                        Santa Barbara Instrument Group
                               Applications Note
                              CCDOPS Version 3.83
                                 July 1, 1999

This Application Notes describes the changes made to CCDOPS since version
3.5

Additions made to CCDOPS
*** Additions made in version 3.83
* Added the 1XN, 2XN and 3XN readout modes to the ST-7/8 for
  use with the Spectrometer
* Compiled with version 2.73 of the Parallel Driver which
  fixes a bug where some CCD Images could have a few bright
  or dark rows at the top
* Added the ability to change the threshold where the
  Relays kick in in the AO Slef Guide command
* Fixed a bug where partially captured dark frames (ones
  where you hit ESC) could get remembered and used again
  when Reuse Dark Frames was enabled.
* Modified a few of the FITS header keywords to be compatible
  with Mac, DOS and Windows

*** Additions made in version 3.81
* Compiled with version 2.70 of the parallel driver which adds
  refinements for the new "E" chip ST-7/8 cameras as detailed below:
  * Lowers the noise of ST-7/8 readouts by keeping the TE
    cooler power constant for readout.
  * Removes an intermittent glow from the upper-left corner of
    E chips by keeping the CCD preamp voltage low except for readout
* Fixed a bug that could cause the PC clock to occasionally loose a few
  seconds per ST-7/8 image.

*** Additions made in version 3.80
* Fixed a bug where the "INSTRUME" field in the FITS files was too long
* Updated the FITS files for Y2K compliance, saving the date in the
  format YYYY-MM-DD
* Removed the Date and Time from the Edit Image Parameters dialog

*** Additions made in version 3.78 and 3.79
* Fixed a bug in the Scale command that would cause overflow if
  pixel values wer > 32767
* Added ability to export Windows BITMAP files
* Added ability to Autograb BITMAP files
* PixCel 255 and 237 cameras are called ST-5C and ST-237
  in the SBIG build version

*** Additions made in version 3.77
* In Track and Accumulate mode the tracking error in arcseconds
  is now plotted.  The table remains in pixels and the graph is now
  arcseconds.

*** Additions made in version 3.76
* If the star is close enough, you can now force the system to guide to
  a certain pixel in the Self Guide command by positioning the crosshair
  on that pixel then selecting Guide to XHair in the pull-down menu.  The
  old behavior of guiding to the current position of the star is achieved
  with the Guide to Centroid option.
* The crosshair coordinate is now displayed when you are selecting the
  guidestar.
* If you loose your CCDOPS.CFG file the software now assumes your
  filter wheel is a CFW-8.  It used to assume No Filter Wheel and
  if you gave it a command to position the CFW-8 without first telling
  it the CFW-8 was attached it would happily tell you it had moved
  the filter wheel when indeed it hadn't.

*** Additions made in version 3.75
* Added support for the PixCel237 camera.
* Added electronic eyepiece mode (Eyepiece command in the Camera menu) that
  work like a full screen focus mode command.  You can choose the exposure
  time, resolution and whether to flip the image left-right.
  *** Note *** This requires VESA 640x480 or 800x600 video modes
* You can now specify X and Y offsets in the Average Images command.
* At the end of an autoguiding episode the RMS error for the whole
  episode is shown.
* To simplify calibration of the tracking functions you can now
  select half or quarter frame mode to limit the field of view
  and reduce the posibility of stars outside the FOV corrupting the
  results.
* Added cursor acceleration that can be turned on and off in the
  Graphics Setup command.  The cursor acceleration works by using
  the Arrow keys with (high-speed) and without (low-speed) holding the
  Control key down at the same time.
* Added the image note to the Save dialog so can set note on way to saving
  the image.

*** Additions made prior to 3.75
* Added the AO menu for use with the AO-7 with the following commands:
  Self Guide:  Special version of the Self Guide command optimized for
               the AO-7.  The interface is graphical and allows you
               to adjust the aggressiveness and slew rate in real time
  Calibrate:   Calibrates the AO-7 motion.  You need to do this before
               using the AO-7 for guiding.
  Setup:       Allows you to enable tha AO-7 so that telescope relay
               commands are redirected to the AO.  Also you can set the
               Slew Rate.
  Exercise:    Allows you to test the AO-7 by exercising in on one or
               both axes.
* By enabling a setting in the Graphics Setup command you can now turn
  on cursor acceleration when using the Arrow keys to move items around.
* The software now warns you if you try to take a >10 second image with
  the tracking CCD.  It was too easy to mistakenly take a dark with the
  tracking CCD.
* Added the current computer time to the menu bar.
* You are now reminded to use the IR blocking filter when you start
  and Color-Grab sequence.
* Changed the format of the Track Log file to accommodate smaller and
  larger track box sizes.  Old track log files may not work with the
  Convert Track Log File command and may need to be reacquired.
* Added ability to save images in ASCII format in File Save Dialog.  Uses
  a tab delimited format with <CR><LF> at end of line that is compatible
  with many spreadsheet programs (Excel, etc.).
* Sped up the planet mode focus command with the ST-8.
* Added support for the VESA 1280x1024 by 256 color mode for photo mode.
* In guiding commands the software now forces the centroid of the guide star
  to the center of the pixel for maximum S/N
* The adaptive dark subtract routine now makes sure there is enough image
  statistics for the adaptive algorithm.  Otherwise default coefficient
  of 1 is used.
* Added a Spot focus mode to the ST-7, ST-8 and PixCel255 that follows
  the brightest spot in the image around.  It takes a full frame image in
  the low res mode to find the bright spot and then tracks that spot around.
  If you want to reacquire the bright spot within Focus mode reenter the
  Spot mode by hitting the 'B' key or with the pull-down menu.
* Added a large version of the peak readout to the lower-left corner of
  the Focus mode that makes reading this from across the room easier.
* Increased the maximum size of a HP laser printed image to 8 inches.
  In the older software ST-7 images would print at 2.5 inch width and
  now they print at 7.5 inch width.
* Added a Turbo update mode to the Focus command for the ST-7 and ST-8
  that allows shorter image times and faster throughput by just leaving
  the shutter open.  You will notice steaking of bright objects with short
  exposures when using this mode since these CCDs are not frame transfer
  CCDS.
* Reduced the size of the tracking image in the ST-7/8 to exclude hot
  pixels that showed up at the bottom of some units making the
  Tracking Calibrate routine require brighter stars.
* Allow up to 9999 images in auto grab.
* An Auto Bias feature has been applied to ST-7/8 Imaging CCD images
  such that short dark images will now show around 100 counts.
  Also, the Display Parameters dialog has been updated to show whether
  Auto Bias Level was used to capture ST-7/8 images by the addition
  of the ABL field in the Readout State data.
* We added an option titled "Non-ABG Streak Removal" to the ST-7/8
  Camera Setup Command.  Users of non-ABG protected versions of these
  cameras should enable this option to prevent horizontal streaking of
  bloomed stars.  This is only active in the Medium and Low Resolution
  modes where the on-chip binning causes this effect.  This slows down
  the readout in these binned modes but removes the unsightly effect.
  Note that this is applied in the Focus mode so as to not slow down
  focusing unless you have enabled the Auto Grab mode of the Focus command.
     Users with ABG protecte versions of these cameras should leave this
  option disabled.
* We removed the artifical saturation limit of 16,384 counts when the
  ST-7/8 were used in the high resolution mode.  Now rather than limiting
  the A/D at 16K we let the CCD's saturation limit the readout.  This allows
  users of the non-ABG versions of these cameras to realize the higher
  full-well capacity of those cameras.

Bug Fixes made to CCDOPS

*** Version 3.78
* Fixed a bug in the Self Guide command that caused a glow in the
  corner of the image.

*** Version 3.77
* Fixed a bug in the Autoguide command that would cause ST-4X, ST-5
  and ST-6 cameras to not update the tracking error from image
  to image.

*** Version 3.76
* Fixed bug that caused Flat Field files created with the Add By Track List
  command to be invalid.  The flat field images would be the right size
  but would not have been combined correctly.

*** Version 3.75
* Fixed a bug in the calibrate mode where unrespnsive relays would
  report huge numbers, leaving garbled text on the screen.
* Fixed a bug in the FITS file where the SBIG HISTORY keyword did not
  have an "=".

*** Previous Versions
* Fixed a bug that could cause the date to advance multiple times at
  midnight.
* Fixed a bug in the Convert Track Log file that could cause some
  images at the end of the sequence to be missed and not added to
  the image and spreadsheet.
* Increased the lenght of path variables to 80 characters
* Fixed a bug that would forbid directories that were "Read Only" from
  showing up in the File Open dialog such as Windows 95's
  "Program Files" directory.
* Fixed bug in co-add frames where the total number of exposures would be
  too high by 1
* Fixed bug that when using cameras where it asks to take a dark in Focus
  mode and you esc the 1st image was corrupted
* Fixed a bug that could cause some ST-8s to have horizontal streaks in the
  readout on very fast PCs.
* Fixed a bug in the PARDRV driver that could cause ST-7/8 cameras
  to have a slight horizontal streaking in low level light frames on
  fast computers
* Fixed a bug that could cause Auto-dark subtracted images
  to be corrupted when running under Windows and when
  extended memory was low
* Fixed a memory leak that caused the software to hang on exiting to DOS
  when used with an ST-7/8 and the active CCD was changed.
* Fixed a bug in the Dark Subtract command in the Utility menu that would
  clip ST-7/ST-8 high-res pixels to 16383 counts.
* Fixed a bug in the VESA driver that caused the mouse cursor to show
  stripes on some VESA displays and to move in increments of
  4 pixels.
* Fixed a bug in the VESA driver that would leave images of the selection
  box behind as it was moved on some VESA displays.
* Fixed a bug where taking an image thru midnight would report much time
  left in the exposure.
* Fixed a bug in the Zoom 4X and Replicate commands where images that
  had been previously Enlarged and then Zoomed would get corrupted.
* Fixed a bug that when a Color Grab sequence was taken with the Track
  and Accumulate command the filter wheel would always try to use the
  Blue filter on subsequent images.
