Orion StarShoot 52080 User manual

Orion® StarShoot™
Deep Space Color Imager II
#52080
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975
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IN 308 Rev. B 07/07

Securing thumbscrew
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Welcome to a new world of adventure. Your new
StarShoot Deep Space Color Imaging Camera II (SSDSI-
II) is capable of capturing detailed, full-color images of
astronomical objects. Galaxies, star clusters, and nebu-
lae, as well as the planets, Moon, and Sun (with optional
solar filter) can all be imaged to create spectacular views
on your computer (laptop recommended, see “System
Requirements”) which can be saved for emailing or printing
later. You’ll find that this relatively inexpensive, yet power-
ful, camera will enhance your astronomical journeys with
your telescope.
Please read this instruction manual before attempting to use the camera or
install the needed software. For the most detailed information on specific
camera and software functions, consult the Maxim DL Essentials Help menu;
the tutorials found there are especially useful for familiarizing yourself with how
the software and camera are typically used.
Parts List
• StarShoot Deep Space Color Imager II
• USB cable
• 3V Power supply for TEC (requires 2x D-cell batteries, not included)
• CD-ROM
System Requirements (refer to Figure 1)
Telescope
The SSDSI-II can be used with virtually any telescope that is compatible with
1.25" format eyepieces. The camera simply is inserted into a focuser in the
same way as a standard eyepiece (Figure 2a).
Important Note: Be sure to always firmly tighten the thumbscrew(s) that
secures the SSDSI-II in the telescope focuser, or it could fall out and onto the
ground!
If your telescope is has T-threads for direct camera attachment, a more secure
connection can be made. First, unthread the nosepiece from the SSDSI-II. This
exposes the camera’s T-threads. Now, simply thread the camera onto your
telescope (Figure 2b).
Figure 1. To use the SSDSI-II, a telescope, mount, and computer are required.
Figure 2a. The SSDSI-II fits into 1.25" focuser, just like a standard 1.25" eyepiece.
Firmly tighten the thumbscrew that secures the SSDSI in the focuser.

Figure 2b. If your telescope has T-threads, remove the nosepiece from the SSDSI-
II and thread the camera directly onto the telescope. This provides the most secure
connection.
T-threads
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In order to reach focus, the telescope must have approximately 0.6" (15mm)
of inward focus travel relative to where a standard eyepiece focuses. If your
telescope does not have enough inward focus travel, you will need to use
and optional 1.25" barlow lens to extend the telescope’s focal plane to the
camera’s imaging plane.
For most types of astro-imaging with the SSDSI-II (except planetary imag-
ing), using a telescope with a focal length of under 1000mm is recommended.
Otherwise, the field of view may be too small to capture the entire deep sky
object. To decrease the effective focal length of your telescope, use a focal
reducer lens (available from Orion). If you are imaging planets, however, you
will benefit from using a telescope with a long (over 1000mm) focal length. Or
you can use a barlow lens to extend the effective focal length of your telescope
to increase planetary image scale.
Mount
An equatorial mount with right ascension motor drive is required for deep sky
imaging with the SSDSI-II. Otherwise, objects will drift in the field of view as
the image is being captured. It is also very important that the mount tracks
very accurately with little periodic error. If not, stars will not appear round in the
final image. Use a sturdy mount that is appropriately sized for the telescope
tube being used. Accurate polar alignment will also be required.
Computer
A computer is needed. For astro-imaging in the field at night, a laptop com-
puter is highly recommended. Maxim DL Essentials requires Windows 2000,
Windows XP, or Windows Vista.
The following hardware is also required:
• Processor – Pentium™ or equivalent, or higher
• Recommended minimum memory size is 64 MB.
• Disk Space – 67 MB for program installation, 100 MB swap file recom-
mended
• Video Display – 800 X 600, 16-bit color or higher. 1024x768 or higher is
recommended.
• Mouse
• Internet Explorer 4 or higher required to display on-line help
• USB port (USB 2.0 recommended)
Maxim DL Essentials benefits greatly from increased memory size.
Note: Some computers have USB ports that are known to not meet the USB
specification for the output voltage. These computers may not be able to run
the SSDSI-2 without the use of an external powered hub. The vast majority of
computers, however, do meet the proper USB specification, and should have no
problems running the SSDSI-2 off of regular USB power. The SSDSI-2 itself is fully
USB compliant regarding its power requirements.
Power and the TEC
In order to provide power for the SSDSI-II’s thermoelectric cooler (TEC), an
external 3VDC power supply is needed. The SSDSI-II camera itself runs off the
power supplied by your computer’s USB port; only the TEC requires external
power. So, if you happen to run out of external 3VDC power in the field, you
can still run the camera without the TEC.
The TEC is like a refrigerator in the camera. When the camera is running, it
produces internal heat, which causes “noise” in images. The TEC counteracts
this by cooling the CCD chip, which reduces thermal noise. This produces bet-
ter quality images than similar uncooled cameras can provide. Also, cameras
with simple air-cooling (i.e. with an onboard fan) cannot reduce the internal
camera temperature below ambient (outside) temperature, and therefore pro-
duce images that are inherently inferior. The TEC in the SSDSI-II will reduce the
temperature of the camera’s interior to approximately 36°F (20° C) below the
ambient outside temperature.
The included 3VDC power supply requires two D-cell batteries (not included).
To install the batteries, open the battery holder by pulling and lifting the tab
on the cover labeled “OPEN”. Then, insert the batteries so the polarity is as
indicated on the interior of the holder.

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When the 3VDC power supply is plugged into the SSDSI-II, the TEC is on
(Figure 3). It takes about a minute for the TEC to provide maximum cooling, so
wait a couple of minutes before you begin to capture images. When the power
source is not plugged in, the TEC is off. Remember to unplug the TEC when it
is not in use, or you will drain the power supply. Keeping a spare set of D-cell
batteries in your equipment case is also a good idea!
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 Maxim DL Essentials software. After the software is installed, the
drivers will install automatically once the SSDSI-II is initially connected to
the computer. Do not connect the camera to your computer before you have
installed the software.
Software Installation
To install Maxim DL Essentials Edition:
1. Insert the CD-ROM into the drive. The Launcher will appear. For Windows
Vista computers, the AutoPlay window will appear. Select Run Launcher.exe,
then the Launcher will appear.
2. Click Install.
3. The InstallShield Wizard will start. Click Next.
4. Read the Maxim DL License Agreement. If you agree with the terms, then
select I accept the terms in this license agreement and click Next.
5. You are now ready to install. Click Install. The installation will proceed.
6. The installation is now complete. Click the Finish button.
You can start Maxim DL Essentials Edition using the desktop icon, or using the
Windows Start menu.
Camera Driver Installation
Now that the software is installed, the camera driver must also be installed.
The system will automatically guide you through driver installation when the
SSDSI-II is initially connected to the computer. You must plug-in the camera
before starting Maxim DL Essentials Edition, or the software and computer will
not recognize the camera.
To install the camera driver on a Windows XP computer:
1. Make sure the CD-ROM is in the computer.
2. Connect the Orion StarShoot Deep Space Imager II to a USB port on the
computer with the supplied USB cable. Windows will automatically detect
the camera and start the Found New Hardware Wizard (Figure 5a).
Note: For best results, use a USB 2.0 port. If you only have USB 1.1, the cam-
era will run slower. We highly recommend upgrading to USB 2.0 if you have
USB 1.1. A USB upgrade card can be found from a computer parts supplier.
Note: You do not need to connect the SSDSI-II to the external 3VDC power
supply at this time. The external power is for the camera’s thermoelectric
cooler (TEC) only, and normal camera operation does not require it to be on
(i.e. when the TEC is powered it is on, when it is not powered it is off). Use
of the TEC is highly recommended for long exposure astro-imaging, however
(see “Imaging Deep Sky Objects”).
3. Select No, not this time and click Next.
4. Select Install from a list of specific location (Advanced) and click Next.
5. Select Search removable media (floppy, CD-ROM...). Turn off the other
options. Click Next.
6. Windows will start looking for the driver files on the CD-ROM.
Figure 4. The Launcher provides an
easy menu for software installation.
Figure 3. The 3V power supply (with two D-cell batteries installed) turns the TEC on
when it is plugged into the SSDSI-II.
3VDC Power supply
Tab
D-cell batteries (2)
USB
cable
Input jack for
TEC power
- +

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7. Windows will note that the driver has not passed Windows Logo testing.
This is normal. Click the Continue Anyway button.
8. When the Wizard has completed, click the Finish button. This completes the
driver installation process.
Now, start the Maxim DL Essentials Edition software. The camera will now
be recognized, and the Camera Control Window (Figure 6) will appear. Once
the driver is installed, the computer and software will recognize the SSDSI-II
whenever it is plugged in.
To install the camera driver on Windows Vista computer:
1. Make sure the CD-ROM is in the computer.
2. Connect the SSDSI-II to a USB port on the computer with the supplied
USB cable. Windows will automatically detect the camera and display the
Found New Hardware window (Figure 5b.)
3. Select Locate and install driver software (recommended).
4. In the next window that appears, select Don’t search online.
5. The next window that appears will ask you to “Insert the disc that came
with your StarShoot Camera”. Click Next.
6. A Windows Security window will appear and mention that “Windows can’t
verify the publisher of this driver software”. Choose Install this driver soft-
ware anyway.
7. When the window appears telling you “The software for this device has
been successfully installed”, click Close. This completes the driver instal-
lation process.
Now, start the MaxIm DL Essentials Edition software. The camera will now
be recognized, and the Camera Control Window (Figure 6) will appear. Once
the driver is installed, the computer and software will recognize the SSDSI-II
whenever it is plugged in.
Note: If your computer (Windows XP or Vista) has multiple USB ports, you will need
to install the driver again if the SSDSI-II is connected to a different USB port.
Figure 6.
The Camera
Control Window
automatically
appears when the
SSDSI is connected
to the computer
and the Maxim DL
Essentials program
is started.
Figure 5b. When
initially connecting the
SSDSI-II to a Windows
Vista computer, the
Found New Hardware
window will appear and
guide you through driver
installation.
Figure 5a. When initially connecting the SSDSI-II to a Windows
XP computer, the Found New Hardware Wizard will appear and
guide you through driver installation.

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Getting Started During Daylight
We recommend using the SSDSI-II for the first time during the day. This way,
you can become familiar with the camera and its functions without having to
stumble around in the dark. Setup your telescope and mount so the optical
tube is pointing at an object that is at least a couple of hundred feet away.
Insert an eyepiece and focus as you normally would.
Since the SSDSI-II camera is so sensitive to light, you will need to “stop down”
your telescope aperture to do any imaging in daylight. This can be done by
creating a simple aperture mask out of a piece of cardboard. The piece of
cardboard should be larger than the telescope’s aperture. Cut a circular hole in
the cardboard approximately 1⁄2" in diameter, and place the cardboard over the
front of the telescope so that it completely covers the aperture except for the
1⁄2" circle. If you are using a refractor telescope, then the hole should be cut so
it is centered on the piece of cardboard. If you are using a reflector that has a
central aperture obstruction, then the hole should be cut off to one side (in order
to bypass the central obstruction). Affix your aperture mask to your telescope
with tape (Figure 7).
Obtaining First Images
To obtain first images (in daylight) with the SSDSI-II, follow these step-by-step
instructions:
1. With an eyepiece inserted in the telescope, center and focus an object
that is approximately 1⁄4 mile away. If you cannot focus your telescope this
closely (due to lack of back-focus travel), then you will need to utilize an
optional extension tube (available from Orion).
2. Plug the camera into your computer’s USB port.
3. Open Maxim DL Essentials by clicking on the icon now installed on your
computer’s desktop.
4. Once open, Essentials should connect directly to your camera with the
Camera Control Window.
5. To connect the camera to the telescope, simply replace the telescope’s
eyepiece with the camera. Make sure the securing thumbscrew on the
focuser drawtube is firmly tightened. If your telescope has built-in T-
threads, then remove the eyepiece from the telescope and the nosepiece
from the SSDSI-II, and thread the camera onto the telescope (see Figures
2a-b).
6. You will now need to refocus the camera for the centered object. Focusing
will be the hardest thing to do in the initial stages. In the Camera Control
Window, set the mode to Light Color 1x1. Set the Seconds (exposure time)
to .01 to begin with. In the box underneath the Mode box, select Focus.
Make sure the Dark Subtract box is unchecked.
7. Press the Expose button in the Camera Control Window. The camera
will now rapidly take short exposures and display them on the computer
screen. For daytime imaging, open the Screen Stretch Window (in the
View menu), and set the stretch mode to Moon.
8. If the image brightness is too bright for the camera, an all (or mostly) black
screen will result. You will also notice that the Max Pixel (in the lower right
corner of the Camera Control Window, see Figure 6) will be at 65535,
which is the maximum pixel brightness value. Try to get a Max Pixel of
around 50000 to 60000 by increasing or decreasing exposure time (.002
sec is the minimum exposure time). If the (daytime) image is still too bright
to produce an acceptable image on your computer screen, you may need
to stop-down the aperture of your telescope further. Try making another
aperture mask with a diameter of only 1⁄4".
9. Now, turn the telescope’s focus knob so the focuser drawtube moves
slowly inward. The drawtube needs to go approximately 15mm inward from
where the eyepiece focuses (for most eyepieces). Look at the computer
screen and adjust the focus knob accordingly to determine best image
focus.
Figure 7. Because the SSDSI-II is sensitive to light, an aperture mask is needed
on the telescope for any imaging during daylight. For a refractor, the hole should be
centered on the aperture mask. For a reflector, the hole should be off to one side of the
aperture mask.

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Note: The camera’s field of view is fairly small. It is approximately equivalent to
the field of view through the telescope when looking through a typical (i.e. not
wide-field) 10mm focal length eyepiece. So make sure the object to be imaged
is well centered in the telescope before connecting the SSDSI-II, otherwise it
may not appear in the field of view of the camera.
10. Once focused, image orientation can be changed by rotating the camera
within the focuser drawtube. Simply loosen the thumbscrew on the draw-
tube and rotate the camera until the desired image orientation is achieved.
Retighten the thumbscrew on the focuser drawtube when done. You may
need to slightly refocus (using the telescope’s focus knob) if the focuser
drawtube has moved a bit inward or outward when the camera was rotat-
ed.
11. When the image is focused and the image looks acceptable, press the
Stop button in the Camera Control Window.
12. Beneath the Mode box in the Camera Control Window select Single.
13. Click the Expose button in the Camera Control Window. An image will
appear in a window.
14. You can now save the image for later processing, if you wish. This is done
by selecting Save from the File menu.
You have captured your first image with the SSDSI-II! This simple method
of imaging is exactly how the camera could be used to capture terrestrial
subjects during daylight hours. Close-up images of birds and other wildlife or
faraway vistas can all be obtained in this way with the SSDSI-II. Solar images
can also be taken during the day with an optional full-aperture solar filter over
the front of the telescope.
Take some time to use the camera and Maxim DL Essential software during the
day to become familiar and comfortable with their basic operation.
Note: In the Camera Control Window, there is a Setup button. Clicking on
this button will allow you to toggle the High Speed Readout Mode on and
off. High Speed Readout Mode should generally be left on unless there is a
specific reason (i.e. your computer system cannot process the higher speed
readout) to turn it off.
Screen Stretch Window
The function of the Screen Stretch Window (Figure 9) is to properly map the
image brightness levels captured by the camera into corresponding image
brightness levels on the computer screen. A typical camera image has each
pixel (light detecting site, over 437,000 pixels form a single SSDSI-II image)
represented as a number (from 1 to 65535) depending on brightness. This has
to be mapped into the video monitor’s brightness range (from 1 to 255). It is
important to set the screen stretch appropriately, or a great image may look
terrible!
When an image is displayed, you will notice a graph in the Screen Stretch
Window. This is called the “histogram” of the currently displayed image (Figure
10). A histogram is a simple bar graph that shows the range of brightness in
an image. Each bar in the graph represents a level of brightness; the bar to
the far left in the histogram represents the dimmest pixels, and the bar to the
far right is for the brightest pixels. The height of the bar is the total number of
pixels at that brightness level in the image. Every image has a different histo-
gram depending on how much of the image is bright or dark. Directly viewing
the histogram of your image in the Screen Stretch Window provides an easy
interface for making decisions on how the screen stretch should be set.
In Maxim DL Essentials, the two parameters entered in the Screen Stretch
Window are Minimum and Maximum. A pixel that is at the Minimum value
is set to zero (black), and a pixel at the Maximum value is set to 255 (white).
An easy way to adjust the Maximum and Minimum values is to move the
slider arrows located directly under the histogram of the image in the Screen
Figure 9. The settings in the Screen Stretch Window greatly determine how an
image will appear on your computer screen.
Figure 10. A histogram is a visual
representation of the range and levels
of brightness in an image.
Number of pixels at brightness level
Range of brightness levels

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Stretch Window. The red slider arrow corresponds to the Minimum value and
the green arrow corresponds to the Maximum value. Simply left-click and then
drag each arrow to adjust it to the desired level. The best results are obtained
by adjusting the arrows (numbers) until the most pleasing display appears.
There are also seven automatic settings in the Screen Stretch Window.
Typically, Medium will give good results for deep sky objects, so the default
screen stretch setting is Medium.
Instead of using the Screen Stretch Window, it is faster to use the Quick
Stretch facility. This allows you to modify the image appearance instantly with
small up/down and left/right movements of the mouse. To do this, hold down
the Shift key, then left-click and drag the mouse on the image. You’ll find this
feature to be a great convenience when fine adjusting the screen stretch to get
an image to look its best.
The trick with stretching is determining exactly how to stretch the image for
best effect. Often there are several different possibilities for the same image.
Trial-and-error will be the best way to judge what the best screen stretch set-
ting is. Try several different settings until you find one you think looks best.
When the image is subsequently saved, the screen stretch setting information
will be kept when the image is next opened.
Astronomical Imaging
Now that you’re familiar with basic camera and software operation, it’s time to
take the SSDSI-II out at night under the stars to capture some astronomical
images. We recommend starting with the Moon, as it is easy to acquire into
the camera’s field of view, and typically does not require stacking of multiple
exposures as planetary and deep sky images do.
Imaging the Moon
Imaging the Moon is much like imaging terrestrial objects during the day. Since
the exposure is very short, it is not critical that the telescope mount be pre-
cisely polar aligned. Best focusing will be achieved by first focusing on a bright
star near the Moon. Start with short exposures of less than 0.1 seconds.
When the moon is past half full, it is hard to get detail due to the tremendous
glare off of the lunar surface. Most detail, even on a sliver of a moon, will be at
the terminator (the tiny thin line between the shadow and light, see Figure 12).
To get more of the moon in the image, a focal reducer will need to be used.
For close-ups of craters use a barlow lens (see “Using Focal Reducers and
Barlow Lenses”).
Imaging Planets
The best planetary images will be obtained by stacking (combining) many
individual images in order to improve image contrast, brightness, and detail.
Because the angular diameter of planets is quite small, you will need to use a
barlow lens between the SSDSI-II and telescope to extend the effective focal
length of the system and increase image scale (see “Using Focal Reducers
and Barlow Lenses”).
Since you will be taking multiple images over a period of time, it is important
the mount be polar aligned in order to keep the planet within the field of view
of the camera and to prevent image blurring due to poor tracking during each
exposure. To this end, you should also have the right ascension (R.A.) motor
drive engaged. Do not bother trying to obtain a perfect polar alignment, as that
will only be important for taking longer exposure images of deep sky objects;
most planetary exposures will be less than a few seconds.
To take multiple images of a planet for stacking:
1. Acquire the planet into the field of view of your telescope (barlow lens
attached) with an eyepiece and center the planet in the eyepiece’s field of
view. Focus the eyepiece with the telescope’s focuser.
2. Now, remove the eyepiece and replace it with the SSDSI-II.
3. In the Camera Control Window, set the Mode to Light Color 1x1. Set
Seconds (exposure time) to 0.5 seconds to begin with. In the box below
the Mode box, select Focus. Click the Expose button.
Figure 12. The Moon’s surface detail looks the best along the terminator.

Figure 13. The Combine Images window allows “stacking” of
individual images into one high-quality resultant image.
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4. Focus the camera using the telescope’s focus knob. The focus point for the
SSDSI-II will be approximately 15mm inwards from the eyepiece’s focus
point. If you are having trouble determining best focus, try focusing on a
bright star near the planet. Use the Planet setting in the Screen Stretch
Window. You can also use the histogram functions for most accurate
focus; this will be explained later (see “Focusing”). Click the Stop button in
the Camera Control Window when camera focus is achieved.
5. Now, in the box beneath the Mode box, choose Autosave. Set the number
of images you would like the camera to take under Autosave (start with 10
or so), select the file folder in which you would like to save the images with
Folder, and enter in a Base filename for the captured images. Typically the
name of the object being imaged, such as “Mars1”, will be entered here.
If “Mars1” is the Base filename, and you choose to Autosave five images,
then the images will appear in the selected file folder as “Mars1_0001.fit”,
“Mars1_0002.fit”, “Mars1_0003.fit”, “Mars1_0004.fit”, and “Mars1_0005.
fit”.
6. Click Expose, and the camera will commence capturing and saving the
images.
Now that we have multiple images of the planet, we will combine the images
to form one high-quality resultant image. To do this:
7. Select Open from the File menu. Find the folder you indicated with Folder,
open it, and select all images for stacking using the mouse left-click and
the Shift key. All of the individual images selected will open in Maxim DL
Essentials.
Note: In order to combine images, the images must first be opened in Maxim
DL Essentials.
8. Select Combine from the Process menu. In the pop-up window, you will
see all of the images currently open in Maxim DL Essentials. Choose the
individual images you want to stack and press the >> button, or simply
click Add All. Click the OK button when done.
9. The Combine Images window will appear (Figure 13). For Align Mode,
choose Planetary. In the Output box, select Average.
10. Now, you can see how each individual image looks by using the Next
Image and Previous Image buttons. If you see an image that looks poor,
you can reject it from the stack by clicking the Reject Image button.
Note: At least one image must be used as the reference image for the stacked
images to be overlaid upon. The default uses the first image for the reference
image. If you reject the first image or otherwise want to use another image as
the reference, click the Set As Reference button when the desired reference
image is actively displayed. If the image currently chosen as the reference is
rejected from the stack, and another reference image is not selected, you will
not be able to Overlay All Images.
11. Now, click the Overlay All Images button. All of the selected images will
stack on top of each other to form one resultant image. Click OK.
You have now composed your first planetary image. Use Save under the File
menu to save your image at this time. To make it look its best, you will want
to adjust the Screen Stretch Window to Planet. You may also want to do
some image processing, see the section entitled “Image Processing” for more
information.
Imaging Deep Sky Objects
To capture breathtaking images of deep sky objects, such as galaxies, nebu-
lae, and star clusters, much longer exposures are needed. As with planetary
imaging, you will take several individual images and stack them together to
form one high-quality resultant image. But while planetary images are formed
by stacking many exposures of less than 5 seconds, deep space images will
generally be comprised of individual images of a minute or longer!
Because of this, polar alignment and motor drive tracking must be very
accurate. If not, images will be blurred and stars will not appear round. Also,
because camera noise increases greatly over exposure time (due to internal
heat generation), you will need to suppress the inherent camera noise with
the built-in thermoelectric cooler (TEC). Make sure the 3VDC power supply is
plugged into the SSDSI-II.

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To start:
1. Acquire the deep sky object into the field of view of your eyepiece, and
center it in the eyepiece’s field of view. Focus the eyepiece with the tele-
scope’s focuser. Make sure your equatorial mount is well polar aligned, and
the R.A. motor drive is on and engaged.
2. Remove the eyepiece and replace it with the SSDSI-II.
3. Precisely focus the camera by using the telescope’s focus knob and the
Focus setting in the Camera Control Window. Set the Mode to Light Color
1x1, and try an exposure time of a few seconds to start. Use the Medium
setting in the Screen Stretch Window. The focus point for the SSDSI-II will
be approximately 15mm inwards from the eyepiece’s focus point. If you are
having trouble determining best focus, try focusing on a bright star near
the deep sky object. If there are no suitably bright stars in the camera’s
field of view, you may need to slew the telescope away from the deep sky
object to a bright star, focus on the bright star, and then re-center the deep
sky object in the camera. When you have a good focus, press the Stop
button in the Camera Control Window
4. Now, in the box under the Mode box in the Camera Control Window,
select AutoSave. Set the number of images you would like the camera
to take under Autosave (start with 5 or so), select the file folder in which
you would like to save the images with Folder, and enter in a Base file-
name for the captured images. Typically the name of the object being
imaged, such as “OrionNebula1”, will be entered here. If “OrionNebula1”
is the Base filename, and you choose to Autosave five images, then the
images will appear in the selected file folder as “OrionNebula1_0001.fit”,
“OrionNebula1_0002.fit”, “OrionNebula1_0003.fit”, “OrionNebula1_0004.
fit”, and “OrionNebula1_0005.fit”. Try exposures of 30 Seconds to start.
5. Click Expose, and the camera will commence taking the images.
Note: When the camera is taking long exposure images, it is critically important
not to touch, shake, or otherwise disturb the telescope, or a blurred image will
result. Also, make sure no surrounding light shines into the telescope during
the exposure.
Now that you have multiple images of the deep sky object, we will combine the
images to form one high-quality resultant image. To do this:
6. Select Open from the File menu. Find the folder you indicated with Folder,
open it, and select all images for stacking using the mouse left-click and
the Shift key. All of the individual images selected will open in Maxim DL
Essentials.
Note: In order to combine images, the images must first be opened in Maxim
DL Essentials
7. From the Process menu, select Combine.
8. In the Select Images window, click Add All. Then click OK.
9. The Combine Images window will appear. For Align Mode, choose Manual
1 star – shift only. (If you have field rotation due to a poor polar alignment,
then you can use the Manual 2 stars align mode.) In the Output box, select
Average. Make sure the Use Centroid and Auto Next boxes are checked.
10. Now, find a well-shaped (circular) star in the first image displayed. Use the
mouse to center the crosshairs on the selected star and left-click.
11. The next image will now be displayed; center the crosshairs on the same
star in this new image, and left-click again. Repeat this for all the open
images; a chime will sound when you have gone through all the open
images. (If you use the Manual 2 stars align mode, then select another
alignment star in the first image displayed after you hear the chime.)
12. If you find an image that looks poor, you can reject it by clicking the Reject
Image button. Use the Next Image (and/or Previous Image) button to con-
tinue going through the open images after an image is rejected.
Note: At least one image must be used as the reference image for the stacked
images to be overlaid upon. The default uses the first image for the reference
image. If you reject the first image or otherwise want to use another image as
the reference, click the Set As Reference button. If the image currently chosen
as the reference is rejected from the stack, you will not be able to Overlay All
Images.
13. Now, click the Overlay All Images button. All of the selected images will
stack on top of each other to form one resultant image. Click OK.
Adjust the Screen Stretch Window to Medium (or otherwise manually adjust
for best image appearance), and use Save under the File menu to save your
image. You can now perform any wanted imaging processing (see “Image
Processing”). To get the very best images, however, you should subtract “dark
frames” from images prior to stacking with the Combine function.
Dark Frames
To completely eliminate any remaining camera noise, you can take several
“dark frames”, average them, and subtract them from images before stacking.
A dark frame is an image taken with no external light coming into the camera.
What results is an image of the camera’s remaining background noise only.
When a dark frame containing the camera’s noise pattern is subtracted from
images (prior to combining them), the noise is essentially eliminated. The dark
frames can be taken before or after the “light” images are acquired, but if they
are taken beforehand, the dark frame subtraction process can be automated.
Note: To most effectively use dark frames to subtract noise out of resultant
SSDSI-II images, it is important to take dark frames close to the actual time of
taking the “light” images. This is because temperature changes will cause the
noise pattern in the SSDSI-II to change over time. So, it is best to take some
dark frames immediately before or after the “light” images are taken.

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Important Note: Dark frames (Dark Raw 1x1) should only be subtracted from
Light Raw 1x1 images. If you try to subtract dark frames from images that are
already color-converted (i.e. Light Color 1x1 images) the resultant image color
will be incorrect .
To take dark frames for subtraction from “light” images:
1. In the Camera Control Window, set the Mode to Dark Raw 1x1.
2. Set the exposure time to whatever you set it to (or will set it to) for taking
actual (“light”) images.
Note: When taking dark frames, do not change any of the settings in the Setup
button from what they were (or will be) when “light” images are taken.
3. In the box beneath the Mode box, choose Autosave. Now set the number of
dark frames you would like the camera to take under Autosave (3 to 10 will
generally suffice, as these will be averaged together), select the file folder
in which you would like to save the dark frames with Folder, and enter in a
Base filename for the captured dark frames. Typically the name of the object
being imaged with the word “dark” added, such as “OrionNebula1dark”,
will be entered here. If “OrionNebula1dark” is the Base filename, and
you choose to Autosave five images, then the images will appear in the
selected file folder as “OrionNebula1dark_0001.fit”, “OrionNebula1dark_
0002.fit”, “OrionNebula1dark_0003.fit”, “OrionNebula1dark_0004.fit”, and
“OrionNebula1dark_0005.fit”. Using the word “dark” in the Base filename
will help you distinguish between light and dark frames when combining
later.
4. Click Expose, and Maxim DL Essentials will indicate the camera needs to
be covered to take a dark frame. Cover the front of the lens you are imaging
through, and then click OK. The camera will commence taking and saving
the dark frames.
Now that you have acquired several dark frames, combine them into a single
averaged dark frame for subtraction from “light” images:
5. In the Process menu, select Setup Dark Subtract.
6. In the window that pops-up, click Remove All if any filenames appear in
the window.
7. Click Add, and select the file folder location for the dark frames taken.
Select the dark frames and click Open.
8. The selected dark frames will now appear in the pop-up window. Click OK.
The dark frames have now been averaged and stored into memory.
You are now ready to subtract the averaged dark frame from “light” images.
This should be done to individual light images BEFORE combining them
together. There are two ways to do this. If you take dark frames first, before
taking light images (using Light Raw 1x1), then you can automatically subtract
the averaged dark frame from each individual light image as it is captured. If
you take dark frames after you have already taken the light images (using Light
Raw 1x1), then you can subtract the averaged dark frame from each individual
image before you combine them into a single, final resultant image.
To automatically subtract the averaged dark frame from “light” images as they
are captured:
1. Setup the averaged dark frame as outlined previously.
2. Acquire the deep sky object into the field of view of your eyepiece, and cen-
ter it in the eyepiece’s field of view. Focus the eyepiece with the telescope’s
focuser. Make sure your equatorial mount’s motor drive is on and engaged.
Remove the eyepiece and replace it with the SSDSI-II. If the parfocal ring
was set properly on the eyepiece, the camera should be close to focused.
Precisely focus the camera by using the telescope’s focus knob and the
Fast Focus (or Focus) setting in the Camera Control Window.
3. In the Camera Control Window, click the Dark Subtract square so it is
checked. Once this box is checked, every subsequent light frame taken
with the camera will have the averaged dark frame automatically sub-
tracted.
4. Now, set the Mode to Light Raw 1x1. In the box under the Mode box, select
AutoSave. Set the number of images you would like the camera to take
under Autosave (start with 5 or so), select the file folder in which you would
like to save the images with Folder, and enter in a Base filename for the
captured images. Set the exposure time equal to that of the dark frames
taken prior.
5. Click Expose, and the camera will commence taking the images. When it
saves each image file to its designated Folder location, it will automatically
subtract the averaged dark frame.
6. Before these images are ready for stacking, they must be converted from
raw format to color format. To do this, open all images to be stacked in
Maxim DL Essentials. Click on one of the images and select Covert Raw
to Color from the Process menu. For convenience, there is a button on the
toolbar that you can click instead of using the menu. Now, click the Reset
Background Level and the Reset Scaling button (scaling can be used to
fine-tune the color balance later on). Make sure the Anti-Alias Filter box is
not selected. Click OK. Repeat this for all the open images.
These images have the averaged dark frame subtracted and have been color
converted. These are now ready for stacking (using the Combine function).
You can Save the individual images, or just save the combined image after
stacking.
If you have already taken your “light” images (remember that these must be
Light Raw 1x1 NOT Light Color 1x1), then you will need to manually subtract
the averaged dark frame from each image prior to stacking them into one
combined image. To do this:

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1. Open all “light” images to be stacked in Maxim DL Essentials. Do this with
the Open command in the File menu.
2. Click on one of the opened images, and select Dark Subtract from the
Process menu. The averaged dark frame has now been subtracted from
the selected “light” image. Repeat this process for all of the “light” images
opened in Maxim DL Essentials.
3. Before these images are ready for stacking, they must be converted from
raw format to color format. To do this, click on one of the opened images
and select Covert Raw to Color from the Process menu. For convenience,
there is a button on the toolbar that you can click instead of using the
menu. Now, click the Reset Background Level and the Reset Scaling but-
ton (scaling can be used to fine-tune the color balance later on). Make sure
the Anti-Alias Filter box is not selected. Click OK. Repeat this for all the
open images.
You can save each image after dark frame subtraction and color conversion
(using Save from the File menu), or you can just save the final combined image
once the individual images have been stacked using the Combine function.
Note that the Light Color 1x1 mode is really just for quick previewing how
an image might look, and is generally not often used. For most astronomical
imaging, the Light Raw 1x1 is the mode that should be used; this allows for
Dark Raw 1x1 frame subtraction, with subsequent color conversion with the
Convert Raw to Color command.
Light and Dark Mono 2x2 Modes
For added convenience and versatility, the SSDSI-II’s individual pixels (light-
detecting sites) can be “binned” into units of two-by-two pixels (i.e. four indi-
vidual pixels create one binned 2x2 pixel). This creates larger and more sensi-
tive pixels, but with decreased resolution. This can be useful for some types
of astronomical imaging, such as capturing faint nebulae. It can also be useful
for quick-checking the aiming of the telescope or framing of objects within the
field of view of the camera before using the normal Light Raw 1x1 mode to
actually capture images.
To use in “2x2” mode, select Light Mono 2x2 mode for capturing “light”
images, and Dark Mono 2x2 mode to capture dark frames for averaging and
subtracting. Images can be combined and processed in the same way as Light
Raw 1x1 images, except the Convert Raw to Color command does not apply
(as the 2x2 images are monochrome only).
Image Processing
After you have captured and combined individual images (with or without dark
frame subtraction) into a single resultant image, you may want to perform
some additional image processing to bring out subtle details or to make the
image appear more pleasing overall. Maxim DL Essentials contains several
functions which serve to do this. These can be found in the Process menu
Make Pixels Square
This command provides a one-step adjustment of the image aspect ratio.
It uses the pixel aspect ratio determined by the file header and interpolates
the image to make the aspect ratio 1:1. This generally has a very mild affect
when applied to images. For best results, this function should be applied to
individual images before stacking (for best image alignment), but can be used
after stacking as well.
To use this function, simply select Make Pixels Square from the Process menu
for any image currently opened in Maxim DL Essentials.
Filter
Filtering an image is an operation that emphasizes certain characteristics of
an image while suppressing others. MaxIm DL Essentials supports two kinds
of filters: Unsharp Mask and Gaussian Blur. In the Filter window (Image 14)
select which one of these filter types you would like to apply
Unsharp Mask is a method of sharpening or high-pass filtering an image. It
amounts to subtracting a low-pass filtered version of an image from itself. The
low-pass filtered version is called the mask. The Low-Pass Filter itself can
be set to Mild or Strong for different effect. Use Mask Weight to control the
strength of the mask applied to the image. The Mask Weight is in percent; the
higher the number, the stronger the mask.
Gaussian Blur is a method of blurring an image. It can be used to suppress
noise in an image at the expense of sharpness. The Radius setting controls
the amount of blurring applied to the image. Increasing the radius increases
the amount of blur applied.
For best results, turn on the Auto Full Screen preview button, and adjust the
settings. This allows you to rapidly adjust the settings until you are satisfied
with the results. Then, click OK to actually apply the filter settings to the
image.
It is best to use a light touch with this command, to avoid over-processing the
image. Over-processing can create artifacts; i.e. features in the image that are
not real. It also amplifies the noise in the image.

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Color Balance
The sensitivity of most CCD cameras as a function of wavelength (color) is dif-
ferent from the response of the human eye. The filters used for creating color
composites also have their own characteristics, as do the telescope optics.
Although “perfect” color rendition is an elusive if not impossible goal (all indi-
viduals see colors slightly differently), it is straightforward to get “good” color
balance with simple weightings. This is where the Color Balance command (in
the Process menu, Figure 15) comes in handy to touch up the resultant colors
in your images. Use the Preview Image to see how altering these parameters
will affect your image (or click the Full Screen button to see the changes
applied to your full image).
Color images from CCD cameras typically require a background level adjust-
ment. This is accomplished by bringing the background level (or bias) in each
color plane down to zero. Each of the Background Level values is subtracted
from every image pixel in its color plane. Any pixel values that become nega-
tive are forced to zero. The Auto button automatically determines the settings
necessary to equalize the image background in all three color planes. The
Reset button resets the background level subtraction to zero on all planes.
Scaling adjustment (entered as a percentage) allows you to compensate for
transmittance differences between the filters used to acquire the three color
planes. Values of 100% result in no change. The scaling percentages can be
typed in or adjusted using the “spin” controls (small up and down click arrows
to the right of the scaling numbers). The Preview Image is particularly helpful
in monitoring the results when using the spin controls. The Reset Scaling but-
ton resets to 100% on all three planes.
The Click On White Area to Set Scaling check box enables the operation of
the mouse to set the scaling. Set the Background Level first (you can use
Auto), then click on a white object (e.g. a neutral-colored star) in the image (not
the Preview Image) with the mouse. The Scaling settings will automatically
be adjusted to make the selected point appear white. If an area of the image
is known to be white (or gray), this is an easier way to determine the scaling
factors, and can be used to instantly color balance the image.
Stretch
The Stretch command (located in the Process menu, Figure 16) modifies the
brightness and contrast, and optionally the range (maximum and minimum
pixel values) of an image. Unlike the screen stretch settings in the Screen
Stretch Window, which only affects the how an image appears on the com-
puter screen, the Stretch command actually changes the image data pixel
values in the memory buffer. In reference to the histogram, the Screen Stretch
Window changes how the histogram is displayed on the computer screen, the
Stretch command alters the histogram itself.
There are three elements which must be set: the Permanent Stretch Type, the
Input Range, and the Output Range. You can use the Preview Image to see
how changing these parameters will affect the resultant image (or click the
Full Screen button to see the changes applied to your actual image). You can
also open the Screen Stretch Window to see how changing these parameters
change the histogram.
Figure 14. The Filter functions can help bring out subtle detail
in an image.
Figure 15. The Color Balance command allows weighting of
each color plane to improve the overall color appearance of an
image.

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For the Permanent Stretch Type, the Linear Only mode is useful for adjusting
the range of pixels to match a particular file format. The Log mode is useful
for compressing the dynamic range of the image, but can be rather harsh. The
Gamma mode allows you to selectively emphasize bright or dim parts of the
image by entering a suitable Gamma Value. A Gamma of 1 has no effect, less
than 1 will emphasize faint details, while a value greater than 1 will emphasize
bright details.
The Input Range can be set to Screen Stretch, which in Linear Mode pro-
duces an output matching the current screen appearance. This is useful in
producing final images for output to 8-bit image formats which have limited
range. Note that the minimum and maximum values are always taken from the
screen stretch settings for the original image. These can be adjusted dynami-
cally using, for example, Quick Stretch. The Max Pixel selection sets the input
range from 0 to the brightest pixel in the image. This prevents any image pix-
els from being saturated in the final result, but may produce images with low
contrast. You can also manually set values with Manual Settings in a similar
fashion to the Screen Stretch Window.
The Output Range is used when preparing a file to be saved in a format that
has limited range. The Output Range maps minimum input to zero, and maxi-
mum input to 255, 4095, or 65535 depending on the settings. Any values that
exceed the limits are clipped. The Unlimited setting disables all limiting and is
recommended when performing Gamma and Log stretches; it is appropriate
when the image will be saved in floating point format.
Recommended Processing Sequence
What is the best order to apply the processing functions in? Here is a recom-
mended sequence:
1. Dark Subtract
2. Convert Raw to Color
3. Make Pixels Square
4. Combine
5. Filter
6. Color Balance
7. Stretch
For convenience, you can Make Pixels Square after the combine, unless align-
ment requires rotating the images (i.e. Manual 2 stars is used as the Align
Mode in the Combine Images window). If you need to rotate the images by
more than a small amount, then you should make them square first to avoid
geometric distortion between the frames.
Once you have the combined image, there is a lot more room for experimenta-
tion and tinkering. Be sure to Save a copy of the combined image; otherwise
you might have to go back to the beginning and stack individual images
again!
Note on File Format
When saving images (using Save or Save As in the File menu), you have a
choice of file formats. The default produces .fit files, but .tif, .jpg, .png, and
.bmp file formats can also be selected. Having a choice of output file formats
is useful, especially if images will be exported to other software programs for
additional image processing (like Adobe Photoshop, for instance).
If you save to a file format other than .fit, you will need to check the Auto
Stretch box, or otherwise Stretch the image to change the Output Range (in
the Stretch command window) to match the Size Format (in the Save As win-
dow). Otherwise, the Output Range will likely exceed the Size Format, and the
saved image will be ruined (will turn all white).
For example, say the Output Range is set to create image brightness values in
16-bit format, while the Size Format of a specific file format (.jpg, for example)
may only support 8-bits. Since the 16-bit format sees 65535 brightness levels,
and the 8-bit format can only support 255 levels, all of the levels above 255
in the 16-bit image (i.e. the vast majority of the 16-bit brightness levels) will
be saved at the maximum 8-bit value of 255. So the saved .jpg will have very
little brightness information from levels 1 to 254 and almost all the brightness
information at level 255. Thus a white image results.
If you plan to do all image processing within MaxIm DL Essentials Edition
(or the optional full version of MaxIm DL), saving images in the FITS (.fit) File
Format using the IEEE Float Size Format is recommended. This ensures that
Figure 16. The Stretch command modifies the data contained
within the image in order to improve contrast and brightness.

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all saved data will be kept intact. If another Size Format is utilized, there may
be some loss of data, especially when saving combined images.
Batch Process
Batch Process can be used to process multiple images simultaneously using
the various commands available in MaxIm DL Essentials Edition. The first step
is to select a set of images or files.
Image files can be selected from disk using the Select Files button. You can
browse to a location on the disk where your image files are located, and select
a number of files. Use CTRL-click to select individual files, and SHIFT-click to
select a range of files. You can see the path for the selected files by turning on
the Show Path check box.
You can also select images already open in MaxIm DL Essentials Edition by
clicking the Select Images button. The window that pops-up will indicate all
the images currently open. Again, use CTRL-click and/or SHIFT-click to select
multiple images. Click OK when done.
You can subsequently remove selected images and files from the Batch
Process list by selecting them with the mouse and clicking the Remove but-
ton.
Once all input images have been selected, use the Processing Commands
settings to specify which of the commands from the Edit and Process menus
will be applied to each of the selected images. Each selected command will be
run automatically on each input image. The individual commands must already
be set up with the settings you wish to use. The individual commands are run
in the same order that you specify them in the dropdown lists.
Select the location for the saved files using the Path button, or click Write
Output to Source Folder to cause the files to be saved back into the folder
from which they were loaded. (This option cannot be used when an image has
never been saved, for example, one freshly acquired from a camera.) In the
event that saving a file will cause it to overwrite an existing file, you can select
skip save, overwrite it, or move to subfolder. You can specify the subfolder
name in the adjacent field. Use Size Format to select between 16-Bit Integer
and 32-Bit IEEE Float formats for the processed images. To keep all processed
image data intact (especially for stacked images), we recommend using the
32-Bit IEEE Float format. If you need to open the resultant files in another pro-
gram, however, you may need to use the 16-Bit Integer format.
Click OK to start the Batch Process operation. Successfully converted and
saved files are removed from the list box, leaving only those for which an error
occurred. In this case, the OK button will change to Retry. To find out what
error occurred, point the mouse cursor at an image name in the list. The appro-
priate error message will appear in the Status Bar at the bottom of the MaxIm
DL Essentials Edition main window.
Using The SSDSI-II As An Autoguider
A great feature of the SSDSI-II is its ability to be used as an autoguider for tele-
scope mounts. You can use the SSDSI-II to autoguide a mount while images
are being taken with another camera, such as a DSLR or another SSDSI-II.
Tracking errors are usually sufficiently small on short duration images (15 to
90 seconds depending on the mount) that guiding is not required. Therefore
a series of short exposure images can be taken and combined together later
using the Combine command. However, in many cases a single long exposure
is superior due to the elimination of extra readout noise and the residual blur-
ring caused in realigning the images.
When taking long exposures with astronomical telescopes, motorized tracking
is required to compensate for the Earth’s rotation. Most telescope mounts do
not track accurately enough for long-exposure imaging without some form of
additional “guiding”. Manual guiding can be done by an observer watching a
star (“guide star”) through a telescope (“guide scope”) mounted next to the
main imaging telescope (on the same mount). The observer makes manual
corrections to the motor drives via a pushbutton hand controller to keep the
star centered in the guide scope’s eyepiece over time. In this way the track-
ing accuracy of the main telescope (with imaging camera attached) can be
assured. Stars in the resultant images will be crisp and round. Manual guiding
can be very tiresome and tedious, however, especially if taking many long
exposures throughout the night.
The SSDSI-II can be used as an “autoguider” to take the place of the observer
so that no manual guiding corrections are needed during long exposure imag-
ing. Keep in mind, however, that when the SSDSI-II is used in this way, you will
need another telescope and camera (such as a DSLR or a second SSDSI-II)
on the mount to actually take images with; the SSDSI-II takes the place of the
observer viewing through the guide scope, but cannot autoguide and image
at the same time.
So, in order to use the SSDSI-II as an autoguider, the following equipment will
be required:
• Astronomical telescope mount capable of accepting autoguider drive com-
mands.
• Cable to connect computer (serial port) to mount’s autoguider jack (mount
specific).
• Main telescope for imaging.
• Camera for imaging.
• Guide scope for guiding.
• Any required rings or brackets for guide scope attachment to the mount
along with the main telescope.

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Computer to Mount Connection
In order for autoguiding with the SSDSI-II to work, you need a way to send
commands from the computer to the telescope mount. This is generally done
with a cable connecting the computer’s serial (COM) port to the mount’s auto-
guider jack; this cable is generally mount specific, so contact the dealer you
purchased your mount from for the proper cable for your mount.
If your telescope mount is supported by the ASCOM platform, it is a simple
task to setup the autoguider to send commands (through the computer) to the
telescope mount. To do this:
1. Insert the included CD-ROM into your computer.
2. When the Launcher appears (Figure 4), click on the Install ASCOM button
and follow the automatic ASCOM platform installer instructions. Restart
your computer as indicated when done.
3. Connect the SSDSI-II to your computer and open the Maxim DL Essentials
software.
4. In the Camera Control Window, click on the Guide tab (Figure 17).
5. Click on the Settings button.
6. In the window that pops-up (Figure 18), select ASCOM for the Autoguider
Output Control Via. Click the Setup button under the Autoguider Output
heading.
7. The ASCOM Telescope Chooser (Figure 19) will appear. Select your tele-
scope model from the provided choices. If your model does not appear, it
is not supported by the ASCOM platform.
8. After you have selected your telescope model, click the Properties but-
ton.
9. In the window that pops-up, choose your specific Scope Type and desired
Serial Port where the computer will send commands to the mount. Click
OK when done.
10. Click OK in the ASCOM Telescope Chooser window.
11. In the Settings window, click the Close button.
Figure 18. The autoguider Settings window is where the Autoguider Output is
defined.
Figure 19. The ASCOM Telescope Chooser provides an easy way to establish a
computer-to-mount communications link if the mount is supported by the ASCOM
platform.
Figure 17. The Guide tab in the Camera Control Window is where the SSDSI’s
autoguider functions can be accessed.

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Some telescope mounts, such as the Orion Atlas EQ-G and Sirius EQ-G, uti-
lize an “ST-4 compatible” autoguider jack. For easiest autoguiding with these
mounts, we recommend purchasing the optional USB Guide Port interface
(GPUSB). This adapter box will translate the autoguiding computer commands
from MaxIm DL Essentials into ST-4 pulse commands. The GPUSB connects
to the computer’s USB port instead of the COM port. A cable then connects
the GPUSB to the mount. In addition to installing the ASCOM platform on your
computer (from the Install ASCOM button in the Launcher), you will need
to install the GPUSB ASCOM driver (downloadable from the Orion website,
www.OrionTelescopes.com). Then, you can select the GPUSB in the ASCOM
Telescope Chooser.
Other telescope mounts accept commands in the “LX200 Protocol”. For these
mounts, it is not necessary to install the ASCOM platform to have the com-
puter “talk” to the mount. To setup the autoguider for mounts that use the
LX200 Protocol:
1. Connect the SSDSI-II to your computer and open the Maxim DL Essentials
software.
2. In the Camera Control Window, click on the Guide tab.
3. Click on the Settings button.
4. In the window that pops-up, select LX200 Protocol for the Autoguider
Output Control Via. Select the COM Port of the computer you would like
to use to send commands to the telescope
5. Click the Apply button, then click the Close button.
Autoguider Calibration
In order to properly control the mount, you must calibrate the system. The
exact orientation of the SSDSI-II, the focal length of the guide telescope
optics, and the speed of the motor drive all affect the calibration. To perform
autoguider calibration:
1. Switch to the Guide tab.
2. Set the X and Y Aggr (aggressiveness) to 8 to start with. Set the Exposure
to 1.0 second. Under Guide Star, make sure the Watch box is checked.
Note: The X and Y Aggr (aggressiveness) controls on the Guide tab allows
you to adjust how vigorously star motions are tracked out in each axis. An
aggressiveness setting of 10 means that the SSDSI-II attempts to track out
100% of the motion, whereas a setting of 1 means that the SSDSI-II only tracks
out 10% of the motion. Usually a setting of around 8 or 9 provides the best
tracking, since it reduces overshoot and helps ignore random motions due to
atmospheric seeing and wind loads. You should experiment to determine the
best setting for your particular telescope.
3. Click the Settings button.
4. Maxim DL Essentials needs to know how fast the telescope moves in right
ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.) when the autoguider commands
are issued. To do this, the software will Calibrate the mount by moving it
back and forth on each axis. The Calibration Time determines how long it
activates the motors each time. The usual value is 5-10 seconds; start out
with a value of 5.
5. Make sure all of the Guider Enables boxes are checked.
6. For Autoguider Output, set Control Via and COM Port as required for your
telescope equipment. See “Computer to Mount Connection” if you have
not already done this.
7. Click Apply. You can leave this dialog box open, or Close it if you wish.
8. Make sure that the telescope mount is set to move at 1X sidereal or slower.
For some mounts, you must set the guide rate manually. The maximum
usable rate is 1X sidereal. If your mount does not drift quickly, then 0.1X is
recommended; otherwise use a value between 1X and 0.1X.
9. On the Guide tab, set to Expose, and click the Start button. A single image
will be taken. Ensure that a well-focused bright star (near the actual object
to be imaged) appears in the image. If not, adjust the guide scope and try
again. Make sure the star is roughly centered.
Note: The algorithm can be confused if another star appears in the frame; to
minimize this risk, calibrate on an isolated bright star.
10. Now, set to Calibrate, and click the Start button. A series of five exposures
will be taken; each time the telescope will be moved slightly. If the tele-
scope does not move, check the Settings. Remember, you have to set up
a method for sending the autoguider commands to the telescope!
11. The star should move in an L shape. If it does not move enough, a warning
message will appear. The recorded positions will be displayed in the scroll-
ing log, along with any error messages.
Note: If the star does not move far enough, or moves too far (i.e. the star leaves
the field), the duration of the calibration move commands can be adjusted
by clicking the Settings command and changing the Calibration Time fields
(measured in seconds). A longer calibration time will increase the motion of the
star; a shorter time will decrease the motion. Typical values range from five to
ten seconds, depending on the correction speed, focal length, and pixel size.
12. Once you have successfully calibrated, switch to the Track mode. Click
Start, and watch the star. It should move to the center of the small track
box, and whenever it drifts off it should be pulled back again. You can
zoom in the window for a better look. Also the tracking errors will be dis-
played in the scrolling log.
13. If the star bounces back and forth, reduce the aggressiveness for that
axis. If it corrects too slowly, increase the aggressiveness. Changes to the
aggressiveness settings take effect immediately.

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You are now ready to take a long-exposure image through the main telescope
and imaging camera. The SSDSI-II will continuously send small correction
factors to the mount’s motor drive to insure steady and accurate tracking
throughout the duration of the exposure, however long that may be.
Other Autoguiding Notes:
• If you are using a German equatorial mount you must calibrate with the tube
on the same side of the mount as it will be when actually imaging.
• The calibration settings need changing if you move the telescope in declina-
tion by more than about five degrees. Select another bright star, and Calibrate
again.
• If you experience bad guiding in declination and cannot resolve it through
adjusting the calibration or aggressiveness, you may have a stiction problem
with your declination drive. Watch which way the star drifts, and turn off the
Guider Enable checkbox (in the Settings window) that pushes the star in that
direction. That will prevent the stiction cycle from happening.
• Make sure that any backlash compensation in the mount is turned off.
• On most telescopes, the Right Ascension drive likes to have some load push-
ing against sidereal tracking. If the mount is balanced such that it is pulling the
mount forwards slightly, the gear teeth may bounce back and forth resulting in
terrible guiding that cannot be corrected by an autoguider. Be sure to always
balance the telescope such that it “lifting the weight” rather than “allowing it
to fall”; i.e. heavier on the East side. Note that this may require balancing the
telescope differently when it is pointed East versus West.
Use of Two SSDSI-II
One very nice feature of the MaxIm DL Essentials software is the ability to
control two SSDSI-II cameras simultaneously. This way, you only need one
computer and software program to image and autoguide at the same time.
This feature is also compatible with older SSDSI cameras.
Plug both cameras, one at a time, into the USB ports they will occupy on your
computer. Install the drivers for each camera as detailed prior in this instruc-
tion manual. Now, open the MaxIm DL Essentials software. In the Camera
Control Window that appears, you will notice the Cam 1 and Cam 2 selection
circles are now active in the Expose tab. Choose which camera you would like
to image with by clicking on the appropriate selection circle. You may want to
take a short test exposure with each camera just to make sure everything is
working OK.
Now, click on the Guide tab. You will again see the Cam 1 and Cam 2 selection
circles, and the camera not currently selected for imaging (in the Expose tab)
should now be automatically selected for autoguiding.
Other Features Of Maxim DL
Essentials
Edit Menu
Flip - Flips image orientation. “Folds” image about vertical center.
Mirror – Creates mirror image of current image orientation.
Crop – Lets you select an area of the total image, and then discards the
remainder of the image. Use your computer’s mouse and left-click button to
select the region of the image you wish to keep, and click the OK button to
discard the rest of the image.
Undo/Redo - Lets you step “backward” and “forward” during image process-
ing. If you perform a function improperly or do not like the results, you can
select Undo to return the image to its prior appearance. Redo performs the
“undone” function once again
View Menu
Zoom – Increases or decreases level of image magnification on computer
screen. When you zoom in too much, you will start to see the squares of indi-
vidual pixels. When zoomed in, you can use Quick Pan; simply hold down the
Ctrl key, then left-click and drag the mouse on the image.
Night Vision – Toggles Night Vision mode. The red background helps preserve
your night vision.
FITS Header Window - The FITS Header Window can be used to inspect the
image FITS header, which stores information about the image. FITS is the stan-
dard storage format for astronomical images. The window can remain open as
a floating toolbox without interfering with other commands. If several images
are opened at once, you can view the FITS header of each image by clicking
on it with the mouse. Note that if you make changes to the image, they are not
reflected in the viewer until the image is saved.
Toolbar - Selecting this creates a toolbar of “quick command” buttons at the
top of the MaxIm DL Essentials program window. This can be a handy way to
perform functions, especially when in the field and wearing gloves!
Status Bar - This command toggles the display of the Status Bar on and off.
The Status Bar displays information on the current operation (when high-
lighted in its selection menu but not actually selected yet), the contrast ratio
for the selected open image, the size of the currently selected image, the zoom
factor, the coordinates of the mouse on the image, the intensity of the pixel
under the cursor, and for color images, the red, green, and blue intensities of
the pixel under the cursor.

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Window Menu
New Window – This creates a second view of the currently selected image.
The new view can be independently panned and zoomed, but will have the
same stretch as the original window.
Fit to Image - This toggles the Fit to Image mode on and off. The Fit to Image
mode causes the window for the image to be adjusted to the same size as the
image. If the view is zoomed out, the window will shrink with it. If the view is
zoomed in, the window will grow until it fills the main window.
Cascade, Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically – These functions alter the way
multiple open image frames are arranged and displayed within MaxIm DL
Essentials Edition. These functions are very useful for organizing the visual
display when processing large numbers of raw images for stacking.
Restore All - This command will restore all minimized image windows to the
position they had within the MaxIm DL application window at the time they
were minimized. This can be handy for sorting images. For example, when
inspecting a set of images, you can close the ones you want to reject, and
minimize the ones you want to keep. Once all the images have been reviewed
you can restore the minimized windows to their original size and position.
Arrange Icons - Image windows can be minimized, at which point they
become small bars (icons). If these have become scattered about the main
application window, the Arrange Icons command will stack them neatly at the
bottom of the window.
Help Menu
Help Topics – Click on this if you have any questions. This is an extensive
resource, and should be consulted often. Under the Index tab, type in “Help
Topics” and press Enter on your keyboard. This will give a primer on how to
most effectively use and access the Help files.
About MaxIm DL – Gives the version number of the software.
Note: The Open or Convert AVI File command in the File menu is for the
StarShoot Solar System Imager, not he SSDSI-II.
Tips
Polar Alignment
Good telescope mount polar alignment is of critical importance for long-expo-
sure CCD imaging. Inaccurate polar alignment leads to image movement over
time (even with motor drives running and engaged), which limits the amount of
time an exposure can be taken before the stars begin to streak and blur.
If your equatorial mount uses a polar axis finder scope, we highly recom-
mend 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 consum-
ing, 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 North Star).
2. Find a bright star near the meridian (the imaginary line running north-to-
south through zenith) and near the celestial equator (zero degrees declina-
tion). Point the telescope at this star, and center it in an illuminated reticle
eyepiece (available from Orion). If you don’t have an illuminated reticle
eyepiece, use your highest- magnification eyepiece.
3. Determine which way is north and south in the eyepiece by moving the
telescope 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 azi-
muth 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. When this is accomplished, you are very accurately
polar aligned, and should be able to produce good (unguided) images of up
to several minutes long, assuming the mount’s drives track well with little
periodic error.

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Focusing
One of the hardest things to do in imaging is achieving good focus. You can
simply watch the computer screen to focus (Focus in the Camera Control
Window), but you can focus “by the numbers” on a bright star to get the best
focus possible. To do this:
1. In the Camera Control Window, select Light Raw 1x1 mode.
2. Set the exposure time to 1 to 5 Seconds, depending on how bright the star
is.
3. Turn off Dark Subtract.
4. Now beneath the Mode selector, pick Focus, and then click Expose. The
camera will take repeated exposures, until you click Stop.
5. Point the telescope at a bright star, and you can focus “by the numbers”:
• MaxPixel is the value of the brightest pixel in the image. When you are
in focus, it will be at its highest value. You will need to look at the value
for several images in succession, because the number will bounce around
with the seeing.
Note: If the MaxPixel reaches 65535, the image is saturated and all three focus
numbers will be inaccurate. Either pick a fainter star, adjust the camera’s
Analog Gain settings using the Setup button, or use a shorter exposure time.
• FWHM, or Full-Width Half Maximum, is the width of the star half-way
down the sides. This provides a highly accurate measurement when you
are close to focus. When you are at focus, it will be at its lowest value.
This number will vary due to seeing, so it is best to look at several images
before decided.
• HFD, or Half Flux Diameter, is similar to FWHM, but works much better
than FWHM when the star is badly out of focus. It can produce a usable
number even when the star looks like a donut.
Refocus often throughout your imaging session. This ensures at least some
of your images will have an excellent focus. It is also not uncommon for tele-
scope motions or movements to alter the focus slightly, so be sure to refocus
after slewing to any new astro-imaging targets.
Choosing a Site for Astro-imaging
Once you have a focused image, you may find your image shifting and washed
out. This can be caused by many environmental factors. Poor seeing (move-
ment of molecules in the air, such as heat rising) and poor transparency (mois-
ture, smoke, or other sky contaminants) will all serve to reduce image quality.
That is why most major astronomical telescopes are on high mountains in thin
air, to get above much of the transparency and seeing problems. Also, wind
will move your telescope and affect images. Your eyes viewing through an
eyepiece can change slightly to compensate for disturbances like these, but
the camera can not. Keep these factors in mind when choosing an observing
site for astronomical imaging.
For the best astro-images, we recommend finding a location with dry air, some
altitude, and away from city or streetlights. Even a nearby hilltop in the coun-
tryside can provide better viewing conditions than many convenient backyard
locations.
Loss of Camera Connection
If the computer connection to the camera is interrupted, you will need to
re-establish connection. This can happen due to several reasons; if a cable
becomes unplugged, the computer “freezes”, or the software/hardware other-
wise temporarily loses the data coming from the camera.
To re-establish camera connection, first close the Maxim DL Essentials pro-
gram on your computer. Then, unplug and re-plug the camera into the com-
puter’s USB port. Now, open Maxim DL Essentials, and the Camera Control
Window should appear indicating re-established connection between camera
and computer.
Using Focal Reducers and Barlow Lenses
Focal reducers and barlow lenses change the effective focal length of a tele-
scope. These lenses are inserted between the camera and telescope when
imaging to change image scale.
Focal reducers serve to decrease the focal length of your telescope. This
increases the field of view seen by the camera (decreases camera magnifi-
cation). This can be very useful for obtaining images of wide-field deep sky
objects, such as the Andromeda Galaxy or the Pleadies star cluster. Focal
reducers will usually thread onto the nosepiece of the SSDSI-II.
Barlow lenses increase the focal length of your telescope, which makes the
camera’s field of view narrower (increases camera magnification). This is useful
for planetary imaging. Keep in mind that when the focal length is doubled, the
image will become four times dimmer, so a longer exposure may be necessary.
Barlow lenses are generally inserted in the focuser’s drawtube and secured
with the thumbscrew on the focuser’s drawtube, and the SSDSI-II’s nosepiece
is inserted into the barlow and secured with the thumbscrew on the barlow
lens.
Filters
Any standard Orion 1.25" filter will thread into the front of the SSDSI-II’s barrel.
For some types of planetary imaging, you may want to use color filters to bring
out subtle details. Try using several different color filters on a planet to see
which filters help best show planetary details.