MORNING STAR OBSERVATORY
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Orion Starshoot Pro V1 CCD Camera

Picture
The Orion Starshoot Pro is a one-shot color (OSC) thermoelectrically cooled CCD camera. My Starshoot Pro is the original version of the camera. Orion also marketed a version 2 with a few enhancements, but it was still basically the same camera. Orion no longer sells either Starshoot Pro.

The best feature of this camera is the 28.4mm diagonal APS-C size Sony ICX413AQ SuperHAD CCD. It is a 6.15 megapixel sensor with 7.8
micron square pixels.

T
here are two main issues with this camera: no set-point cooling and random 9-pixel dashes across downloaded images when the download speed is set too high. The 9-pixel dashes are download dropout artifacts.

On the SSPRO the download speed is adjustable in a range of 1 to 8 and because of the dropouts I was forced to download at a very slow speed 2 to avoid them. But I was able to cure the issue by installing a USB 3.0 controller card in my observatory workstation. I had read that some USB 2.0 devices can get a boost on a USB 3.0 card (maybe a bigger buffer?), so even though the SSPRO is a USB 2.0 device, the USB 3.0 port virtually eliminated the dashes. Even at the highest SSPRO download speed of 8 only rarely did I find any dropouts. Not sure if this fix works for others but it works for me.
I later discovered that although the USB 3.0 port solved my download dropout issue, there is still another artifact issue related to download speeds, that only shows up at the very highest speeds. This is detailed on the Noise Reduction Mod page. I finally settled on speed 5 as the best compromise, which is still much faster than the speed 2 that I was limited to before adding the USB 3.0 ports.

Even though the camera has thermoelectric cooling it does not have set-point control of the CCD temperature, so I modified my camera to add set-point control. With a set temperature I can a build dark frame library and not have to capture new dark frames with every set of images. The mod is detailed on a separate page linked below.

I also added noise filtering to the PCB to reduce electronic camera noise which is detailed on the Noise Reduction Mod page.

More photos and the modifications to the camera are detailed on these separate project pages.

Disassembled Views
Noise Reduction Mod
Temp Controller Mod

Debayering SSPRO Images

Picture
I was using DeepSkyStacker (DSS) software to process my images from the SSPRO and I was getting weird colors using the Bayer pattern shown on the ICX413AQ CCD datasheet. So I thought it would be fun to ran some tests to demonstrate the correct Bayer pattern to choose in DSS.

At left is the Bayer pattern as shown on the Sony datasheet. From the drawing it would appear the bayer pattern is GBRG, but it's not.

Picture
However, in DSS choose RGGB to get the colors to debayer correctly. It's the same as rotating the drawing 90°.

Below are examples of debayering with the four generic options available in DSS, to show how the debayering process affects the image colors. I kind of like those green and purple nebulas, but RGGB is the pattern that gives the correct colors for theStarshoot Pro.
Picture
RGGB - the colors are correctly debayered
Picture
BGGR - red and blue are transposed
Picture
GBRG - has swapped green with both red and blue.
Picture
GRBG - both red and blue are again replaced by green

Page created 11/28/2017
​Last update 02/12/2023
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  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Astrophotography
  • The Observatory
    • The New Observatory
    • - About the ExploraDome
    • - About the Lancaster Dome
    • - Building the Lancaster Dome
  • Equipment
    • CCD Cameras >
      • Orion Starshoot Pro
      • QSI 683WS
      • ZWO ASI-178MM
    • Eyepieces
    • Filters
    • Mounts >
      • Orion HDX-110 (EQ-8) >
        • New HDX-110 Setup
        • Orion HDX110 EQ-8
    • Observatory Computers
    • Telescopes >
      • Astro-Tech AT6RC
      • Celestron C-11 XLT
      • Zhumell 152mm Refractor
  • Projects
    • Arduino Focuser
    • C11 XLT Mods
    • Orion SSPRO Camera >
      • Disassembled Views
      • Noise Reduction Mod
      • Temp Controller Mod
    • Ultima 8 Mods
    • Zhumell Refractor Mods
  • Non-Astronomy
    • Amateur Radio >
      • Boat Anchor Radios >
        • BC-348N Receiver
        • Collins 51J4 HF Receiver
        • R-392 HF Receiver
      • DIY >
        • Station Boom Microphone
      • Ameco >
        • Ameco AC-1
        • Ameco OCM
        • Ameco PT-2
        • Ameco R5A
      • Heathkit >
        • Heathkit SB-102 Station
      • Knight-Kit >
        • Knight Kit Span Master II
      • Yaesu FT-817 >
        • Yaesu FT-817ND
        • LDG Z-817 Autotuner
        • Windcamp LiPo Battery
    • Antique Radios >
      • Building A Radio Workbench
      • Radio Dial Neon Clock
      • Radios >
        • 1938 Zenith 6-S-254
        • Echophone EC-1
        • Eltz Radione 2
        • Panasonic RF-5000A
        • Silvertone Model 4465
    • Geiger Counters >
      • AN/PDR-27G Radiac Set
      • Lionel CD V-700 Geiger Counter
      • RCA WF-12A Geiger Counter
    • Test Equipment >
      • DIY Test Equipment >
        • DIY Curve Tracer
        • DIY Signature Tracer
      • Military Test Equipment >
        • BC-221-AF Frequency Meter
        • LM-21 Frequency Meter
        • TS-323/UR Frequency Meter
        • TS-465 C/U Sweep Generator
        • TS-505D/U VTVM
        • TV-3C/U Tube Tester
      • Tube Testers >
        • Alternating Current Sink
        • Drug Store Tester
        • EMC Model 200 Tube Tester
        • Hickok Model 6000A Tube Tester
        • Hickok OZ-1 (550X)
        • Precise Model 111 Tube Tester
        • Precision Model 10-12
        • Supreme Model 385
        • TV-3C/U Tube Tester
      • VTVMs and Multimeters >
        • B&K Model 290 Hi-Low FET Multimeter
        • Hickok 225K VTVM
        • McMurdo Silver VOMAX 900
        • Micronta 22-220 FET Multimeter
        • Simpson 360-2 Digital FET DMM
        • TS-505D/U VTVM
      • Hickok >
        • Hickok 19X RF Generator
        • Hickok 225K VTVM
        • Hickok 288X RF Generator
        • Hickok OZ-1 (550X)
        • Hickok 6000A Tube Tester
      • Simpson >
        • Simpson 360 DMM
        • Simpson 360-2 DMM
        • Simpson 480 Genescope
      • Supreme Instruments >
        • Supreme 385 Automatic
        • Supreme 560 Vedolyzer
        • Supreme 560A Vedolyzer
        • Supreme Model 561 AF/RF Generator
        • Supreme's Model 562 Audolyzer
        • Supreme Model 562 Audolyzer circa 1941
        • Supreme Model 562 Audolyzer circa 1946
        • Supreme Model 563 Audio Generator
        • Supreme Model 576 RF Generator
      • Other Test Equipment >
        • Heathkit IT-28 Capacitor Tester
        • Rider 162 Chanalyst
        • Tektronix 326 O'scope
        • VU-Data Model 941B Oscilloscope
    • ---------------
    • Fossils
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Star Trek >
      • Star Trek Rock Mood Lamp
      • Star Trek Communicator