Moravian Instruments G4-9000 User manual

G4 CCD Camera
User's Guide

Version 3.1
Modified on December 11th, 2016
All information furnished by Moravian Instruments is believed to be
accurate. Moravian Instruments reserves the ri ht to chan e any information
contained herein without notice.
G4 CCD cameras are not authorized for and should not be used within Life
Support Systems without the specific written consent of the Moravian
Instruments. Product warranty is limited to repair or replacement of
defective components and does not cover injury or property or other
consequential dama es.
Copyri ht © 2000-2016, Moravian Instruments
Moravian Instruments
Masarykova 1148
763 02 Zlín
Czech Republic
tel./fax: [phone]
www: http://www. xccd.com/
e-mail: info@ xccd.com

Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................4
G4 Camera Overview...............................................................................6
CCD and Camera Electronics...................................................................8
CCD Chip............................................................................................9
Model G4-9000...........................................................................10
Model G4-16000.........................................................................10
Camera Electronics...........................................................................10
Model G4-9000...........................................................................11
Model G4-16000.........................................................................11
Coolin and power supply......................................................................12
Power Supply....................................................................................13
Mechanical Specifications......................................................................15
Camera head dimensions..................................................................16
Telescope adapters............................................................................17
Camera Maintenance..............................................................................20
Desiccant exchan e...........................................................................20
Chan in the silica- el................................................................21
Chan in the Telescope Adapter......................................................23
Power Supply Fuse............................................................................23

Introduction
Thank you for choosin the Moravian Instruments CCD camera. G4 series of
CCD cameras were developed for ima in under extremely low-li ht
conditions in astronomy, microscopy and similar areas. Desi n of this series
inherits from G2 and G3 cameras, with which they share precise electronics
providin uniform frames without artifacts and extremely low read noise
limited only by CCD detector itself. Also the robust construction, rich software
support and easy manipulation are the same. However, G4 camera head is lar e
enou h to contain detector up to 37×37 mm.
Internal filter wheel is not available for G4 cameras, because a filter wheel
capable to carry 50×50 mm square filters is too bi .
There are external Filter wheels with 5 or 7 positions for 50×50 mm square
filters are available for G4 cameras.
The G4 cameras are desi ned to work in cooperation with a host Personal
Computer (PC). As opposite to di ital still cameras, which are operated
independently on the computer, the scientific slow-scan, cooled cameras
usually require computer for operation control, ima e download, processin
and stora e etc. To operate the camera, you need a computer which:
1. Is compatible with a PC standard.
2. Runs a modern 32 or 64-bit Windows operatin system.
Drivers for 32-bit and 64-bit Linux systems are also provided, but
camera control and ima e processin software, supplied with the
camera, requires Windows operatin system.
3. Provides at last one free USB port.
G4 cameras are desi ned to operate with USB 2.0 hi h-speed
(480 Mbps) hosts. Althou h they are fully backward compatible with
USB 1.1 full-speed (12 Mbps) hosts, ima e download time can be
somewhat lon er if USB 1.1 connection is used.
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A simple and cheap device called USB hub can expand number of
available USB port. Typical USB hub occupies one computer USB
port and offers four free ports. Make sure the USB hub is USB 2.0
hi h-speed compatible.
But keep on mind that if more USB devices connected to one hub need
to communicate with a host PC, USB hub shares its sin le up link line
to the host PC. Althou h G4 cameras can operate throu h a USB hub,
it can ne atively affect the camera performance, like download time
etc. It is recommended to connect other USB devices throu h USB
hub (e. . the mouse) and to provide the camera a direct USB
connection to the host PC.
4. Alternatively it is possible to use the Gx Camera Ethernet Adapter.
This device can connect up to four Gx cameras of any type (not only
G4, but also G0, G1, G2 and G3) and offers 1 Gbps and 10/100 Mbps
Ethernet interface for direct connection to the host PC. Because the PC
then uses TCP/IP protocol to communicate with the cameras, it is
possible to insert e. . WiFi brid e or other networkin device to the
communication path.
The G4 cameras need an external power supply to operate. It is not possible to
run the camera from the power lines provided by the USB cable, which is
common for webcams or very simple ima ers. G4 CCD cameras inte rate
hi hly efficient CCD chip coolin , shutter and possibly filter wheel, so their
power requirements si nificantly exceed USB line power capabilities. On the
other side separate power source eliminates problems with volta e drop on lon
USB cables or with drawin of laptop batteries etc.
Also note the camera must be connected to some optical system (e. . the
telescope) to capture ima es. The camera is desi ned for lon exposures,
necessary to acquire the li ht from faint objects. If you plan to use the camera
with the telescope, make sure the whole telescope/mount setup is capable to
track the tar et object smoothly durin the exposure.
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G4 Camera Overview
G4 cameras do not allow usa e of internal filter wheel as they require lar e
50×50 mm filters. External filter wheel is then the only option for G4 camera.
There are two sizes of the external filter wheel available for the G4 cameras:
●Medium size wheel for 5 square filters 50×50 mm
●Lar e size wheel for 7 square filters 50×50 mm
Components of G4 Camera system include:
1. G4 camera head.
2. Medium size external filter wheel with 5 positions.
3. Lar e size external filter wheel with 7 positions.
4. G0 Guider camera.
5. G1 Guider camera.
6. Off-axis uider adapter with M68×1 thread.
7. Thick spacer. Camera without internal filter wheel and this spacer has
the same back focal distance as camera with external filter wheel.
8. M68×1 thread adapter for lar e focusers.
9. Gx Camera Ethernet Adapter allows connection of up to 4 Gx cameras
of any type on the one side and 1 Gbps Ethernet on the other side. This
adapter allows access to connected Gx cameras usin routable TCP/IP
protocol over practically unlimited distance.
10. The whole system is controlled from a host PC.
6

Illustration 1: Schematic diagram of G4 camera system components
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CCD and Camera Electronics
G4 series of CCD cameras are manufactured with “Full Frame” CCD sensors
manufactured by OnSemi (formerly Kodak)
Almost all Full Frame CCD detector area is exposed to li ht. This is why these
detectors provide hi h quantum efficiency. Modern FF CCD detectors are
suitable also for scientific applications, even if equipped with so-called Anti
Bloomin Gate (ABG – a ate, which prohibits bloomin of the char e to
nei hborin pixels when ima e is over-exposed) with linear enou h response to
li ht within the full dynamic ran e.
Illustration 2: “Full Frame” CCD schematic diagram
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G4 camera models:
Model G4-9000 G4-16000
CCD chip KAF-09000 KAF-16803
Resolution 3056×3056 4096×4096
Pixel size 12×12 µm 9×9 µm
CCD a ea 36.8×36.8 mm 36.9×36.9 mm
ABG Yes Yes
Colo mask No No
CCD Chip
Quantum efficiency (sensitivity) of CCD detectors used in G4 cameras depends
on the particular camera model.
Illustration : Quantum efficiency of CCD detectors used in G and G4 cameras
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Inherent dark current of these detectors is quite low compared to other CCD
detectors, suitable for scientific applications, which results into very ood
si nal/noise ratio.
Model G4-9
G4-9000 uses 9 MPx CCD OnSemi KAF-09000.
Resolution 3056×3056 pixels
Pixel size 12×12 µm
Imaging a ea 36,8×36,8 mm
Full well capacity Approx. 110 000 e-
Da k cu ent 0,5 e-/s/pixel at 0°C
Da k signal doubling 7 °C
Model G4-16
G4-16000 uses 16 MPx CCD OnSemi KAF-16803.
Resolution 4096×4096 pixels
Pixel size 9×9 µm
Imaging a ea 36,9×36,9 mm
Full well capacity Approx. 100 000 e-
Da k cu ent 0,3 e-/s/pixel at 0°C
Da k signal doubling 6,3 °C
Camera Electronics
16-bit A/D converter with correlated double samplin ensures hi h dynamic
ran e and CCD chip-limited readout noise. Fast USB interface ensures ima e
download time within seconds.
Maximum len th of sin le USB cable is 5 m. This len th can be extended to
10 m by usin sin le USB hub or active USB extender cable. Up to 5 hubs or
active extenders can be used in one connection.
Gx Camera Ethernet Adapter device allows connection of up to four Gx
cameras of any type throu h Ethernet interface and TCP/IP network. Because
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