ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS StarShoot 52094 User manual

Orion®StarShoot™3MP
Planetary Imager & AutoGuider
#52094
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975
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© 2012 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
IN 437 Rev. A 05/12

2 3
Congratulations on your purchase of the Orion StarShoot
3 Megapixel Planetary Imager & AutoGuider! Your StarShoot
3MP can be used as a planetary imager or autoguider, making
it a useful imaging accessory for virtually any telescope setup.
You will be able to capture detailed views of the planets and
other objects in the Solar System, or you can use the cam-
era to precisely track the apparent movement of the night
sky without the need for you to monitor your telescope setup
every second. When autoguiding, the tracking corrections
made by the StarShoot 3MP will compensate for mechanical
imperfections inherent in all telescope mounts. This essential
astro-imaging tool allows you to relax under the stars while
your telescope tracks and takes images.
Parts List
• StarShoot 3MP Planetary Imager & AutoGuider
• USB Cable
• Autoguider relay cable
• Software CD
System Requirements
Computer
The SharShoot 3MP PIAG requires a PC running Windows XP, Vista or 7.
The computer hardware should have at least the following:
• Pentium™III Processor
• CD-ROM
• Connection to the Internet
• 512MB RAM
• Disk Space – 1GB or more is recommended
• Video Display – 800 X 600, 16-bit color or higher, 1024 x 768 or higher is
recommended
• Mouse
• USB High Speed 2.0 port

4 5
To Use as a Planetary Imager
Just about any telescope is suitable
for the StarShoot 3MP when imaging
the planets. The longer the focal length
of the telescope, the larger and more
detailed the images will appear. Unlike
deep space astro-imaging, you actu-
ally want to have a long focal length
and focal ratio for planetary imaging.
Adding a 2x, 3x, or higher barlow to
the telescope is not uncommon for
planetary imaging. The planets and
other solar system objects are rela-
tively bright and can be imaged with a
darker, or “slower” focal ratio.
We recommend a telescope mounted
on a motorized altitude-azimuth or
German Equatorial mount. You can
potentially capture the Moon or a plan-
etary image with a telescope that does
not track, however you may not get
optimum results. The sky moves 15
arcseconds per second! If you are imaging through a long focal length telescope,
you essentially need to track the object or unwanted blurring could occur.
To Use as an Autoguider [Quick setup diagram (Figure 1.1 & 1.2)]
The StarShoot 3MP is also a fully functional autoguider. The autoguider output is
on-board the camera, allowing the autoguider cable to connect directly from the
camera to your mount’s autoguider port.
The pixels in the StarShoot 3MP are relatively small, so we recommend binning
2x2 when autoguiding, to better improve sensitivity and allow the autoguiding
software to process the images faster.
Primary Telescope/Main Imaging Scope
Your main imaging scope will be used with your main astro-imaging camera. The
main imaging scope can be virtually any scope suitable for your CCD or DSLR
camera.
Guide Scope
You will need an additional telescope for guiding, referred to as a guide scope. The
guide scope is mounted on top of, or beside the main imaging scope. Adjustable
guide scope tube rings (available from Orion) are recommended and allow you to
move the guide scope around without moving the main imaging scope (Figure 2).
The guide scope is adjusted in the same fashion as a finder scope.
Figure 2. Adjustable guide scope tube
rings allow you to adjust the position of
the guide scope without moving the main
imaging scope.
Adjustable guide scope tube rings
Figure 1.1 A traditional imaging setup contains a main imaging scope and separate
guide scope. The SS 3MP interfaces with your computer via the USB cable, and
connects to your mount’s autoguide port via the autoguide cable.
USB Cable
AutoGuide Cable
PC
Guide Scope
Main
Imaging Scope
Mount
AutoGuider
Port
SS 3MP
SS 3MP
Drivers &
Software
Main
Imaging Cam
Figure 1.2 Cassegrain style telescopes can be used with an off-axis guider. This
allows both the main imaging camera and autoguider to use the same telescope.
USB Cable
AutoGuide Cable
PC Mount
AutoGuider
Port
Off-Axis
Guider
SS 3MP
SS 3MP
Drivers &
Software
Main
Imaging Cam
Scope used for both
imaging and guiding

6 7
Software Installation
1. Insert the CD-ROM and wait for
the Launcher window to appear.
If you are using Windows Vista or
Windows 7, the AutoPlay window
will appear first, then select Run
Opener.exe.
2. When the launcher appears, select
Install Camera Driver. The default
install location on your hard disk
will be C:\Program Files\QHYCCD\
QHY5T_Drivers, unless you specify
otherwise.
3. Go through the prompts until the
driver is installed, then proceed to
Install Capture Software (which
will install PlanCap).
4. If you intend to use the StarShoot 3MP as an autoguider, or if you wish to
use the camera to image in a program other than PlanCap, choose to Install
ASCOM Camera Driver. Then follow the URL to PHD Guiding free software
website to install PHD Guiding.
Note: The Starshoot 3MP Planetary Imager & AutoGuider is referred to as
the StarShoot HR (High-Resolution) Planetary Imager & AutoGuider during
the software and driver installation.
Installing the Camera
1. Once the software installation is complete from the steps above, connect the
StarShoot 3MP to your computer’s USB port.
2. In Windows XP a Found New Hardware Wizard will appear. Windows 7 or
Vista will automatically install the device.
3. Windows XP will ask if you want to search for drivers and updates online.
Select No, not this time and click Next.
4. Next, choose Install the software automatically.
5. Windows will may note that the driver has not passed Windows Logo testing.
This is normal. Click the Continue Anyway button. When the Wizard has
completed, click the Finish button.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 will automatically detect and install the camera
to your computer.
Because of the high resolution and
accuracy of the StarShoot 3MP, you
do not need a large guide scope; any
small refractor will serve well for this
purpose. Separate refractor optical
tube assemblies, such as the Orion
Short Tube 80, make excellent guide
scopes.
The only exception to using a guide
scope is to is use an off-axis guider,
which is typically made for Schmidt-
Cassegrain telescopes (Figure 1.2).
The off-axis guider uses a prism to
intercept a small portion of the light
path in front of the camera, thus allow-
ing the camera and guider to use the
same telescope. Off-axis guiders
require a large amount of inward focus
travel which is why they are only suit-
able for Cassegrain type telescopes.
Mount
An equatorial mount with dual axis
motors and a RJ-12 autoguide port
is required. Just about any equatorial
mount equipped with an autoguide port will work with the StarShoot 3MP (Figure
3.1). The StarShoot 3MP is “ST-4” compatible which uses the same pin out con-
figuration as the first generation CCD autoguiders (Figure 3.2). Most computer-
ized goto mounts also have this autoguide port. For short exposure deep space
photography (typically 45 seconds or less) the StarShoot 3MP can successfully
guide with a computerized altitude-azimuth or fork mounted telescope, popular
among computerized Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. However, guided expo-
sures longer than one minute in an altitude-azimuth mount will cause field rota-
tion to occur in the image. An equatorial mount will yield the best overall perfor-
mance for guided deep space astrophotography.
Software and Driver Installation
Before the camera can be used, software and camera drivers must be installed
onto your computer. Turn on your computer and allow the Windows operating
system to load as normal. Insert the included CD-ROM into your computer’s
CD-ROM drive, and the Launcher will appear (Figure 4). This allows you to install
the needed software. Do not connect the camera to your computer before you
have installed the software.
Figure 4: The CD Launcher
Figure 3.1 The SS 3MP works with any
mount equipped with an ST-4 compatible
autoguide port, shown here on the Sirius
EQ-G mount.
Auto guider port
Figure 3.2 This is the pin diagram for
the SS 3PM and ST-4 compatible mounts.

8 9
Camera Installation Troubleshooting Tip
If Windows is unable to automatically locate and install the camera (after you
performed the driver installation), then install the drivers manually by doing the
following:
1. With the camera plugged into the USB, goto the Device Manager from the
Windows Control Panel.
2. Locate the “AstroImaging Equipment” device tree, and right click on the device
“Orion StarShoot HR PIAG Driver”.
3. Select “Update Driver”, then browse the file path to the directory you installed
the drivers, the default is: C:\Program Files\QHYCCD\QHY5T_Drivers
Getting Started
Let’s start by exploring the interface of the two software programs that operate
your StarShoot 3MP, PlanCap (included with software CD) and PHD Guiding
(downloadable for free via the web link on the CD Launcher).
PlanCap
A: Subframe: Just slide the horizontal and vertical slide bars to adjust
the subframe resolution. This is critical to achieving the fastest frame rate,
and to consolidate large AVI files during capture.
B: Changing the subframe position to center your object: You can
click and drag the selected subframe (the red box) to reposition the
subframe. When imaging a small planetary object, you will typically have
room to move the subframe around as the object you’re imaging may drift
away from the center. This saves time and reduces the need to adjust the
position of your telescope as frequently.
C: Scope Control: Click “SCOPE CTRL” near the subframe sliders to
gain access to this window. If the autoguider cable is connected from the
camera to your mount, you can use this control to nudge the mount and
center your object.
D: Exposure Settings: Conveniently use the slider bars to adjust
exposure and gain, the two key control factors of your planetary imaging.
E: Enter an exposure setting value: To be more precise than the slider
bars, you can input an exact exposure or gain setting by clicking on the
number pad icon , then entering a value with your mouse. Click the
number pad icon again to hide the number pad. This applies to all other
controls that contain the number pad icon.
F: Delay: Select a delay between each frame if desired. This is not
typically done for planetary imaging, because we want to capture as
many frames in as little time as possible.
Count: Click to toggle “Count” or “Seconds”, depending on how you
wish to capture your images. Note that if you choose “Seconds” at a high
frame rate, beware that file sizes can add up very quickly!
Dark Frame Processing: This is optional but is useful to eliminate
unwanted hot pixels. Choose a value between 1 and 10, more is possible
but typically not needed. When you proceed to capture, you will be
prompted to cover the telescope. The dark frame will automatically
get processed.
G: Capture – AVI, SER, FIT, BMP: Right click on the capture button to
choose the capture file format. We recommend AVI, as this format easily
stores your capture files as a video which can later be used to export to
RegiStax. One you left click on the capture button, the capture sequence
will begin immediately. You can click the button during the sequence
to cancel.
SER is a raw capture that can only be done when the camera color is
disabled. This can be used for export to image processing programs (like
MaxIm DL) which can later convert the raw monochrome images to color.
NOTE: Streaming full frame 3 megapixel images will not only be
significantly slower, but consume massive amounts of system
memory and hard disk space. For planetary imaging, we highly
recommend subframing around the object.This will maximize the
frame rate and minimize the file sizes.
H. Contrast/Brightness: Click for slider bars to appear on the right side
(Figure 5). Adjusts the contrast and brightness. Note this will alter the
data coming from the camera.
Color Balance: Click for slider bars to appear on the right side (Figure 6)
Measurement & Profile: By entering your telescope focal length into this
window, you can determine the angular measurement of a given object
on the screen by pixels or arc seconds.

10 11
Focus Aid: Displays the minimum, maximum, and average pixel values of the area on the
screen you selected. Click on an area for this screen to appear. This can be useful to help
determine the focus, but high power planetary imaging often leaves the best focus up to
your eyes when monitoring the live image.
Status: At the bottom of the screen in PlanCap, the status displays the current frame rate,
subframe data and free system memory in real time. During a capturing sequence, the
status displays the number of images captured in a countdown.
PHD Guiding
A. Connect to Camera: Selects and connects to the autoguider camera. Choose
the StarShoot AutoGuider, StarShoot DSCI, or ASCOM camera
B. Connect to Telescope: This command connects the older StarShoot 3MP
DSCI to your mount (through various link options like ASCOM and ShoeString
GPUSB interface) and is not needed for the StarShoot 3MP. To connect the
StarShoot 3MP to your mount, go to the Mount menu and select On Camera. The
StarShoot 3MP will automatically send commands to the autoguide port on your
mount once it’s plugged in.
C. Looping Exposures: Takes continuous exposures for acquiring and focusing
the guide star.
D. PHD Guide: Automatically calibrates and guides. Once your guide star is found
and focused, simply click on the star and click PHD Guide. The rest is automatic!
E. Stop: Stops either calibrating, guiding, or looping exposures.
F. Exposure Selection: Choose from 14 different exposure times for the camera.
G. Guide Star Box: When a guide star is selected, a green box appears around it.
PHD Guiding will display the pixel coordinates of the star in the lower left screen.
When the calibration routine starts, yellow crosshairs are displayed around the
box. When the autoguiding begins, the crosshairs turn green. This box does not
appear until a guide star has been selected. (See Start Autoguiding)
H. Gamma Adjustment: Adjust the apparent screen brightness level in the image
by moving the slider bar left (brighter) or right (fainter).
I. Advanced Parameters: Control the camera and guiding routine settings.You
do not typically have to adjust the advanced parameters. For very bright guide
stars, or for daytime testing, the camera gain can be adjusted in this menu. (See
Advanced Autoguider Settings for more detail about this menu.)
J.Take Dark Frame: Captures and internally saves a dark frame that is
automatically subtracted from future exposures. Be sure to cap the scope’s
objective when taking a dark frame.
Figure 5: Brightness/Contrast
adjustment
Figure 6: Color balance adjustment

12 13
Using the Camera for the First
Time
We recommend using the camera for
the first time in daylight to become
familiar with the software interface and
camera settings.
1. Setup your telescope and use an
eyepiece to locate an object outside
that is 200 yards or more away.
2. Plug the StarShoot 3MP into your
computer’s USB port.
3. Remove the eyepiece and insert
the StarShoot 3MP into the 1.25"
eyepiece holder on your telescope.
4. Open PlanCap and the camera
will automatically connect (Figure
7) and start streaming live images
(Figure 8).
5. If the image is white on the screen,
it’s overexposed. Adjust the expo-
sure and gain as needed to reduce
the brightness.
6. Gradually move the telescope focus
inward until you get a sharp image
on your computer screen. The StarShoot 3MP focuses approximately 15mm
inward from a standard 1.25" eyepiece. On most refractors, a 1.25" extension
tube (available from Orion) is usually needed to reach focus. Alternatively, you
can use a star diagonal. Note the approximate position of your focuser where
the StarShoot 3MP reached focus on your guidescope to make the same task
at night much easier.
7. Experiment with the different camera settings, and try different subframes to
increase the frame rate.
Planetary Imaging
Planetary imaging is also referred to as Solar System imaging, and includes the
Moon, the Sun (with a proper full aperture solar filter!), the planets, and miscella-
neous objects in Earth’s orbit such as the International Space Station (ISS). The
StarShoot 3MP is capable of capturing all these objects in real time.
Setup the Camera and Telescope
1. Locate and center the object you wish to image in your telescope using an
eyepiece.
2. Plug the StarShoot 3MP into your computer’s USB port.
3. Remove the eyepiece from your telescope and insert the StarShoot 3MP.
4. Open PlanCap and the camera will automatically connect and start streaming
live images (Figure 8).
5. Gradually move the telescope focus inward until you get a sharp image on
your computer screen. The StarShoot 3MP focuses approximately 15mm
inward from a standard 1.25" eyepiece.
6. You can use the Focus Aid, screen to assist in focusing. Click on an area of
your screen for the Focus Aid to appear.
7. Check that you are imaging in color; go to the Camera Setup menu, and make
sure Color Camera is checked.
Your frame rate will depend on your exposure time and computer processor
speed. Fainter objects will require longer exposures whereas bright objects
like Jupiter or the Moon will require very short exposures. Start with the default
100ms, then adjust the exposure as needed for the object you are imaging.
Imaging Tip: To speed up the frame rate, and to acquire a rough focus a little
quicker, go to Camera Setup àBinning à2x2 Binning. This will increase the
frame rate and operate at 1/4 the resolution of the camera. Binning in 2x2 is also
useful when using very long focal length telescopes.
Setup Capture
Once you have achieved focus, you are ready to capture and save images to
your computer.
1. Go to the Capture Files menu and Select Capture Location.
2. In the Capture Files menu, Select Base File Name. For naming conven-
tion purposes, we recommend recording pertinent details in your file name,
such as “Jupiter1_75ms_80gain”. In this example, we’ve indicated it’s the first
sequence, 75 millisecond exposure, and 80% gain. This is useful when com-
paring your different images later.
3. Toggle the Count or Seconds button for your capture.
4. Set the number of seconds or number of frames for your capture. Keep your
hard disk space in mind. Also, AVI captures are segmented into a max of 2GB.
PlanCap will automatically create a new AVI file to continue capturing if you
exceed the max AVI file size.
Note: Capturing full frame 3 megapixel images consumes significant hard
disk space and memory and it can slow down almost any PC. We highly rec-
ommend subframing your image (setting in the upper left corner of PlanCap)
before you start the capture sequence! This will significantly reduce the
Figure 7: The SS 3MP must be
plugged in to the USB prior to opening
PlanCap. PlanCap automatically connects
to the camera when opened.
Figure 8: Live image view in PlanCap.

14 15
capture file size. If you are imaging a
small object like Saturn, you do not
need to capture the full frame from
the camera.
5. Press the capture button and the
sequence will begin. Full frame
images can easily overwhelm the
system and temporarily make
PlanCap unresponsive. If so, just
let the sequence complete itself. If
your system has enough resources,
it will show the frame countdown in
the lower left corner in the status
screen of PlanCap. For most plan-
etary imaging, you should be capturing a subframe to minimize file size and
speed up the capture frame rate (Figure 9).
View and Stack
After you have captured your images, you can review them in RegiStax, a free-
ware program downloadable from the provided web link in the CD Launcher.
We recommend stacking a minimum of 50 images or more. The individual
images have low bit depth (255 brightness level counts), and background noise.
Additionally, the individual images may be very soft since if you’re imaging at
high power, with or without the use of a barlow. Stacking will improve the poten-
tial sharpness when processing in RegiStax. Stacking several hundred or more
images is sometimes appropriate to get the most possible detail.
Subframing
Often times you will be imaging a very small object such as Mars or Saturn. You
can crop the frame to a smaller area which speeds up the camera and saves
hard disk space. This is referred to as subframing, or defining a region of interest
(ROI).
Regions of Interest (ROIs or “subframes”) can be very useful and PlanCap gives
you full control over where these ROIs should be placed and how big they should
be. An ROI is basically a crop of your image. You’re telling the camera that you’re
only interested in a certain portion of the image, so only that portion will be
downloaded from the camera and saved to disk. By using ROIs and cutting out
portions of the image you don’t care about (e.g., the large amount of black space
around Jupiter) you speed up data collection significantly. This means that in
the same amount of time you get many more frames of your target. Refer to the
PlanCap overview previously outlined in this manual.
Binning
The StarShoot 3MP can bin 2x2 to achieve 1024 x 768 resolution in color. Binning
in color is a unique feature that provides great versatility to your planetary imag-
ing. If you are using a telescope system with very long focal length, or if the local
seeing conditions are poor, you may benefit from binning 2x2 to improve sharp-
ness, sensitivity, and frame rate.
Go to Camera Setup àBinning à2x2 Binning
Adjusting the Live Image
PlanCap can adjust the image data prior to capturing. Color balance and bright-
ness can be adjusted in real time before you start your capture.
Adjust Contrast/Brightness
In the lower left corner, select the contrast/brightness icon, and two slider bars
will appear on the right hand side (Figure 5).
Adjust Color
In the lower left corner, select the color icon, and three slider bars for Red, Green
and Blue will appear on the right hand side (Figure 6).
Dark Frames and Noise Reduction
All CCD and CMOS cameras have inherent noise which becomes more apparent
with longer exposure images. If you require taking longer exposures (typically
longer than 3 seconds) you may start to see vertical lines and bright dots (hot
pixels). In PlanCap, choose a number of dark frames to process in Dark Frame
Processing. This is optional, and often not needed for rapid planetary imaging.
If you choose to capture darks, choose a value between 3 and 10, more are typi-
cally not needed. When you start the capture sequence, you will be prompted to
cover the telescope to capture the darks. The dark frames will be automatically
processed from your capture images.
Autoguiding
The StarShoot 3MP with the use of PHD Guiding software makes the task of
autoguiding simple and easy to setup. The calibration and guiding is automatic
once you initially find and focus a guide star. Your telescope must first be pre-
pared for astro-imaging. Make sure your mount is polar aligned well. Your guide
scope should be securely attached to your main imaging scope; or if you are
using a Schmidt-Cassegrain, the off-axis guider and main camera should already
be attached to the telescope.
Note: Autoguiding can correct for a mount that is poorly polar aligned.
However the image will be harder to initially locate and center since it will
still drift away from the camera’s field of view. Additionally, guiding with
a poor polar alignment will eventually cause field rotation in a long expo-
sure image.
Figure 9: Subframing is vastly more
efficient when imaging smaller objects like
planets.

16 17
1. Locate, center and focus the celestial object you wish to image with your
CCD or DSLR camera in your main imaging scope. Once you have centered
the desired object, it is important to make sure the tracking on your mount is
engaged so you don’t loose the object before the guiding starts.
2. Using a low power 1.25" eyepiece, locate and center a fairly bright star in your
guide scope. Do not move the main imaging scope or your object will be lost!
As stated in “System Requirements”, we recommend using adjustable guide
scope tube rings to allow independent movement of the guide scope.
3. Remove the eyepiece and insert the StarShoot 3MP into your guide scope.
4. Plug the StarShoot 3MP into your computer’s USB port and connect the
autoguider cable from the StarShoot 3MP to your mount’s autoguide port.
Load PHD Guiding on your computer.
5. Click the Connect to Camera icon and select the ASCOM Camera.
6. From the ASCOM Camera Chooser, select Orion StarShoot High Resolution
PIAG Camera (Figure 12).
7. In the Exposure Selection pull down menu, select 2.0 s (Figure 10).
8. Click on the Looping Exposures icon to begin continuously taking pictures.
9. Gradually move the focus inward on your guide scope until you see the star
come into focus. As you get close to focused, the camera may start detecting
several faint background stars.
10. Click on the star you want to guide
on. A green guide star box should
appear around the star you select-
ed. In the lower left corner of PHD
Guiding, the pixel coordinates of
the star will be displayed. If the star
is too bright, PHD Guiding will warn
you with a message at the bottom
of the screen; if so you can choose
a fainter guide star or reduce the
exposure time.
11. Click the PHD Guide icon and the
calibration will begin (Figure 11). The rest is automatic! Yellow crosshairs are
displayed around the guide star box when the calibration starts. The calibration
is automatic and takes a few minutes. When the calibration is complete, the
autoguiding begins automatically and the crosshairs turn green. You are now
ready to take astro-images with precise tracking!
Note: Be patient while PHD Guiding completes the calibration. The tele-
scope cannot be disturbed during the calibration process. It is just as criti-
cal not to touch the telescope during calibration as it is when exposing an
astro-image. The calibration ensures that the AutoGuider knows the move-
ments and tracking behaviors of your mount.
Dark Frames and Noise Reduction
All CCD and CMOS cameras have inherent noise which becomes more appar-
ent with longer exposure images. If you require taking longer exposures (typi-
cally longer than 3 seconds) you may start to see vertical lines and bright dots
(hot pixels). You can also reduce the camera Gain (see “Advanced Autoguider
Settings”). Take Dark saves a dark frame which is subtracted from your guiding
images to remove most of the noise. Dark frames are images taken with the cam-
era capped from incoming light, revealing only the camera noise in the image.
This noise is subtracted from a “light frame” which is the image you want to see
from the camera.
To take the dark frame:
1. Cap the objective of your guide scope.
2. Keep the Exposure Selection set to the same time you wish to use for guid-
ing. For example, if you choose 2.0 s, then you must keep this exposure time
while guiding for the dark frame to be effective.
3. Click Take Dark.
4. Remove the cap from your guide scope and resume taking pictures or guiding.
PHD Guide will automatically subtract the dark frames from all of your expo-
sures. To remove the dark frame, go to Tools and select Erase Dark Frame.
Figure 10: Select 2.0 s in PHD
Guiding to set the exposure time to 2
seconds.
Figure 11: Yellow crosshairs appear
once the calibration begins. The process
is automatic. The crosshairs turn green
when guiding begins.
Figure 12: The ASCOM Camera
Chooser

18 19
Advanced Autoguider Settings
The Advanced Parameters (the brain icon) in PHD Guide allows you to change
several settings to better customize the guiding performance of your StarShoot
3MP. Under normal use, you should not have to make any major adjustments to
the Advanced Parameters. All of the calibration and autoguiding is done auto-
matically simply by pressing the PHD Guide icon. However the following settings
can be adjusted to cater to your specific guiding setup:
Advanced Parameters
R.A. Aggressiveness: Adjusts the percentage of R.A. correction per step. The
default value is 100, meaning that the guider will move the full distance of the
correction. If the seeing conditions are not steady, the aggressiveness can be
turned down to smooth out the quick movements and reduce the correctional
movement.
R.A. Hysteresis: Implements a percentage of the previous averaged tracking
corrections to the current tracking corrections. This setting can be useful if you
are experiencing some wind or severe periodic error, since the guider will partially
ignore some of the radical movements and repeat a percentage of the previous
tracking corrections.
Dec Guide Mode: Allows Dec guiding to be turned on or off, or switched which
side of drift to guide on, or auto which will find the side of drift (N/S).
Dec Algorithm: Settings that attempt to smooth the declination corrections to
one consistent movement and can be used to resist switching directions in Dec.
Calibration Step: Adjusts how long each guide pulse is during calibration. The
default is 500 milliseconds. The calibration step can be increased to provide a
better sample of movement. However, if the calibration step is increased too
much, the guide star will move out of the camera’s field of view during calibration.
Min. Motion: Number of pixels the star must move before PHD will make a guid-
ing correction. The default is 0.25 pixels.
Search Region: The area in pixels that the guide star is searched for and looked
at. The default is 15x15 pixels. Under normal use, this setting should not be
changed.
Noise Reduction: Choose from 2x2 mean or 3x3 median to smooth out noise
and blur out hot pixels.
Time Lapse: This setting optionally sets a delay between each guiding correc-
tion. For mounts that track exceptionally well, you can add a delay between each
correction.
Gain: The gain adjusts the camera’s internal brightness level and sensitivity. The
default is 95%. If you are experiencing excessive noise or hot pixels, you can
reduce the gain. The camera remains very sensitive as low as 50% gain. If you
are guiding on a very bright guide star, you can afford to turn down the gain and
further decrease the noise in your image.
Force Calibration: Enabling this setting makes PHD Guide calibrate every time
a new star is chosen. If you move your telescope to another object in the sky,
you will need to recalibrate the autoguider. The default has this setting enabled.
Log Info: You can log all actions into a text file saved in the PHD directory.
Disable Guide Output: This setting deliberately shuts off the autoguider output
for potential troubleshooting measures.
Autoguiding Tips & Tricks
If all conditions are ideal, and your tracking is superb, you typically do not have to
alter any of the camera’s default settings. However, if your setup is tracking much
worse than usual (such as a night with high wind or poor seeing), you may need
to customize your settings to better adapt to the current conditions in the field.
Reduce the R.A. Aggressiveness in the Advanced Parameters menu to bet-
ter stabilize the guiding during bad seeing or wind gusts. You may also want to
decrease the R.A. Aggressiveness if your guiding exposures/corrections are
set very quickly (less than 1 second). If the guider sends several corrections per
second to the mount, the mount’s movement may osculate due to the response
time of your mount. Additionally the varying seeing conditions makes the star
appear to jump around rapidly and cause the guider to make unnecessary cor-
rections, sometimes referred to as “chasing the seeing”. If seeing is poor, keep
the guiding correction intervals/exposures to 1 second or more. For most guide
scopes, we recommend setting the autoguide exposures between 1-4 seconds
for best results.
Polar Alignment
A good polar alignment of your EQ mount is of critical importance for long-expo-
sure imaging. Inaccurate polar alignment leads to field rotation, even with the
autoguider tracking. If your equatorial mount uses a polar axis finder scope, we
highly recommend utilizing it for polar alignment. If not, a technique known as the
“drift method” of polar alignment has been used for many years, and can achieve
an extremely accurate polar alignment. Unfortunately it is very time consuming,
since the drift of a star over time must be observed. The basic idea is to let the
telescope mount track while watching a star to see which way the star drifts.
Note the direction of the drift, and correct by moving the mount in the appropriate
direction.
To perform the drift method of polar alignment:
1. Do a rough polar alignment by pointing the R.A. axis of the mount at Polaris
(the NorthStar).
2. Find a bright star near the meridian (the imaginary line running north-to-south
through zenith) and near the celestial equator (zero degrees declination). Point
the telescope at this star, and center it in an illuminated reticle eyepiece (avail-
able from Orion). If you don’t have an illuminated reticle eyepiece, use your
highest- magnification eyepiece.

20 21
3. Determine which way is north and south in the eyepiece by moving the tele-
scope tube slightly north and south.
4. Now, let the mount’s motor drive run for about five minutes. The star will begin
to drift north or south. Ignore any east-to-west movement.
5. If the star drifts north, the telescope mount is pointing too far west. If the star
drifts south, the telescope mount is pointing too far east. Determine which way
the star drifted and make the appropriate correction to the azimuth position of
the mount. Rotate the entire mount (and tripod) slightly east or west as needed
or use the azimuth adjustment knobs (if your mount has them) to make fine
adjustments to the mount’s position.
6. Next, point the telescope at a bright star near the eastern horizon and near the
celestial equator (Dec. = 0).
7. Let the telescope track for at least five minutes, and the star should begin to
drift north or south.
8. If the star drifts south, the telescope mount is pointed too low. If the star drifts
north the telescope mount is pointed too high. Observe the drift and make the
appropriate correction to the mount’s altitude (or latitude); most mounts have
some sort of fine adjustment for this.
Repeat the entire procedure until the star does not drift significantly north or
south in the eyepiece after a few minutes. When this is accomplished, you are
very accurately polar aligned. Autoguiding on a well polar aligned mount will
work w
Differential Tube Flexure
A common obstacle in guiding with a separate guide scope and imaging scope is
differential tube flexure, the unwanted movement of a guide scope in relation to
the main imaging scope. If any part between the autoguider and imager moves or
flexes during the exposure, then the resulting image will have oblong stars which
gives the appearance of poor tracking. There are a few basic measures to ensure
your guide scope is securely in place:
1. If your guide scope has a focus lock, firmly tighten the focus lock thumb screw
after you have focused on your guide star.
2. If you are using adjustable guide scope tube rings, make sure all thumb
screws are firmly tightened against the guide scope tube.
3. The guide scope tube rings and mounting plate should be tightened very
securely against the main imaging scope. Check for any visual flexure or
movement by gently pressing against the guide scope.
4. The focuser and tube rings on the main imaging scope should also be firmly
in place. It is not uncommon for screws and bolts to come loose after a few
usages; so they should be checked before each imaging session.
Cabling
The StarShoot 3MP uses only two light-weight cables; a USB cable and the
autoguide cable. Keep an eye on the cables as you move the scope around. If
there is any stress on the cables, your tracking will be affected.
Some imaging cameras use heavy-duty cables with significant weight. These
cables can contribute to differential tube flexure. If you are getting images with
oblong stars and your tracking appears to be good otherwise, try tying any heavy
cables to a secure location on your mount. It does not take much resistance
against the autoguider or imager to create poor tracking.
USB Extension Cable
In many instances, it is likely a longer cable for the StarShoot 3MP will be needed
in order to comfortably setup the telescope, camera, and computer. We recom-
mend purchasing a 10’ USB extension cable if you need more cord length (avail-
able from Orion, item #5227).
Using the StarShoot 3MP
with ASCOM
ASCOM platform 5 or later and the included ASCOM drivers must be installed
to use the camera in PHD Guiding. ASCOM must also be installed if you wish to
use another imaging program other than PlanCap.
1. Install the native camera drivers and device hardware per the installation sec-
tion of this manual.
2. Install the provided ASCOM drivers from the CD Launcher menu.
3. Using a supported ASCOM compatible software, such as Nebulosity or MaxIm
DL, select ASCOM for the camera type.
4. From the ASCOM Camera Chooser, select Orion StarShoot High Resolution
PIAG Camera (Figure 12).
Care and Maintenance
When the StarShoot 3MP is not in use, the cover cap should be replaced on the
end of the nosepiece. This prevents dust from accumulating on the StarShoot
3MP’s optical window. The optical window should only be cleaned if significant
dust builds up for if the window is touched. Any quality optical lens cleaning tis-
sue and optical lens cleaning fluid specifically designed for multi-coated optics
can be used to clean the glass surface of the StarShoot 3MP’s optical window.
Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning fluid designed for eyeglasses. Before
cleaning with fluid and tissue, blow any loose particle off the surface with a blow-
er bulb or compressed air. Then apply some cleaning fluid to a tissue, never
directly on the optics. Wipe the optical surface gently in a circular motion, then

22 23
remove any excess fluid with a fresh lens tissue. Use caution, rubbing too hard
may cause scratches.
Specifications
Camera Sensor: Color CMOS Aptina MT9T001
Sensor format: 1⁄2"
Pixel array: 2048 x 1536 (3.1Mp)
Pixel Size: 3.2µm x 3.2µm
Exposure Range: 0.001 sec to 10 sec
A/D Conversion: 8 bit
Thermoelectric cooling: No
IR filter: No, optional
Mounting: 1.25" nose piece or t-thread
Weight (oz.): 4.4
Dimensions: 2.5" wide x 2.35" long
Mount connection: Via RJ-12 modular jack (6-pin)
Autoguide commands: “ST-4” output
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1) this device nay not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that
may cause undesired operation.
Changes of modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for
compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a resi-
dential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio fre-
quency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions,
may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will no occur in a particular installation. If this equip-
ment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can
be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try
to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an output on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver in connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
A shielded cable must be used when connecting a peripheral to the serial ports.

24
One-Year Limited Warranty
This Orion StarShoot 3MP Planetary Imager & AutoGuider is warrant-
ed against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year
from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the origi-
nal retail purchaser only. During this warranty period Orion Telescopes &
Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted instru-
ment that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid to:
Orion Warranty Repair, 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076. If the
product is not registered, proof of purchase (such as a copy of the origi-
nal invoice) is required. This warranty does not apply if, in Orion’s judg-
ment, the instrument has been abused, mishandled, or modified, nor
does it apply to normal wear and tear. This warranty gives you specific
legal rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary from state to
state. For further warranty service information, contact: Customer Service
Department, Orion Telescopes & Binoculars, 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville,
CA 95076; [phone].
Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076
Customer Support Help Line [phone]
© 2012 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars