From: "Duane" <macastronomer@mac.com>

Date: May 24, 2006 2:28:52 PM MDT

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: Been a while!

Those are the tips I am looking for.

As for the dark subtraction, it seems to help with a strange effect that fire-i board has.

There is a vertical seam right down the ccd, about 1/3 or more down. The color/density

on one side of this line is slightly different than the other. I haven't noticed it since I did

the dark subtract.

I think Alan also mentioned a fire-i he once had, did the same thing. I don't know if he

ever tried a dark subtraction. If anybody uses this camera, I'd like to know if yours has the

same problem.

I'll have to find some pure alcohol. I have a few motes and I think they are coming from

the filter.

Sorry about posting. I'll refrain until I get something good :) or with more questions...

Duane

--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, Milton Aupperle <milton@...> wrote:

Hi Duane;

On 23-May-06, at 10:58 PM, Duane wrote:

My shot of Juipter, Red Spot (can make out Red Jr if you know right

where to look) and Io's

Shadow.

Details: Fire-i Color board camera

=================== File:20060522_232611_L.mov #frames 1009

Color Camera - Model:'Fire-i BCL 1.2' SerialNumber: 0x2636C57

Gamma: 1.00

Saturation: 24

Blue Gain: 85

Red Gain: 87

Brightness: 255

Black Point: 128

Exposure: 40.62 ms

Sharpness Limiting On: 0

Dark Frame Subtraction On: 1

Flat Frame Correction On: 0

Invert Image On: 0

Flip Horizontal On: 0

Flip Vertical On: 0

Binning Off Color

A few comments.

I'm not sure why you needed to subtract a dark frame with 40 ms

exposures?

You had exposure at 40 ms and gain cranked to 255 which is maximum.

As I've stated in the manual before, Gain amplifies noise and noise

blurs features so your you much better off leave the exposure at 66

ms and then pushing the gain down.

Used 25 of the 1009 frames (seeing was bad. Only one really good

frame).

To be honest, I generally don't post shots when the seeing is that

bad - except if it's some once in a life time thing.

PS. I have a smudge on my IR filter. How do I clean that? Better to

buy a new filter? Thanks

for the help.

You clean it just like you do for your scope optics, lenses or

eyepieces.

I wash with a cue tip and a 99.999% distilled water +/- trace of dish

soap and finnish with 99.99% rubbing alcohol - but their are other

products or concoctions out their too. Do not use the garden variety

70% alcohol as that has 30% other "stuff" in their and leaves residue

on the optics.

HTH..

Milton J. Aupperle

President

ASC - Aupperle Services and Contracting

Mac Software (Drivers, Components and Application) Specialist

#1005 - 815 14th Avenue. S.W.

Calgary Alberta Canada T2R0N5

1-(403)-229-9456

milton@...