Orion 52173 instruction manual Options menu. Higher resolu

pointing at an object at least a couple of hundred feet away. Insert an eyepiece and focus as you normally would.

To obtain first images with the SSUE, fol- low these step-by-step instructions:

1.Plug the camera into your com- puter’s USB port.

2.Double click the Orion AmCap icon now installed on your computer’s desktop.

3.Orion AmCap will automatically connect directly to your camera with a Live Video Window. Your Live Video Window will only show light and dark before the camera is coupled to your telescope.

Figure 5. Changing resolution via options->Video Capture Pin.

is done by selecting Video Capture Filter in the Options menu and moving the exposure or brightness slider (Figure 6). If the daytime image bright- ness is still too bright to produce an acceptable image on your computer screen, you may need to stop-down the aperture of your telescope.

7.Look at the Live Video Window on the computer screen and adjust the focus knob accordingly to determine best image focus.

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) 3.8mm Ultrascopic eyepiece and 2x Barlow.

8.	Image orientation can be changed by rotating the camera within the
	focuser drawtube. Simply loosen the thumbscrew on the drawtube 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 rotated.
9.	Select Capture File from the File menu and name your file including the

4.When the camera is connected to the computer, the Live Video Window (and subsequent images captured with the camera) will dis- play at 352x288 resolution. The native resolution of the camera sen-

sor is 320x240 and can be set from
	Figure 6. Changing exposure via
the options menu. Higher resolu-
tions are available but pixels will be	options->Video Capture Filter.
interpolated from the native 320x240
resolution and the larger image will

not be as sharp as in 320x240 resolution. The higher resolution makes for better group live viewing and as a focusing aid. To change to full resolu- tion mode, select Video Capture Pin from Options menu, select 1280x960 under the Output Size heading, then click OK (Figure 5). The Live Video Window will now display at full resolution, and will occupy most of the computer monitor’s screen. Any images captured with the camera will now also be at full resolution. To move the Live Video Window out of the way, click on the top bar of the window and drag it to the desired location on the computer screen.

5.To connect the camera to the telescope, simply replace the telescope’s 1.25" eyepiece with the camera. Make sure the securing thumbscrew on the focuser drawtube is tightened after the camera is inserted.

6.You will now need to refocus the camera for the centered object. Focusing will be the hardest thing to learn in the initial stages. If you are starting out in daylight, as is recommended, you may need to turn the exposure and/ or brightness control of the camera down before attempting to focus. This

	AVI extension name. IE mymovie.avi. Click Open.
10.	Enter the amount of disk space to allocate as a buffer for this data.
	Movie files need a large amount of disk space. Enter a value such as 50
	Megabytes or higher. Press ok. The size of the captured data may be
	much higher than this value depending upon number and size of frames
	captured.
11.	Select Set Frame Rate under the Capture menu. Check the box Use
	Frame Rate and type 15. Press ok.
12.	Select Set Time Limit under the Capture menu. Check the box Use
	Time Limit and type 20. Press ok.
13.	Select Start Capture under the Capture menu.
14.	Press ok when you are ready to capture Images.

An AVI movie sequence of 300 frames (15 frames per second x 20 seconds) will now be recorded.

The total number of captured frames is displayed on the bottom bar. If frames are being dropped this will be displayed and the frame rate or resolution should be set to a lower value to prevent this.

You have now taken your first images with the SSUE! This simple method of imaging is exactly how the camera is 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 SSUE. Solar images can also be taken during the day with an optional full-aperture solar filter over the front of the telescope.

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