Alcor System OMEA User manual

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 1

OMEA“AllSky”Camera



Installationandusermanual



June24th,2020revision













©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 2
TableofContents

1 Camerainstallation...................................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Camerainstallation...........................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Cameraopticalsettings...................................................................................................................................10
1.3 OMEAcameraconnections(USBversion)......................................................................................................10
1.3.1 Temperaturesensorandhumidityconnector(#1).................................................................................11
1.3.2 PowerconnectorandRS232(#2)............................................................................................................12
1.3.3 USBconnector(#3).................................................................................................................................15
1.4 OMEAcameraconnections(ETHERNETversion)............................................................................................16
2 Software..................................................................................................................................................................17
2.1 Systemrequirementandoperatingsystem....................................................................................................17
2.2 Camerainstallationsoftware..........................................................................................................................17
2.3 EmbeddedEthernetcamerasoftwareinstallation.........................................................................................21
3 Usingthecamerasoftwarecontrol........................................................................................................................24
3.1 Initializing........................................................................................................................................................24
3.1.1 Allcamerastype......................................................................................................................................24
3.1.2 OMEA8C/8Mspecificinitializationphases............................................................................................25
3.1.3 Camerasetup..........................................................................................................................................27
3.1.4 OMEA8M/8Ccoolingsetup....................................................................................................................30
3.1.5 Exposurecontrol.....................................................................................................................................31
3.2 Storageoffilesproducedbythecameracontrolsoftware............................................................................33
3.3 Cameraexposuretimeandgain.....................................................................................................................35
3.3.1 Manualmode..........................................................................................................................................35
3.3.2 Automaticmode.....................................................................................................................................35
3.4 Imagehotpixelremovalusingdarkframeimage...........................................................................................36
3.4.1 Achievingmasterdarkframe..................................................................................................................40
3.4.2 Residualhotpixelsrepair/fix..................................................................................................................42
3.5 Settingtheoverlaygrid...................................................................................................................................44
3.6 CyanogenBoldwoodorSentinelcloudsensorslinkwithcameracontrolsoftware......................................47
3.7 Magnitudepersquareseconddisplayimagemode.......................................................................................48
3.8 Telescopecontrolsoftwarelink......................................................................................................................50
3.9 Starcountforcloudcoverageestimation.......................................................................................................50
3.10 24hoverview...................................................................................................................................................51
4 Spherecondensationheatermanagement............................................................................................................54
4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................54
4.2 Adjustingandstart‐up....................................................................................................................................54

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 3
5 Weathermeasurementmodule.............................................................................................................................58
5.1 Sensorssoftwaremanagement......................................................................................................................61
6 Cameramaintenance..............................................................................................................................................63
6.1 Spherecleaning...............................................................................................................................................63
6.2 Camerainternaldesiccantreplacement.........................................................................................................64
7 Troubleshooting.....................................................................................................................................................64
7.1 Cameradoesnotdeliverimages.....................................................................................................................64
7.2 Cameradisconnectswhenheatingisactive...................................................................................................64
7.3 Dewinsidethedome......................................................................................................................................66
8 Producttermsofuse...............................................................................................................................................66


©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 4
Listofapplicableproductsofthisdocumentation

OMEA6M
OMEA6C
OMEA3M
OMEA3C
OMEA5M
OMEA5C
OMEA8M
OMEA8C
1 Camerainstallation

1.1 Camerainstallation

Thecameraworksoutdoor,itisweather‐tight.Warning,thesystemisnotsubmersible:itisnotadiving
camera.Moreover,itwillpreventallintrusionofinsects,eventhesmallestone.

ThecamerahasnomechanicalshutterandSun’sheatdoesnotcauselossofoperationofthecamera.

Pleasedonotinstallthecameranearapollutionsource(likeachimney).Giveasmuchexposureaspossible
andavoidobstacles.

Itisadvisedtolevelthecamerawithrespecttotheground.

Thecamerahasthreeanchorsontheback,thesethreeISOM6notthruthreadedholesby10mmdepth.
UsethesuppliedscrewstofixorequivalentstainlesssteelA4orA2screw.Thefollowingstandcanbeused
toinstallthecamerasafely(thisisanoptionalitem,purchasedonrequest)


Fig.1Optionalstandforthecamera

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 5


Fig.2ThepositionofthethreescrewssecuringtheUSBcamera(yellowholes)

Therearethreeother"holes"thatarefilledwithwaterproofconnectors,leavethisspacefreeand100mm
underneathtoallowthecablestorun.


TheN,S,EandWdirectionisdefinedbyrotatingthecameraaccordingly.Thisisuptotheusertodefine
cameraorientationaccordingtoitsneeds.Pleaseperformimagecapturetestsbeforeattachingthecamera
tothepole.



Thecablesgostraightfromthecamerabottom.Ifthecablesshallbebent,respectwhatisshownonthe
picture(Fig.3)

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 6

Fig.4Threecablesstraightdescent.





©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 7

Fig.5Minimumcableradiuscurvature.


Thewaterproofconnectorsconnectasfollows:

 Identifythenumberofconnectorpinsofthecamera,itstype(male/female)
 Identifythenumberofpinsoftheconnectorcordandmatch.

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 8
 Identifythekeypininsidethecameraconnectorandthekeyattheconnectorcordside.
 Applyarectilinearmotion.Ifinsertionforcestrengthpersistspleaserepeatstepsfor
locatingthepinnumberandkey.Excessiveforceappliedtoconnectorcancausethe
destructionoftheconnectororabadconnectioncandamagethecamera.Incaseof
damageduetotrialstoattachcabletothewrongconnectorkind,warrantycouldbe
canceled.



Fig.6Keyoneofthethreeconnectors(powerconnector).




©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 9

Fig.7Pushtheconnectorstraight


Fig.8Thenturntheconnector’scollarinclockwisefashion



©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 10
1.2 Cameraopticalsettings

1.2.1. OMEA3xandOMEA6x

Thefocusofthelenswithrespecttotheimagesensorisfactorytuned.Itisnotpossibletoperformfocus
changesfromoutside,fortightnessreasons.

F‐numberisfixedsettoitslowestvalue,F1.6allowingverysensitiveoperationofthecamera.Thiscannotbe
changedfromoutside.

Sharpnessmayvaryfromcentertoedges,accordingtothelensdesignandlensmanufacturingquality
variations.

Openingthedomeispossible,butthiswilljeopardizeinnercameradryness:somedesiccantsbagsare
installedinsidethecamera,andifthedomeisopened,thosebagsmustbereplaced!

Infraredlight(>700nm)isblocked.Pixelsizeis2.2µmforOMEA3xandOMEA6x.

1.2.2. OMEA8xx

Thetiltofthelenswithrespecttotheimagesensorisfactorytuned.Itispossibletoperformfocuschanges
remotelybyusingtheRS232link.ALCOR‐SYSTEMwillprovidetotheuserthebestfocusencodercount
(from900to1100encoderssteps)Somevariationmayoccuraroundthisvalueduringthelifeofthecamera.

Bythesamelink,F‐numbercanbeuserselected.ThelowestF/isF2.8andmustbeusedovernight.During
thedayF/5.6orF/8canbeused.ThiscanbesetbyPCsoftware.

Sharpnessmayvaryfromcentertoedges,accordingtothelensdesignandlensmanufacturingquality
variations.

Openingthedomeispossible,butthiswilljeopardizeinnercameradryness:somedesiccantsbagsare
installedinsidethecamera,andifthedomeisopened,thosebagsmustbereplaced!

Infraredlight(>680nm)andUVlightisblocked(<420nm).Pixelsizeis3.8µm.


1.3 OMEAcameraconnections(USBversion)

Connectorskeyinganddifferentnumberofpinsarepreventingconnectionerrors.However,usermustlook
atthenumberofconnectorpinsattheendofthecordbeforeconnectingthecamera,inordertoavoid
forcingthepinsanddamagethecameraconnector.




©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 11

Fig.9RearofUSBcamera


ConnectorRole Gender(cameraside)
#1Temperature/Humiditysensor Female5pins
#1 Weatherstationmodule(optional) Male7pins
#2PowerconnectorandRS232link Male4pins
#3USBlinkMale6pins

Formoreinformationaboutthepinsoftheseconnectors,pleaseaskus.
IfWeathermoduleispresent,nevertouchwithyourfingersthe7pinsoftheconnector(Connector#1).




1.3.1 Temperaturesensorandhumidityconnector(#1)

Itisa5‐pinconnector.Theprobelocatedattheendofthecordwillbeplacedpreferablyintheshade,asfar
aspossiblefromthecamera,andalwayswithtwosetØ4mmscrewswiththedirectiongiveninthenext
frameandhorizontally.Itputupsidedown(orinthewrongside),thiscandestroythesensorand
warrantywillnotapply.


©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 12

Fig.10Up/downandhorizontaltemperaturesensorandhumiditydirectionsforinstallation

Thissensorisintendedtoprovideoutdoortemperatureandrelativehumidityinordertoautomatically
triggerdomeheating,(onlywhenweatherconditionsarepronetodevelopdewonthecamera’sdome).

1.3.2 PowerconnectorandRS232(#2)

ThisisprovidingpowertothecameraandRS232link.

TheRS232connectorisaDB9connectortypefemaleandattachestotheserialportofthePC.NewPCsare
notequippedwithserialport,andmustbeequippedeither:

 ByaRS232–USBconverter(verymoderatecost,FTDI,ATENdevices)
 ByRS232PCIcard(Lowcostdevice,notsuitableforlaptops)
 BySerialtoEthernet(MOXAdevices,
http://www.moxa.com/product/nport_device_server_1.htm)ProducttypeisNport.


©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 13

Fig.11 RS232connectorand24V2.5Apower

Thepowersupplyisprovidedas24V2.5A,110V60Hzand220V50Hzcompliant.Thecurrentprovidedbythe
PSUisenoughtopowerthecameraandthedomeheater.Threekindofcordplugsareprovidedonrequest:
EU,USandUKtype.


AttheendoftheRS232cable,aUSBtoRS232highqualityconverterisprovidedtotheuser,inordertoease
camerainstallation.OnceconnectedtothePC,thedriverisloadedautomaticallyforWindows10.Forother
OS,pleasegoheretopickuptheproperdriver:

http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm

Underwindows7,itwillappearasUC232Rindevicemanageranddrivermustappearasfollowsafterdriver
installation(canbeanotherCOMnumberport).


Fig.12 DriverisinstalledandCOM3portcreated

UnderWindows8,askwindowsdevicemanagertoupdatethisdevicefrominternet,anddriverwillbe
installedautomatically.

Finally,itmustbekeptinmindthatthePC,musthaveTWOUSBportfreeforthesystem,oneforthe
cameraimagedatastream,andanotherforthisRS232toUSBlink.ThisRS232datalinkisusedtoget:


©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 14
 Weatherinformationfromthecamera(outdoortemperature,outdoorrelativehumidity,inner
cameratemperatureandhumidity,domeheatertemperature)
 OptionalWeatherstationmoduleinformation(windspeed,winddirection,atmosphericpressure…)
 ForOMEA8xcamera,thelensfocusandiriscanbesetbythislink.


 

Fig. 13 RS232toUSBconverterFig.14 COMportunderDevicemanager,
warningitcanbeanothernumberthan
COM24…anynumberfrom1to255



ThedevicemanagerpropertiesforthisCOMportshouldbeseenasfollowsonceconnected:



 

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 15

Fig.15SerialtoUSBconverter,asitappearsinthedevicemanager


AlwayshavetheRS232linkconnectedtothecamerainonesideandtothePCintheotherside.
Failuretocomplywiththisrequirementwilljeopardizecameraoperationandperformance.

KeepsomewheretheCOMnumber,thisisveryimportant.IncaseofUSBtoRS232converter,keep
theconverterinthesameUSBport,otherwiseCOMnumberwillchange.

1.3.3 USBconnector(#3)

Thisistieduptoa6pinconnector.PleasealwaysconnectthecamerafirstandthenconnecttoPCsecond.
ThecablethatgoestothePCis20mlength.
 

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 16
1.4 OMEAcameraconnections(ETHERNETversion)

ThisisthesameasUSBcamera,excepttheUSB6pinsconnectorisreplacedby8pinsmaleconnector.Also,
thecableisdifferent.Itisablue/cyancable,thathasinoneside,8pinfemaleconnectorandethernet
connectorintheotherside.Cablelengthis20m


Fig.16:Ethernetcamerabackside

Thecameracontains/embedsamodulecalled“GigabitUSBHighThroughputDeviceServer”thatconverts
thecameraUSBoutputintoEthernetlink.TheinternalcamerawiringusesUSB2.0port,notUSB3.0


Fig.17Ethernetcamerabacksideandcablesconnected

©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 17


Intheend,thehostPCseesthecameraasaregularUSBdevice,despitedatagoesthroughoutethernet
cable.

TheembeddedSilexDS‐600isdesignedtoeasilyconnectandshareUSB3.0and2.0devicesoveranetwork.
Printers,Scanners,DiskDrives,Cameras,CardReaders,orvirtuallyanyotherUSBdevicecanbeenabledwith
networkcapability.ItallowsflexibilitytoplacetheUSBdeviceanywhereonthenetworkinsteadofneeding
tobeattacheddirectlytothecomputer,andmultipleuserscanaccesstheUSBdevice.Ithelpsextendingthe
distancefromthecameratothePC.Alcor‐systemdidextensiveteststhathaveprovengoodreliabilityofthis
device.

TheGigabitUSBHighThroughputDeviceServerhasanIPaddresstocommunicatewith.

NOTE:ForLinuxusers,asdateofJune2020,thereisnofreeSDKtodrivethecamerathroughoutEthernet
toUSBwiththisdeviceserver.

2 Software
Latestcamerasoftwarecanbefoundinourwebsite:
http://www.alcor‐system.com/us/AllSkyCamera/softwares.html
2.1 Systemrequirementandoperatingsystem
Hardwarerequirement(Minimum)OMEA3x/6x

 PCwithAMDorIntelCPU,(withpassmarkindexabove2000)
o IntelCorei3‐4012Y@1.50GHz(passmarkindex:2000)

Hardwarerequirement(Minimum)OMEA8x

 PCwithAMDorIntelCPU,(withpassmarkindexabove3000)
o IntelCorei3‐2330E@2.20GHz(passmarkindex:3000)


 2GBMemory
 50GBharddisk.Softwarerequires20MBforinstallation,butstoragemustbegrantedforimages.

Operatingsystemrequirement
 Windows10,8,and7.32or64bitsOS.
MayworkwithwindowsXP,butnosupportwillbeprovidedforthisdeprecatedOS.
2.2 Camerainstallationsoftware

ConnectthecameratotheUSBportofyourPCwhereitneedstoworkwith,andthepowersupplyunit.In
theWindowsdeviceManagerform,thecamerashouldappearwithanicontaggedexclamationpointona
yellowbackground.


©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 18


Fig.18ListsofWindows’devices(ASIxxxxistheALLSKYcamera)

Runsetup_skywatch.exe,itwillinstallallthesoftwarerequiredforthiscamera.Besurethatthisis
“SkywatchOMEA/ALPHEASetup”andnotanyothersetupsoftware(anothersetupsoftwareforEUDA
cameraisavailable).Thenextscreencopyshowsyouhowinstallationruns



Fig.19


Fig.20



©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 19

Fig.21

Thencomesthecameradriverinstallationsoftware:


Fig.22OMEACameradevicedriverinstallationprocess.


©ALCOR‐SYSTEM 20

Fig.23XVIDvideocompressorinstallation.

Oncethedriversareinstalled,thecameraappearsinthedevicemanagereitherasZWOASI178MC,ZWO
ASI178MM,ZWOASI1600‐MMCooledorZWOASI1600‐MCCooled,dependingonthemodelofthecamera.



Fig.24Cameraproperlyinstalledinthedevicemanager.

Themain’ssoftwareiconappearsonthedesktop.
