QSI 600 Series User manual

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600 Series User Guide
Revision 4
July 2019
Disclaimer:
The specification in this document are subject to change without notice.
All trademarks are properties of their respective owners,
and are used herein for informational purposes only.
Quantum Scientific Imaging
Phone [phone]

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Table of Contents
1. GETTING STARTED page 4
What’s in the box
Get to know your camera
Install software and drivers
Confirm installation and camera operation
A basic guide to getting started with SGP
2. CAMERA FEATURES AND OPERATION page 12
Camera attachment options
Attach the camera to the telescope
Electrical connections
DC power connector
USB connector
Guide port
Cooling the camera
Standard air cooling
Liquid assisted cooling
How much cooling is enough
Controlling the cooler
Internal colour filter wheel
Advanced setup options
Camera selection
Status indicators
Image options
Others options
Enable pixel masking
Status and notification
Camera status indicators
Audible beeper
Imaging application messages
3. CCD IMAGING OVERVIEW page 28
How CCD’s work
Types of CCD’s
Full frame CCD’s
Interline CCD’s

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Anti-blooming CCD’s
Microlenses
Single shot colour CCD’s
Single versus noise
Reducing noise in CCD images
Dark frames
Flat fields
Bias frames
Stacking images
Colour images
4. ACCESSORIES page 39
T-mount adapter
2” nosepiece
1.25” nosepiece
C-mount adapter
SLR lens adapter
Liquid heat exchanger
Recirculating pump
Colour filter wheel
5. CARE AND MAINTENANCE page 42
Cleaning the exterior
Installing or removing colour filters
Installing or removing 31mm colour filters
Installing the 8 position filters
Cleaning the colour filters
Cleaning the CCD cover glass
Recharging the desiccant
Technical support
6. Appendices page 48
Appendix A - specifications
Appendix B - warranty
Appendix C - notices

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Getting Started
Thank you for your purchase of a QSI Camera.
The QSI 600 Series family of cooled CCD cameras is designed to produce scientific - grade
images with wide dynamic range, excellent linearity and low noise. Your QSI camera will provide
years of service if properly treated and maintained. To get the most from your camera, we
recommend that you read this User Guide thoroughly and follow the included precautions.
If you’re in a hurry to try out your new camera and are familiar with the general operation of
CCD cameras, this “Getting Started” section provides the basic information you will need to
setup your camera and take your first image.
The QSI 600 Series Camera Family Showing Different Body Configurations
What’s in the box
Your QSI 600 Series camera was shipped in a soft travel case with custom-cut foam to provide
protection. Please take a few minutes to examine your camera to make sure that it has arrived
in good condition, and that the case contains the items listed below. Note that additional items
purchased at the time of order may be included as well.

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• Camera body
• Nosepiece - 2” or 1 ¼” depending on configuration
• Mounting adapter - standard T-mount, or optional mounting adapter
• Body cap - matching body cap for mounting adapter
• AC Power Adapter - Universal AC power supply (100-240VAC, 50-60Hz) with
detachable, region-specific AC power cord
• USB Cable - 10 ft. USB 2.0 cable
• Guider Cable - 10 ft. guider cable with modular connectors on each end
•Tools - tool kit for camera maintenance
• Documentation envelope containing the following:
◦ Quick Start Guide
◦ CD-ROM or USB flash stick containing the Installation program, the USB and camera
drivers, and the Installation Guide and this User Guide in PDF format.
◦ A licence and download link for Sequence Generator Pro.
Take a few minutes to familiarise yourself with the external connections and
features of your camera

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The image above shows the major external features of a typical QSI 600 Series
camera with the 5-position internal colour filter wheel. The depth of the Camera Cover
on your camera may differ depending on the internal options installed. 8-position
CFW models have a larger front cover. See the “QSI 600 Series WSG User Guide
Supplement” for additional details on WSG models with Integrated Guider Port.
Please note: The liquid heat exchanger is not available for the larger body cameras,
such as the QSI 6162

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Install software and drivers
Note: For the most up to date version of the software and guides please go to
https://qsimaging.com/drivers-software/
The QSI 600 series cameras include either a CD or a USB flash drive containing the drivers for
the cameras plus plug-in’s for Astroart and MaximDL.
Note: Do not connect your camera to your computer until instructed to do so during the
camera installation process.
Either insert the supplied CD/flash drive or go to https://qsimaging.com/drivers-software/ to
download the latest software. Navigate to the QSIinstaller.exe file and double click this file to
launch it. After a confirmation window, you will be presented with the window below.
Select all the tick boxes that you require and select Next. Once the installer has completed you
will be presented with the window below, select Finish and the installation is complete.

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Plug in the camera.
Please plug in the power supply followed by the USB cable, your computer will now finish the
installation and you should see two new devices in windows device manager as shown below.
Confirm installation and camera operation
After the successful installation of the camera and the associated software is complete, you can
quickly test your camera with SGP or the software application of choice. Please connect the
power lead and the USB lead before turning the power on to the camera. Alternatively insert the
power connector and wait for the camera to boot before plugging in the USB.

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A basic guide to help you get started with SGP
Note: This will also apply to any other control software when connecting through ASCOM.
Download Sequence Generator Pro from the link on the card included with your camera,
register the software using the serial number included on the card.
Open SGP and you will be presented with the screen as shown below.
Select QSI Camera and QSI Filter Wheel as shown below and power your camera on if it isn’t
already on.

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Select the settings icon. You will be presented with the screen below.
Once the camera has been correctly identified it will be named as the connected camera in the
pull-down box. Please select the camera and click on OK.

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Once your camera has booted up successfully select “connect” and the camera will connect to
the software.After the camera has been set up in ASCOM you will then need to set up the filter
wheel. Click on the setting button as above and you will be presented with the screen below
once the filter wheel has been located.
Please click on OK and connect the filter wheel in SGP
Select a save path in the directory box, and ensure there is a tick in the “Run” box on the first
line of the sequencer, set the exposure time and run the sequence. This will then take your first
image.
Sequence Generator Pro is a fully featured image acquisition software with may advance
features, to take full advantage of all of its many functions please see the Main Sequence
Software website for tutorials and helpful video files http://mainsequencesoftware.com/Support
Your downloaded images will be in a standard 16 bit FITS image format, this format can be read
by all astronomical processing software for processing and calibration of your images.

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SECTION 2
Camera Features and Operation
Camera attachment options
The camera can be attached to your telescope or lens in a variety of ways. The image above
shows the industry standard T-Adapter with an attached 2" nosepiece. An optional 1.25"
nosepiece is also available. The T-Adapter is compatible with a wide variety of standard
accessories. A larger diameter 2.156” adapter is available for WSG models.
An optional C-Adapter adapter is also available. The C-Adapter replaces the T-Adapter and is
compatible with many standard lenses, lens mounting accessories and other equipment such
as microscopes.
Note: The T-Adapter has industry standard 42mm diameter x 0.75 mm pitch threads. The
C-Adapter has industry standard 1” x 32TPI threads. Always make certain that any device you
attempt to thread into either adapter has proper matching threads. Some optical components
have threads that look like they might work, but have slightly different dimensions. Never force
thread anything into the adaptors.
Attach the camera to your telescope
The picture below shows a QSI 500 Series camera with 2" nosepiece being fitted to the 2"
focusing tube of a refracting telescope. Always use the largest nosepiece that your telescope
will allow to minimize any vignetting of your image.

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With the correct diameter nosepiece firmly screwed in to the front of the camera, carefully guide
the nosepiece into the eyepiece adapter on your telescope. Tighten any retaining screw or
screws to ensure the camera is stable and will not slip or move when the orientation of the
telescope changes.
Electrical connections
The image at the left is a close- up of the bottom
of the camera body. All electrical connections to
the camera are made through the three
connectors located on this connector panel. The
panel is recessed into the camera body to
protect the connectors when no cables are
attached.
DC power connector
The camera is ordinarily powered by the included AC power adapter which plugs into the middle
connector on the bottom of the camera. The AC power adapter accepts any input voltage from
90v to 240v and 50-60 Hz. It is supplied with a region-specific AC power cord.
Shortly after power is applied to the camera, the Camera Status Indicator on the back of the
camera will start glowing yellow indicating that the camera is starting up. The camera will make
a small “chirp” sound and then a few seconds later will make a “chirp” sound indicating that the
camera successfully completed its initialization steps. The Camera Status Indicator will begin
flashing green if the camera is not connected via the USB cable. The Camera Status Indicator
will glow solid green once the camera is connected to the computer via the USB cable. See the
Status and Notification discussion later in this Section for additional detail.

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Note: Power up initialisation can take up to 6 seconds. It is not possible to connect to the camera
from an image application during this time. Any attempt to do so will cause an error message to be
displayed by your imaging application.
Note: The camera is designed to operate on stable, regulated 12 V DC power and Consumes less
than 2 amps at full power. Dc power inputs above or below 12V will decrease the maximum cooling
capability of the camera by increasing power dissipation or lowering cooling efficiency. If the input
voltage is below 11V or above 14V the camera will report and error until the voltage is returned to
the specified range. See Status and Notification below.
Caution: Applying an input voltage over 16V or under 10V may permanently damage your camera
and will void the camera warranty
Note: The camera power connector uses a standard 2.1 mm coaxial DC power connector with
centre positive connector. The outside diameter is 5.5 mm and the length is 10 mm.
Caution: Because of the wide range of potential power sources (especially with field operations
that can employ batteries, generators, DC inverters etc.) there is a real possibility of damaging your
camera and other equipment by creating unexpected ground loops and different ground reference
potentials between your equipment.
It is highly recommended that the included AC adaptor be used to power the camera at all times, if
a power source other than the included is used it is your responsibility to insure it is suitable. Avoid
sharing the camera DC power source with other devices that can produce excessive noise (old
technology dew heaters, etc.) and possible ground loops that could interfere with the reliable
operation, or even damage your equipment.
If you choose to use a power source other than the included AC adapter and are uncertain about
meeting these requirements, please
USB connector
The cameras USB interface is compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1. The inclu ded USB 2.0 cable
plugs into the USB port on the camera connector panel. The other side connects to any
standard USB port on your computer. All camera control commands and resulting images are
passed over the USB cable.

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Note: Do not connect your camera to your computer unless you have successfully installed the
camera software and drivers.
After the camera power-up initialization is complete, and the cameras USB cable is connected
to your computer, the computer will make a Plug-N-Play sound indicating that a device was
connected to the computer. This means that your camera is ready and is listening for
commands to be sent over the USB connection.
Note: QSI 600 series cameras do not draw power from the USB bus.
Powered hubs are not necessary for operation.
Guider Control Port
All QSI 600 Series cameras have a Guider Control Port that can be used in conjunction with
CCD imaging software to guide your telescope mount for long- duration astro-imaging.
Ordinarily, the Port is only operational if the camera is being used as the Guider camera, or if
you’re using the QSI camera as your main imaging camera and have configured your software
to send guider correction signals through the ”Main Relays”.
The Guider Port employs an RJ-25, 6-conductor modular connector. The interface scheme is
compatible with most modern telescope mounts. Typically, a 6P6C (6 position, 6 conductor)
telephone-style cable is required for connecting the camera to the mounts guider input. This
type of cable is commonly available at retailers such as Radio Shack. A 10 ft. version of this
cable is supplied with 600 Series cameras.
The image below summarizes how the Guider Port and compatible cable are wired:

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Note: The Guider Port outputs employ optically isolated solid-state switches that mimic the
traditional behaviour of the older technology mechanical relays. The optical isolation prevents
potentially interfering or damaging ground loops between the camera and the mount.
This newer approach is completable with most modern telescope mounts that employ logic
inputs pulled to VCC with a suitable load resistor.
Caution: Do not apply more than 50v or 50 mA to the guider port pins. The ‘Common’ input
must be at ground or zero volt potential relative to the control input of your mount. Contact QSI
if you are uncertain about your mount’s electrical characteristics.
Cooling the Camera
Cooling the CCD is essential for successful long exposure imaging. Cooling the sensor
dramatically reduces the dark current and resulting thermal noise in an image and makes long
exposures practical. See the discussion in the CCD Imagin g Overview Section on dark current
and noise.
QSI 600 Series cameras use a very efficient thermo-electric cooler (TEC) which relies on the
Peltier Effect to cool the CCD. When power is applied to a TEC, one side of the device gets
cold and other side gets hot, essentially pumping heat from the cold side to the hot side. All QSI
600 Series cameras employ a two-stage TEC to increase the differential cooling effect.
The more power applied to the TEC, the greater the differential cooling and the colder the CCD
can get. The heat pumped from the CCD, as well as the power dissipated by the TEC, creates a
significant amount of excess heat that must be removed from the camera. QSI 600 Series
cameras employ two different methods for removing this heat.
Standard air cooling
The back of a QSI 600 Series camera acts as a large heatsink with cooling fins machined
directly into the body. Two automatically controlled cooling fans force air through these fins. The
movement of air through the cooling fins greatly increases the amount of heat removed from the
camera.
Keep in mind that the lowest temperature that the CCD can be cooled is limited by the ambient
air temperature and the speed of the cooling fans. Achieving very low temperatures is easy
when imaging outdoors during cooler weather. If it is particularly cold you may not even need to
turn the fans on. If the weather is warm and humid you may not be able to cool the CCD to the
desired temperature. See the specifications for your camera to determine the maximum cooling
differential you can expect under typical conditions.

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Liquid-assisted cooling
Forced air cooling is usually all that is needed to reach desired
levels of cooling. However, in warm weather, indoors, or other
particularly demanding situations, additional cooling can be
achieved with the optional Liquid Heat Exchanger, or LHX. The
LHX utilizes recirculating water for more efficient removal of heat
from the camera. All things being equal, the LHX can provide an
additional 7ºC to 10ºC of CCD cooling. It attaches to the rear of
the camera body as illustrated in the image to the right. The LHX
includes a thin thermal pad. Place the thermal pad between the
LHX and the camera body. Hold the LHX and pad in place with
the provided screws.
Water flows through the two hoses, coloured blue in this picture.
Self-sealing quick-disconnect couplings are used to attach the hoses to the LHX so that the
hoses can be removed easily without leakage of the recirculating water.
There are numerous ways of supplying recirculating water for the camera. One of the simpler
and more common methods for astro-photography is to place a small submersible pump into a 5
gallon plastic pail full of cool water. The temperature of this amount of water will rise by only a
few degrees after a full night of imaging. For additional details on the Liquid Heat Exchanger,
see the Accessories section below.
Note: The fans can usually be turned off when using the LHX. In fact, the fans may actually
decreases the cooling ability if the air is warmer than the liquid. The cameras with the larger
style body (ie.QSI-6162) do not support the LHX unit.
Caution: It is generally advised that only water be used in the LHX. Coolants such as ethylene
glycol and some solvents may damage the seals and gaskets.
How Much Cooling Is Enough?
Good results can be obtained with the CCD cooled to -10ºC when taking modest length
exposures. This is easy to achieve with forced air cooling on a QSI 600 Series camera when the
ambient air is at 25ºC (77ºF) or lower. For most CCDs used in QSI 600 Series cameras, dark
current is reduced by half for every ≈6ºC drop in the temperature of the CCD. Cooling from 26C
to -10ºC results in a 64-fold decrease in CCD dark current. For more demanding imaging and
longer exposures, lower temperatures are desirable. Cooling the CCD another 12ºC to -22ºC
lowers the dark current further to just 0.4% of the dark current at 26C. Cooling below -30ºC
results in a diminishing improvement as the noise from the dark current is outweighed by the
intrinsic read noise of the CCD itself. The camera will actively prevent the CCD from being
cooled below -40ºC.

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Note: Refer to the specification sheets at the end of this guide for the exact cooling specification
for your particular camera model. Keep in mind that ambient temperature changes, air
movements, and even relative humidity can affect the temperature that the camera can reach
and maintain.
Note: The cooler is not designed to raise the temperature of the CCD above the temperature of
the camera body, i.e. it cannot heat the CCD. If the ambient temperature is – 10 degC the cooler
cannot bring the CCD temperature up to 0 degC.
When using forced-air cooling the body of the camera and the window of the CCD chamber can
be up to 12ºC warmer than the surrounding ambient air temperature. By definition, the camera
will be above the dew point (or frost point) and condensation will not form. When using the LHX
there is the opportunity to drive the enclosure of the camera and the CCD chamber window
significantly below ambient temperature if the recirculating water is colder that the surrounding
environment. If the relative humidity is high enough, this action could drop the camera below the
dew/frost point and condensation will form.
Caution: Do not allow excessive dew or frost to collect in or on the camera. Exercise the normal
precautions that you would with any precision optical or electronic device. Never use the LHX to
drive the camera temperature so low that liquid water forms on or in the camera. Under certain
conditions excessive moisture can impair or damage the optical coatings and the electronics.
Controlling the Cooler
The operation of the cooler is managed from your CCD imaging application. When power is first
applied to your camera the cooler is in an inactive state. It must be actively turned on. When the
Cooler On button is clicked, the camera immediately starts cooling the CCD at full power. The
cooler will stay at full power until it has cooled the CCD to within a few degrees of the set point
temperature. The camera will then start adjusting the power applied to the cooler as it
approaches the set point temperature. The displayed CCD temperature may slightly over-shoot
the set point temperature as the regulation servo locks. It can take a couple more minutes for
the temperature servo to achieve a solid lock. After lock is achieved, the camera will keep the
CCD temperature within 0.1ºC of the set point.
Note: Depending on the ambient temperature and cooler set point, the time to reach the set
point temperature can take as long as 15 minutes. Once the CCD temperature has stabilized at
the set point value, it is recommended to allow the entire camera an additional 5 to 10 minutes
to reach thermal equilibrium.

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Note: Best regulation is achieved when the power to the cooler is kept below 85%. This gives
the camera some headroom to compensate for variations in the ambient temperature. If the
camera cannot reach the desired temperature, it will keep trying by running the cooler at 100%
power indefinitely. If the desired temperature hasn’t been reached within 15 – 20 minutes, or the
power level is above 85%, we recommend selecting a higher set point temperature.
Caution: Be careful not to block free air movement around the camera, or any airflow through
the fans and cooling fins on the rear of the camera.
Internal Colour Filter Wheel
A five or eight–position colour filter wheel is available for some QSI 600 Series cameras. The
filter wheel is designed to hold five or eight standard 1.25" mounted filters or un-mounted 31mm
filters. In the case of the QSI-6162 the filter wheel is designed to hold five or eight 2” mounted
filters or 50.8 mm un-mounted filters. The following image shows a 5-position filter wheel with
filter positions 1-4 occupied by red, green, blue and luminance filters respectively.
The filter wheel is designed to be removed and replaced easily. After detaching the camera
cover, the filter wheel can be removed by loosening the single shoulder screw in the middle of
the filter wheel. This allows the user to have additional filter wheels populated with different
combinations of filters and interchange them quickly while operating in the field.
See the Care and Maintenance section for details.

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Advanced Setup Options
The QSI Configuration dialog box is used to view or change camera settings that are seldom
modified. Bring up the Camera Control dialog box and click the Setup tab. The camera must be
disconnected to proceed further. If necessary, click the Disconnect button.
Open SGP and click on the spanner icon next to the camera select box which is top right in the
SGP profile box. This will bring up the ASCOM QSI setting box.
If the Camera Model list box does not indicate your QSI camera please select it from the USB
Interface drop-down box. From here you can control things such as the LEDs, Sound on and
off, fan mode, gain, Pre-exposure flush, Optimisation, the filter wheel setup and Enabling pixel
masking.
Note: The very first time a QSI camera is connected to the computer It will set the relevant
options shown above to default values based on the configuration of the specific camera. From
that point forward, the settings are maintained in the Windows Registry. All subsequent changes
are made to these Registry settings. This allows the computer to always know your last selections
for each camera and restore them the next time you begin imaging. Also, a camera’s settings are
remembered uniquely when being used as a main camera and when being used as a guide
camera.
Only those settings that are relevant to a particular camera model and software package are
enabled. Options that dont apply are greyed -out.