· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Equipment Discussions >> Video and Electronically Assisted Astronomy Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 claws member Reged: 02/27/12 Loc: rio vista, CA SCB 2000 Questions       #5282719 - 06/21/12 06:28 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I had a good first light session last night with my SCB2000 and Nexstar 6SE. I had some decent views of the Black Eye Galaxy, The Eastern Veil Nebula, M13, and the Ring Nebula. I noticed a few problems that I'd like your help resolving. With the shutter set on Manual, an integration of 512x would allow a view that took a while to settle down to a decently focused object and then the object would move slightly (scope tracking?) and I'd have to wait several more seconds for a good view before the object would slightly move again. A faster integration time (256x) helped some but I seemed to loose a lot of color and detail. Also, when I'd switch the AGC from low to high, the object being viewed would disappear, never to return. It seemed that by messing with the gain I screwed up the camera's ability to operate properly with the shutter in Manual mode and had to switch to ESC mode and use the Sense-Up function to regain my view of the object. Any ideas about what I'm doing wrong? Thanks, Kim Post Extras:       scout72 Pooh-Bah Reged: 05/12/08 Loc: SF Bay Area Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: claws]       #5282762 - 06/21/12 06:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   With the object moving issue it does sound like tracking- calibration stars/ leveling mount helps- With the other issue of adjusting gain then losing object- this is a known issue- if this happens just step back your manual exposure a few steps after you have made the Gain change then step back up to where you want to be slowly (ie- 1-2 seconds). Also- there are other settings under the monitor sub menu that can help fine tune your image- Gamma and PED Post Extras:       claws member Reged: 02/27/12 Loc: rio vista, CA Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: scout72]       #5282821 - 06/21/12 07:52 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks for the info, Scout. I'll use your technique for dealing with the gain and try a couple of things in the Nexstar manual to see if I can minimize the movement issues. Any ideas about values for brightness in the Lens sub menu, SSDR, SSNR3, and Sharpness? I have most of the other values figured out for the most part. Kim Post Extras:       barbarosa professor emeritus Reged: 04/11/10 Loc: "lamorinda", CA Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: claws]       #5282953 - 06/21/12 09:56 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I will defer to Brian on camera settings, but having spent some time with the Nexstar SLT and 4 SE (similar drive trains) and a 6 SE mount, you may get some improvement by carefully adjusting the anti-backlash settings. It may also help to use the Calibrate GoTo menu function when changing from visual to a camera. Do what you can to bring the OTA/camera to a neutral or, as some prefer, slightly back heavy balance. Post Extras:       scout72 Pooh-Bah Reged: 05/12/08 Loc: SF Bay Area Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: claws]       #5282973 - 06/21/12 10:11 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   For lens brightness I leave it all the way up and adjust in AMCAP / other settings I mentioned. SSDR- this is a tricky one- Dynamic Range- by setting it high you are telling the camera to expect both bright and dark areas in a scene- you would think that if you set it high it would give you more range but unfortunately it hasn't worked that way in my testing- it expects something bright when you set it high - please experiment with it but I have found that setting it low- like 3 or 5 is a good default- if you do set it mid to high sometimes it can cause intermittent flickering as the camera tries to figure out what it is trying to expose. SSNR- noise reduction- I leave it two notches down from the very top- Sharpness: some folks leave it on high as a default- I personally like it better low-like 3- so you will just have to experiment- too sharp it looks pixelated and videoish- too low and it can be too blurry/mushy. Hope this helps- BC Post Extras:       claws member Reged: 02/27/12 Loc: rio vista, CA Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: barbarosa]       #5283016 - 06/21/12 10:39 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks David Since I'm using this scope only for live video I'll attempt to set it up accordingly. I tried messing with the anti-backlash settings but I get a small "clunk" in the gears when I move the scope in any direction after dialing in settings much above 5. I don't know if this is a problem, but I'm afraid of damaging the gears if I add much more anti-backlash. I'll give the Calibrate Goto option a try as soon as the winds here die down enough for some viewing. Kim Post Extras:       claws member Reged: 02/27/12 Loc: rio vista, CA Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: scout72]       #5283029 - 06/21/12 10:44 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks for the setting directions. As for the brightness setting in the Lens sub menu, I'm not using my PC and not running amcap. I'm just using an LCD monitor which I've attached to my tripod. I'm a little confused about the brightness settings since there is an option under Lens and also under Exposure. Kim Post Extras:       scout72 Pooh-Bah Reged: 05/12/08 Loc: SF Bay Area Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: claws]       #5283585 - 06/22/12 10:23 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Brightness menus: The lens brightness sub menu doesn't really do anything in manual mode with manual shutter- it is there to tell the camera how to adjust exposure when at least one other setting is set to automatic- for now just set it all the way up and forget about it unless you have a CCTV auto iris lens (the kind with the wires that attach to camera) The exposure brightness is more important- it works in conjunction with the AGC/gain setting. When you set gain level you are telling the camera the MAXIMUM amount of gain to use- it is called AGC for a reason- A=automatic gain control- the brightness setting in exposure menu tells the camera how much of this gain to apply- so by setting exposure brightness all the way up you are telling the camera to overexpose as much as possible/keep as much gain applied as possible. I feel that it is best to keep exposure brightness all the way up and adjust the gain level as needed- gives you more control. Post Extras:       claws member Reged: 02/27/12 Loc: rio vista, CA Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: scout72]       #5283821 - 06/22/12 01:03 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks again, Scout. If I understand you correctly I should set the brightness levels in the Lens sub menu and Exposure sub menu both to maximum and then play with the three options in AGC (OFF, LOW, and HIGH). Kim Post Extras:       scout72 Pooh-Bah Reged: 05/12/08 Loc: SF Bay Area Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: claws]       #5283981 - 06/22/12 02:30 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Yep- you got it- again these are good starting points- the AGC- off med high with exposure brightness all the way up will get you in the ball park for most objects with changes in actual shutter speed and other tweaks I mentioned (gamma and PED) Have fun- Post Extras:       scout72 Pooh-Bah Reged: 05/12/08 Loc: SF Bay Area Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: scout72]       #5284222 - 06/22/12 05:45 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   oh yeah PS: another setting that I usually set and forget for most purposes is the digital zoom- I do turn it on and move it forward a few clicks- just a few- try setting it after your camera has been on a for a while and you are getting some nice green amp glow- I move in just a little so the harshest glow is no longer in the frame- now technically this does degrade the overall image somewhat but I think it is worth it- unless you are trying to frame something large and need all of the FOV possible- also the digital zoom is useful for planetary and lunar stuff and kind of fun to play around with in general :-) Post Extras:       claws member Reged: 02/27/12 Loc: rio vista, CA Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: scout72]       #5286431 - 06/24/12 09:24 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Scout72, I had a chance to try out the Sammy settings you suggested during my viewing session last night. They worked great! My views of the Dumbell and Ring nebulae were so much better than my previous attempts. My view of the Swan nebula was simply spectacular! I think my problems with the frequent small image shifts and having to repeatedly wait for the image to settle down might be caused by the wind here. We have strong breezes day and night for most of the summer where I live. I tried the Precise Goto function without much improvement. I'll experiment more with it and the anti backlash settings. One thing is for sure; this video astronomy thing is a lot of fun. It's great to be able to see objects as something more than small grey smudges. Thanks again for all of your help. Kim Post Extras:       Amith member Reged: 06/03/12 Loc: Durban, South Africa Re: SCB 2000 Questions [Re: claws]       #5289801 - 06/26/12 09:51 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hey everyone, All of the feedback given is certainly going to help me. I posted the following on another thread: "I still haven't a clue what some of the functions are for on the scb2000. The grabber software poses no problems. I played around with the camera a bit last night, pointing my scope out through my window (seeing that my usb/dvr converter hasn't arrived yet and my pc has a tv card) and got the background sky darker and stars brighter (no clue how I did that.. just pushed buttons I guess). I found another problem though (unrelated to the scb2000 settings but caused by the camera itself). My 6SE Alt Az mount seemed to struggle when trying to point the scope up with the camera mounted on the star diagonal. It sounds as the the motor does not have enough power to drive it in an upward direction. All other directions move fine with the normal motor sound (I have removed the camera to ensure that the noise only occurred when the camera was mounted). Is there a way to resolve this (either by changing settings on the mount or some other method) so that I don't stress anymore." I am thinking that I'm gonna have to go back to my user manual for the Alt Az Mount but any help from you guys will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 5 registered and 6 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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