC will now flash Hit the center key again The camera will now be calibrated for white balance on the target you have chosen The RED should now be lowered by a large margin Go back in the MAN mode and set the RED so the background will now be set to your aperture F Ratio By doing a one push AUTO WHITE BALANCE it will fix the current environmental color as a standard white balance Imaging Settings Imaging Capture Device ring around stars APC Your image is fine have a feeling the settings on your capture device
19. are not quite to the point think it may lack brightness Also if you have a MC Hyper 12 bits CPU camera make sure the APC is all the way down This will eliminate all ring around the stars and produce a smoother image The APC is mainly used for visual observation through a monitor which increase resolution and sharpness For imaging this function should be turned all the way down to the left on both slider control the H and V Vertical pixels control and Horizontal pixels control Give is a try and let us know the results Imaging Deep Sky nothing see live Settings Here s how did some daytime shot of deep sky objects Camera settings were SENS OFF ALC OFF wide open AGC MAN 1 4 from left W B ATW or MAN you have to experiment with this for color model only Options Gamma gt 1 00 Grab as many frames as possible You may or may not see anything live for the moment Coadd everything you have then process it to retrieve the information especially using the brightness and contrast of any software that allows such adjustment used Photoshop Curve Imaging BNC S VHS High Resolution Monitor We recently did some experiments with a Hyper B W using the composite BNC connector output and S VHS There is actually a difference between the two especially when using a high resolution monitor Capturing an image with a high resolution capture device will provide the better result using S VHS now use exclusively S VHS
20. can be cooled by using the built in Peltier Cooler Step 3 Again in the Camera Settings Tab at the bottom of the Tab set Peltier Cooler to a value that matches your seeing conditions Peltier Cooler Cooling 4 0 124344 5 6 F amp On If you have the Pelktier Cooler too high you may get frost on your sensor looks fuzzy at the centre of your image Use Trial and Error to match your seeing conditions and humidity Now is the time to play with the various settings and features of Miloslick and the Xtreme Having read the Miloslick Manual you will know how to stack save enhance and perform hundreds of other tweaks on your image Patience and asking for assistance on the Yahoo s MallinCam Group site is the best advice can give Xtreme User Manual Page 42 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Connecting to Night Skies Network NSN using Miloslick Software Introduction found that when first started connecting to NSN things started happening too fast for me to keep track of everything at once So pre planning was the most the most crucial step for me found that by doing test runs in the comfort of my house allowed me to develop my techniques that work for the equipment and software that use Below are the results and steps that use to broadcast on NSN feel free to follow them and or made modification as you deem as necessary Computer real estate will be your nemesis So depending upon the
21. choice of input ports When I start Miloslick receive the error NilOjectexception and the program will run Diagnosis Cure This is an error most likely caused by a hardware configuration changed in your system at least the Operating System thinks so sometime just using another camera or port sets up a change in Windows configuration yet the Miloslick Preference file expects no change and this causes the error message to appear when both collide You can force the program to delete the preferences and start fresh by launching while holding down the Alt key Windows or Option key Mac OS In some versions of windows holding down the Alt key while double clicking the MallinCam Control icon will simply bring up the Properties dialog rather than launching In this case right click on the application icon hold down the CTRL key and chose Open from the popup menu My MallinCam is frozen or the commands do not seem to be working correctly the camera is acting strangely Diagnosis Cure Somehow the MallinCam internals have become corrupted power surge static cosmic ray and all we need to do Is reset everything back to factory settings The first thing you should do is turn off MallinCam for about 30 seconds then power it up as you normally would this fixes about 95 of the Issues If this didn t helo you can reset the MallinCam to its Initial Factor Settings by following this seque
22. darken bright areas on the video image When viewing the sun through a Hydrogen Alpha filter the Highlight Coronagraph slider can be used to effectively block out the bright surface of the sun allowing the solar prominences to be seen more easily COLOR BAR Xtreme User Manual Page 64 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Use this feature to show a colour bar on the screen It is a great way to see if the Xtreme is outputting an image specifically if you are not sure When selected use the RIGHT Button to toggle the colour bars ON and OFF Press the RIGHT or the LEFT Button to activate Zoom and then press the CENTRE Button to select the SUB MENU Moving the slider bar Left and Right changes the Zoom Level from 1X to 2X with numerous steps in between The ZOOM feature can be very useful in planetary and lunar observing It allows the user to electronically change the focal length of any given telescope For example at maximum Zoom an f 10 telescopes behaves like an f 20 It is also possible to achieve f ratios between 10 and 20 simply by adjusting the Zoom Slider Bar This allows zooming in on features of interest on the object being observed Xtreme User Manual Page 65 Xtreme User Manual MOTION DETECT When selected the RIGHT or LEFT Button allows you to toggle between Motion detect ON or OFF If ON is selected the pressing the CENTRE Button takes you to the MOTION DETE
23. receive R F such as you car radio your home t v receiver scanners Ham radio all have AGC in the front end In the case of a video signal same applies By lowering the signal output of the camera with the AGC set in MANual mode the user no longer over drive the monitor thus Xtreme User Manual Page 101 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 allowing a greater signal to noise ratio and a clearer and better color reproduction If a capture card is used the majority don t have a internal AGC such as TV monitor have They have a fix settings Lowering the Brightness and augmenting the Contrast will bring back the color intensity and image quality while capturing AGC Manual Amp Glow You are right The adjustment of the AGC to full left and one notch will equal to about 15 gain Amp glow is minimized To get the best result from a high gain circuitry like the MallinCam is to have the AGC in MANual mode correctly adjusted This take a while to get it right for proper background and amp glow reduction Once achieved it is saved permanently into the memory settings of the camera AGC Integration Image drop out When I dropped the AGC and set the integration to 28 sec the image would appear then disappear It did this at each integration Did you have the white balance W B set to ATW tried using ATW last Saturday night and experienced something similar think what is happening is the camera is detecting too much light with the
24. refresh the SENSE UP and that can take up to 3 minutes Xtreme User Manual Page 40 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Hyper Mode Deep Sky Objects You have pushed the Xtreme to 2 1 seconds x128 in SenseUp Mode but now you need to take the plunge and do exposures way into the minutes as those Deep Sky Objects are beckoning Most objects that you will be imaging in this mode will not be seen in the SenseUP mode so ensure your Telescope has accurate go to capabilities One of the big decisions you will be making in this mode is what AGC value you will use recommend starting with 4 Recall every time you change the AGC value the Xtreme will require 3 minutes to structure itself for the new value Step 1 From the Camera Settings Tab set AGC to 3 Step 2 Set the exposure to Hyper Mode ae Untitied me Fie Eat Vw Camera Video Window Help i my ED r i H 488 Q Waiting 00 02 57 Open Seer Tave As Capture Mode e 0 CAMERA SETTINGS Exposure SENSE UP o Sean BLC AGL nas SYNL OFP TION ZOOM Bik You will notice that MiloSlick automatically starts a timer see Waiting 00 02 57 at the top of the Miloslick window Xtreme User Manual Page 41 Xtreme User Manual Aoril 17 2014 In Hyper Mode the Xtreme will heat up producing warm pixels little white dots that appear on the screen The number and severity can be reduced by a couple of techniques but cooling the camera in the best The Xtreme
25. seconds and the Level to 8 which is the most sensitive noise detection setting You can also manually change the duration time and chip location for Dew Removal assistance OFF For longer integrations like DSOs the noise detect should be turned OFF which means the cooler runs continually for every frame Any integration over 14 seconds should have the MOTION DETECT turned OFF so the cooler runs continuously for every frame Xtreme User Manual Page 6 7 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix B On Screen Display OSD MAP 1 TITLE lt lt TITLE 35 ABLCDEFGHIJKLME NOPGRST UUW YZ OL2343678o ALC ELC BLC AGGE WB SYNC OPT LON eOOr MOTION CET Ef DON TEOOMmMO D w Nma TN Ne TAZE NON i D m m 3 ALC ELG MENU gt TITLE OFF SENSE UP OFF ALC ELC ELC BLC ALC W B SYNC OrPTILON ZOOM MOTION CET Exit o MOTION DET Ex1 T TITLE SENSE UP ALC ELC BLC AGC W B SYNC MOTLON GET Ewit 5 AGC lt MENU TITLE SENSE UP ALCELC BLC AGC W B SYNE OrPTILON OOM MOTION CET Exit Xtreme User Manual m ar a SP SP LOCATION Return lt ELC gt gt LEVEL gt E Return ALC ELT BLL AGL lA B SYNG OPTION Z p0OM MOT IOUN DET Exit lt lt BLC AREA SET PRESET OFF Return lt lt AGC o gt ON MIN LELEL Return lt lt ALC gt SHUTTER OFF LEVEL gt lt Return lt 4 P
26. the camera For example if the camera is set at 2 seconds integration having the AGC MANual mode set at maximum a exposure can rival easily a 7 seconds exposure under dark skies AGC solar deep sky daytime had a pretty good afternoon imaging the Sun through a 1000 Oaks H Alpha filter system on my LX 200 GPS 10 using the Mallin Cam Hyper BW I set Sensitivity to OFF ALC to 1 350th and had good definition of small prominences Any other set variables Your settings are correct The AGC should be set to OFF In the menu the AGC has 3 mode OFF ON and MANUAL For solar with proper filter lunar and planets always have the AGC set to OFF For deep sky always use the MANUAL mode and adjust accordingly For daytime gt observation through an optical system of daytime subject the AGC would operate better to ON position Having the AGC set to OFF will make the MallinCam operate at unity gain similar to a ccd camera AGC Manual Sense Integration Monitor Now if the integration is augmented such as 7 14 28 56 seconds the AGC in MANual mode must be lowered This is a must What that does is it lowers the output Since increasing the integration augments the signal as well it must be lowered at the output Otherwise overload of the monitor will occur and the internal AGC of the monitor will not be able to handle a high signal as such All t v receivers have a AGC input AGC stands for Automatic Gain Control Any device that
27. users leave this in the OFF setting When set to ON you can hit the CENTRE Button to then select the characters by using the Arrow Buttons with CENTRE to This setting is used to place a small Title select the flashing character on the screen LOCATION allows you to place the message in one of the 4 corners SENSE UP When SENSE UP is set to OFF you can use ALC to change the exposures in the Fixed Shutter Mode You activate the Extended Shutter Mode by pressing the RIGHT Button and changing the value away from OFF SENSE is adjusted in defined increments increasing the Xtreme User Manual Page 52 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 sensitivity of 1 60 second by 2X 4X 6X 8X 12X 16X 24X 32X 48X 64X 96X and 128X These exposure settings are ideal for beginning DEEP SKY OBSERVING or to assist in the focusing on a star When using the Hyper Mode you must This control will try to control the shutter set SENSE Up to X128 Set ALC ELC to but was designed for daytime use ALC and in the ALC Menu set SHUTTER to OFF with the LEVEL moved all the way to the RIGHT ALC ELC aS When the Xtreme is in ALC Mode the camera will automatically adjust the This function allows you to choose which Exposure Control you would like the Xtreme to use You get to choose outputted image for variations in both the between the ALC and ELC option by pressing the RIGHT Button ALC stands for Automatic L
28. we can do is provide suggestions that will get you started in the right direction We recommend that you experiment and tweak the settings that we offer to see what works best for you Patience will be your best friend as you learn what the Xtreme can do and what you can adjust Do not be afraid to visit Night Skies Network or the Mallincam Group on Yahoo and ask questions The Xtreme provides three modes of exposure control fixed extended and Hyper Fixed This mode allows you to set short exposure time from 1 100 of a second to 1 12000 of a second These settings can be directly controlled by the Xtreme itself and no extra hardware is required This mode allows the Xtreme to image daytime objects such as the Sun as well as bright nighttime objects such as the Moon and some planets 1 100 1 120 1 180 1 250 1 350 1 500 1 750 1 1000 1 1500 1 2000 1 3000 1 4000 1 6000 1 8000 and 1 12000 seconds Extended This mode allows you to do longer exposures from 1 30 to 2 1 seconds in fixed steps Like the Fixed mode these exposure settings can be selected from within the Xtreme Itself so no extra hardware is required This mode allows you to image those fainter planets along with bright stars 1 30 1 15 1 10 2 15 1 5 4 15 2 5 8 15 4 5 1 1 1 6 2 1 seconds Xtreme User Manual Page 14 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Hyper Mode This mode allows you perform long exposures anywhere from 3 seconds to about 99 minu
29. when possible to capture images When use the high resolution monitor to observe the image while capturing still use the composite BNC camera output The MallinCam can use both at the same time with no loss in signal and Xtreme User Manual Page 107 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 signal quality The best performance for serious observing would be to use S VHS with either model of the MallinCam Hypers the B W the color camera have noticed that certain type of capture devices won t show as much of a difference but when a high resolution unit is used the difference is remarkable Imaging Solar Sun Here s some more detail on how I ve captured the solar image posted today use 2 separate images The first one was the prominence which were taken at shutter soeed of 350 sec at F 6 3 with the 10 SCT The seconds set of images were the surface structure which was taken at 12 000 sec shutter speed at F 6 3 with the same 10 SCT combined the two then change the monochrome image into red orange This was very simple using Photoshop This is a result of only 4 coded images The image shows the excellent dynamic response of the camera without having to take hundreds of frames and coding them like most do The high gain circuitry really shines here resulting in a excellent signal to noise ratio High gain is very important in video ccd camera for astronomy work Imaging Sun Here s an image just taken this afternoon Dec 4 2006
30. window This allows you k to spend some time playing and adjusting the settings prior to connecting to NSN As you become more comfortable you will not worry about that and will adjust while connected to NSN with the whole universe watching you live Start Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax Size the Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax window so that is beside the Miloslick Window and you can see both with little overlap If you have a dual monitor system you can slide both the Miloslick Software Window and the Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax window to the second monitor Xtreme User Manual Page 44 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Have Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max grab the window image All of these packages have the ability to get a desktop image Choose this option and overlay the sizing window on top of your Vii oslick Software Image Window You may need to play with the sizes until you obtain the ideal combination of both the fit in your screen You want to ensure that you get a good image of whatever the Miloslick Software is looking at inside the Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max window ae Seta Eers Ip a TSSA ciel Th tos Vew Comme eee Wree tte Model r other is NOT you are money vasting time This allows you to select the size and location of the desktop that you want on the Manycam Just slide and adjust the overlay on top of your Miloslick Software image Adjust the Resolution and frames s
31. with a Video Capture Device Hold down the Centre Button 7 on the Connection Diagram on the Back of the Xtreme for about 2 seconds If everything is connected and powered correctly you should see the following image with TITLE flashing _ r nmo D IU 1 The actual values of the options may be different but the lt MENU gt should now be disolayed on your Monitor Next we need to check the colour signal coming from the Composite Port SVideo so using the Down Button 9 on Connection Diagram move the little Arrow until it points to OPTION Press the Centre Button 7 and you should see the lt lt OPTION gt gt menu U I COO UOU D OCO ft nnoOo TN T T i m FP D UCO rico lj m o a 19 c Now using the Down Button 9 move the select the last entry Return and press the Right Arrow Button 4D and the Return will change to NEXT Xtreme User Manual Page 12 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Cc ya m Lo TATT V IS C DTT Ti Tics Ti Ft m Ti we cx mere C TINO CJ Db TiC P 1 gm ke p a ss i ri Now using the Back Arrow Buttons move to the COLOR BAR option which should say OFF and activate it by pressing the RIGHT Button 49 MENU 40FF x128 ALC OFF MANU MANU SENSE UP CAS SRANI ORMON ZN MORION DET Sx iret
32. your lens cap on your telescope It is always a good idea to see if all The connections are working properly between Miloslick and the MallinCam So In the Camera Setting Tab scroll down to the Camera Output heading and click in the Color Bars CheckBox If everything is working correctly you will see Color Bars in the Video Window If you successfully obtained the Color Bars un check the Color Bar Feature for you are ready to Image Xtreme User Manual Page 38 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Video Mode the Moon and Daytime Objects Step 1 Set the Exposure to Video Mode and select the time to something 7 like 1 500s Turn AGC to OFF Sten 2 Set White Balance to AWC and press the Set Button Now you can T move White Balance to ATW and leave it there __ Step 3 f Try both 0 45 and 1 0 in Gamma to see which one you like the best Step 4 4 Set Peltier Cooler to O I T Step 5 In the Filter Settings Tab looks like a pair of glasses Enable the E Histogram Play with the both the Left and right arrows to see how they improve your images appearance FILTER SETTINGS Histogram W Enable Reset Channel Intensity 7 a peetlhnnennen SSS 837 Input Levels 92 to 204 counts F F Output Levels 0 to 255 E counts T Y Have fun playing with the other features remember read the Miloslick s Manual Xtreme User Manual Page 39 Xtreme User Manual April 17 20
33. 14 Sense Up Mode Bright Stars and Dim Planets This mode is ideal for verifying what your Telescope is looking at as this mode allows exposures Up to 2 1 seconds A large number of MallinCamers use this for collimating and focusing their scope Using SenseUP Mode along with AGC you may start imaging some dimmer objects Step 1 In the Camera Settings Tab select SenseUp Mode and select a Sense multiplier by moving the slider between X2 and X128 It takes the Xtreme some time to build up the image when moving from one X value to the next It is fun to watch the image build up Step a Do you see your star If not then keep increasing the slider to a higher value Keep increasing the EXTENDED EXPOSURE until the object is bright enough to see Recall X2 1 30 X4 1 15 X6 1 10 X8 2 15 X12 1 5 X16 4 15 X24 2 5 X32 8 15 X48 4 5 X64 1 1 X96 1 6 and X128 2 1 seconds Most users find that setting the Xtreme to X128 is a great setting to work on using a focus mask to assist in focusing their telescope Other jump back down to SenseUp Mode from HyperMode when they are moving their telescope from one object to another This way they can see quickly if their telescope is pointing at the correct location Now Is the time to also play with the AGC level on the Xtreme this will give you the ability to increase or decrease the brightness of the image including noise Remember as AGC is changed the XTREME will need to
34. 7 2014 in its window Step 8 A Press the Left or Right arrow on the Transmitter to get LONG displaying Step 9 Press the Centre button on Transmitter and the last two digits will start to flash Step 10 Press the Up arrow on Transmitter to select TIME try 30 seconds Step 11 V4 Press the Centre button on Transmitter to lock that exposure time Step 12 _ Press the Upper Right Button fo start the exposure on the Xtreme Pressing that button again will stop the exposures Receiver s RED LED will remain solid The Receiver s GREEN LED will light up during Image transfer Step 13 _At the end of the Observing session stop any exposures you may be taking Then turn OFF the Receiver by pressing its POWER Button for about 4 seconds The Transmitter turns OFF automatically after about minute The following are warnings about changing Xtreme settings during when exposing gt Do Not adjust AGC during an exposure Xtreme User Manual Page 24 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 9 Controlling the Xtreme by Computer Connecting Xtreme to Computer Requirements gt Computer with video display software such as AMCAP Miloslick gt USB Video capture adapter such as MallinCam MCV gt Mallincam dual power video cable or optional S Video cable gt Xtreme AC to DC power adapter gt Xtreme camera Procedure 1 Power on your computer but do not power the Xtreme 2 Connect Xtreme Camera to Telescope an
35. C to OFF Set ALC to 1 12000 Set Shutter to 1 12000 in Exposure if using Miloslick My Image has evenly spaced Horizontal lines Diagnosis The horizontal lines are caused by interference The cause of this interference can be anything from a loose connection bad wire external interference from another power source or even a PAL version MallinCam set to NTSC settings The most likely cause though is Power Interference from your Power Supply Cure Try to isolate the power for the MallinCam don t plug into multi jack power source The best recommendation is to have an isolated 12V DC power supply battery solely for the MallinCam It is also recommended that you try not to have your power cable and your video cable running parallel fo each other When I have Miloslick connect to my Mallincam through my MCV 1 adapter only see a Blue screen Diagnosis The MCV 1 or other adapters can have multiple video input connections For example the MCV 1 has both composite and S video The cause of this symptom is that MallinCam is looking at one of those input ports while the camera is sending the image through the other Milloslick then just gives a Blue screen to say that see nothing at the MCV 1 source Xtreme User Manual Page 93 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Cure Miloslick can change the port choice of the MCV 1 Just go into the Video Tab and in the Drop Down list choose Video Input Inside this drop down will be the
36. CT MENU MOTION DETECT is the TEC Thermal Electric Cooler for the XTREME The TEC control helps with noise reduction and thus helps reduce warm pixels the control provides two simple choices ON or OFF These choices refer to whether noise detection is turned on or not rather than the cooler itself When noise detect is turned ON the current frame is analyzed for noise If noise is then detected the Peltier cooler is turned on during the next frame If noise is detected on that frame then the cooler stays on if not the cooler is turned off April 17 2014 Leave the AREA SET alone not useful for astronomical usage PRESET ON selects the whole chip Adjust level with the LEFT and RIGHT Button to match environment Adjust TIMER to match environment When the rear Yellow LED is ON this indicates that the CCD cooling is OFF LINE actually a very small amount of warmth is sent to the CCD sensor helping remove dew and stabilizing the temperature at a minimal level to avoid thermal shock to the CCD You should see the Yellow LED turn ON and OFF as the Peltier Cooler turns OFF and ON LED ON gt Peltier Cooler OFF LED OFF gt Peltier Coolr ON Xtreme User Manual Page 66 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 ON Should be used for short duration lunar and planetary integrations with the Preset checked which activates the dew removal for the entire CCD chip It is recommended that you set the TIMER to 60
37. EAK gt AWE FEAK LEVEL gt M lt Return o gt MA m lt Page 68 Xtreme User Manual 6 W B ALC ELC BLC AGC WB SAC lt z00mMm MOTION DET ALC ELC BLC AGC ll B SYNG OFPTION OO0fri MOT ION DET Exit 8 OPTION E MOTION DET OF Ex 1 T C k D 0 POSI NEGAR H REW REU FREEZE PRIORITY GAMMA NEST Or MOTION DET Emi Tt 4 WUB gt gt PRESET 3200K Return lt lt OPTION gt gt MASK A OFF MASKE OFF MASEK OFF Mask OFF POSIL NEEA POSI H REW OFF W REU OFF FREEZE FIELD PRIORITY AGC bAMMA O 45 Return lt lt OPTION gt gt APC SET HIGH LIGHT SET COLOR BAR OFF Return APC SET HIGH LIGHT SET COLOR BAR OFF Return April 17 2014 lt lt WeB gt PRESET OFFCUSER gt RED gt M lt BLUE gt E lt Re turn lt lt AREA MASK gt gt LOCATION SIZE Re turn LAPT gt gt PRESET OFF H GAIN m lt U GAIN gt E Return LIGHT SET gt LEVEL gt E Return Xtreme User Manual Page 69 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 9 ZOOM lt MENU gt lt lt ZOOM gt gt TITLE OFF SENSE UP OFF ALC OFF ON ATW gt Y Mi INT OFT I ON SET z00mM 0N 200M gt H x MOTION CET OFF Re turn Emit SAVE 10 MOTION DET lt MENU gt lt MOTION DETECT gt TITLE OFF SENSE UP OFF ALC ELC ALC AREA SET BELE OFF AGC OM PRESET OFF WB ATW
38. EC serra cea E ate E vation Sc E Oas ne TS E A sacha hate EE ada Tease E 102 FU roe sess Re ENEE tat sc es EN E AE EAE ete oh AE E nk alsa TE E che EE A 103 FPLC SIMUUCT specien e cana cones a AEE hatte teenuiereahcadiies 103 AIC Planets Shutter Speed Filter Sorserien annii a suse cnia aplasia eatansa aa aia 103 Color Daba e a ER E AEE A A A E 103 Coe Dae eNe ON er e E A E A E tomsadae en tiasas 103 COLONA NON e E E E Tenn te mero ee 103 Coe Bar C ae aa a T E AE E T E alncos Misieaase 103 COB AU nanna Assia e E E ER 103 LOOM iia e E E E E E E E E 103 LOOTE LaO Dera a S E N NAO E OER 103 Zoon ATO Wiss araa a e n A E N A E E EER 104 Xtreme User Manual Page 2 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Gamma The way brightness is distributed across the intensity spectrum by a monitor printer Or SCANNET cous cseensss ccscncisestonsccacucedusestucdccsusecdisestucdeceesvedavesles sede suediee Wisdadesaccdisedtisdsdeacectecstisisueasesiece 104 Gamma Dack round aaen ae T TN 104 Gamma back ground image TV ccecsiacteciniecionsaimnceivacluncus ss tenisiesalee eek alawanol nocusiessmensbimeswaned shewntats 104 Gamma light pollution background imaging cccccccccccsssssssessseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaeaseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaas 104 Gamma Background LCD Option menu 2 0 ccccsssseeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaeaesseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaas 104 Gamma WED GRAS AGC anena realises deamnanteacuncdedsaunsnapssiienasdbeuponenucusoagsaveusin
39. Manual Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 M57 M27 M82 M106 SENSE UP 128X 128X 128X 128X ALC OFF OFF OFF OFF BLC OFF OFF OFF OFF AGC ON 2 ON 2 ON 2 ON 2 W B SAME SAME SAME SAME ZOOM ON 3 OFF ON 4 ON 3 TEC OFF OFF OFF OFF INTEGRATIO 7 SEC 14 SEC 14 SEC 14 SEC N Page 111 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 SENSE UP ALC BLC AGC W B ZOOM TEC INTEGRATION Xtreme User Manual Page 112 Appendix L Notes
40. N eia E EEE a S 100 APC Menu Star Ariba es a a a a T ese eee 100 APC DSP Digital Signal Processing Options Anti blooming eeeeesessssssssseseeeresssssssssssese 100 AAPG Live ODSery alioin 2 IMAS NT aena a te dares tas vane dau gaenanee nee nana 100 NPG DS Pi Gi Al round SCALG psa ets a aarti acu a eats A eam nonce 101 AGC Automatic Gain Control ssscscccecsccssccessesecaceccesccswssresosavccdieaniebusesasdosteaustensetevsvecesederesesesesetetxee 101 AGC SOPIS eni a a a ane OTC PRY Oni gt ERT ee 101 AGC PINES a a a a ae a sna eeceeamen eee eae 101 AGC SAMP GLOW eeo a a E AOE E a aE 101 eE AE E TA S E N N EES E TEET 101 AGC Galt CONTO l oomo E aA O EOS 101 AGC pl deep sky addy Me sonna one aE eS OA R EATE aS 101 AGC Manual Sense Integration MOMItoL ccccsesssseeeececeececeeecceaaeeseeseeseeeceeeeeeseeseeaaaaaeensees 101 AGC Manual Amp GlOW sscccsstintessncccossiatiataseasnacessanisacugsa edness seth adaciaeresetspiios asad ne sanhadedeatsiesseatondins 102 AGC Integration Image drop OU sssri iinan anii an iaia ea iaia ia 102 AGC Light Gathering and Moon Interference cccccscseeecceceeccceeeeaaeeeeeeseeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaassesees 102 AGC ON OFF Deep Sky Adjustment cccc ccssesssseeseeeeeeecccccccsececessssesecesereeeeceeesseeeeeeasses 102 ALC Automatic Level Control ELC Electronic Level Control cccccssssossscccsscccsscccsescees 102 A
41. Step 6 The Final Flash screen will appear informing you that you are A ready to use Miloslick Click Finish to continue and you re finished Now you ate ready to start using pour camera and software If you need te modify arty of the settings from this wizard the can be Gone fran the Preferences dialog or fram the Video menu We suggest that you take a look at the MailinCam Cortral User s Guide which came 2s a POF file with the softwere you w l find lots of useful information on how to utilise the softwere to get the best results from your MalinC em ii you have ay questions comfect us wia email ab support milocitch com for further assistance The Miloslick Main Screen will appear It is from here that you will control the Xtreme camera There are usually three type of observing you will do with your Xtreme gt Video Mode for daytime imaging of bright planets Lunar or Solar gt SenseUp Mode for Planets Bright Stars Collimating and Focusing gt Hyper Mode for Deep Sky Objects Xtreme User Manual Page 37 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 After Miloslick gets going you should see the name of the MallinCcam Camera you have previously told Miloslick that you are using in the above image you can see Miloslick is currently getting camera settings Miloslick will read the current setting from your camera so that they are both in agreement Your image window may be a black screen if you have
42. The most important control features of White Balance on the Xtreme when viewing Deep Sky Objects When MANU is selected and you are in its Sub Menu you have three selections available to you in the PRESET feature 3200K 5600K and OFF gt 3200K allows Xtreme to see about 80 more into the near infrared This will allow some of the Deep Sky Objects to be viewed in a slightly different detail Slight Haze punching capabilities while imaging in this mode Xtreme User Manual Page 59 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 gt 5600K allows Xtreme to capture mostly in the visual range Different Nebula can have subtle colour shifts and detail in this setting gt OFF allows for adjustment of the Red and Blue color By augmenting or reducing either the Blue or the Red you can change the colour to compensate for light pollution and other seeing conditions SYNC DO NOT TOUCH THIS SETTING It should be in INT mode Xtreme User Manual Page 60 Xtreme User Manual OPTION April 17 2014 The OPTION menu has a lot to offer in the Xtreme Camera Masking features MIRROR effects POSITIVE NEGATIVE effects and image PRIORTY sensitivity Settings are many of the features that can be used for various situations with any given telescope Press the CENTRE BUTTON to enter the OPTIONS Sub Menu One OPTION is PRIORITY and its two Sub Menu items are AGC and SENS This switches the signal detection f
43. USB 2 0 HD HV Grabber screen CLICK on the option Install Drivers USE2 0 HD AW Grabber with Audio install Drivers instali DVR2Z 5 Install DirectX 8 0C User Guide browse C Exit e You may receive a Windows warning asking you if you want to allow the installation to run Click Yes e Follow the instructions on the Installation of USB Video Audio Device Driver Wizard that is displayed on the desktop e The installation takes under a minute Once complete you will be presented with a notification windows click Finish with the Yes want to restart my computer now option selected e The computer will restart Login in as you normally would e You don t need to install any of the other files from the HD AV Grabber installer Step 3 4 Checking out the MCV 1 or MCV 1e It is always a good idea to check out the MCV 1e to see if it is running correctly after you have done a first time installation e Start the Image software that you will using to display your Xtreme Video image such as AmpCap SharpCap VirtualDub Xtreme User Manual Page 73 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 e Inthe Video Device menu you should see a Video Source called USB 2828x Device This is the driver for either the MCV 1 or MCV 1e device This is the one we want Select it e Power up your Signature and you should be able to see the camera s images on the video window of your software Oh No the video is not working cor
44. a 96 MallinCam Moon Planets Highlight feature ccccccseeeeccccccceecaneeeessseeeeeeeeeceeeeeeesaaeeeeeesees 96 MallinCam Daytime Viewing lunar settings ices cesantod patuscunsien tat geueieancines idea tuacuvenhandudpateieduonsenuetons 97 MallinCam Planets Filters B W Star Collimation cccccccccccccccssssssseseseeeececeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaeeenees 97 Matlin Catia Comes E SCONES aE imtseardndenntale tise N micahon sd tucabiondeunnnessmusteisen 97 MallinCam W B MANual Refractor Color Balance focus cccescseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeeeeees 97 Matlin Cains Planetary INC DU Na aoa situtate settee EN mcyaiess 97 MatlinC atm FOV Calcul at OMe ia seve asd wee niadeenalsonbbcae AE 97 MallinCam Planetary Nebula Rock s Daytime Picture Gain ccccccccccccccccccceecceeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeess 98 MallinCam Hyper Color B W images MANual red blue 000 0 eeceeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeeeeeees 99 MallinCam Lunar Occultation s AGC Lunar Dark Shadow ccccccccccccccccccccececeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess 99 APC Advanced Pixel Control ssessseossecseessscssecssecssecssecsseessecssecssecssecssesssesssecssesssesssesssesssesseesseeso 99 APC Neb las 7 pment Star insine aes a a a a Sane Gltesoaaw lens 99 APE Daa a O 99 APC Live Observing Ma INE aesir E aA EE 99 APO araen E a e 99 NPC SUAS IMASE ri E e E AE 100 APC een a E A 100 APC S Uses MOO
45. a endaele ends cosuyaed adenine aoudan t 28 Using Mallin am Control Xtreme SOWAT caosi ese weenedacla eee esueiei deena toe hoon 29 Checking out the Xtreme with the Xtreme Control Software 20 ccccccccccsssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeaseeeeees 32 Usinig Miloslick SoftWare trinsic ie e e E A eee ecnd tae Gone a 35 Video Mode the Moon and Daytime Objects cc cesssessesseeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaeeseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaeeeeees 39 sense Up Mode Bright Stars and Dim Planets ies ccisceccsctatosinccsteiesiaieoiaceiowiascaadncasocteeivaiateeteateenaedss 40 Hyper Mode Deep Sky ODjects Jerar e a a a eia 41 Connecting to Night Skies Network NSN using Miloslick Software ccccccccceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 43 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 6 PAD DCI csa edtenasiate tr cacant ann ose cc een ent ere 52 Appendix A On Screen Display OSD Menu essssscesscescesccssccsocesocsccesocescesocescesocescesoceo 52 ME NU eae e E A E E E E a ootetaceariapasas 52 TEL a E E E ean 52 SENSE UP reee E E E dot dtlone ta adohea dent naae 52 ALCELC seppure e aea aa a a e a N 53 ALCapnesga ia ea aa a a e a a eN 53 EL uaaa ea aa a a a bud Goa cnadnan tus siduecuasiads aN 53 BEC sha sais cae paisa buns nanaatiwetnds bndga irae e bad aa a a a a bud Gaus cieednan bus shduecuasiads N 54 PEAK ciara peas tnd pa taactametnds bedga Snsenncetg bad pata canoibas Bud aalenet orien boc paueacumetnis aud Guay ciadnan ius shUuacuawiads odanouemaaceine
46. aj Otherdevices i Communications Port COM1 gt ii USB Serial Controller oe Prolific USB to Serial Comm Port COMS3 gt i Ports COM amp LPT There could be many reasons for the driver not fo install the most common being that there already is an old incompatible driver already in the system or Windows could not locate the driver for you particular USB to RS232 Adapter Check to see if you already have a driver installed and remove it if _Steo1 J necessary from your system With the USB to RS232 Adapter still inserted in a USB Port gt From the Control Panel go into the Device Manager and click on the Ports COM amp LPT arrow E a Deven Mia J a aa n bomi imi PPTA gt Right Click on the driver name Prolific USB to Serial Com Port Com4 in my image above and Choose Uninstall when Pop up List appears gt Let Windows do its uninstall thing and when completed remove the USB to RS232 Adapter from the Port Download and install latest driver specifically for your Device or _Steo 2 y _ use the installation CD that came with the Adapter Xtreme User Manual Page Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 gt Now visit the site of the USB to RS232 Adapter you own and download the latest driver and follow the installation instructions from the site If you are using the CD follow the instruction that came with the Adapter gt The Final step in either the download or CD op
47. alinGam jy PraPC ee o Semsar Type Stamndiaed Coot OCD Rieck Winte of Color bers The Video Format it used to calculate the SenseUlp posure Gurstion besed on the notme traene sste of your cameras Xtreme User Manual Page 35 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The Step 3 of 6 Window will appear Select the Serial Port that your USB to Serial adapter is using and Click Next to Continue Control of the camera settings Exposure AGC White Balance etc requires a senal connection between your computer and the camera Most recent computers do not heve a built in serial pert and require sorme sort of USE to serial adapter Select the sppropnete a ee ee eee computer if you do met see your serisi port lnted make certain thal the edapter is connected te your computer and the desce driver is utalled property Note The orgpral MellevCam Ir doer not isclude support for serial control In this cave you will need to actual all Camera wating uting the b reas buttons and you can ignore this step gt The Step 4 of 6 Window will appear Select the Video Device f you are using USB 2828x Device for the MCV and Click Next to Continue Images from your comers ere transmitted as hegh quality emalog NTSC or PAL wideo and requet some type cf Viden Digitizer device to veew on your competer Video Sgititers weuslly connect vis your computers USE or firewire ports Select your digitizer from the list below
48. and Hold Down the Centre Button on the back of the Xtreme for about 2 seconds or the Centre Button on the Remote Wired Keypad The lt MENU gt screen will appear on your monitors screen with TITLE flashing Xtreme User Manual Page 22 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Go into the ALC menu and ensure that SHUTTER is also OFF and that the LEVEL bar is all the way to the right Go into the AGC menu and manually see if it set to 3 or 4 would keep AGC at this setting when using Hyper Mode initially remember when you change the value AGC it will take the Xtreme about 3 minutes to reinitialize everything Step 3 f Remove the cover form the telescope Don t worry if you don t see anything in your monitor the object is most likely not bright enough to be visible Step 4 S Using the DOWN Button select SENSE UP Steo5 2 Using the RIGHT Button set SENSE UP to X128 watch the image slowly build up if it is bright enough The Xtreme is now at about 2 1 seconds There may be just a hint of the object you are trying to image If so this is a good time to make sure it is centred Press The POWER button on the WEC Receiver for 3 to 4 seconds to turn Step 6 Z it ON Press any button on the WEC Transmitter to turn it ON check to make sure that both the Transmitter and Receiver have the same Channel number Step 7 Xtreme User Manual Page 23 Xtreme User Manual April 1
49. and settings Usually caused by attaching reducers or filters in a humid environment and thus trapping humid air next to the sensor Cure First advice is to clean sensors or make attachment adjustments inside where there Is little humidity Use Desiccant Silica Gel Packs when storing camera You will need to adjust the level of cooling that the camera is providing for the sensor Less in winter More in summer If Using Miloslick the setting range from 0 to 8 with 0 being the minimal cooling and 8 the highest There also is an ON setting witch keeps the cooling running at 100 this can cause condensation on the outside of the chip If Using button you will need to adjust the Motion Detect TEC settings Note PRESET OFF NOISE DETECTION OFF means cooling runs at 100 For Minimum Cooling e NOISE DETECTION ON e PRESET ON the whole chip is selected e LEVEL 8 all the way to the right e DEW REMOVAL 60 Xtreme User Manual Page 95 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix J Xtreme s Settings Notes The following pages are due to the hard work of Dean Herring have included his worksheets and settings here lots of valuable information in these pages obtained from questions and posted answers about the Xtreme Worth reading MallinCam Hyper Mode Daytime Viewing Settings TEC Never turn the Hyper mode on during bright conditions This will overload the electronics Or that have implemented a safety
50. at agdsoftware com gt Xtreme Control by Tom Viek Paid gt Miloslick by Bill Koperwhats gt Astrolive by Kyle Goodwin at Astro Precision Each software has its pros and cons depending upon what you require the software do This manual will introduce you to two packages one free and one paid The goal Is to guide you in getting these pieces of software up and running More detailed instructions will be found in the appropriate vendor s site Hardware Requirements Both of these packages will require two hardware components gt A USB to RS232 adapter that attaches to MallinCam s Optional RS232 cable This combination allows software to communicate from the Computer to the Xtreme Xtreme User Manual Page 26 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 gt A USB video capture device such as MallinCcam s MCV This device will allow the output from the Xtreme either composite or SVideo to be captured and displayed by the software Attaching the RS232 Cable Once the USB adapter is installed and the drivers loaded see Appendix E Installing RS232 Communications and the MallinCam RS232 cable is attached it is time to connect it to the Xtreme Locate the small guide notch on both the cable and the AUX Port on the Xtreme will be on left when looking at the back of the camera Align the notches and plug in the RS232 cable The flat end will also be pointing towards the left The fit will be snug so a little pressure will be
51. ats 64 DDO Mesissh siade Sietcangeswtanieoswsactacsos anu eaaeaueuacsas cunonssaatecs od anuaeae cues a 65 MOTION DETECT sare sca caiteenras isa amie a E a N 66 Appendix B On Screen Display OSD MAP essssscesscescesccesocsscesocsscesocescesocescesocescesoceo 68 Appendix C Special Button Power SEquence scccsccsscsssssscssssscsssssssscessness 71 Appendix D Installing the MCV diasisecsdicdanscssvenscseusouncsassescetvsdaesessveuncvovsoinssaceonenstusdastescesents 72 Appendix E Installing RS232 Communications cs cssssecseceeceeceeceeceeceeseesees 75 RS 7252 Commune AU ONS a a E canta eborssebucioncuiasaceterycontanttenele 75 TEU SP ORS AdE ina a a r a A 75 Installing the USB to RS232 Adapter Windows 7 8 Specific cccccccccccssssssseeeseeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeaeaeeeeeees 76 Oh No Driverdid notinstall correctos eniran a A a a O i 77 RS232 Cable POMS OLC ONCE iza a a A A 78 Appendix F Installing the Wireless Exposure Controller WEC s ssssessssesoesesosoesoeoese 79 Appendix G Accessories for the XtremMe esssesesssocesssocessoocessooccesooccssoccessoccessoccessooceeo 84 Appendix H Focal ROGUCUOMN eeesesteedeseeisecesenteecsiceiedtenesteedenesiveceseeieesebeeledseseeieedenisinecexesieeieteels 86 Appendix l First Aid for the Xtreme esssecescocesccessocessocessocessccescocessccssccessocessocessocessocessoee 93 The Image from the Xtreme is Blinking and Flashing Constantly
52. bination gt High Precision 1 25 Eyepiece Adapter Heat Transfer Unit Custom Made for the MallinCam gt BNC Male to RCA Female Adapter MallinCam Xtreme Deluxe Comes with all of the standard equipment plus gt 25 RS 232 PC CABLE gt Side socket is wired for Wireless Exposure Controller gt Rear Yellow LED Peltier status indicator MallinCam X2 Deluxe Comes with all of the standard equipment plus gt 25 RS 232 PC CABLE gt HDX2 F Kit gt Side socket is wired for Wireless Exposure Controller gt Rear Yellow LED Peltier status indicator MallinCam Xtreme PC version Comes with all of the standard equipment plus gt 295 RS 232 PC CABLE MallinCam X2 PC version Comes with all of the standard equipment plus gt 25 RS 232 PC CABLE gt HDX2 F Kit These accessories will provide you with the ability to connect the Xtreme Video camera to your telescope power it using to a 120V AC power source and displaying your image on any device that accepts analog video via a composite RCA or S Video connection See the Appendix G for a list of accessories available for the Xtreme Xtreme User Manual Page 5 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The Camera Just the Facts The MallinCam Xtreme Camera is the ultimate video camera that provides near Real Time images of Deep Sky Objects Planetary Lunar and Solar This scientific instrument contains the following specifications ICX418AKL class 1 Class 0 avai
53. by accessing the APC mode and selecting the vertical settings and the horizontal settings by lowering their values This is accessible through the OPTION settings Once in the OPTION bring down the cursor to SAVE At this point hit the right key or left key This will now change into NEXT Hit the center key You are now under the second menu as OPTION 2 APC is the first selection Next is the HIGH LIGHT Feature next is the COLOR BAR GENERATOR or GRAY SCALE BAR GENERATOR By lowering the APC settings towards the left you reduce the DSP to its minimum Having the APC set in the middle will increase resolution and some sensitivity to a certain point This will result in small artifact around BRIGHT STARS ONLY It is the ANTIBLOOMING feature kicking in If you keep both APC sliding bars to the far left this effect is eliminated totally making the image as clean and free of all artifacts Then only the CCD sensor anti blooming is active Images produced with the APC on or at minimum will provide the highest dynamic range ever seen in any video ccd camera for astronomical purpose on the market today A lot of research and development done right here in Ottawa Ontario Canada went into our cameras to offer the user the finest available APC Live Observation Imaging The APC is a enhance mode feature for live observation If you are going to take images it is suggested to set the V and H to their lowest settings towards far left Increase the V will adju
54. by the scope s effective focal length in millimeters to Xtreme User Manual Page 97 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 get the lens s plate scale in degrees per millimeter and then multiply the scale number by the dimensions of the CCD s pixel array in millimeters For example a Meade 12 f 10 3000mm FOV SCT will have a plate scale of approximately 57 3 3000 0 0191 degree per millimeter When coupled to MallinCam with a pixel array 7 40mm x 12 7mm the camera will record a FOV of about 0 0191X7 40 0 0191X5 95 0 141 by 0 113 MallinCam Planetary Nebula Rock s Daytime Picture Gain Nice to hear from you again on the list You are right about focus could not have a good enough live view of M 57 to fully have a firm focus It was greatly affected by the heat waves of the late afternoon time So left it that way and started to image a bunch of BMP snaps Beside had the focus setup for the night before observing imaging run so figure it would be close enough Capturing a nebula such as M 57 is far more difficult than M3 back in April 2006 At least with M3 had stars to focus on Not so for M 57 The camera setting was standard mode without any integration SENS was OFF AGC was set at MANual and full right to get the maximum gain possible without integration Next had the ALC set to OFF and the slider to full right might of have the ALC ELC set to ELC gt can t remember but m pretty sure it was set to ALC
55. camera S ANatOMy esson cescbecsicibatesdecn tds cnusctavicnusbocsecteeientems se eueustanses 7 Ze Making CONDECIONS sensere en aa EENE NE EARNAN 9 The Camera Connection Diagram seeessseeeessoeeesoceeesooeeesoocecsooeecsoooecsooeeesooeeessoeessooeeesooeeeeooeee 9 Connecting X iene O Montorra a E a E atest estienavensds 9 COIMPOSIG n na e E E E N a E A 9 DV LOGO iaa E A AENT AAE AAT 10 Checking out the Xtreme for the First Time nnnenssssssseooeeeeneessssssssssesserrreresssssssssssssseereeeressssssssssee 12 3 Operating NeXters N R E 14 E e PRAE EA E E E E ae ae nee E T ETT 14 gt 910 5 0 an T ener ener e tn Sere se 14 IVD GT MOda A 15 4 Controlling the Xtreme by Hand ccceccceccseceeceeeceeceeseeeceeceeseeseeceeseeseesaneees 16 The Moon Fixed EX pOSuUre G cisaceas tose chedy lean Sudeitin dae a duncan pinta cedea nclvatuanedl gaan uaa sedis 16 A Bright Star or Bright Deep Sky Object Extended Exposure cccccccesssssesseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeaseeeeeees 19 HY PER MODE Deep Skyy OD eClS Keairan iann ia a T E 21 5 Controlling the Xtreme by COMputell ccccsssscssssscsssssssesssssccsscssssssssssssssssssssscssssees 25 Connecting Xreme to Computel irane 25 Controlling the Xtreme using Software sssssssscecccccccccccscsssssceccceccccccccssssssssscececccececeesssssssse 26 Attachina The S252 Cable E tee ennewtssasesctiedaned samen aledmawudseed 21 Atacho the video C ADC isco ene a Gen
56. cking out the Xtreme to see how to activate the Xtreme SVideo The SVideo signal is obtained by connecting an optional SVideo cable male male from the back of the Xtreme S VHS 4 on the Connection Diagram to the SVideo In Port on your monitor Always use a professional quality shielded SVideo cable Preferably a cable that is both grounded and has baluns on both ends Be careful when you are attaching a SVideo cable as you can damage and even break off pins if you try to force the connection The images below show both the Xtreme SVideo Port and a SVideo cable end Notice that the Port has a rectangular hole as well as a small notch cut out The cable also has a plastic rectangular peg which is on the opposite side of that flat external part of the cable Xtreme User Manual Page 10 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Orient the cable so that the rectangular peg will slide into the rectangular hole You should have the flat part of the cable facing the outside of the Xtreme if the orientation is correct Push the SVideo cable into the connector on the Xtreme The fit will be snug so a little pressure is required Once connected with the Xtreme attached to your Telescope and the Telescope opening covered you may not have yet have the opportunity to adjust the settings on the Xtreme so it safer to block any light from entering the camera so that the camera is seeing a dark image power up the Xtreme plug in the po
57. cts around bright stars However John and experimented with the APC on M82 and M51 and found that more detail was revealed with higher values for H and V APC APC Sun Moon The importance of the APC function is not talked about too much When view the sun in H Alpha the moon use the APC from half way point to near full at times When view galaxies live same applies The careful adjustment of the APC will blow away any cameras as far as resolution is concern and will benefit the user to do serious observing of deep sky targets using any telescope Again careful adjustment must be observed since some star artifact can be seen if adjusted incorrectly on bright stars only APC Menu Star Artifacts Your image seem to have light leak Light is entering in the system somewhere near the 1 25 adapter or nearby One thing noticed was the round artifact around the stars Go into the MENU and select OPTION Once in OPTION bring the cursor at the bottom to RETURN Press the right key It will now say NEXT PRESS the CENTER key Once on the MENU 2 you will see a feature called APC Select APC and lower both sliders to the far left This will reduce the DSP to a minimum removing all star artifact APC DSP Digital Signal Processing Options Anti blooming The DSP is always on no matter what This results in high resolution with the lowest noise in the industry If you chose to reduce the DSP Digital Signal Processing you can do so
58. d connect either the Composite Video cable BNC end to the Video Out jack on the back of the MallinCam or the S Video cable to the S Video port on the back of the MallinCam Keep lens cap on Telescope 3 Connect the USB Video Adapter to computer see Installing MCV in the Appendix D for instructions on how to install the MallinCam MCV Video adapter 4 Connect other end of Video cable RCA to the Video Capture Device MCV or connect the S Video cable to the Video Capture Device MCV 5 Power the Xtreme plug in the AC to DC adapter and connect to the Xtreme 6 Start the video display software AMCAP Miloslick 7 Choose the Video Source for the software USB 2828x Device for the MCV 8 If necessary select Crossbar from AMCAP to choose the RCA connection on MCV rather than the S video 9 Hold down the Centre button on the back of the Xtreme for about 2 seconds release when you see OSD menu on your Video Display Software See Making Connections in Chapter 2 for instructions on how to check out the camera Xtreme User Manual Page 25 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Controlling the Xtreme using Software As of this writing there are a few Software packages that can control the Xtreme camera some even with the ability to disolay and capture images from the Camera Itself the The current software packages are Free gt MallinCam Control Xtreme by Stephan Lalonde gt MallinCam Control by Andy Galasso
59. d to monitor Step 4 To active the camera into a 7 seconds integration with AUTO To confirm image integration and or transfer look at the Receiver s LED indicator as demonstrated in the picture below When taking an exposure integration the LED on the Receiver will be solid RED Once the image Is transferred it will momentarily turn GREEN indicating that the image Is being transferred to monitor The RED LED will automatically light back up while taking another exposure integration This will repeat as long as the hand controller has been activated with the Upper Right Button To stop exposure simply oress the Upper Right Button on the Transmitter Xtreme User Manual Page 82 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Stepg gt After the observing imaging session please remember to turn OFF the Receiver by pressing POWER Button for 4 seconds or until display goes blank The Transmitter will automatically shut down by itself in about one minute The background light can be turned on momentarily on the Transmitter by pressing the Upper Left Button for 4 seconds or until display light comes on It will turn off automatically after 6 seconds or more to save battery power For long term storage remove batteries from both the Transmitter and Receiver Xtreme User Manual Page 83 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix G Accessories for the Xtreme Upscaler Digital View Finder Digital View Finder Kit 8 Mon
60. ddle position to give you high resolution on the monitor If you are going to image then these two APC sliders should always be to far left For live viewing of deep sky object the APC set at 3 4 way to the right will give you incredible sharpness and resolution unmatched in the industry APC APC controls the amount of internal digital signal processing that the camera performs If the APC settings are too high stars can appear to be square and bright stars start to show black halos Lowering the H and V values for APC will reduce this phenomenon When dealing with objects like galaxies with nuclear detail like M82 increasing the APC will increase the detail seen in the galaxy So in my estimation lower the APC values when dealing with star clusters and globulars and increase it for diffuse nebulae and galaxies Xtreme User Manual Page 99 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 APC stars imaging Turn down the APC on the camera settings Some stars are square and some have ring around them APC setting must be turned down in Astrophotography For visual APC is a wonderful feature to experiment with offering a more hi res live image APC One thing you may want to try if you have not done so yet is adjusting the APC in the OPTIONS sub menu The APC regulates the amount of digital signal processing performed by the camera usually set the horizontal and vertical values to full left wnen ship the cameras to minimize any artifa
61. econd fps value on Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax This will be trial and error it all depends upon resolution bandwidth and what over members on NSN experience from your broadcasted image You will end up adjusting both on the h Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max side as well and on the NSN side to get the best image A helpful hint slide over the Manycam Xtreme User Manual Page 45 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 step 6 A Step 7 d Splitctam Webcam Max window so that some of the text appears in the Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max window Can the members on NSN read the words If not adjust Remember this may take a couple of sessions until you obtain the ideal resolutions for your particular setup For me have set both Manycam Splitcam at 800x800 and NSN at HDCAM Minimize the Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max software window Click on the little underscore on the top right side of the Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max window This will eliminate the Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max window from your desktop it should now appear on the bottom of your desktop monitor but note that the software is still running and still has hold of your desktop XTREME VIDEO Software image location Do not move the Miloslick Window around your desktop when broadcasting since Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax is just grabbing the real estate location that currently your Miloslick Software image is situated at If you move the Miloslick Software W
62. ect so we need to prepare the Xtreme for that scenario before we remove the cover from your telescope The recommend setting for the Moon are TITLE leave black SENSE UP OFF this allows you to set the FIX exposure rate ELC ALC ALC ALC 1 12000 as a starting point AGC OFF the Moon is bright enough without trying to brighten It more W B ATW or MANU you will play with this later SYNC INT Always leave at INT OPTION SET GAMMA cot 0 45 Staring Point MOTION DET ON This is the lowest cooling rate High Level at 60 sec So let s adjust the Xtreme to match those settings Xtreme User Manual Page 17 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 It won t take long for you to become familiar in how to move around the menu settings in the Xtreme using the back buttons so literally will step you through it fo match the above settings TITLE will be flashing Press DOWN Button moves to SENSE UP Press RIGHT Button to ensure SENSE UP settings are OFF Press DOWN Button moves to ALC ELC Press RIGHT Button to toggle to to ALC Press CENTRE Button to enter lt ALC gt Menu Press RIGHT Button to set to 12000 Press DOWN Button fo move to the RETURN Press CENTRE Button fo return to lt MENU gt Press DOWN Button to get to AGC Press RIGHT Button to set to OFF Press DOWN Button fo get to OPTION Press CENTRE Button fo enter lt lt OPTION gt gt menu
63. eetinacs tewncnly 104 ENTE OPA TION SOMSE orsina naa a aaa aN OENE aa aana E aa iaa 105 Sense Intesration How Il WOK Shek a O enasioniamsdacenan 105 Sense S hOr r EXPOSES a a E ues eat lah nce las uneei see elaeenana 105 Sense Ty Per moOd ea o a See ela eenana 105 Sense Hyper CCD imager like camera cesena ae Se ea ee 105 sense Hyper mode AGC Adjus mieni cseciusa ih destdo meine alah E S 106 Integration Reset Safemode Flashing Image SafeGuatds cc ccssesssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeaeeeeeees 106 WIB White TB BIANCO oscesccssavececsceusscececurec seesuensscxacccuctawascveesceussebesevsassesusussesewaucsssesdecdseorsyeassneeastaautes 106 W B White Balance Manual Red F Ratio oo cceccceseccesecceeecceeescceessescseeeseeenesseeeseees 106 W Berua a EEE E oben ueteanoseneeuacsentearoseueaosueesanesen R a 107 WB AWC Color Balance niseme e a e ei o e ea ein 107 WIB DEEP Sk ena a A N E maneniaands 107 WI DEANN C a E E E 107 magmo SCN SS siaaa aeaaea a i EEE E E esii aaa 107 Imaging Capture Device ring around stars APC cccccccccccccecccceceeeseeeeseeeeeececeeeeeeeeeaaasaeeansess 107 Imaging Deep Sky nothing see live Settings cccccccccccccccececeeeesssseeeeeeeececeeesessaaeeeeessess 107 Imaging BNC S VHS High Resolution Monitor cccccccccccccccceeesssseeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeaseeeeeees 107 FACING s SOMA eao T i p A E A S suas ss denbaamane
64. eing conditions If any settings from the AGC is going to be performed always have the camera running in the 7 sec mode This will allow the auto reset to keep all figures set as before with the exception of the AGC of course Once the AGC slider adjustment has been moved the camera will hold the settings for 7 seconds then it will go off by itself then a black image will appear for 7 seconds Your next image will be instant 7 seconds integration If the image is too bright simply lower the AGC further more Always have the camera running at SENS 128X while in 7 14 28 56 sec mode as the Hyper circuits dependent on that frame count for a proper refresh and safeguard of electronics ALC Automatic Level Control ELC Electronic Level Control ALC There are two ALC ELC settings Put the camera into the ALC settings It will display a series of pre fixed value on the screen Xtreme User Manual Page 102 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 ELC If you put the ALC ELC menu into the ELC menu no value is determined Simply adjust to suit the best live view with the AGC turned to OFF position Do not use ALC ELC function if you are going to use the integration mode such as 128X and the Hyper mode of 7 14 28 56 seconds Only use the shutter speed or variable speed to achieve best lunar planetary view or if using a solar filter The ELC is totally variable to suite your specific needs and view never use it while in deep sky mode use the pre
65. eme User Manual Page 62 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 This OPTION2 MENU is important for it is in here that you find the COLOR BAR feature APC This is Advanced Pixel Control and it is useful if your stars do not look perfectly round APC can help adjust their shape When selected pressing the CENTRE Button takes you to the APC settings screen Leave PRESET at OFF By sliding the two adjustment bars to the LEFT sharpening and digital anti blooming are held to an absolute minimum When the two adjustments are to the RIGHT position maximum sharpening and digital ant blooming occurs The default position is with both sliders to the CENTER position The higher the level the more blocky stars Xtreme User Manual Page 63 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 look but the higher settings can tease details out of faint galaxies and nebula Generally higher settings are best used for lunar and planetary targets medium levels for galaxies or nebula with structures and APC 0 on stellar targets like open or globular clusters APC can be changed on the fly If both AGC is turned OFF and the APC sliders are to the LEFT then there is NO GAIN the camera is converted into a straight through CCD imager HIGH LIGHT Once selected by the CENTRE Button you will be allowed to adjust its setting via the LEFT and RIGHT Buttons This feature is like a CORONAGRAPH and is used to artificially
66. eme is actually connected to Step 2 Click on the lt OK gt button to continue The MallinCam Xtreme Control Basic Screen will open User Defined Camera Fa mm Presets MALLINCAM E Vite To a Save Xtreme User Manual Page 29 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Step 2 If you received the COM1 Error when you initially started the J MallinCam Control Software then click on the Config Tab that is located near the top of the MallinCam screen We are about to tell the software which port the Xtreme is connected to COM Port title Mallincam Select the COM Basic_ Advanced Video Config about Step 3 4 On the right hand side you will see a pull down menu beside the number that the USB Camera Type Black and White COM Pot COMI port that is han connected to the Save Software Configuration Xtreme ToolTips Night Vision fed F Night Vision blue Save You can find the Com number by checking the Device Manager in the Control Panel See How do determine my COM Port in the Appendix Allow the Xtreme to ste 4 finish its warm up procedure Takes about 3 minutes You can see the countdown timer tick down in the Advanced Tab screen beside a yellow circle Reset Presets Read From Load Write To Save If this is your first time using controlling the Xtreme through software would leave the lens cap on the telesc
67. ents etc My current program of choice is Splitcam I can live with the Advertisements but it has some amazing extras such as the ability to change Video Input from Svideo to composite a must if you use MallinCam s MCV device with a variety of cameras You will then use Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max along with Miloslick Xtreme Control Software Xtreme User Manual Page 43 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 ry Step 1 D Plug in the XTREME camera into a usb port MCV on your computer Always use the same port for your connected devices even mark on my laptop which usb port is for which device even use a specific usb port for my Video input devices MCV XTREME Dazzle and a specific h port for by RS232 RS485 devices For example if you only have 2 ports l then 1 port is for video input MCV and the other port is for R5485 control Double Click on the Miloslick Xtreme Control Software icon seo y Get the image of your object on the Image Window of Miloslick see the ntroduction Note if you get a blue screen rather than an image when selecting MCV adjust the settings on the software for your planned object and size the window so you have room for other software on your monitor real estate If you have a dual Monitor system move Miloslick to the second monitor During your initial NSN experience you will find it easier to even get the object of interest onto the Miloslick Software
68. evel Control and ELC sky brightness and lighting levels The LEVEL bar in the ALC Menu is stands for Electronic Level Control In deactivated in the Xtreme the ALC mode pressing the CENTRE Button calls up the lt lt ALC gt gt menu which When you are using HYPER Mode the SHUTTER setting must be set to OFF and the LEVEL bar must be all the way to the RIGHT allows you to change the Fixed Shutter s speed or turn ALC OFF There is a LEVEL bar for selecting the amount of ALC automatic control you want the ELC camera too apply but this LEVEL bar is Xtreme User Manual Page 53 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 deactivated in the Xtreme Use ALC for Pm Sy Planetary and Lunar observing In the ELC mode a similar lt lt ELC gt gt menu is displayed with a variable LEVEL of the shutter adjustments to suit seeing conditions The ELC setting is not too useful for astronomical applications so we wont discuss it beyond showing you its Menu We do not use this setting in Astronomy applications But the LEVEL bar is used When the camera is in the ALC mode by the Xtreme to determine how much the Xtreme automatically adjusts the adjustment it should automatically apply output for variations in sky brightness and to the image background lighting levels based on the SHUTTER setting When using the HYPER Mode the ALC ELC setting must be set to ALC the SHUTTER must be OFF and the LEVEL setting must be se
69. f external focusers on SCT scopes etc So different setups will result in different amounts of focalreduction even with seemingly similar scopes or MFR 5 configurations For additional focal reduction you can add extension tubes The more you add the more focal reduction you get Pm an Old School photographer and we called these things extension tubes in the day So that s what I still call them Schneider calls them extension tubes also But many people call these things spacers or extension rings or ERs for short They re all the same thing Here s a setup I ve successfully used on a Celestron C9 25 SCT with a JMI EV Icm external focuser attached I m guessing this results in about a 0 4x reduction So for a C9 25 that reduces the focal length from 2350mm down to about 940mm 2350 x 4 940 I m guessing on the reduction here so don t quote me or blindly believe me But it s a substantial amount of focal reduction Page 88 Xtreme User Manual UIRE G UP Sasi asianalon tues Hass suar inked MES siipi Huuu ow ES or A ii a R n Sis 5mm extensiOngupe Wara foecibrpucltietiongs San llninaia Iiniarnal ruiluetionns Vib rte vi Jua ath Laa she sari olua JU 68 Yataz i a J r Sor JU r a R A 4 Ls 5mm 10mm WEL feeccilepoelisetieye jour ti GIAJ satin iss 344 Sums yviepioetine In Sorar April 17 2014 You can also p
70. factor in each cameras If bright lights enter the ccd sensor while in 6 or 12 seconds mode the camera will revert to a lower frame accumulation reducing overload of the electronics Here s what suggest to do daytime viewing SENS OFF ALC Shutter setting 350 12 000 AGC OFF W B ATW auto white balance With these guidelines you will be able to do daytime viewing Try the Moon setup on the quick sheet provided with the camera This will give you a good starting point Simply change the ALC Shutter to obtain the best view in your monitor Do not turn on the TEC it is not needed for aytime The TEC should be used at the 2 seconds and above exposure only Beside daytime heat may produce some condensation on the ccd sensor The TEC is designed to be used at night time ambient temperature MallinCam Daytime For daytime use start with the lunar settings for the camera Make sure the SENSE is in the OFF position you don t need 2 1 6 or 12 seconds for daytime shots Make sure ALC ELC is set to ALC and start with 4000 to 12000 1 4000 to 1 12000th of a second exposure Turn the AGC down full left Using my friend s Meade 8 at f 6 3 on the Friday before New Year s we looked at the moon in the afternoon under a blue sky We were using the ALC at around 4000 to 6000 If your 6 SCT is set up at f 10 you may have to change the ALC to something less than 4000 MallinCam Moon For Moon stuff you want it as an ordinary video camera
71. fixed values in the ALC mode To switch from ALC ELC simply press the right key or left key when the cursor is next to the ALC ELC then press the center key to access the full menu for the specific shutter speed value ELC shutter speed A wider extended range of shutter speed effect when used in the ELC mode which can be better for certain observation you may have For example if 1 12 000 is not enough try the ELC mode and slide the adjustment far left You will exceed the range of 1 12 000 when the AGC is set to off ALC Planets Shutter Speed Filters Setup the scope without a focal reducer If too bright increase the ALC to 8000 Cameras that has only 1 2000 will not possibly get the full benefit of true planet and lunar views without using a polarized filter Something the MallinCam don t need The ALC goes as high as 1 12 000 for shutter speed allowing full coverage of all astronomical targets without filters Color Bar Color Bar Generator Have you tried to calibrate capture card using the built in color bar generator in the MallinCam To access the color bar generator you need to go through the second menu or while in the 2 seconds mode 128X press the upper button and lower button at the same time for about 2 seconds and you will have the color bar generator on screen to adjust all the settings of the video capture card It is a reference to adjust monitor capture devices etc Very handy to have This feature is in eve
72. from my Downtown location in Ottawa Sun was only 22 deg above horizon and just above the roof line of the house Imaged with a LX 200 GPS 10 with F 6 3 focal reducer in ALT AZ with a Thousand Oaks H Alpha Solar filter 0 9 A 4 images coded with RegiStax 4 0 Camera was MallinCam Hyper B W monochrome Video CCD Camera Color done with Photoshop 7 processed with RegiStax 4 0 This is my first H Alpha complete with surface details Settings on the camera were ALC Shutter Speed 12 000 sec Something SC II or III can t do AGC OFF Gamma 1 0 APC Horizontal and Vertical turned all the way down left with V set at one step up Imaging Monitor When I observe and image in color use a monochrome monitor on my color camera When capture the image to computer it is in color Using a monochrome monitor on a color camera gives me a much sharper and brighter image to allow a more precise focus try to adjust the color USB 2 adapter settings to match the view of the monochrome monitor as far as brightness and sharpness is concern then adjust the color on the camera to give me the best color combination using the computer monitor Imaging USB 2 0 Adapter Color B W The USB 2 0 adapter is a device that allows you to connect the 75 Ohms or S Video NTSC or PAL video signal output of the camera to computer so you may see the live image on computer This device is a converter that digitize the signal mentioned above If you have a high resolu
73. g square in the upper left is your current zone Using the ARROW Buttons you can move around the screen from Zone to Zone Pressing the CENTRE key at any Zone toggles the zone GREY or BLACK GREY is Xtreme User Manual Page 55 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 augmented sensitivity BLACK is reduced sensitivity To exit this mode just hold the CENTRE Button for a second and you will be returned to the lt lt BLC gt gt menu The follow screen would be your worst nightmare for amp glow Select Peak to adjust the amount of total Back Light Compensation You can manually adjust the level from 0 lef to 8 righ by adjusting the bar Xtreme User Manual Page 56 Xtreme User Manual AGC PA gt oe eel WOOL L lt age c la M n he a i i bp v a AGC or Auto Gain Control instructs the Xtreme how much amplifier gain you would like to apply to the signal coming out of the CCD chip it is equivalent to cranking up the ISO setting on your photographic camera This function is one of the most important functions for imaging Deep Sky Objects when in HYPER Mode but can also be used in both FIXED SHUTTER and EXTENDED SHUTTER Mode There are two simple rules for setting the AGC 1 Set it as low as you can A lower AGC will give you cleaner pictures at the expense of a longer exposure time A higher AGC will let you use shorter exposures at the expense of more noise
74. ge 34 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Using Miloslick Software will assume that you have installed the software but this is the first time using Miloslick For more detailed instruction in using this powerful piece of software please read the Manual that came with its download Double click on the MallinCam Control icon on your desktop The Step 1 of 6 Splash screen will appear Click on Next to continue Welcome to MallinCam Control The setup wizard wil help you get started uung the software to contre and viw Ove cutout af your MaliewCam on your computer preen Pimese tebe a fey moments to go through the folowing steps to configure your software and hardware camecty You do not need to have your MalknCam connected for thas pieces but you wil need your Video Digtizer and Serial Port edapte connected to your commpeter if you have Aerm Hf you don t heve these you can cencel the Wizard and cunt agen later Pom the File gt Run Setup Winard meres tent Any change tc wetting made here can eanly be modded later From atin the epplcation gt The Step 2 of 6 Window will appear Select your Type of Camera f Type of Chip and Video Format and Click Next to Continue Piese prowde ir nrmabon about the type of camera you vall be uing wth the scttware Selecting the sensor type amd video format wif help define your camera s capabilities F you are using agenenc vdeo camera Choose MalinCam tr Comers Type M
75. he exposure to 1 30 of a second did you see it slowly brighten Steo6 Do you see your star If not press the RIGHT Button again and SENSE UP will now say X4 or 4 times the exposure 1 15 of a second Keep increasing the EXTENDED EXPOSURE until the object is bright enough to see Recall X2 1 30 X4 1 15 X6 1 10 X8 2 15 X12 1 5 X16 4 15 X24 2 5 X32 8 15 X48 4 5 X64 1 1 X96 1 6 and X128 2 1 seconds Don t forget to adjust the image on the Monitor that you are using to improve the gain and brightness Most users find that setting the Xtreme to X128 is a great setting to work on using a focus mask to assist in focusing their telescope Now Is the time to also play with the AGC level on the Xtreme this will give you the ability to increase or decrease the brightness of the image including noise Remember as AGC is changed the XTREME will need to refresh the SENSE UP and that can take up to 3 minutes depending upon the Sense Up X factor HYPER MODE Deep Sky Objects You have pushed the Xtreme to 2 1 seconds but now you need to take the plunge and do exposures way into the minutes The Xtreme is ready for you To make this happen you will need the MallinCam Wireless Exposure Controller or a computer and computer software In this Section will discuss how to activate this mode using the MallinCcam WEC device you can jump to the Controlling the Xtreme by Computer Section fo see how to activate this mode us
76. heavy and depending upon your computer s manufacturer the MCV may put some strain on the USB port Therefore use a small 6 USB cable extender and plug the extender into the USB port for and plug the MCV into the other end of the extender Step 1 Open the Package When you open the package you will find gt 1miniCD gt 1User s Manual gt MCV 1 1e Do not inset this into USB port until instructed e Take the instruction booklet and the mini CD and place them on the table If your computer cannot handle a mini CD you cannot physically lock the CD into the centre hole of the CD drive then you can down load the software by following the next step e Goto the MallincamUSA website and download the latest drivers for the MCV device http www mallincamusa com Files MVC 1 20Software 20CD zi This file is in a zip format so you will need to unzip the file You should see 5 folders and about 4 other files inside the unzipped folder Xtreme User Manual Page 72 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Step 2 Insert the MCV 1 or MCV 1e Remember the USB port you choose for the MCV you will always use this USB port for the MCV e The Windows will find new hardware and will attempt to load drivers It will most likely fail on one driver Don t worry that is why you have the driver installation software e Either insert the CD or run the program autorun exe in the folder of the file you downloaded e When you see the green
77. ho like minimal attachments fo others who want complete computer control and capture capabilities all from the comfort of home The Xtreme also has a variety of attachments and enhancement accessories available which will allow your system to grow with your future needs and adventures This manual is in the way the work of the MallinCam Xtreme users before me have borrowed their ideas and even some of their documents and have placed them in the manual so that we have everything Is in one place One of the first chapters you should read in this manual is actually the First Aid for the Xtreme in Appendix G This will let you know what you may encounter when you have the wrong setting selected on the Xtreme especially when using the Xtreme for the first time Special thanks to Jack Huerkamp Chris Appleton and Rock Mallin who expertise and experience are way beyond my capabilities So thank you for your purchase and let the adventure begin Xtreme User Manual Page 4 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The Contents of the Xtreme Package Depending upon the Xtreme Model purchased the contents may vary but all Xtreme cameras include the following standard equipment gt MALLINCAM XTREME COLOR Camera with Class 1 video CCD sensor gt Regulated Power Supply 120 volts fo 12 Volts D C Adapter PAL export version comes with 220 Volts to 12 Volts D C Adapter gt 25 8 Meters High Grade Dual Shielded Power Composite Video Cable Com
78. ind the planet while the Highlight feature is activated Xtreme User Manual Page 96 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 MallinCam Daytime Viewing lunar settings Yes you can use the MCH in the daytime In fact 2 years ago at the first International Video Star party in Foymount Ontario Canada several observers had their MallinCam among other brands on targets through their telescope on a owl eating a mouse on top of a poll at 2000 feet The MallinCam Color gave the best view through Fred Waucaush s 9 1 4 Celestron SCT Colors were stunning Tried it on my 10 Meade SCT but the Celestron gave a sharper view with vivid colors Daytime conditions were hazy but sunny evenings were cloudy It figures If you are going to try the camera in the daytime avoid exposing the ccd sensor to direct sunlight while installing the camera on a lens or on your telescope Direct sunlight will desensitize the ccd sensor with time and start a irreversible damage process Keep your hand over the opening of the camera while installing on the telescope Also do not use the Hyper mode of 7 14 28 56 integration It will result in a white out screen Use the lunar settings supplied with the camera as a starting point MallinCam Planets Filters B W Star Collimation If you want more detail out of a MallinCam B W try a green filter This will cut IR and pull details plus ease of focusing Make sure telescope is collimated to the best of your ability Ve
79. indow then Manycam Splitcam Webcam Max will still grab the desktop location but may not grab the whole Miloslick Video Image Don t be afraid to practice moving the Miloslick Software window when not broadcasting to learn how it affects the displayed Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax Window If you need to you can again use the Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax desktop select icon and select or change the location or size of the window for it to grab If you have a dual monitor you can leave the Manycam Splitcam WebcamMax window open on the second monitor since real estate will not be an issue in the situation In fact with Splitcam you have an option to view the displayed image in full screen mode by clicking on the J symbol in the upper right side of the screen the escape key returns you back to normal size Start your Web Browser of Choice You may have to play with a number of Browsers to see which one works well with your particular computer setup have had success with 3 browsers Chrome Internet Explorer and Maxthon My current favourite browser to use for NSN broadcast is Maxthon Xtreme User Manual Page 46 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Step 8 Have your Web Brower go to the location http www nightskiesnetwork com Locate and click on the BROADCASTERS AND MEMBERS SIGN IN button The next Login screen will ask you to enter your username and password You will next be presented with the 9 screen for Night
80. ing software Xtreme User Manual Page 21 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The Wireless Exposure Controller consists of two elements a Receiver which attaches to the Xtreme and a Transmitter thru which you send the exposure duration to the receiver Wireless Exposure Control Receiver and Transmitter See Installing the Wireless Exposure Controller WEC in the Appendix F for detailed instructions on how to attached and use this device You have the telescope set up with if covered and the Xtreme attached to the eyepiece holder the video cables are attached to your monitor and power Is connected to everything The Wireless Exoosure Controller is attached and channels are set You have the telescope pointing to some Deep Sky Object and are ready to explore what the Xtreme can do You will be using SENSE UP in this Mode The Xtreme will actually build up the image with the settings you have made You can watch the image brighten as the camera gets to your setting At X128 this process can take up to 3 minutes as it needs to run through the previous multiplier settings until reaching X128 Sten1 2 Using your finder scope point your telescope at the Bright star or T J Bright Deep Sky Object At this stage we are imaging objects that we may not be able to see in the finder scope So sometimes you may need to do some hunting to get the object in the image window Steo2 gt With your Telescope still covered Press
81. is just a rough guess for the moment and not conclusive Rock MallinCam Lunar Occultation s AGC Lunar Dark Shadow You should be able to do occultation with all MallinCam providing the Hyper mode is turned off and the SENS is turned off Use the AGC in MANual mode to get the maximum gain The MallinCam has the highest gain available with the lowest noise for such work The AGC amplifier is a high gain type plus we have redesigned the circuit to accommodate lots of gain available without having to engage the SENS and or the Hyper mode as long the SENS is turned off have the SHUTTER wide open and control your image with the AGC in MAN mode Never use the camera s AGC in the ON position for astronomical targets unless lunar dark shadow is what you want to look at or daytime scenes APC Advanced Pixel Control APC Nebulas bright Star ringing click on option menu and scroll to exit on exit hit left or right arrow to get next select next to get option 2 menu Both sliders are set all the way to the right maximum digital processing which will enhance nebulas and such It will also increase ringing around bright stars APC Imaging if both sliders are all the way to left the processing is held to a minimum When imaging set it all the way to left and put the vertical up one notch to keep the stars round APC Live Observing Imaging If your going to do live observing would recommend both APC adjustment sliders in the mi
82. ith SENSE in any setting other than 128X To get shorter exposures place the switches in their respective OFF positions and lower the SENSE 64X is 1 second 32X is 1 2 second etc Sense Hyper mode First the camera must be running in 2 seconds mode via the main menu with SENS set at 128X That equals to about 2 1 seconds Once this is achieved you can now activate the Hyper switch the 7 and 14 seconds integration What that does it opens the shutter just like a ccd imager for either 7 or 14 seconds depending what you have selected Once the image has been accumulated on the ccd it then sends it the memory then to a converter to convert the data into video output Image is displayed instantly and refreshed at every 7 or 14 seconds depending which integration was used Once you got the Hyper mode going the next switch is for multiply the integration Example at 7 seconds Hyper switch down once the X4 has been activated up you now have 28 seconds integration happening Shutter is open for about 28 seconds If you had the Hyper switch selected to 14 seconds then the X4 switch becomes 14X4 56 seconds All of this is refreshed automatically The X4 switch only works with the 7 and 14 seconds integration switch Hyper mode Its that simple Sense Hyper CCD imager like camera Let s come back to the SENS Once you have the camera set to 128X under SENS menu Activating the Hyper switch on the side of the camera to increase the integratio
83. itor 12 and 15 Monitor 2 C mount adapter i HDX2 F Xtreme User Manual Page 84 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 MallinCam IR Filter Mallincam 2 5X Barlow Mallincam 0 5x Focal Reducer Xtreme User Manual Page 85 Xtreme User Manual Appendix H Focal Reduction MallinCam MFR 5 Modular focal reducer MallinCam MFR 5 modular focal reducer if Cuk 1 26 ille utie icicle K Cut SMi mele teluti April 17 2014 Here are three images of a MFR 5 focal reducer It s a two piece design and is made to mount on C mt video cameras is 1 25 in diameter and has 1 25 filter threads on the end of the larger part I call the A part Depending on how you configure this unit it can achieve different amounts of focal reduction from 0 8x to 0 3x or even more The MFR 5 is ideal for all telescope designs but particularly refractors SCTs RCs and DK optical designs It has been used successfully on curved field and flat field scopes and astrographs The MFR 5 has two parts that unscrew from each other I call the left shorter part the B part and the longer part on the right the A part Since both parts have male C mt threads both parts can be attached to the camera Just mounting the B part results in about a 0 8x focal reduction I ve never used just the A part but lve been told it provides about a 0 75x focal reduction by i
84. lable ceramic XtremeEX ICX428AKL ceramic CCD Pixels 768 H by 494 V 8 4 um x 9 8 um Pixel size 4 8 mm x 6 5 mm Chip Dimensions AES Rolling Shutter ALC 1 100 1 120 1 180 1 250 1 350 1 500 1 750 1 1000 1 1500 1 2000 1 3000 1 4000 1 6000 1 8000 and 1 12000 seconds 2X 4X 6X 8X 12X 16X 24X 32X 48X 64X 96X and 128X or 1 32th of a second to 2 1 seconds seconds Hyper Mode 3 3 seconds to 100 minutes Gamma Selection 0 45 1 0 White Balance Automatic White Balance Control AWC Auto Trace White Balance Control ATW Manual White Balance Control with presets Digital Zoom 2x in 16 increments Communication RS232 Protocol Operating 30 C to 50 C 4 F to 122 F Temperature Power Supply 12 1V DC at 1A Xtreme User Manual Page 6 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The Camera its Anatomy The Xtreme camera is 4 5 x 2 x 2 and weighs in at about 11 50 ounces 326 grams Xtreme User Manual Page Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The Extreme Camera also comes with comes with a 120 Volt AC Power Supply 1 25 Eyepiece Adapter 25 foot Power Video analog Combination Cable and a BNC to RCA adapter plug Xtreme User Manual Page 8 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 2 Making Connections The Camera Connection Diagram 5 Ms 5 REE ou eis s vus f ONN E oN is a i i a Computer Wired adapter plug ae 7 83 UpArrow 9 DownArr
85. me User Manual April 17 2014 integration If one is using a Hyper B W look out With the EX type ccd sensor we use being of class 1 which WE INSTALL IN EVERY CAMERAS sensitivity will go beyond anything seen to date on the market for astro ccd camera Sense Hyper mode AGC Adjustment There are a few steps to look for when using the MallinCam When changing AGC settings the Hyper mode 7 14 28 56 seconds integration must be off Once you have adjusted your AGC setting the refresh rate must be up to 128X in order to get the the Hyper mode to run again It takes about 2 to 3 minutes to get the full 128X ot 2 seconds integration mode Once this is achieved then you may flip the switch to 7 14 28 56 to see instant result once the integration has been done Sense Hyper Mode 128X AGC Adjustment Also if you are going to try this on M 42 or any targets that are too bright the SENS will go from 128X to 96 then 64 48 etc automatically and eventually to a level where protection of the electronics will occur If this happens the Hyper mode of 7 14 28 56 will lose the frame rate The Hyper mode is made to operate with SENS at 128X only You may get decent results at 64X but for protection of ccd sensor and associated electronics the SENS must be at 128X while using the 7 14 28 56 mode If this happens the refresh rate will be a quick image then a dark one This is an indication that either the 128X SENS has dropped down due to image being to
86. me User Manual April 17 2014 posting an image of the Ghost of Jupiter in my gallery astroimaging by Tom O in the Photos section The color in both that image and the one saw on the screen is amazing Zoom Barlow Ring Nebula M57 It was as enjoyable as M27 We had no difficulty seeing the central star and the one star in the central region that is off center The coloration was wonderful contrast was excellent The nice thing about this object in color is the core color that gently contrasts the ring color The picture held nicely with the Zoom set at maximum on top of 2 inch Televue Barlow Gamma The way brightness is distributed across the intensity spectrum by a monitor printer or scanner Gamma back ground Try setting the Gamma to 1 0 There are several setting to get the right background Under W B 2 settings are usable ATW is automatic White balance AWC is Auto Trace White balance which requires you to push the center key to take a sample through the camera to adjust itself for the best white balance This method is for one object at a time My favorite is MAN for manual Once in the manual settings you have a choice of 3200K infrared 5600K visual and some iInfra My favorite is PRESET which allows you to set the RED and BLUE so the red background can be reduced This is very important to achieve the right background All ccd sensors not matter who makes it are always more sensitive in the RED It must be reduced using
87. n to 7 or 14 28 or 56 seconds our own circuits becomes active and the ccd sensor Is in part independent from the rest of the camera It is now a full blown ccd imager like camera The only difference from a full ccd imager is each image are stored independently into a 32 megs memory until the next image become available after the exposure This is done instantly through two independent CPUs inside the camera The DSP APC feature is self adjusted filtration is augmented and speed Is running at maximum on both CPU inside the camera SYNC is also affected to give the readable image at the video output circuitry This is why at 7 14 28 or 56 seconds integration a small variation will occur as far as time integration is concerned SYNC and other video section must be handled to keep a 29 970 frame per seconds output All this is done through the CPU and the Hyper Circuit which takes over the whole camera as soon the Hyper mode is engaged This is why we called it the Hyper camera When you hit the switch on the side there is a lot of things are happening in there to give the finest most noise free artifact free and most sensitive image available today compared to any video ccd cameras One must learn to access these features and learn the correct procedures in order to get the most out of the camera The Hyper camera sensitivity will beat anything out there as far as integration is concern especially at 14 seconds Xtreme User Manual Page 105 Xtre
88. nce e Press the Center Button for about 2 seconds until the menu appears e Press the Upper Button once which will send the cursor to the last line lt SAVE gt e Next press Right Button once Word lt SAVE gt will change to lt PRESET gt e Press Center Button once to execute Preset This will send the camera to factory Preset and the camera should be ready for you in about 5 seconds Xtreme User Manual Page 94 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 My stars look elongated have checked my focus and collimation and I know it is not an optical effect since my hot pixels are also elongated Diagnosis Since you have eliminated mount and telescope optic issues Then the star images are being affected by the APC settings in the Camera Cure You will need to adjust the APC settings in the Camera either by the back buttons or through software First ensure that both the Horizontal and Vertical APC settings are set to 0 Next start with the Vertical APC move it up one setting to 1 and see how the images of the stars look If better but not perfect move it up to 2 and again check Keep adjusting Vertical or Horizontal if Vertical makes it WOISEe Most find Horizontal at 0 and Vertical at 1 or 2 is the best have been imaging for a while and now my images on the screen are looking washed out almost foggy like Diagnosis This most likely is cause by dew or frosting on the sensor depending Upon the season
89. ndow have become hooked on Splitcam With my dual monitor system have Splitcam grab my Video device USB 2828x Device directly Splitcam can adjust brightness contrast etc can also call up the USB 2828x Device control panel located in File Video settings which gives you some more control of the MCV s image output by again allowing you to change the brightness contrast sharpness over and above what the Miloslick software does Since place Splitcam on its own monitor the second monitor can make it full screen to see all the detail while my fist monitor has the NSN connection screen with its preview and chat window When you are finished with your session you simply say your good nights to the crowd of NSN viewers to let them know that your session is ending CLICK on the red STOP button on your NSN Window and NSN will shut down your channel and you can power down your system and call it an evening It won t force the NSN viewers off the channel and some viewers will continue chatting long after you have gone to bed 10 Xtreme User Manual Page dl Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 6 Appendix Appendix A On Screen Display OSD Menu MENU This is the main menu for the Xtreme It is from here that you select which setting you would like to adjust TITLE You can create a Title containing up to 12 characters chosen from the ones listed The Title can obscure parts of your image so most
90. no gain and no sense up at all Maybe set the gamma to 1 0 for better contrast and experiment with fast shutter soeeds Certainly there is no problem with using a neutral density filter as well if you wish MallinCam Planetary Viewing To view Jupiter first you must remove the focal reducer Next the AGC has to be turned OFF in the menu Next go to ALC then choose at least 1 6000 to 1 12 000 seconds in order to increase shutter soeed Also under W B have the setting at ATW for Auto White Balance A Barlow will decrease sensitivity and increase image size An infrared blocking filter would help Planetary viewing must be well setup in order to get best result for any telescopes Once these settings are achieved you should be able to get Jupiter in glorious colors MallinCam Moon Planets Highlight feature The highlight feature is a cool one Try it on the moon Get an area on the moon where half is fine and half is overexposed Try the Highlight Feature On the over exposed part the section will become darker Adjusting the slider bar will result on sensitivity of this effect Its like a mask that becomes active on very bright areas that can be helpful in obtaining the right combination of brightness level while viewing the moon F ratio will also play a major role in combination of the right shutter speed Also try it on a bright planet where it becomes over exposed with the SENS from about 8X to 128X You will see the moons and other stars beh
91. not use the 3200K or 5600K In the W B white balance there is the ATW for Auto Trace White balance AWC Auto With Control and MANUal mode Go into the manual mode you will see 3200K which is near infrared 5600K is visible and some near infrared next is preset lt USER gt There you will have the red adjustment blue adjustment Since ccd sensors are more sensitive to RED simply lower the RED adjustment by 2 notches and increase the BLUE adjustment by one notch This should provide a good starting point If the image is too red lower the RED adjustment some more If hazy atmospheric conditions is evident the RED will have to be lowered even more since light pollution can reflect from haze making the background in the image red Once this setting is saved it will remain permanently in the memory until you play with it again Also check the F ratio used If F 3 3 and below is used to view an image this will make the background more sensitive to red Increase the F ratio to F 5 or F 6 3 Xtreme User Manual Page 106 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 W B All ccd sensors are more sensitive in the red spectrum One reason why the LED on the camera is green Try to lower the RED setting under W B white balance menu or set the W B to ATW Auto White Balance Are you imaging from the city or dark sky If from the city light pollution is reflected as red High humidity condition will also reflect as red W B AWC Color Balance Doing
92. o usually you only have to go through this process whenever you want to change what camera device you would like the NSN flash driver to use x N gt Choose your Camera Settings Step 13 We will now select the settings for our camera We have the option of changing The Bandwidth Picture Resolution Framerate and even the microphone rate when you are ready The changes will not be activated until you CLICK on the Green OK symbol in the window Xtreme User Manual Page 49 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 gt LEFT CLICK inside the NSN video Window to bring up the Camera Settings Window manycam virtual Webcam Bandwidth ee Resolution Framerate e Microphone Realtek High Definition OK gt Use the sliders for Band Width and Picture values usually have both of my sliders way on the right Over time you will find the sweet spot for your system gt Select your Resolution from the Pull Down Menu select HDCAM 800 x 600 for my system this seems to give the sharpest image with my 800 x600 settings in Manycam Splitcam Again play with these to see what settings the NSN viewers Say is the best gt Select your Frame Rate From its Pull Down Menu usually leave it at 15 fps but have used 30 fps at times Again trial and error for your system gt CLICK onthe green OK symbol to accept these settings That s it you are done If everything is working well and the Window s gods are in a g
93. o bright protection mode or the SENS 128X was not up to its full 128X 2 seconds refresh rate after an AGC adjustment was made It does explain this in the sheet included with the camera Integration Reset Safemode Flashing Image SafeGuards There is a reset on the camera there is two way to do it First the problem you had by having a flashing image was caused by the 128X count loss If the camera is exposed to a too bright environment it will lose the 128X count automatically allowing the safety to kick in The view were not suitable and the camera goes into safe mode by losing 128X count so no image is kept for long period in the memory This also avoid electronics overloads If you want to reset the camera completely simply go to the SAVE at the bottom of the on screen display and hit the right KEY It will now say RESET hit the center key You will loose all info and settings You will have to start over from scratch by adjusting all your settings Always perform a hard reset with the Hyper mode off 7 14 28 56 sec W B White Balance W B White Balance Manual Red F Ratio At 5600K the sky is an amazing red and it got redder with longer settings So much so that the target is somewhat washed out ended up viewing at 3600K which was much better tried all kinds of setting to get rid of the red but no luck and did have the user guide trying to eliminate finger trouble What in the world am doing wrong gt Do
94. oftware provides automatic setting adjustments to get you going quickly until you become more familiar with the Xtreme features These automatic PRESETS are located in the Basic Tab Select the type of object you will be looking at by clicking on the appropriate button in the Basic screen This will load the Xtreme Control Software with the recommended pre sets for this type of object Click on the Write To on the bottom left to send these values to the Xtreme Camera User Defined Camera mm Presets hes MALLINCAM on Vite To Save When you are imaging Deep Sky objects it will take the Xtreme about 3 Conan tp minutes to prepare Itself for this Black and White COM Pot COMI aa Hypermode experience any time you sbi change the AGC the Xtreme will require V ToolTips F Night Vision fred F Night Vision blue Save another three minutes If Deep Sky Imaging was the nights plan you can abort the initial 3 minute delay that the Xtreme Control Software imposes when you first start the software by clicking on the Yellow Count Down Timer in the Advanced Tab This will save you 3 minutes in the startup procedure When your imaging session is over click on the Park button in the Config Tab and Reset allow the Xtreme a couple of minutes to I presets ff complete this procedure before Load powering down the camera a pop up an window will let you know when it Is ready Xtreme User Manual Pa
95. olar image soon The opening in front of the energy rejection filter is 3 Hope this help a little Xtreme User Manual Page 98 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 MallinCam Hyper Color B W images MANual red blue was out late last night in my backyard testing the Hyper color just recently put together with a class 0 CCD sensor and did managed to get a B W image using the USB2 0 adapter In one of the settings used Saturation and turn it all the way down to minimum Results were a black and white image in the observing monitor and on the computer imaging monitor There is a menus on the MC Hyper where you can choose manual RED and manual BLUE with Green being fixed It won t provide any black and white image but was able to dial up the sensitivity to provide the best black and white image using the USB 2 0 adapter with the Saturation set to minimum or zero It worked well Increasing the RED on the camera and having the Saturation turned all the way down on the USB 2 0 adapter provided sensitivity that rivaled the Hyper B W Also by turning down the RED on the camera was able to control the amount of Infrared being displayed MallinCam Color Vs B W Sensitivity did more extensive testing last night measuring sensitivity compared to the Hyper B W and the Hyper Color Results were very close and productive So far estimate about 15 to no more than 20 less sensitivity between the Hyper B W and the Hyper Color This
96. ood mood you should be broadcasting whatever object the XTREME is capturing You should now enter another Message and SEND it out to indicate what system you are using and what object you are viewing There is a time delay on what you Say if you have you microphone activated and do on your computer as compared to what others see and hear on the NSN broadcast You will freeze and don t mean like what Chris does when he _ broadcasts in winter till 3am mean from time to time your NSN connection will freeze for no apparent reason It happens to us all When this happens you can simply terminate the Web browser program Ctrl Alt Del Then restart your browser and Log back into NSN This usual is a very quick process But sometime we all have to restart our computer this takes longer for we need to power down hardware and software and reactivate everything before login back in Don t worry the NSN viewers sense what is happening and will keep the conversations going while waiting for you to come back on Xtreme User Manual Page 50 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Don t be afraid to ask for advice by typing in on the Video chat window as we are all learning and are willing to assist whenever we can When ready try activating the microphone click on the microphone symbol Other will let you know if they can hear you or if there is noise Remember there are settings for the microphone in the camera settings wi
97. ope You will remove the cap when the Xtreme is configured correctly Step 5 gt Click on the lt Read From gt button located on the bottom left corner of the screen under Camera in the Config Tab This will synchronize the Xtreme Camera with the Control software this takes about 30 seconds Xtreme User Manual Page 30 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 If this is your first time using Xtreme Control Software you will want to configure the video capture device and file saving locations 34 Beso Advanced ieo Contig Abou Oeq orem o i ewce Source Tren Capus Coti Ftor Gaussian Lirapasa Detdtetace Video hmeracedT Static Nowe eduction Serer deo Capses Set Path rore Sap Frame Canture Snapshot Patn rore mam Select the Video Tab at the top of the screen Under Video Capture title click on lt Path gt button to set the location to save captured video files Click on either AVI or MPG button to choose saved video format Under the Frame Capture title click on lt Path gt button to set the location to save snapshot files Click on BMP JPG or Tiff box to select what format to save your snapshot Select the Config Tab at the top of the screen Under the Save Software Configuration title click on the lt Save gt button to save these selections Basic _ Advanced Video Config About Camera Type Black and White Color COM Pot COMI
98. optional Remote Wired Keypad which allows you fo press those buttons but without actually touching thus jiggling the Xtreme w r These instructions will guide you in using the Xtreme and obtaining an image using each of the 3 modes Remember that you may need to adjust your particular settings to obtain the best image Once you get the hang of changing the settings it will be worth your time to peruse the Chapter Understanding the Xtreme Settings to get a deeper comprehension how the adjustments affect your image The Moon Fixed Exposure You have the telescope set up with it covered and the Xtreme attached to the eyepiece holder the video cables are attached to a monitor and power is connected to everything You are feeling a bit of apprehension and excitement after all you have invested in an amazing scientific tool So take a deep breath and let s have some fun Sten 1 gt Using your finder scope point your telescope at the Moon it s hard to miss The Moon is always the best object to look at when learning how to use a new imaging device Steno 2 gt X With your Telescope still covered Press and Hold Down the Centre Button on the back of the Xtreme for about 2 seconds or the Centre Button on the Remote Wired Keypad The lt MENU gt screen will appear on your monitors screen Xtreme User Manual Page 16 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The Moon is a very bright obj
99. or to help bring out all of the lunar details Have fun observing If you set ALC to OFF then the exposure rate is 1 60 th of a second When have finished observing the Moon all you need to do is power off the Xtreme There is no special instructions for shutting down when using the Fixed Shutter Mode A Bright Star or Bright Deep Sky Object Extended Exposure Now that you have success with imaging the Moon or bright planets now Is the time to jump to the next level Bright stars or Bright Deep Sky Objects You have the telescope set up with if covered and the Xtreme attached to the eyepiece holder the video cables are attached to your monitor and power Is connected to everything You are feeling a bit more confident with the equipment and using the buttons to selection the setting options on the Xtreme Time for some more fun You will be using SENSE UP in this Mode The Xtreme will actually build up the image with the settings you have made You can watch the image brighten as the camera gets to your setting At X128 this process can take up to 3 minutes as it needs to run through the previous multiplier settings until reaching X128 SENSE UP has some smarts it won t brighten the image and overload the sensors That is you may find that having SENSE UP set at x96 or set to X6 that the image is the same brightness This is because X6 is the brightest that this object should go before overloading the Xtreme Step 1
100. ow Connecting Xtreme to Monitor The MallinCam Xtreme provides two Video Out Ports that allow the video signal to be distributed to Video monitors One Video Out Port provides standard Composite video out by the BNC connector on the back of the Xtreme 1 on the above Connection Diagram while the other Video Out Port provides a SVideo signal Both Ports provide a simultaneous video signal output Composite The Composite Signal is obtained by connecting the included MallinCam Video Cable from the back of the Xtreme to the Composite Video In Port on your monitor since in most monitors the Composite Video In connector is a RCA style MallinCam provides a BNC to RCA adapter to facilitated that connection To connect just align the two little openings on the BNC cable male with the two notches on the Xtreme s BNC female connector push and twist so the notches slide into place This locks the cable to the Xtreme Once connected and with the Xtreme attached to your Telescope and the Telescope opening covered you may not have yet have the opportunity to Xtreme User Manual Page 9 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 adjust the settings on the Xtreme so it safer to block any light from entering the camera so that the camera is seeing a dark image power up the Xtreme plug in the power adapter and power up the Monitor don t forget to have the monitor use the composite port Now Jump to the section after SVideo Che
101. r of course AGC Planets Make sure the settings for the AGC is set to OFF when observing lunar and planets otherwise bright light protection in the camera will be activated and will take several seconds if not minutes to regain sensitivity Simply unplug the dc cord from the camera for at least 20 seconds and reconnect AGC Tracking error star smear Try shorter exposure and increase the gain AGC This will make star pattern a little rounder due to less tracking error AGC Amp Glow The glow in the upper left is amp glow To reduce it you need to lower the AGC gain The upper left corner glow is caused by the internal ccd amplifier causing electro luminescence during long exposures It can be controlled by lowering the AGC AGC Gain lt is pointless to have 3 4 5 6 seconds when you can get the same affect with 2 seconds with the gain turned up The increase factor would not be worth the trouble to have such 3 4 5 6 seconds integration The current settings are based on extensive testing done where these exposures are the best to use to gain a substantial amount of image brightness Use the AGC in the Manual mode to compensate between all other settings AGC Gain Control The CCD sensor in the MallinCam series of video CCD camera are more sensitive than most cooled ccd imagers with its variable gain control which can be increased to specific levels where the image would rival a 5 seconds exposure using only 1 second exposure on
102. rectly strange stuff is happening and it is not my camera After you have checked all of the obvious Power to the Xtreme Software AMCAP is pointing to the correct input device on the MCV remember it has 2 connection types RCA and SVIDEO e Down load the updated MCV 1 or MCV 1e driver from the Mallincam Software Links Site have put a copy here on my own site of the latest driver called BDA_UAC WHQL_082311 Setup rar My file location http sdrv ms Lb3wV3 Note this is a RAR file and you will need a free RAR extractor program to unzip this file A good free RAR extractor is called 7 Zip Xtreme User Manual Page 74 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix E Installing RS232 Communications RS232 Communications The MallinCam Xtreme communicates via a Computer Adapter Port see 8 on the Connection Diagram on the back of the camera An Optional MallinCam Xtreme RS232 cable is required to connect the camera to a RS232 Port on your computer As most computers no longer include a RS232 Port you will also require a USB to RS232 Serial adapter The MallinCam RS232 cable is then connected to the USB to RS232 adapter which in turn is connected to a USB Port on your computer Different models of MallinCam camera used a alternative version of the communication cable These communication cables are distinguished by a GREEN dot on the cable This GREEN dot matched the GREEN LED on that model of camera Ensure you order the
103. required to properly seat the cable into the Xtreme You will notice that will all of the cables connected the back of the Xtreme gets a little busy Mallincam Serial Cable USB Serial Adapter Back of Camera Xtreme User Manual Page 27 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Attaching the Video Cable Now you attach either the Composite or the SVideo cable from the back of the Xtreme to the USB Video Capture Device MCV that you are using see Appendix D Installing the MCV to capture the video signal from the Xtreme O a Back of Camera S Video Cable BNC Connector Composite Cable MCV le Adapter lt RCA Connector Xtreme User Manual Page 28 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Using MallinCam Control Xtreme Software This assumes you have connected the Xtreme to your Serial or USB to Serial port on your computer and are ready to control the Xtreme from the computer rather than the buttons on the back of the Xtreme Double Click on the MallinCam Software Icon from your computer Step 1 screen I Error Ihe port COM dors not cost If this is the first time using the Mallincam Xtreme Control Software you may receive the above error message Do not worry This is telling you that the Xtreme software expects the camera to be connected to Com1 on the computer This may not be the case You will have the opportunity in the software to indicate what port the Xtr
104. rom 0 45 which is the default to 1 00 in the OPTION menu this mode will not make the background whiter when using the USB 2 0 adapter or a LCD observing monitor By having the gamma to 1 00 the sky back ground is much darker Normally would have to turn down the Brightness and augment the Contrast in the USB 2 0 menu to reduce the white background If you use a LCD monitor to visually observe it is strongly recommended to put the camera in the 1 00 gamma setting If you use a CRT observing monitor the AGC and dynamic range in such monitor is continually self adjusting to the signal being fed to the CRT monitor then it s a known issue with such monitor Gamma LCD CRT AGC The camera has two settings for GAMMA if you are going to use a LCD display set the camera to GAMMA 1 0 If you are going to use the a CRT use 045 and adjust your monitor brightness and contrast for the best dark background image contrast This is a personal setting for each individual taste and setup Use the AGC to lower the output of the camera to get the right combination of image brightness best background possible Each monitor telescope and F ratio is different from one owner to another and adjustment must be perform using your own setup Xtreme User Manual Page 104 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 combination Same applies if a capture device will be used to capture images Calibration of the capture device must be perform before you can take images to compu
105. rom the AGC section the amplifier to the SENS section CCD input Once a bright object is detected either the CCD sensor SENS detects MASK A MASK B MASK C MASK D These don t have an application in astronomy imaging so there is no need to talk about them doesn t mean you cannot experiment with them POSI NEGA When selected Pressing the Left or Right Arrow Button makes the image either the Positive Normal or Negative complement H REV When selected pressing the LEFT or RIGHT Button will flip the image HORIZONTALLY V REV When selected pressing the LEFT or RIGHT Button will flip the image VERTICALLY FREEZE When selected pressing the CENTRE Button will FREEZE the image not the camera Pressing the CENTRE Button again will UN FREEZE the image Xtreme User Manual Page 6l Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Pressing the RIGHT Button will alternate between FRAME and FIELD Leave as default PRIORITY Leave in AGC mode the other mode is SENSE GAMMA When selected pressing the LEFT or RIGHT Button will switch form a GAMMA setting of 0 45 provides a brighter image or 1 00 provides a darker image Use this feature to match your monitor s performance RETURN Pressing the CENTRE Button on RETURN returns you to the MAIN MENU Pressing the RIGHT Button on RETURN changes the word to NEXT Pressing the CENTRE Button on NEXT takes you to the OPTION2 MENU Xtr
106. ry MallinCam Hyper and Hyper PLUS COLOR or B W models Color bar Monitor WRT the Speco it has performed WONDERFULLY Everyone has marveled at the rich colors shown on it When you actually get it out under the stars you will forget the color bar and tweak the monitor to give the best live appearance Color Bar Camera There is a built in color bar generator in the camera Just depress the top and button menu buttons while the camera is running and it will pop into view For info on color bar generator check out the following link http www mivs com products videoproducts tsg index html Color Bar would call up the Color Bar from the OPTIONS sub menu to see what it looks like on your Sanyo monitor Tweak the monitor functions to get the colors to show correctly See the following link http Awww videouniversity com tvbars2 htm Once the monitor is set correctly try checking the W B on the camera s menu Is it set too red If so try lowering the red scale You can also change from MANU to ATW to see if it helps Loom Zoom Laptop observed and imaged the Ghost of Jupiter NGC3242 last night with my 24 and the MCHC found that exposures of just 2 seconds were all that were needed with the MallinCam zoom feature on When the image came up on my laptop using the AVerT VMedia Express MCE card then needed to turn the contrast down sharply to get central detail and the center star am Xtreme User Manual Page 103 Xtre
107. ry crucial for lunar and planetary observing This will make the difference of seeing cloud bands on Saturn or not Use the camera on a star to collimate It makes a great precise collimating tool Use the zoom feature to further refine collimation MallinCam Comets Settings Try the deep sky settings in 2 1 seconds Comets are usually bright At least this is how some have done it No need to turn the Hyper mode of 6 12 sec Use only the 128X under the SENS Make sure you have the AGC set to MAN and slider bar at 3 4 way to the right MallinCam W B MANual Refractor Color Balance focus Thank you for sharing the report about the refractor behavior with the color video camera It is known that refractors do not focus red blue colors at the focal point Even with the most excellent optics such as APO s a lens is a lens to the ccd sensor which picks up a lot wider range than the human eye The clear solution is a reflector Also we have to consider the lens in the focal reducers Using the same focal reducer on a Newtonian Result vary immensely compared to a refractor with some of the test I ve done Other focal reducers such as Meade etc have the same results When going through too many lenses red will focus at a different point compared to blue for instance The beauty of the Hyper Color is in the W B using the MANual menu the red and blue can be adjusted to some ones specific telescope To get a good color balance the key is to ge
108. select the Channel of your choice Step 4 Now take the wireless hand controller the Transmitter and press any button to turn it on The hand controller will show a channel on the display as shown below Press the left or right arrows on the Transmitter until CH in the Upper display Press the Center Button located between the arrows until the display flashes Now match the Channel Number in the display window to the Receiver Channel Number by pressing the Up or Down Arrow Button Press Center Button to lock in the channel Xtreme User Manual Page 80 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Steo5 Now press the Right or Left arrow Button until upper display indicate LONG as indicated by the picture below This is where the integration time is entered For this example we will use 7 seconds integration Step 6 Press the Center Button located between the arrows until the last two digits flash Using the Up Arrow press it 7 times or hold down the Up Arrow to scroll in fast mode to 7 seconds Press the Center Button to lock in this value Now display will look like the picture below Xtreme User Manual Page 81 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 REFRESH simply hit the Upper Right Button which activates or stops the countdown as shown in picture below Note the picture showing countdown to 2 seconds and will start over automatically to 7 seconds once the image has been taken and transferre
109. size of the monitor laptop then number of screens that you are using then number of x software programs that using are simultaneously are using will dictate how you h will manage your windows will describe how I have organized my windows under a variety of situations 1 computer 1 computer with 2 monitors which software packages am using and what am trying to do this session Remember it s all about having fun and time and patience are your best friends not to mention all the guys and gals and the Yahoo MallinCam site http tech groups yahoo com group mallincam messages One of the most important decisions you will need to make with broadcasting the image of the XTREME is what Video capture software are you going to use Some simple suggestions Currently Miloslick s Xtreme Control Software is not capable of modifying the Video Image and having that Video Image be directly captured by NSN Flash So if you want to use all the features of the Miloslick software and broadcast those results as well as save screen shots and videos of your images then we need another program to capture Miloslick s output and have the output from that program linked to NSN s Flash grabber You currently have three choices for that other program Splitcam Manycam WebcamMax All three have about the same features some of these have versions that will cost you but all have a version that is free reduced functions advertisem
110. st stars to a perfect round shape compensating for the 4 3 ratio The APC is similar to sharpening algorithm that allows the sharpened observation on all targets during live observation It stands for Advance Pixel Control You can actually adjust the height and width of the Vertical or Horizontal pixels As mentioned above having both settings at far left will run the Enhance feature to a minimum allowing a more photographic feel without any artifact In live mode or observation mode APC can be left in the middle position which will enhance the image significantly Xtreme User Manual Page 100 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 APC DSP ring around stars You are correct By turning down the APC to minimum the DSP Digital Signal Processing mode is greatly reduced to an absolute minimum removing ring around stars Talking about ring around stars even Hubble Telescope does have ring around stars just checked out a site where planetary nebula are displayed with Hubble images for comparison and Hubble have some ring around stars Its just an artifact in the software that s all AGC Automatic Gain Control AGC Options The AGC has 3 options By having the cursor next to the AGC simply press the right or left key and you should be able to toggle from ON MAN or OFF Always use MAN for deep sky targets with the slider in the mid position for starter Use the OFF position for all lunar planetary and solar with proper solar filte
111. t a sky background close to dark brown black in color By achieving this the result will be getting the best color balance to true life Often use the sky background to get the right color balance with various telescope including refractors Once have a dark brown black sky background know I m very close to the best color balance allowing me to focus on all stars including red and blue Try this setting Go in the W B and set it to ATW Auto White Control Also reduce the sensitivity Red will appear bigger with many refractors dependent of their quality glass Camera picks up what you feed it Id say to reduce sensitivity and try the setting mentioned above Make sure the AGC is set to MAN for MANual and select the red blue settings by reducing the RED You can also experiment with setting the MAN in 5600K have not fully finish experiment with refractors yet MallinCam Planetary Nebula You are over exposing the target On most planetary nebulae treat them as if they were planets Use similar setting for planets and results will be excellent Run the camera at about 36X or so and try the AGC MAN only with the slider to full right Or try this Run the SENS at OFF and try the Shutter at 100 to 250 Also Adjust the brightness and contrast of your monitor MallinCam FOV Calculation PS have found the formula for FOV using the effective focal length and the CCD pixel array size TO calculate your camera FOV divide 57 3
112. t to the extreme RIGHT BLC BLC or Back Light Compensation is an When BLC is set to ON and you press the advanced setting for the Xtreme that CENTRE Button the above menu some experienced users like to play with appears From here you can set the Xtreme User Manual Page 54 Xtreme User Manual This feature allows you to select an area from one of 48 Zones that you would like to increase or reduce the gain This feature can be used to help reduce the amp glow that can occur during long exposures When shaded grey that Zone is augmented to increase the sensitivity of the CCD in that Zone When black the sensitivity is reduced in that zone BLC offers three settings OFF ON and PEAK Only PEAK and ON have Sub Menu s that can be accessed by the CENTRE Button April 17 2014 PRESET to ON which activates augmentation of the Centre Zone of the CCD chip while leaving the outside area of the chip with reduced sensitivity The amount of gain sensitivity is set with the PEAK feature If PRESET is set to OFF then the Xtreme uses what you have set with the AREA SET function To set your own area of augmented and non augmented Zones select AREA SET and press the CENTRE Button The following screen should appear unless you have already created a pattern This pattern matches the PRESET ON with the CCD being more sensitive in the middle and less sensitive in the outside The WHITE flashin
113. ter This is live video with many parameters to be adjusted to suit your own telescope F ratio monitor combination If a proper adjustment is achieved no need for histogram Your monitor will act as if it was a live histogram by adjusting the contrast and brightness controls Integration Sense Sense Integration How it Works How the Mallincam integration works The camera is always running in full video mode Once you activate the X2 X 4 etc under the SENS what happens is the shutter opens like a ccd camera would under exposure Once the shutter close the image is sent to the memory while another exposure is taken This is repeated instantly and forever for as long the shutter or the SENS is set to any settings While the image is stored in the memory an exposure is taken once the exposure is taken the previous image is displayed into the video section through the video chip Once you change the settings of say AGC or SENS or ALC ELC the memory has to emptied itself and the SENS count start with the new settings you have chosen If you choose for example X64 it take a few minutes to reach the proper count Several things are happening here The AGC SENS must keep a steady video stream in order to produce a viewable image until the maximum SENS is reached without overloading the video section and keeping the electronics safe Something the competition lacks Sense shorter exposures Don t use the 7 14 or the X4 switch w
114. ter has been inserted into a USB Port After a few seconds the following message singular to the one below should appear on the bottom right of your Windows screen WinterOly Installing device driver software gt Click here for status 10 06 AM O Ro O 03 72014 The little green shade will move around the icon that the Installing device driver software message is pointing to while the driver is being installed may take about a minute Once completed the following pop up message should appear name of driver may be different depending upon which USB to RS232 adapter you are using Prolific USB to Serial Comm Port COM5 gt X WinterOly ag Device driver software installed successfully 10 06 AM 29 03 2014 Tooo E u t Xtreme User Manual Page 76 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 The driver has been successfully downloaded and installed Make note of both the Port that you have used for your USB to RS232 Adapter you should always use the same Port and what COM value Windows has assigned for this adapter 5 in image above Oh No Driver did not install correctly Sometimes the Window s gods are having a bad day and they decide to take it out on you Don t Panic If you check the Ports COM amp LPT or Other devices list item in the Device Manger from the Control Panel you may see a yellow warning beside the Adapter this indicates the current driver is incompatible 479 Ports COM amp LPT
115. tes Unlike the Fixed or the Extended Mode the Xtreme needs to be controlled by an external devise to trigger and control this mode If you are using the Xtreme manually you will need the optional Wireless Exposure Controller This devise attaches to the side of the Xtreme and allows you to set and control the Hyper Mode Alternatively you can set and control the Xtreme in Hyper Mode by using a computer attached to the camera via the RS232 Port There many software packages available that provide all the control options some are free while others are fee based See section Controlling the Xtreme using Software One of the great features of the MallinCam Xtreme is its ability to be used in the field without the need fo attach It to a computer This reduces the number of cables and the power requirements that using a computer needs Yet as technology gets smaller and more efficient the ability to use the computer Is already built into the Xtreme and some of the Xtreme users the computer provides them with the tools they need Whatever your preference Computer or manual the Xtreme can handle both See the Optional Accessories in Appendix G for some devices that will make both scenarios more effective Xtreme User Manual Page 15 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 4 Controlling the Xtreme by Hand You can control the Xtreme manually in two ways 1 Pushing the buttons on the back of the Xtreme by using your fingers 2 Using the
116. th integration result are soectacular for all astronomical subject to be viewed or maged MallinCam Sun Solar Here s my settings when I view image solar prominence With the menu open on the camera choose W B press the left or right button until it reads MAN for manual Once in MAN press the center key You will be able to choose between 3200K 5600K and RED BLUE choose RED BLUE While watching the monitor adjust the RED to Minimum left From that point either increase the BLUE or REDUCE the BLUE You will have to experiment with your own telescope solar setup for best view had to retune my adjustment on my H Alpha filter in order to make the prominence come out this is very important Adjusting your filter on prominence will make the big difference while viewing live on a monitor After you may adjust the RED and BLUE to increase decrease the visual of the prominence on the camera Took a while to get it right but it was well worth it This is very important make sure the AGC is set to OFF Use the same settings as LUNAR as stated on the quick sheet made for the camera If remember right had the SHUTTER set to 750 to get the best contrast ratio on the live monitor to see all the prominence use a Thousand Oaks H Alpha Prominence filter for ease of adapting to my various telescopes which they include 10 14 and 16 among a few others just finish making an adapter for the 14 SCT and hoping to capture some s
117. the adjustment Light pollution and star light reflects in the atmosphere and is seen by the camera in the red spectrum Keep the AGC down and adjust the W B settings Depending on which monitor used set the GAMMA at 1 00 This will keep the background darker It is a little bit difficult to get the right adjustment ratio achieved When observe or image from my light polluted backyard always turn down the RED to one notch up from the left If conditions are better sometime set the camera to ATW with luck You may want to consider going to F 3 3 to reduce sensitivity increasing background darkness Gamma back ground image TV Go into the Main menu Point the cursor to OPTION Click center key This will bring you to the 2nd menu Near the bottom look for GAMMA Standard it 0 45 and option is 1 00 This will darken the background considerably Excellent if you are going to image or use a regular TV to view object You may loose a bit of sensitivity though depending what type of monitor you use Gamma light pollution background imaging When imaging under sever light pollution like you have put the GAMMA at 1 0 This will darken the background to an acceptable level You will have to increase the AGC accordingly to increase the loss of gain Make sure both APC the Vertical and Horizontal are set to far left If you use these settings you may be able to go to 28 seconds Gamma Background LCD Option menu By adjusting the gamma f
118. thtcead aus T 108 aane AMONO eein norge E E ROEE EOE 108 Imagine USB Z0 Adapter Color BIW becrsorniii noraso aE EEEO RSi 108 Appendix K Suggested Item Specific Settings e sosssocsssocesocesocesocesocesocesocesscessosssoseo 109 Appendix L NOLES sicrie ecetipeee cesses teenera ans cies veentecacsccteceivanseeaus cumastesateceescceess 113 Xtreme User Manual Page 3 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 1 Introduction Welcome to the world of the MallinCam Xtreme a hand crafted Colour Astronomical Video CCD Cameras with a fourth generation hyper circulf allowing a choice of a variable shutter with extended exposures from three seconds to a hundred minutes all with automatic refresh Your purchase will provide you with years of discovery and adventure as you view record share and broadcast the wonders of the Night Sky The Xtreme captures images that range from Deep Sky Objects to local Solar System favorites and it does this in near Real Time You will discover that this camera can be used in urban skies where light pollution normally prevents you from viewing images the sky to rural locations where you can pull out even those faintest celestial wonders this camera can do it all To provide the broadest possible applications the Xtreme has two video output ports Composite Video and S Video both of which can simultaneously display images The Xtreme comes in a variety of models to satisfy the all users from those w
119. tion video card in your computer that allows you to connect a video signal in you do not need the USB 2 0 device The camera is strictly video output to be use on a viewing monitor It cannot be connected to computer unless you have a video card that will allow you to do so Using the USB 2 0 software called AMCAP or ULEAD Video Studio 6 or version 7 which is included in the USB 2 0 adapter you can turn down the function Saturation in order to see the image in black and white using a color camera This function cannot be done through the camera You can control the RED and BLUE by turning the adjustment in the camera MENU but the GREEN is fixed Xtreme User Manual Page 108 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix K Suggested Item Specific Settings SATURN 1 3000 ON MAX LEVEL 3 MAN OFF R 2 B 2 MAN OFF R 2 B 2 MAN OFF R 2 B 2 PRESET ON PRESET ON LEVEL 8 LEVEL 8 DEW 60 DEW 60 Xtreme User Manual Page 109 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 M104 M64 NGC 4565 NGC 4725 SENSE UP 128X 128X 128X 128X ALC OFF OFF OFF OFF BLC OFF OFF OFF OFF AGC ON 2 ON 2 ON MAX LEVEL 2 ON 2 W B MAN OFF MAN OFF MAN 0FF R 2 B 2 SAME R 2 B 2 R 2 B 2 ZOOM OFF ON 8 ON 8 OFF TEC OFF OFF OFF OFF INTEGRATION 14 SEC 14 SEC 14 SEC 28 SEC Xtreme User Manual Page 110 Xtreme User
120. tion you chose will be to reinsert the USB to RS232 Adapter back into you USB Port and windows should finish the installation process and then display success popup menu with the COM Port it has assigned to your Adapter RS232 Cable Points of Concern Distance At 9600 baud the distance should be no more than 50 feet and at 19200 baud the cable length should be no more than 20 feet Interference Cheap Power cables can cause interference always use shielded cables when moving data or Power from one location to another Secure Always make sure your connectors are securely attached to the Xtreme port You may want to make a loop and attach that with Velcro to your scope to help reduce the risk of it being pulled out Xtreme User Manual Page 78 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Appendix F Installing the Wireless Exposure Controller WEC Steo1 gt Insert the receiver 4 pin plug into the side socket of the camera as s f shown in picture above and below Step 2 Connect the other end of the cable into the receiver as shown J below Xtreme User Manual Page 79 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Step 3 Now turn on receiver by holding the left button called POWER for 3 ra f to 4 seconds The display will show either a blank channel or a channel number as shown in the picture below You can change channel by pressing both buttons at the same time for 3 to 4 seconds until display flashes Then
121. tself Standard 1 25 astronomical filters can be threaded into the end of the A part Xtreme User Manual Page 86 Xtreme User Manual THIS inn losis ypjotejij 9 signs to 2 Josan Pils yirs oy ioaulf is IEY M96 UD Wig UP ee arid cu TOW BIE BUT EIT SO Sopra 7 ME vist oF VISES MEM cine y m L23 yysaylasa E3 Baluas Auta zl ey or of WIP etS slut Uoisiey uzay April 17 2014 By separating the two parts and just screwing the shorter B part a k a MFR 6 and sold separately now into the camera you get the lowest amount of focal reduction Depending on your scope and configuration you can expect about 0 8x focal reduction Many solar imagers find this configuration handy to fit the entire solar disk into their FOV But this is too short to insert into a focuser by itself You need to add a 1 25 adapter to this to fit it into a focuser Xtreme User Manual Page 87 Xtreme User Manual WIRES v Dun sanal tues Basar vist 5 or Juu or Ay f u n RB A Ul e tterigion uaa fat mors ineclradustor Writ UP Tu Sawaan girig Sr SU a J Jas 9ra feeclrselietion Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Here s the complete MFR 5 screwed together and mounted on the camera This results in about a 0 6x focalreduction The amount of focal reduction is dependent on each scope design primary mirror position thickness o
122. ut extension tubes between the camera and the MFR5 This also increases the amount of focal reduction There is one potential advantage to placing the extension tubes here to remove internal reflections between the back of the MFR 5 and the camera s sensor if you re getting one NOTE Let me point out here that when you add the MFR 5 your focus point changes a lot And when you put extension tubes between the MFR 5 and camera focus changes even more And you can combine extension tubes between part A and part B at the same time as adding an extension tube between the camera and the back of the MFR5 This can result in a LOT of focal reduction even too much The following charts come from Jim Thompson s incredible paper Detailed Look At Focal Reducers cannot imagine how many hours it took Jim to produce the document but it is worth reading to obtain a deeper understanding about Focal Reduction Xtreme User Manual Page 89 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Basic Focal Reduction Results by Jim Thompson Table 1 summarizes the measurements Vignetting and Coma observations were scored from O to 3 based on the following O none observed hint observed 2 clearly observed by not obtrusive 3 very apparent and affects viewing delta FR to focus focus CCD ref star reduct vignette distance distance distance distance f ratio factor score mm mm mm pi
123. utess 56 AGC iss aie tues td natn modas pnd ne tees O aA 57 NYS TS a NC orar ae EE E E E E 58 AEN oa E E E aan camncucradk anise aentaae tan esdeaGnenictagaeciacmmnaess 58 PNY E E E amano cam gueradk asec eentaae tan esieuonenictagaesaemmaaess 58 Dhara MANU cvac sa cbiaeescescaseus asteeone a astag bis ee saw bcat ong aceboar mas go ecee aap occabong eed ap eu eagavee apeeuamensavebaaees 59 SINC aa etnrtes sage eae ne etatenn ae neotenic sane act tiem tsa oa A ee esises aeenaeee 60 OPTION este snot aatenae dst tyarva A E it eG nen abanaasamesgaers 61 MASK AMASK Bs MEAS K MEAS KD sie a tuesad Sew lee lanen aeahiti need eho ee eedansleaae 61 POSTINGS GP hase Sohne S sata had dant oncumniasaleniansaetudtsaaeonsomteaemanadands 61 PAIS Y aei tad thant a lanieenieasalnatlensncatadaun il ehanes hic salaeuis hoon tadannenanaumtiaeuasiisae 61 VREY 5 ciiis stannic shes ad penal Sesonat saan snuira addi enawancoentaeauiaeisaneatdd dunantdonauenia sania ahead tame tonem eegemanadands 61 PREZ i aisrcric shes ad chant Sesonat a a etustane ono teeemanadaads 61 PRIORITY cos meats ianantdoncuentiasahasien mestustanaeu tone teeemandaans 62 CO AIVEN TA ood ca cia and ene caan co ou onrnicees came saaanosasaaeuombioneacsecensmaue saauu dons teats ceed sanetinomussagussanam tanteenemtedatunonasuene 62 APC eurea none a suet csen aun onssoate cs oa araean a 63 PG te GEE IP 3s aoicores ace nat a e E a 64 COLOR BAR ose acxessacecnctsatecsaaiaveeeasnacvoset alevonnete a a co
124. way it is set up and shuts off the image as a protection When re set the W B to MANU with Red 2 to the left of center and Blue 1 to the right the image appeared and stayed had AGC on MANU and 2 from the far left AGC Light Gathering and Moon Interference had the AGC in MAN mode which is mandatory to have in order to use the Hyper mode This setting was set at 1 4 way from the left to give me an image that was not affected my the moon glow who happens to be out in full force in the last couple of nights Large aperture does have its draw back when it comes to light gathering and moon interference Careful adjustment of the AGC in the MAN mode is important to get the best balance in background glow and color balance contrast AGC ON OFF Deep Sky Adjustments When using the HYPER Mode the AGC must be set to MAN for use of the 6 or 12 second exposure limits Since did not follow that and had been trying AGC with ON and OFF did really mess something up I ve noticed a number of must haves in MallinCam Menu Settings pdf had thought that not following them would just prevent the hyper mode from turning on Since was actually getting useful results at times continued to try Have hurt anything that a PRESET won t fix Never use the camera s AGC in ON mode while doing deep sky observation especially under light polluted environment Always use the AGC in MAN mode and adjust the camera to suite you F ratio aperture se
125. wer adapter and power up the Monitor don t forget to have the monitor use the SVideo In Port Both cable types have their benefits but most aficionados prefer the capabilities of the Svideo cable for the final image even though most won t see a difference If you are going the SVideo route then about 50ft is the maximum distance without boosting the signal with a SVideo booster Also be careful about crossing a SVideo cable with unshielded power cable as interference is possible If you observe Horizontal banding lines rolling on your image most likely culprit you are getting interference inside your SVideo Cable For those of you who want to display the analog signal from the Xtreme ona HDMI monitor Mallincam provides an analog to HDMI upscaler This device Up Scales Composite Video S Video and HDMI to 720p 1080p selectable HDMI Motion Compensated 3D Wavelet Video Coding Technology is applied to make the converted picture rich in color and more vivid Input video systems NTSC and PAL is automatically detected and adjusted and it provides a built in Time Base Correction T B C for signal synchronization Xtreme User Manual Page 11 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 Checking out the Xtreme for the First Time Now is the time to do a quick check of the Xtreme to see if you can obtain a video signal This walk through assumes you have a monitor with either a SVideo or Composite input capabilities or a Laptop
126. xels non non non Mk A El e MFR2 on 2 c thread adapter MFR2 on 2 c thread adapter 5mm MFR2 on 2 c thread adapter 10mm MFR2 RC MFR2 RC pull out 6 1mm MFR2 RC pull out 10 2mm MFR2 RC pull out 16 6mm MFR2 RC pull out 24 1mm MFR5 MFR5 5mm spacer in front MFR5 10mm spacer in front MFR5 5mm between MFR5 5mm between 5mm in front MFR5 5mm between 10mm in front short half MFR5 MFR6 short half MFR5 5mm in front short half MFR5 10mm in front short half MFR5 15mm in front short half MFR5 19 5mm in front long half MFR5 long half MFR5 5mm in front long half MFR5 10mm in front long half MFR5 15mm in front Meade Telecompressor 07051 Meade Telecompressor pullout 8mm Meade Telecompressor pullout 18mm meade f 3 3 spacing 1 5 8 min meade f 3 3 spacing 2 8 5 meade f 3 3 spacing 3 11 7 meade f 3 3 spacing 4 12 3 max meade f 3 3 spacing 5 taped in focuser meade f 3 3 new adapt 2 filters tween meade f 6 3 spacing 1 5 2 min 7 13 3 30 1 meade f 6 3 spacing 5 34 5 max meade f 6 3 spacing 2 meade f 6 3 spacing 3 meade f 6 3 spacing 4 7 Xtreme User Manual Page 90 Xtreme User Manual April 17 2014 delta FR to focus focus CCD ref star reduct vignette distance distance distance distance f ratio factor score mm mm mm pixels Compound Focal Reducer Point Tests Aug 18th 2013 long half MFR5

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