Meade Deep Sky Imager Quick start guide

Meade®
Deep Sky Imager: The Basics

When first opening the packing box, note carefully the following parts:
•Deep Sky Imager camera
•Parfocal ring
•USB cable
•DB-9 to RJ-11 adapter
•LX200 serial cable
•Autostar #497 serial cable
•CD ROM, including the Operating Instruction in .pdf format
Recommended Minimum System:
PC running Windows 98SE with 96 MB and 100 MB free disk space.
To get the best view and resolution for the images in this manual, zoom in to 200% using the viewing controls
in the Acrobat Reader control bar.
Parts Listing
2

The following procedure is also found on the printed Quick Start Guide supplied with this product.
Before you can operate the Deep Sky Imager camera, you must install the Autostar Suite software.
1. Do not plug the USB cable into your PC at this time.You will be asked to do so later in this installation.
2. Turn on your PC. Allow Windows to load.
3. Place the CD ROM into your PC's CD drive.
4. The Main Menu screen displays. Click "Install Autostar Suite."
5. You are prompted to choose a directory in which to install the driver.You may accept the default directory or
create your own directory path. Click “Next” when done.
6. The “Select Components” window displays. This window allows you to choose whether or not to install the
Guide Star Catalog.
Note: This is an optional catalog that may be used by the Planetarium program and contains all of the
locations of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Guide stars. This file is very large and takes up a large
amount of memory. Only download if you have enough memory or wish to use this amount of memory of
your hard drive. Memory totals for the file and your hard drive are displayed in this window.
If you wish to install the catalog, check the GSC check box.
If you do not wish to install the catalog, uncheck the GSC check box.
Then click “Next.”
7. The “Start Installation” window displays. The program is now ready to install the Autostar Suite. Click "Next”
to begin installation.
8. The “Microsoft Text to Speech Engine” window displays. Click "Yes” to agree to the terms and to continue
with the installation.
9. The “Microsoft .Net Framework installation” window displays.You must click “Yes” for the Deep Sky Imager to
operate.
10. Once .Net Framework installs, the .Net Framework agreement displays. Click “OK” to continue.
11. A window displays that allows you to install Adobe Acrobat Reader if you do not already have it installed on
your PC. Click “Ye s ” or “No.”
12. The “InstallShield Wizard for the Meade Deep Sky Imager” displays. Click "Next.”
13. A window displays prompting you to do a complete or custom install of InstallShield Wizard. Click on the
“Complete”
button and then click “Install” to begin installation.
14. (XP versions only) “Windows Logo Test” window displays. Clicking “Continue Anyway” will install a driver
that should operate with most PC configurations.
15. InstallShield Wizard completes installation. Click “Finish.”
16. A window displays that tells you that Autostar Suite has been installed. Click “Finish.”
Install the Autostar Suite Software
3

To connect the Deep Sky Imager Camera to your PC, you need to install the Deep Sky Imager device driver
and connect the USB cable:
1. Connect one end of the USB Cable to the Deep Sky Imager camera.
2. Connect the other end of the USB Cable to your PC or to a USB hub.
3. “Found camera” displays at the bottom right of your PC screen.
4. The “Hardware Wizard” window displays. The “Install Software” selection is checked as the default choice.
Click “Next.” The Wizard searches for the driver.
5. (XP versions only) “Windows Logo Test” window displays. Clicking “Continue Anyway” will install a driver
that should operate with most PC configurations.
6. The driver is installed. Click “Finish.”
The camera driver is now installed and your PC will now be able to recognize the Deep Sky Imager whenever
you connect it to the PC.
Connect The Deep Sky Imager Camera to Your PC
4

If the Autostar Suite icon doesn’t appear on your desktop, you can start the Autostar Suite program by going to
Start/Program/Meade/Autostar Suite. The Planetarium program will display.
You can open other programs of the Suite by going to the Image menu and selecting the desired program.
You can open the Operating Instruction manuals or the Meade General Catalog by selecting them from the Main
Menu screen of the CD ROM.
Click the word “Meade” in the Main Menu or in the General catalog to go www.meade.com.
Start the Suite Software
5

6
To connect the Deep Sky Imager camera to an ETX Telescope:
• While looking at the back of the telescope, orient the Deep Sky Imager camera into the eyepiece holder so
that the USB cable points to the left of the telescope’s optical tube (see photo at right).
• If you are using the ETX in a “straight-through” configuration, orient the Deep Sky Imager camera in the
holder so that the USB cable points
downward.
To connect the Deep Sky Imager camera to an LX-200 or LX-90 Telescope:
• While looking at the back of the telescope, orient the Deep Sky Imager camera into the eyepiece holder so
that the USB cable points to the right of the telescope’s optical tube.
To connect the Deep Sky Imager camera to other telescopes:
•Move the Deep Sky Imager camera around in the eyepiece holder until the image on the Deep Sky Imager
display screen (39) is upright.
To connect the Deep Sky Imager camera when using an autoguider:
• Attach the correct serial cable from the telescope’s control panel RS-232 port to the comm port of your PC
(see the Autoguider instruction sheet for more information). Also see “Autoguider and Telescope Controls,”
page 31, for more information.
• Click on the telescope tab (16). Enter the PC’s comm port number or Netscape Server.
•Click the Connect button (27).
Connect the Deep Sky Imager Camera to Your Telescope

To open the Deep Sky Imager Imaging program, go to the Image menu of the Planetarium program and select
Deep Sky Imager Imaging.
The Deep Sky Imager program will display.
Open the Deep Sky Imager Program
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8
Deep Sky Imager Controls
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1. Gain and Offset sliders
2. Preview and Exposure controls
3. Auto Exp (Exposure) controls
4. Mono (Black and white) check box
5. Live Image check box
6. Dark Sub check box
7. Long Exp check box
8. Color button
9. Combine and Quality controls
10. Image Process box
11. Object Name box
12. File status box
13. Save Process button
14. Start/Stop button
15. Image Acquire status bars
16. Stats, Telescope tabs
17. Help, Live, File Names tabs
18. Histogram display
19. Histogram sliders and controls
20. Countdown display
21. Autocontrast, Shadow Enhance controls
Key to Deep Sky Imager Controls
9
22. Magic Eye Focus
23. Avg (Average), Reset check boxes
24. Status display
25. File Open and Settings menu
26. Comm port field
27. Connect/Disconnect button
28. Telescope controls (up, down, right, left,
focus)
29. Autoguide/Guiding or Track/Tracking
button (displays depending on whether
scope can autoguide or track)
30. Tracking box
31. Centroid
32. Will Cal (Calibrate)/No Calibrate button
33. Center and Set Target buttons
34. Corr (Correct) Gain control
35. FL in mm (Focal Length in millimeters)
36. Target Status display
37. Tab scroll arrows
38. Close Tab control
39. Tracking box
40. Dark Spot check box
Throughout this manual, any number that is displayed in parentheses, refers to key above. For
example, “(3)” refers to the Auto Exp button and “(14)” refers to the Start/Stop button.

Once you have connected your camera to the computer and opened the Deep Sky Imager program, you’ll want
to start taking pictures. Follow the steps below to start taking simple pictures with your Deep Sky Imager cam-
era. We recommend that the first time you take pictures, you do so during daylight hours. Point your telescope at
a stationary landmark, such as a building, telephone pole or so forth—trees and other objects that move slightly
are not the best objects to use during your first image
tests.
1. Click on the “Auto Exp” button (3).
See “Auto Exp Button,” page 19, for more informa-
tion.
2. Click on the combo box controls in the “Image
Process” field (10) to display a list of object types.
Scroll down the list and select “Terrestrial.” See
“Image Process,” page 21, for more information.
3. Type a name for the object in the “Object
Name” box (11). This will be used as the image
file name. See “Object Name,” page 22, for more
information.
4. Click “Save Process” button (13). Select “JPEG”
and “Normal Operation.” See “Save Process,” page
22, for more information.
5. Click on the “Live” tab (17). See “Live Image Check
Box,” page 19, for more information.
Start Taking Pictures1
10

more...
6. An image should be already displayed on the screen (39). Use the focuser on
your telescope to focus the object. Notice that in the Magic Eye Focus field
(22), that two triangles are displayed and change their size. The Magic Eye
Focus will help you focus your image; see “Magic Eye Focus,” page 25, for
more
information. If you are having a lot of problems focusing your image, see “The
Parfocal Ring,” pages 17-18.
7. Click “Start (14).”
The camera begins taking pictures and will
continue to do so until you click on “Stop.”
Watch the Status box (24). When “Images”
reaches 50, click the “Stop” button (14).
Go to the next page to find out what the program is doing once you press “Start.”
Start Taking Pictures2
11

• The live image is displayed on the program’s display screen if the Live box is checked and the Live tab is
selected (these are the default settings).
• When you press Start, the Deep Sky Imager camera begins taking images and continues to take images
until you press stop. The Deep Sky Imager program uses the first 10 images it takes as a baseline to com-
pare with the images it takes subsequently. In other words, the program is always comparing images. Note:
The user can change the amount of images that the program uses as a baseline. See “Evaluation Count,”
page 21, for more
information.
•The program takes images with the best contrast and quality and assembles the best of these images (that
is, the program “stacks the best images”) into one image; this image is referred to as the composite image
in this manual.
• After you press the Start button, the composite image is displayed as a new tab above the display screen.
When you press Stop and select this tab, the final version of the composite image is displayed.
•After about 10 images are taken, the Deep Sky Imager program applies a sharpening filter to the composite
image.You can choose which sharpening filter you wish to use from the most to the least sharp, or none.
You can change the filter setting while the camera is taking pictures.See “Kernel Filter,” page 21, for more
information.
• Further image enhancement or filtering may be performed in other image editing software, such as the
supplied Image Processing software or Adobe Photoshop.Make sure you select an image type that can be
opened (such as JPEG or BMP) by the Image Editing software.
more...
What Happens When You Press Start1
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• The Deep Sky Imager program is continually resaving the composite image. If the Save Every Composite
Image box is checked, in the Save Option dialog the program will save every image that added to the com-
posite image (see page 22 for more information). If your PC crashes or loses power, the images that have
been taken up to the time of the crash or power loss will automatically be saved—the user does not need to
save them manually.
• The Deep Sky Imager program continues to composite the image until you press the Stop button. Typically,
about 50 images are needed to get a high quality composite image. After 50 images, the quality of the image
increases only in small amounts; about 90% of the quality level will have been accumulated with about 50
images.
•When you press Start again, the Deep Sky Imager program begins to accumulate a new composite image
and renames the image in a new tab. For example, if you named the first image “Building,” the next images
will be named “Building 2,” then “Building 3” and so forth, so that it doesn’t overwrite the previously saved
images.
• If a name/number was previously saved as a file name, the program will choose the next available number.
For example, if “Building 7” was previously saved, the next file will be named “Building 8.”
•Note that controls that are not currently available are grayed out.
What Happens When You Press Start2
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1. Insert camera into the telescope as previously described.
2. Click on the Live tab (XX).
3. Click Auto Exp (3). The program will find a good exposure automatically. Set the color balance according to
your taste using the Contrast (21) and Color Balance (8) controls.
4. Use Shadow enhance if necessary. This control is excellent for the moons of Jupiter, craters of the Moon,
some deep sky objects such as nebulae.
5. Go to the Image Process box (10) and select the process from the pop up menu you wish to image (e.g.,
moon, planet, etc.).
6. Click the Save Process button and a dialog box displays. Select file type. Typically you will select “jpeg.” If
you wish to perform image processing in another program such as Photoshop, select “tif.”
7. Draw a box around the planet or a bright feature of the object you wish to image. Or if the object is bright,
choose a dark area, and check the Dark Spot box (40).
8. Enter a name in the Object Name status.
9. Click Start (14). The program will now begin to take images.
14
How to take a picture of a terrestrial
object, the Moon or a planet

1. Insert camera into the telescope as previously described.
2. Click on the Live tab (17).
3. Set the Live Exp spin button to 1.0 second.
4. Click Mono box. You should see bright stars on the Live screen.
5. Before taking the first shot of the evening, leave the camera sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the temperature of
the camera can stabilize.
6. In the Image Process dialog box, select “Take Darks.” Use the default values.
7. Click the Start button.
8. A warning displays prompting you to cover the telescope. Cover the end of your telescope so that no light
can get in. Click OK when it is covered.
9. The imager begins taking dark frames (see “Dark Frames” page 34, for more information). The Dark Frames
are saved in the directory: C:Meade Images/Dark. The program will display how long the Dark Frame expo-
sures will take. Important Note: Do not take dark frames while the camera is cooling off.
10. When the Dark Frame exposures are completed, a dialog displays prompting you to uncover the telescope.
Click OK. The Dark Subtract box (6) should be checked now; if not, do so now.
11. Stars should be visible on the live tab screen.
12. Select a star to image. If the telescope is connected you can use the telescope control (Arrow keys) to help
choose a star. See “ Autoguiding and Telescope Controls,” page 31, for more information.
13. Check the Long Exp box (7). Set exposure to 15 seconds. This will allow you to take a preview of a single
image to view an example of how the camera is imaging.
14. Click Preview (2). The countdown timer counts down from 15 to zero seconds.
15. You can now tweak the image. Uncheck mono box. Click Auto (3). Color image controls display.
more...
An example of taking a picture
of a deep sky object
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16. Adjust contrast (21) and shadow enhance (21).
17. In the Image Process menu (10), choose “Deep Sky.” Use the default values.
18. Once you have a reasonable color image, type in a name in the Object Name box (11)
Tip: If your object’s name contains a number, such as M31, add a dash after the number. The program
Automatically saves each image with a number and the dash will allow your image names to be displayed as
M31-1, M31-2, M31-3, etc.
19. Click Start (the button is then displayed as “Stop”). The imager begins taking pictures.
20. The imager now takes 15 second images. Be patient. Take a number of pictures until your image looks good
and click Stop to abort. You will now have an image that you can post on the web or submit to one of the
Deep Sky Imager user groups.
Experiment with Contrast, Shadow Enhance, Histogram sliders and Dark Subtract, and you will begin to take
images like an expert.
Dark Frame Subtraction takes out a lot of “hot” pixels from the image. Play with this control to see what effect it
has on your image.
16
Preview image without color balance or
contrast.
Preview image with color balance and
contrast.
Final image after 50 combined images.

The Parfocal Ring1
17
It is extremely useful to have the Deep Sky Imager camera and a telescope eyepiece be parfocal—it will save
you time when you need to refocus.
Parfocal means setting two or more eyepieces to the same focus. (In this case, one eyepiece is a camera.) In
other words, if you focus one eyepiece in your telescope, then you remove it and replace it with a parfocal
eyepiece, the parfocal eyepiece will require little, if any, refocusing.
The following procedure will show you how to make your Deep Sky Imager camera parfocal with a low-power
wide-field 25mm or 26mm eyepiece (do not perform this procedure with a high-power eyepiece). Use the sup-
plied parfocal ring and perform the procedure during the daytime.
more...

1. Open the Deep Sky Imager program.
2. Insert the Deep Sky Imager camera into the telescope eyepiece holder. Do not tighten the eyepiece holder
thumbscrew. Make sure the Deep Sky Imager camera slides down as far as it will go into the eyepiece hold-
er.
3. Point the telescope at a terrestrial object that has a lot of contrast with the surrounding area and if possible,
has a distinctive edge (like a building, for example).
4. If you have previously moved the histogram sliders, move the top slider to the 0 position (move all the way to
the left) and move the bottom slider to the 256 position (move all the way to the right).
5. Click on the Auto Exp (3) button.
6. An image which may be or may not be focused appears on the display
screen.
7. Use the telescope’s focuser to get a rough focus of the object. Be patient.
You may have to rotate the focuser back and forth until you can achieve
focus of the image.
8. When the image is roughly in focus, remove the camera from the
eyepiece.
9. Place the supplied parfocal ring over the bottom chrome tubing of the
eyepiece. Do not tighten the ring.
10. Place the eyepiece and tubing into the eyepiece holder. Do not tighten any
of the thumbscrews yet. See photo at right.
11. Do not use the telescope focuser in this step. Lift the eyepiece (but not the
parfocal ring) until the object is focused.
12. When the object is focused, tighten the parfocal ring. The eyepiece is now parfocal with the Deep Sky
Imager camera. Do not remove or change the position of the parfocal ring or you will need to repeat the pro-
cedure.
Now, instead of focusing the camera with the telescope focuser (which is somewhat difficult and time
consuming), insert in the eye piece/parfocal assembly and focus the eyepiece as you normally would. Then
remove the eyepiece and replace the camera. You’ll find that the camera is focused and may need only minor
The Parfocal Ring2
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Gain and Offset sliders (1): Similar to a TV set’s contrast and brightness controls. These controls are
automatically set after you pick an Object (10) type and click on the Auto Exp button (3). Most users will seldom,
if ever, need to set these controls manually.
Auto Exp. button (3): Automatically sets the Gain and Offset controls(1) for the camera. Before taking pictures,
choose an Object (10) type and click on the Auto Exp button. This will adjust the camera to give you the typical
contrast and brightness you need to take pictures for the type of object you have selected. You can further adjust
the picture by adjusting the Histogram sliders (19), Filters (Kernel Filters, page 21, for more information)and
focusing the telescope (see “Magic Eye Focus,” page 25, for more information).
Mono check box (4): Check this box to take a black and white picture.
Live Image check box (17): Click to display live camera image in the Image Display (39).
Dark Subtract check box (6): See “Dark Frames,” page 27, for more information.
Color (Color Balance) (8):Allows you to control your images’ color. It is recommended that you click “Auto” and
then make further adjustments using the other controls. Auto automatically sets a color balance, balancing the
red and blue values in relation to the green. Note: Once Auto is pressed, the values selected by Auto remain do
not change, unless changed by the user—they are not continually updated by the program. When you begin a
new image, it is recommended that you reset the values in the Color dialog.
Automatic Adjustment Controls1
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Color sliders. Experiment with these sliders to change to change the image color.
Sharpprovides a sharper image, but the colors are less Saturated.
Soft provides more saturated colors.
Daylight provides a brighter image. Note that this may also be used for deep sky images. Experiment with this
setting using the Preview Control (7).
Reset sets of the color sliders to midrange. This might be helpful if you wish to perform color correction in anoth-
er image processing program, such as Adobe Photoshop.
Long Exposure check box. Check this box to set a long exposure. If your telescope is only crudely aligned, set a
value of no more than 15 seconds (this is a good starting value for any telescope to use) in the spin box to the
left of this check box.
How to take a long exposure:
Turn off mono and click “Preview.”
A countdown displays and the live check is turned off.
An image displays.
You can now use the color balance, focus, contrast, shadow enhance and auto contrast to adjust and color cor-
rect the image.
Once you have the preview sets the way you want your image, click on Start (14) and an image will be composit-
ed using your Long Exposure settings.
Live check box. Check this box to set your live settings and focus. Check the Mono box and set the spin box to
the left of this check box to 1 sec. You will now have an image that you can easily focus using the Magic Eye
focus controls (see Magic Eye Focus, page 25).
Automatic Adjustment Controls2
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