how to run Meade Autostar with Meade DSI

[jimmy1]

The instructions with the Meade DSI camera are a bit confusing. Does anybody know what I should set the software to do when imaging deep sky - ie tell it to image in colour or mono? Then when image processing do I open the file (BMP) as color or mono or doesn't it matter? And how on earth do I mess about with those convolution filters?
Comments welcome

[[1ponders]]

Hi Jimmy.

You will normally image in colour. When starting out set the program to combine each image rather than save each image. (It's simpler this way when starting out) Set your quality to around 30 - 40 % (unless the night is particularly good seeing wise) Set you're sample to between 5 and 10. The DSI will take those first sample and apply different processing routines to it to set it as the standard by which all other captures are added. Each image is assessed and if it falls below the 30 or 40% quality it is rejected. As it adds more images that meet the criteria the quality of the image improves.

I can't help you with the Meade processing prog as I've not jused it.

I'll do a bit of checking and see if I can come up with any more info

[Hitchhiker]

Hi Jimmy,

here's a really good link to a step by step procedure for taking your first DSI images.

http://autostarsuite.net/forums/1800/ShowPost.aspx

I do not use the Autostar Image Processing application and I've yet to hear of anyone else using it - I have tried and failed to make sense of it! For image processing I think Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or any other image processing software would give you enough options while learning. When you have taken some images, post them on IIS - you'll get plenty of good advice on processing.

Adam.

[jimmy1]

tHANKS, aDAM, THAT LINK WAS GREAT. I shall study it in great depth. I have been doing most things right, but your advice on the histograms and on getting a good preview is really helpful. One thing I noticed is when I select color, say of a globuklar cluster, it appeared on the screen as a tiny pink dot that I drew the box around. When I selected mono, the cluster almost filled up the entire screen and looked better. Is it all in those sliders???

[Hitchhiker]

Hi jimmy1, I can't take credit for that tutorial - it was written by Matt Taylor for the DSI forum on AutostarSuit.net - a site I can recommend for good information on the DSI.

Yes, it's all in the sliders! I usually take it out of AutoContrast straight away as it tends to change the slider values and hunt around too much. I haven't tried taking mono pictures with my DSI yet - I can only assume that the sliders change if you have Auto Contrast on and you change from colour to mono.

[jimmy1]

My Meade DSI came with an IR filter (I dropped it the first time I unscrewed the nose piece - had to buy another) Does this make things redder? Last night when I was attempting the SMC, I got a quite good cluster of nice white stars, but there were a lot of very much smaller red dots, which I took to be very faint stars which the filter had caused to be red. I thought that as the stacking progressed, these would turn white. No such luck. The 50th image looked just like the first. Something I am missing??

[Hitchhiker]

Hi jimmy1, can you post an image?

Did you subtract a dark frame? The tiny red dots might be noise.

[jimmy1]

Hi Hitch hiker, Yes I have been subtracting darks. These red dots are all in focus and definately look like stars, not noise. The noise is usually all speckeld. Don't know if it is temperature as up here in Brissie it's about 25 - 30 deg C lately and I dont know what that does to the poor camera. I will try and post a picture in the next couple of days. Regards

[Kenbower]

I'm have a BIG problem with the Meade DSI on my Celestron CPC 800. I can not find the focus point. I did it once about a month ago, and was able to get a good picture of the Moon, but I can not do it again. The Sample rate on Astrostar seems to be so slow that I am probably passing right through it. I have a Focal Reducer 3.3 on the front of the DSI which should reduce the critically of the focus, but I can NOT get a picture on the Dell Laptop.

Does anyone know how to change the Sample Rate on Astrostar?

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[Jen]

:eyepop: kool thanks for the link im just trying to learn how to use this program with my DSI cam too and i have no idea where to start with it :thumbsup:

[Kenbower]

OK, I found my Problem!

The USB Cable that comes with the Meade DSI is 5 feet long. That is pretty short. I purchased a 10 ft Cable at the Electronics, and the Meade DSI will not work with that one, even though everything seems to be working I only get noise on the Laptop Screen. I assume the drop in power through the longer cable cause the Meade DSI to not work properly.

Things work now with the shorter cable back in place.

Thanks,
Ken

[Ric]

Hi Ken, you can use the longer cable with the DSI but you will need a powered hub to give it the extra kick along.

I use a 15 foot cable through an AC powered hub with no problems at all. Also make sure it's not a Belkin hub, Meade DSI's have a serious problem with them for some reason.

Cheers

[floyd_2]

Hi Ken,
the other thing you could consider is an active usb repeater cable. I know that Jaycar has them in 5m and 10m lengths at a fairly reasonable price. I use two of the 5m ones - one for my DSI2 and one for my guide camera - both without issue.

I also use a 5m active usb repeater cable coupled with a standard (but decent) 5m usb cable - 10m all up - to run a colour laser printer. 10m of standard usb cable was a dead loss - it was just too long.

I've had nothing but success with the usb repeater cables.

Dean