Specifications

Chapter 3 First Light 29
Coolant
Circulator
110/220
Shutter
TAXI cable
(Serial Com)
Controller
SerialDetector
110/220
Inlet
Outlet
110/220
Camera
Detector-Controller
EXPERIMENT
Computer
Figure 8. System, TE camera connection diagram
3. In the case of a TE series camera, connect a source of liquid coolant. For purposes of
these checks, ordinary tap water will be fine. Liquid cooling may be necessary with
TE cameras (some CCDs, such as the SITe 512x512, don’t operate correctly unless
cooled to approximately -40°C.) With liquid cooling you will be able to cool TE
cameras to -50°C. Without liquid cooling, a TE camera can only lock to -5°C, unless
it is a model having forced air cooling, in which case temperature lock down to -
40°C can be achieved.
4. Turn on the controller power. The Power On/Off switch is located on the front of the
controller. The front-panel power-switch light should light after a few seconds.
5. Turn on the power at the computer and start the application software.
6. Set up the applications software for a temperature of -15°C. The temperature should
drop steadily, reaching -15C° in about ten minutes (typical). At that point the green
Temp Lock LED on the Analog/Control module will light and there will be a
locked indication at the computer monitor, indicating that temperature lock has
been established. Note that some overshoot may occur. This could cause temperature
lock to be briefly lost and then quickly re-established. If you are reading the actual
temperature reported by the application software, there may be a small difference,
typically <01.5°C, between the set and reported temperature when lock is
established. This is normal and does not indicate a system malfunction. Once lock is
established, the temperature will be stable to within ±0.05°C.
7. At the computer, set up the applications software for your hardware setup. Be sure to
activate the video output by clicking on Video on the Acquisition menu (there will
be a check next to “Video” to indicate that it is selected). See your application
software manual for detailed information.
8. If using WinView/32, select the Video Focus mode from the Acquisition menu.
Then select a short Exposure Time (0.1 s), an RS170 Intensity Scaling setting
of 4096 and a Pattern Zoom setting of 2x. If the CCD array of your chip is larger
than the 756x486 (typical) provided by the video monitor, and the pan function is
available (it is not currently supported for all arrays), select the region of the array to
be used for making the focus adjustment. This completes the Interactive Camera
Operation dialog box entries.