ZWO ASI185MC-COOL User manual

ASI185 Manual
Revision 1.1
Nov, 2017
All materials related to this publication are subject to change without notice and its
copyright totally belongs to Suzhou ZWO CO.,LTD.

ASI185 Manual
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ASI185 Manual...............................................................................................................................1
1. Instruction.................................................................................................................................3
2. Camera Models and Sensor Type .............................................................................................4
3. What's in the box?.....................................................................................................................5
4. Camera technical specifications................................................................................................7
5. QE Graph & Read Noise...........................................................................................................8
6. Getting to know your camera..................................................................................................10
6.1 External View....................................................................................................................10
6.2 Power consumption:..........................................................................................................11
6.3 Cooling system..................................................................................................................12
6.5 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)..................................................................................13
6.6 Binning..............................................................................................................................13
7. How to use your camera..........................................................................................................14
8. Clean the camera and redry desiccant.....................................................................................15
9. Mechanical drawing................................................................................................................16
10. Servicing.................................................................................................................................17
11. Warranty .................................................................................................................................17

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1. Instruction
Congratulations and thank you for buying one of our ASI Cameras！This manual will
give you a brief introduction to your ASI camera. Please read it thoroughly. If you
have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. [e-mail]
ASI185 Cameras are designed for astronomical photography.
Its excellent performance and multifunctional usage will impress you a lot!
For software installation instructions and other technical information please refer to
―Support‖on our official website.
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/

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2. Camera Models and Sensor Type
Model
Mono or Color
Regulated TEC Cooling
Sensor
ASI185MC
Color
No
IMX185
ASI185MC-COOL
Color
Yes
IMX185
Why do I choose ASI185MC?
ASI85MC cameras are designed for astronomical photography. The slightly larger sensor,
extremely low read noise , high sensitivity and high frame rates make this new camera a very good
choice for planetary imaging, it also comes with a 2.5mm all sky lens which can provide a nearly
170°view of the sky. The excellent performance and multifunctional usage will impress you a lot!
TEC cooling will help to reduce dark current noise for long exposures. For short exposures, such
as under one second, the dark current noise is very low. However, cooling is recommended for
DSO imaging when long exposures are required.

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3. What's in the box?
ASI185MC
1–ZWO ASI185MC Camera Body
2–2 m long ST4 guider cable
3–1.25″ Cover
4–M42-1.25″ T-Mount
5–2 m long USB3.0 cable
6–Driver & Extra Software CD (Mac, PC&Linux Compatible)
2
3
4
5
6
1

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ASI185MC-COOL
1–ZWO ASI185MC-COOL Camera Body
2–M42-1.25″ T-Mount
3–1.25″ Cover
4–2 m long USB 3.0 cable
5–USB 2.0 short cable x2
They are used to connect your EFW or guider camera through the USB2.0 hub.
6–Backup desiccant tablets packet
Only when you find fogging inside camera chamber, you need to replace them.
7–Driver & Extra Software CD (Mac, PC&Linux Compatible)
2
3
4
5
6
1
7

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4. Camera technical specifications
Sensor
1/1.9‖ CMOS IMX185
Resolution
2.3 Mega Pixels 1944*1224
Pixel Size
3.75µm
Image area
7.3mm*4.6mm
Max FPS at full resolution
108FPS(10bitADC)
Shutter
Rolling shutter
Exposure Range
32μs-1000s
Read Noise
1.5e @30db gain
QE peak
TBD
Full well
22.8k e
ADC
12 bit
Interface
USB3.0/USB 2.0
Adapters
2″ / 1.25″ / M42X0.75
Protect window
AR window
Dimensions
Uncooled 62mm/Cooled 78mm
Weight
Uncooled 120g/Cooled 410g
Back Focus Distance
Uncooled 12.5mm/Cooled 17.5mm
Supported OS
Windows, Linux & Mac OSX
Working Temperature
-5°C—45°C
Storage Temperature
-20°C—60°
Working Relative Humidity
20%—80%
Storage Relative Humidity
20%—95%

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5. QE Graph & Read Noise
QE and Read noise are the most important parts to measure the performance of a camera.
Higher QE and Lower read noise are needed to improve the SNR of an image.
Color 185 Sensor Relative QE

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Read Noise includes pixel diode noise, circuit noise and ADC quantization error noise, and the
lower the better.
The Read Noise of the ASI185 cameras is extremely lower when compared with traditional CCD
cameras. It is even lower when the camera is set at a higher gain.
Depending on your target, you can set the Gain lower for higher Dynamic Range (longer exposure)
or set the Gain higher for lower noise (such as short exposure or lucky imaging).

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6. Getting to know your camera
6.1 External View
*the first generation of cooled camera we used a ST4 port instead of USB2.0 hub
Heat Sink
USB3.0 or USB2.0 IN
Protect and sealed window
AR coated
D25*3mm
ST4 Guide Port
USB2.0 Hub*
USB3.0 or USB2.0 IN
Cooler power supply
5.5*2.1 DC socket
12V 3A AC-DC power
supply suggested
Cooler Maglev fan
Only on when cooler
power supply is there
USB3.0 or USB2.0 IN
ST4 Guide Port
1/4‖screw
You can mount to tripod