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Subject: [M]: RE: 416XT keypad info
From: Michael Hart
Reply To: mapug@shore.net
Date: Mon Jun 16 01:06:13 1997
On Sunday, June 15, 1997 10:17 PM, R. A. Greiner
[SMTP:ragreiner@mailbag.com] wrote:
> Irrately he responded:
>
> If there are no official instructions for a keypad with over a dozed
> buttons and a vast complex of things they are supposed to do. There
> damn well should be. After all the thing cost almost $2000 dollars.
>
> Doc G
>
>
The Pictor 416/1616 Control Box buttons were primarily designed
to be used with a 505 Video Card Connector and Floppy Disc Drive.
One could perform motion calibration, autofocus, set exposure
times and take images with only an inexpensive 12 VDC B&W TV
for a monitor. In this way, no computer was needed. The arrow
keys are used to access different modes, the enter key activates
a selection, the cancel key cancels a selection and number keys
(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 & 0) are used to enter a value. The display
provides useful information such as exposure times used in
motion calibration and star position as well as manual settings
that saturated the detector resulting in a warning: "too bright".
The star x,y positions give feedback in motion calibration,
for example, the progress or lack of progress.
The 505 Video Card Connector and Floppy Disc Drive was never
made available to the public to my knowledge and most of the
user accessible control box keypad functions were duplicated
with software control in the final version of PictorView 2.0.
PictorView XT 6.X did drop software control of motion calibration,
so the control box would be used for that function. I suspect that
motion calibration will eventually be included in PictorView XT 6.X.
The control box serves as a distribution box and power supply
for the camera head as well. In this way, only one wire is needed
for the camera head and 12 VDC can be applied directly without
an additional external power supply and inverter. The jack labeled
LX-200 is connected to the jack labeled RS-232 on a LX-200
to allow auto-centering, auto-mosaic and auto-focus, which I have
used. The jack labeled RS-232 is connected to the serial port
of a your computer via an the RJ12-DB9 adapter and phone cable,
if computer SCSI support is not available or desired (such as when
upgrading the Pictor flash BIOS). The jack labeled CCD is used to
connect the Pictor 416/1616 to non LX-200 scopes with standard
normally open guider switches using the phone cable with blue
shrink tubing end plugged into the telescope. The plug labeled
SCSI is for connection to a SCSI adapter on your computer to
enable high speed image transfers.
Not related to the control box is the 201XT autoguider, which is
plugged into the CCD port of a LX-200 or non LX-200 using the
coiled phone cable.
This covers all current user accessible functions of the Pictor
416/1616 control box buttons and jacks accessed and described
by PictorView 2.0 and PictorView XT 6.X camera control software.
--
Michael Hart
Husen Observatory
mhart@netexpress.net