Starlight Xpress Lodestar PRO Handleiding

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Lodestar PRO C handbook Issue 2, February 2024
Handbook for the SX ‘Lodestar PRO C’
Imaging and Guiding Camera
Thank you for purchasing a Starlight Xpress ‘ ’ camera. We hope that you will be Lodestar PRO Colour
very pleased with the performance of this product.
The Lodestar PRO C is an updated version of the very popular ‘ Lodestar’ and is a very compact Colour
imager/guider, which is powered and operated via a single USB2.0 computer connection. It also
provides an opto-isolated output connection for direct control of most mounts, via their ‘Autoguider’
sockets. This output is compatible with the ‘ST4’ style of RJ12 connection and supplies 4 ‘pull down’
direction lines and a common return. Alternatively, you may send the mount control signals via a
serial connection from the guider control computer. The Lodestar PRO C utilises a very sensitive Sony
‘ExView2’ CCD (the ICX829AK) with an array of 752 x 580 pixels in a ‘half inch’ format. Although the -
chip is not cooled, it has a very low dark signal and very little readout noise, so it can be used to guide
on faint stars that are well beyond the reach of webcams and CMOS chip based guide cameras.
Lodestar PRO C handbook Issue 2, February 2024
The Lodestar PRO Colour specification:
CCD - Sony ICX829AK ExView2 colour CCD
Pixel count - 752(H) x 580(V)
Pixel size - 8.6 x 8.3uM
Optical size - 6.47 x 4.81 mm
Colour filter grid - RGGB Bayer Matrix
Read noise - Typically electrons 8
Gain - 8 e/ADU 0.
Barrel size - 31.75mm dia. x 85mm long (1.25 inch eyepiece push fit size)
Barrel thread - 25.4mm x 0.75mm ‘CS’ mount lens thread
Input connection - ‘Mini B’ USB socket for USB2.0
Output connection - Standard RJ12 autoguider socket
Output type - Opto-isolated 4 lines (N,S,E & W) pull down with common return line
Download rate - Approx. 10 frames per second in binned 2x2 mode (recommended)
Installing the Lodestar PRO C:
Before connecting the Lodestar PRO to your computer, please install the appropriate drivers for C
your operating system from the USB drive supplied with your camera.
The supplied USB stick contains all the drivers and software. To install the drivers:
1. Select the folder for your operating system
2. Double click on the “Install Drivers.exe”
3. Follow the prompts in the installer and click ‘Finish’ at the end of the install.
If you encounter any problems, read the README file on the USB drive or you can download the latest
drivers from our web page at https://www.sxccd.com/drivers-downloads.
The Lodestar PRO C control software is Lodestarc_usb.exe. To install this:
1. Double click on the Colour Lodestar Software folder on the USB drive.
2. Double click on the Setup.exe program
3. Follow the prompts to fully install the software on to your computer.
4. Plug in your Lodestar PRO C camera (Wait for the Install New Hardware Wizard to –
complete)
5. Double click on the Lodestarc_usb.exe icon on your Desktop or from your START button on
your computer.
6. The first time you use the software, click on “File” then “Set Program Defaults” You will get a
message, “Warning – – Please set defaults” No INI File found
7. Click “OK” – The Set Program Defaults box will appear.
8. If you are going to be using the RJ12 Autoguider Port on your Lodestar X2C, select
Autoguider Socket in the “Telescope Guiding Parameters” box at the top of this box.
9. Click on “Save Changes” and you are all set to start using the camera. (The INI file that was
being asked for initially has now been created and you will no longer see the Warning
message)
To install Starlight Live (‘Live stacking’) software:-
1. Double click on the Starlight Live folder on the USB drive.
2. Double click on the Setup.exe program
3. Follow the prompts to fully install the software on to your computer.
4. Plug in your Lodestar PRO C camera (Wait for the Install New Hardware Wizard to –
complete)
5. Double click on the Starlight Live.exe icon on your Desktop or from your START button on
your computer.
Lodestar PRO C handbook Issue 2, February 2024
PHD2 is also supplied on the USB stick. This is an excellent and very simple stand-alone Autoguiding
Software. We would highly recommend trying this software as it is highly regarded in the Astro-
Imaging community.
Other 3rd party software packages such as AstroArt, MaximDL, SkyX and others, all support the
Lodestar X2C either with native drivers or through ASCOM. Our latest driver can be found on our
website: https://www.sxccd.com/support/resources
Colour imaging with the Lodestar PRO C:
The Lodestar PRO C uses a CCD with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Green ‘Secondary colour’ filters
integrated onto the silicon surface. These filters are arranged in a repeating grid of quads across the
CCD and so suitable software can translate the different pixel brightness into colour information and
create a true colour image from the monochrome data. This means that your ‘raw’ images are initially
black and white, with a ‘tiled’ look, owing to the filter grid. Conversion into colour is usually handled
by processing the raw images on the following day, when you can take time to optimise the colour
balance, saturation etc.
Taking your first images:
There are many ways in which the Lodestar PRO C may be used to image the night sky, but all require
some kind of optical system ahead of the camera. Most owners will have a telescope already available
and this may well be suitable for taking good images with this camera, but you will find that a fast,
short focus ‘scope is much the best for your first experiments. If you have a small F5 refractor, then
this will work very well, but a typical F10 SCT should be fitted with a focal reducer to bring the F
number down to F6.3 or less. Using a short focus system will give strong images in short exposures
and telescope tracking problems will be minimised. You might even start with a ‘CS mount’ CCTV lens
as a very wide field optical system.
All CCD cameras have a high infrared sensitivity and this will give some strange colour results if it is
not removed by an infrared blocking filter. This is not too much of a problem with nebulae, as these
emit little infrared, but galaxies tend to show weak colour and daylight images of plants, grass etc. will
be very ‘washed out’ (chlorophyll reflects infrared very strongly). Also, the infrared focusing of many
lenses and refractors is poor, leading to fuzzy star images, if the IR is not filtered out. Please bear
these points in mind when choosing a lens or telescope, you may find that an infrared blocking filter is
essential for many such optics.
Once you have decided on your lens or telescope, attach the Lodestar PRO C so that the CCD is close
to the focal plane and then point the ‘scope at a bright star. Start the Lodestar PRO C software and
select the camera symbol from the top row of icons. The camera control panel should open, but if you
see ‘USB device not found’ please check that the Lodestar is connected correctly and, if so, try

Product specificaties

Merk: Starlight Xpress
Categorie: Niet gecategoriseerd
Model: Lodestar PRO

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