Emilio,

>Last night I had my first real good session with my new 416xt. As many
have remarked, the software is full of bugs and the >documentation deserves
a D (at best) in a technical writing course. However, I am pleased to say
that with careful treatment (hold >your breath, stand on one leg and face
south southwest) the camera and software produce fabulous results. I have
some truly great >images of Saturn and Jupiter crisp and full of detail. I
am fumbling through the image processing and have a question for the!
> group. Although it may seem simple I can not find a step by step
description on how to take a dark frame and a f.

A simple dark frame is all you need. I would highly recommend that you
purchase a current book from Amazon.com on CCD image processing. I did and
it helped greatly on understanding what I was trying to achieve!

>When I go to the camera pull down menu at the top of the software window
and select take a dark frame nothing seems to happen. >A window pops up
and disappears quickly. I do not hear the shutter go off. When I go to
the camera icon at the top of the window >and depress it, it seems to take
an image and downloads. Where are the settings for exposure and camera
temperature and so >forth. I am assuming that what ever settings are
selected in the window at the top are the settings for the dark frame. Is
this the >methodology to take a dark frame. Depress the take dark frame
setting then depress the camera icon? Can you simply take a >dark frame by
covering the camera and depressing the camera Icon?

For every image you take, record the file name, the object, the exposure
time, the camera temperture, and any notes you deem necessary. These are
invaluable for working with your images. For every image, take a dark frame
of equal exposure time. When you subtract the dark frame from the raw
image, you'll input the exposure time and temperature for both the raw and
dark images. You can simply take a dark frame exposure just like taking a
regular image.

>To make a long story short. How do you take a dark frame and a how do you
take a flat field. The first time I tried it on the camera >pull down menu
it froze up the program and the pictor box (which I assume is mainly for
looks with all those numbers and arrows) >indicates it is retransmitting.

All my documentation says flat fielding is already included in your dark
frame. I would recommend to forget the flat fielding for now and just deal
with the dark frame.

>Is anyone else getting the retransmitting error frequently? I have reset
the delay times in the pictor.ini file in an effort to prevent >the
problem. I am using the camera the serial mode at 115200 bps. IS there
anyway to snap the camera and software out
>of the coma it succumbs to when it is in the retransmittng mode. It seems
that I have to repower up the camera and restart the >computer. What a
pain!

I've learned to take the extra time and allow the camera to finish before
executing any other commands. This will minimize the retransmitting error
(yes it is a pain re-booting). I would also recommend letting the camera
cool to the maximum setting before using it. It might take 20 minutes or so
but is well worth the time!

>Anyone care to assist me?

Get the book! ...and good luck!

Michael L. Cunningham

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