Starlight Xpress SXV-AO unit User Manual
Page 7
Handbook for the Starlight Xpress AO unit
Issue 1 21/8/2005
The SXV-AO can execute an image position correction in a few milliseconds, but the
effective correction rate is limited by the brightness of the guide star and the download
speed of the guide camera image. For best results with a poor telescope mount, you need
to choose as bright a star as possible and use a small guide window. Binning the guide
camera image will also help.
The orientation of the AO assembly is normally arranged so that the East-West RA drift
direction is along the long axis of the guider chip. However, there is no reason to conform
to this if the mount corrections can cope with the non-standard orientation. In this case,
you can rotate the entire unit about the optical axis for optimising the image orientation
or for finding a suitable guide star.
When attaching the AO unit to a T thread adaptor, be careful to ensure that the male
thread does not project into the AO body. Any projection can interfere with the
movement of the image displacer and may jam the unit. If the thread is too long, add a
thin card or plastic washer between the adaptor and AO front plate.