QHYCCD QHY8L User Manual
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Select Guide column in the Camera Control window. Set the exposure time,
the unit is second.
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Click "Settings", open the "Guider Settings" window, click "Reset" in "Exposure
Settings" area, which will restore maximum viewing area, click "OK" to save.
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Click START button to shoot one picture.
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The image will be shown when the camera finishes shooting. You can use the
Screen Stretch tool to adjust the stretching of image.
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Click "Settings", open the "Guider Settings" window, using your mouse to drag
an area on the image which you shot in the previous step. This area is the area
which CCD will shoot. Click "OK" to save.
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Find a star in the image and use mouse to drag a box which can frame the star.
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Click "Calibrate", it will start to calibrate the equatorial mount.
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After it finishes calibrating, Click "Options", select "NoCalibration", so the guide
star image is not calibrated.
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Select "Track", Click "Start", it will start to guide. You can click "Graph" button,
so it will display the guide error curves.
Note: The QHY8L can use the false bin1*1 mode to guide star. This mode is bin 2*2 in
fact. It is amplified to bin1*1 through calibration of the software. By clicking "Normal
BIN11 Mode", you can switch to this mode. It has higher sensitivity as it is bin2*2. We
recommend that you use this mode guide stars.
Viewing Images Produced by QHY8L Camera
The QHY8L camera can produce the following types of images:
FITS (16 bit integer per color)
BMP (8 bit per color)
JPG (8 bit per color)
Any image editing program can read the BMP or JPG files. Many programs can read the
FITS images, which are the recommended type for any serious astronomy purpose,
especially because their bit depth is greater (16 vs 8 bits per pixel). However color
FITS images, such as those produced by the QHY8L-C, will usually appear in greyscale
when first loaded by an image editor. To convert them to color, it is necessary to
invoke a software routine. The EZ-CAP software cannot do this conversion.
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In MaximDL, load the FITS image, select “Color” from the top menu bar, then
“Convert Color”. In the next menu, set X=0, Y=1, then press “OK”. Image in
correct color should appear.
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In Nebulosity, load the FITS image, then Click “Image”. In the drop-down menu,
click the first item, “De-mosaic RAW”. In the pop-up menu, leave the table as is,
but change the Matrix Offset value to X=1, Y=0. Then click DONE. Image in
correct color should appear. If the color file is saved as a FITS file after de-
mosaic is done, it will be recognized as a color image by FITS Liberator (see