ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS StarShoot P1 User manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
IN 619 06/18
Orion
StarShoot™
P1 Polar
Alignment
Camera
#6236
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Corporate Offices: 89 Hangar Way,
Watsonville CA 95076 - USA
Toll Free USA & Canada: [phone]
International: [phone]
Customer Support: [email protected]
Copyright © 2020 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars.All
Rights Reserved. No part of this product instruction or
any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modied
or adapted, without the prior written consent of Orion
Telescopes & Binoculars.
AN EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANY

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Congratulations on your purchase of the Orion StarShoot P1 Polar Alignment
Camera! The P1 is designed to polar align your mount quickly and accurately, with
an error as small as 30 arc seconds, within just a few minutes time, following easy
step by step directions in the software. Forget about hunching down, squinting
through a dim polar scope, guessing if you’ve angled it right to coincide with the
position of the pole star around the reticle. Let the program do everything for you,
fast and easy! And it works for both North and South Hemisphere alignment!
Parts List
●P1 Camera
●Lens cap
●USB cable
●Camera mount adapter
for specific mount
●Allen wrench
Drivers and software are available as a download from our website. Before
plugging in the camera, please go to www.telescope.com/P1 for Windows
software.
Camera Hardware Installation
To install the P1 onto your mount, you need the adapter that came with your pack-
age for the appropriate mount. Please contact Orion if you lose the adapter, or if you
purchase a new mount and need a different adapter.
The adapter comes in two pieces – the mount ring, which attaches to the mount
itself via two small setscrews, and the camera base portion which attaches to the
back of the camera, and bolts to the mount ring via a thumbscrew (Figure 1).
Installation is simple:
1. Separate the two components of the adapter and slip the mount ring into
the front (north end) opening of your polar housing (Figure 2).
2. When the ring is sitting flush and level inside the mount opening, tighten
down the two small setscrews from inside the adapter ring using the
included allen wrench (Figure 3). Do not over-tighten the screws, just
snug enough to hold the ring securely. This step only needs to be done
once, as the ring can be left installed in the mount head. Make sure the
ring is sitting flush against the mount when installed.
3. Attach the camera base portion of the adapter onto the back of the
camera, using the three included Philips screws (Figure 4). This step
also only needs to be done once, as the camera base ring will stay
attached to the camera.
Figure 1. The
two sections of the
Mount adapter.

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4.
To attach the camera when ready to polar-align, place the camera with the
installed base plate onto the mounting ring, and tighten the thumbscrew to
secure it in place. Orient the camera so the USB port is pointed left when
you are standing in front of the camera and mount (Figure 5).
5. The camera can be left installed on the mount, but for safety while
transporting, it’s best to loosen the setscrew, remove the camera, and
Figure 2. The mount ring
section inserted into the
mount’s polar axis opening.
Figure 3. Tighten the two
setscrews using the included
allen wrench. There isn’t a
lot of room to maneuver the
wrench, so it might take a
couple of turns to snug down.
Figure 4. Screw the base
ring section onto the back of
the camera using the included
screws, and a screwdriver.
Figure 5. The
camera is attached
to the mount, and
oriented with the
USB port facing
the left side of the
mount.

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install the adapter ring cap onto the adapter to prevent dust from entering
the mount’s polar axis hole. The cap is included in the camera mount
adapter packaging.
Software Installation
A computer running Windows 7/8/10 is required to operate the P1 control program.
1. Before plugging in the P1, download and install both the software and
drivers from the following link: www.telescope.com/P1
2. Unzip the P1 Windows driver (make sure to note where the unzipper will
save the file so it is easy to find on your computer.
3. Double click on the driver .exe file to install the P1 drivers. Note you may
need administrator privileges in order to install the files. Click through the
windows to install the driver. There will be a windows security warning
asking if you want to make changes to the computer. Click “Yes” to install
the drivers successfully.
4. Unzip the P1 control software you previously downloaded, and double
click on the setup .exe to install the program. Click through the windows to
successfully install the program.
5. Once the driver and software have been installed, plug the camera into
a USB port on the computer. The first time you plug the camera in, the
system will find and install the appropriate drivers.
6. Launch the P1 program once the camera is plugged into and recognized
by the computer.
Using the P1 to Polar Align
Determining the center of RA rotation
Before starting, please note the P1 can be used in the North or the South
Hemisphere. Click the appropriate checkbox for your hemisphere. The instructions
here are for the North Pole, so simply substitute “South Pole” and "Sigma Octantis"
where any reference to the North Pole and Polaris are shown.
Before you use the P1 to polar align, the mount must be roughly aligned with the
North Pole. Polaris must be visible in the camera field of view for the system to
work, and the field of view is 11x8 degrees, so only a rough alignment is neces-
sary. Level your mount, point the mount northwards using a true north calibrated
compass (or smartphone with a compass app set to true north, not magnetic north),
and set the latitude correctly on the mount. It helps to start the mount in its home
position, facing north, counterweight shaft pointing down. It’s not necessary, but will
help in a later step.
1. Connect the camera to your computer and launch the P1 software.
2. Click connect (Figure 6), and the camera will start streaming an image.

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3. There are onscreen
directions to help navigate
through the next few steps.
Adjust the exposure and gain
settings until Polaris and a
few of the nearby stars are
clearly visible on the screen.
Click finish when this is done.
4. Double-click on Polaris in the
camera window. If the mount
is roughly Polar Aligned,
Polaris is likely the brightest
star in the field, as there
are no other brighter stars
nearby. You can compare
the star pattern in the camera
window with Planetarium
software, or save a .bmp file
under the File menu, and
plate solving the image using
online free plate solvers,
such as nova.astrometry.
net, to verify if you are in fact
looking at Polaris. With a
little practice, it will become
obvious when Polaris is in
the field of view.
5. Once you have double-clicked on Polaris, a rotatable overlay is shown –
use the slider to rotate the overlay until the circles shown match up with
stars in the image (Figure 7). You can also use the arrow keys or the
mouse scroll wheel to rotate the template. Click success when finished.
6. Next the program will ask you to choose a star in the field other than
Polaris and double-click on it. Choose a star not too close to Polaris so the
process is more accurate. Remember which star this is as you will click on
it again in subsequent steps. Double-click on the chosen star.
7. Next the program will request the mount be moved in RA. Move the mount
slightly using the motor controller to make sure the stars are rotating in
the requested direction. Once the direction is determined (it will either be
the left or right arrow on the controller), move the star approximately 30
degrees. You can use the setting circle on the mount to determine how
far 30 degrees is, or just estimate. Note: use the motor to move the
mount, do not unlock the RA clutch and move the mount by hand.
Using the motor while the mount axis is locked down provides far
more accuracy.
Figure 6. The screen when the program is
loaded up. Click the menu item “Connect” to
start up the camera.
Figure 7. Use the rotation slider to rotate
the template until the circles overlap with the
stars in the image.

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8. Click “Finished” and then double-click on the same star. Make sure you
remember which star it was you used in step 6!
9. Repeat the rotation step again. The system will then draw a circle on the
screen with the bright star on it. The center of this circle represents the
center of rotation of the star you clicked on several times. To verify, rotate
the mount back to the original position. If you started this process with the
mount in the “Home” position, you can easily return home by performing a
park command.
10. If the star move along the circle, click “Correct”. If it doesn’t, click “Reset”
and try again. The most likely cause of it failing is not clicking on the same
star during the rotation phase.
Polar Alignment
1. Double-click on Polaris again and match
up the on-screen overlay like you did in
step 5, then click “Success”.
2. The small rotating circle with the cross
inside (Figure 8) is the position where
Polaris should be placed. Use the polar
Altitude and Azimuth adjusters to position
Polaris into this circle. Click “Finished”
when this is done.
3. Double-click Polaris one last time, and use
the slider to rotate the overlay to match the
nearby stars, and click “Success” when done.
4. You are now very close to perfectly aligned!
Precision Polar Alignment
Click the “Start Monitor” button, and the system will begin analyzing the mount on a
frame by frame basis. Fine alignment is achieved when the green polar crosshair
overlaps with the red axis crosshair (Figure 9). As long as there are stars within
the two larger boxes, the system will know where the polar axis is positioned. Fine
tune the Alt and Az adjusters on the mount until the boxes overlap (Figure 10),
and you have achieved a very precise polar alignment. The program can be closed
at this time, and you can start your imaging session!
Monitoring will continuously analyze the polar axis while the camera is on, but
please note as soon as you rotate the scope in RA (during any Go-To move), the
system will not be able to analyze any longer, until you rotate back and put the two
stars in the larger boxes.
Using Atmospheric Refraction settings
Atmospheric refraction can change the actual position of the pole and is more signif-
icant in lower latitude regions. If you wish the system to compensate for refraction,
Figure 8. The small rotating
circle. Use the mount's Polar
adjustments to position Polaris
into this circle.

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before starting the polar alignment procedure, click on the Tool menu, and then on
Astronomical Refraction. Enter your latitude and longitude here.
Previous Mount Rotational Alignment
After you align the mount the first time using the routine described above, the next
time you come back to the program to do another polar alignment, after step #5, the
program will ask you if you would like to use the previous R.A. axis rotational align-
ment already saved in the system. If you have not removed the camera from the
mount, you can click “yes” to save a little time. However, if the camera has been
moved, bumped, or you aren’t sure of the accuracy, you can click “no” and redo the
R.A. rotational step. It will only take a minute or two longer, and will write over the
previous rotational alignment data.
Specifications
Field of view 11x8 degrees
Resolution ~30 arc-seconds
USB port Mini USB 2.0
Alignment accuracy Rough alignment: ~5 arcminutes
Fine alignment: up to 30 arc-seconds
Weight 4 oz.
Power draw 0.35 Watts, 70mA
Figure 9. Line up the two
crosshairs for very precise
alignment.
Figure 10. The two
crosshairs aligned. Precise polar
alignment has been achieved.

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Corporate Offices: 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville CA 95076 - USA
Toll Free USA & Canada: [phone]
International: [phone]
Customer Support: [email protected]
Copyright © 2020 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars.All Rights Reserved. No part of this product instruction or
any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modied or adapted,without the prior written consent of Orion
Telescopes & Binoculars.
AN EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANY
One-Year Limited Warranty
This Orion product is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for
a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benet of
the original retail purchaser only. During this warranty period Orion Telescopes &
Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted instrument that
proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid. Proof of purchase
(such as a copy of the original receipt) is required. This warranty is only valid in the
country of purchase.
This warranty does not apply if, in Orion’s judgment, the instrument has been
abused, mishandled, or modied, nor does it apply to normal wear and tear. This
warranty gives you specic legal rights. It is not intended to remove or restrict your
other legal rights under applicable local consumer law; your state or national statu-
tory consumer rights governing the sale of consumer goods remain fully appli-
cable.
For further warranty information, please visit www.OrionTelescopes.com/warranty.