Alert - Limited Support for USB SBIG in Future Releases
=======================================================

This is the last release of XmCCD that will support SBIG USB cameras.  While it
is likely that the included library and firmware upload will work for many years
to come, and we intend that this version will be available on our website for
use with older cameras, end users are advised to keep their own archival
copy. SBIG no longer offers a library for Linux on their website.  

Since many of the new models of cameras from both SBIG and Apogee include a
fully featured web server, at some point we anticipate adding a web server
driver that a user may configure for any camera with an ethernet interface.



Supported Cameras
=================

This software has been developed with OpenSuse 12.3, and tested with OpenSuse
11.4 through 12.3.  The SBIG library included here was downloaded from SBIG's
website in March 2013, the last public release of their library for Linux. 

Note that, as configured, the software requires a 64-bit operating system.

Trends in CCD technology for small telescopes point to either autonomous guiders
or high quality direct encoders, eliminating the need for the internal second
CCD that is unique to earlier generations of SBIG cameras.  Since we do not use
that option ourselves,  with version 4.0 of XmCCD we have removed parts of the
user interface and all of the SBIG protocols that were specifically for guiding
using unique features of SBIG  cameras: the dual CCD, and adaptive optical
accessory.  XmCCD version 3.x and earlier has those features and may still be
used if needed. 

The driver should automatically recognize any SBIG camera with a USB interface
which is supported by their Linux library.  

Direct support for RGB color with the color variants of SBIG cameras is not 
provided here.  FITS files generated by XmCCD from color cameras have the native
Bayer mask and be imported into AstroImageJ or other software for color 
processing if desired.  

The CFW and CFWL series of built-in filter wheels are supported, as is the Optec
IFW external filter wheel.  It may be necessary to change the filter wheel
choice in the protocol.h file for the camera.  With the latest release we have
changed the management of the filter wheel to make the external wheel the
default (as it would be for Apogee cameras).  


Installation Instructions for XmCCD with the SBIG Library
=========================================================

This is a recipe for installing XmCCD and auxiliary software especially for
those who may not have experience with Linux system management.  If you try
this and find I have left out something, please let me know and I will 
include your suggestion here.

  
I. Required Resources
---------------------

First, you will need the software sources.  It is best to compile xmccd from the
source to be sure that it will work with your system.  XmCCD has been tested
most recently with OpenSuse 12.2.  

Download the DVD version of Suse 12.2 or equivalent for the distribution of your
choice.

Install the default system, but include "development" versions of gcc.  We
typically include almost everything!  After installation is complete add
packages for

  -- Motif development (for the user interface)
  -- fxload (required to load firmware to the camera)

and you should be ready to install and run the software.
  

1.  XmCCD
---------

Our website

http://www.astro.louisville.edu/software  

provides:

xmccd-#.#.tar.gz

As root or superuser, copy this to /usr/local/src.  Untar the archive with
the command

tar xvzf xmccd-#.#.tar.gz

where "#.#" here will be a version number.  


2.  Motif libraries
-------------------

XmCCD uses a Motif user interface.  Your system will need a "development" 
package for Motif (or LessTif) to provide libraries and header files needed to
compile xmccd.  In OpenSuse  the easiest way is to use the system software
management program to search Suse archives for Motif and install from their
package.  Other distributions should have similar services, or may already have
Motif installed.  

If you are unsure whether your system has Motif, look for library files such as 
libXm.a, libXm.la, and libXm.so in /usr/lib for Suse 12.2, or perhaps
/usr/X11R6/lib for other distributions.  The makefiles for xmccd and xmccd1
require links to these libraries, and expect them in /usr/lib.  You may need
to edit the makefiles for distributions other than OpenSuse if the libraries
are not in /usr/lib.

You might also simply try to compile xmccd (see below) before you proceed to 
install Motif, and if there is an error message that a library is missing, 
that is a good indication that you need to install Motif, or make changes 
described below.


3. FITS libraries
-----------------

Astronomical images are stored as Flexible Image Transport (FITS) files and we
use the cfitsio libraries in building xmccd.  We recommend installing the
libraries system-wide as root user.  Note that if your system already has
libcfitsio installed this step is not necessary.  

cd libcfitsio
./install_cfitsio



4. FITS utilities
-----------------

A set of fits utilites is available in our ALSVID package.  See our website
for details.


5. ds9
------

This is the powerful image display software from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics . XmCCD uses it to display the images and to provide image
analysis and file handling. 

A copy of the most recent binary at the time this version of XmCCD was built is
included in ds9-#.# (where #.#is the version number).  

cd ds9-linux-#.#
./install_ds9_64bit

A 32-bit version is available there too if you prefer, but the 64-bit version
is stable.

It is simple to install the binary for ds9 by downloading it from
the developer's website if you want the most recent version, or a version
for another operating system

http://hea-www.harvard.edu/RD/ds9/

and copy it to /usr/local/bin/

It may also be compiled from source although the complexities of the software
make compiling likely to fail on "cutting edge" versions of Linux.  We 
recommend using the binary.

SAO_ds9 stores your preferences in a .ds9 file in the your home directory. 
You may want to read the manual to understand all the features, but one of them
is that it communicates with other software through an "XPA" protocol.  We use
this to inform ds9 each time there is a new image, and to obtain region
coordinates so that subframes can be read quickly if desired.  XPA is built into
xmccd1 and ccd, and it may also be used externally if you have scripts that are
interacting with the images and the telescope control system.


6. XPA
------

SAO_ds9 uses the XPA communication library and utilities.  A recent version 
of the source is included in XmCCD and must be compiled and installed:

cd xpa-#.#
make clean
./configure
make
make install
ldconfig

The ldconfig command will assure that the new fits and xpa libraries are 
recognized  by the system.

The XPA website has more information and updates: 

http://hea-www.harvard.edu/RD/xpa/index.html


7. SBIG Library
---------------

There is a version of the driver library in the sbig subdirectory of the
XmCCD package. You should use the included version.  The libsbig directory
in the XmCCD distribution also includes a script for installing the library,
include file, and the usb firmware.  

cd libsbig
./install_sbig

Some older versions of Linux may not work with this library, or may not work
with the rules script that prompts the system to upload firmware to the camera.
The best solution in this case is to update the operating system to at least
Suse 12.2 or equivalent.  Older versions of the library are still available in
archived xmccd tarfiles.


II.  Compile and install the INDI components
--------------------------------------------

Set your current working directory to the xmccd-#.# release directory. 

Compile the code in each of these directories as root user:

cd liblilxml
make

cd indiserver
make
make install

cd indiutil
make
make install

cd indiccd
./setup_sbig
make
make install

Before the first "make", check the contents of protocol.h to see if it has your
preference for the filter wheel and camera.  You may need to change the default
from the STL internal filter wheel to an external system, or to another SBIG
option.  

The last "make install" will place a copy of the indi driver "ccd" in
/usr/local/bin/.  If you also have an Apogee camera, you should rename the drivers
to be unique, for example, ccd_sbig and ccd_apogee, and rename xmccd1 to
xmccd1_sbig and xmccd1_apogee.  The indiserver and xmccd programs are not
specific to the choice of camera.



III. Compile and install the user interfaces
--------------------------------------------

cd xmccd
make
make install

cd xmccd1
./setup_sbig
make
make install

The protocol files used for xmccd1 are the same as the ones used for indiccd. 
Do not edit the protocol.h file here once you have edited it for indiccd.

The binary xmccd does not depend on the camera type, but xmccd1 does.  If you
also have an Apogee camera, or use different camera and filter combinations,
create unique executables for each one and rename them.


IV. Test that the USB system recognizes the camera and uploads firmware
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

With the camera power off, plug the camera's usb cable into a usb port on your 
computer.  Apply power and after a brief delay the fan on the camera should
start and its indicator LED should come on.  If the fan and light are on, then
the camera is ready to use.


For a diagnostic you could try 

  lsusb

On our system this is the response when the camera is running:


Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 001 Device 010: ID 0d97:0101 Santa Barbara Instrument Group SBIG Astronomy 
  Camera (with firmware)
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 04b0:0410 Nikon Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05e3:0606 Genesys Logic, Inc. 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05e3:0606 Genesys Logic, Inc. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 06c2:0031 Phidgets Inc. (formerly GLAB) 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  


The identification 0d97:0101 is the one for a camera after the firmware has been
uploaded.  If the upload was not successful, you will see an identification 
such as 0d97:0001, where the second hex number depends on the camera model. 
Other items here are for different devices attached to the USB bus -- in this
case a Nikon camera used for wide field imaging and an RFID tag reader that is
used to encode dome rotation.

In some cases, as root, you may need to upload the firmware from the command
line.  To do this, first find the device address using lsusb.  Then issue a
command similar to this one:

fxload -D /dev/bus/usb/001/002 -I /lib/firmware/sbigucam.hex

where the numbers 001 and 002 identify the USB device found in lsusb, and the
hex file to be uploaded is the one corresponding to your camera (lcam for STL 
cameras and ucam for others like the ST7,8,9, and 10).  


V.  Install a configuration file for the user software
------------------------------------------------------

Copy a configuration file in xmccd-#.#/prefs/ to 
/usr/local/observatory/prefs/prefs.ccd and edit it to suit your camera.  
The prefs file is used to name the filters in your camera filterwheel and 
record tracking defaults for autoguiding on your telescope.  If the file 
is not found, the compiled-in defaults will be used.  

Also create a subdirectory

/usr/local/observatory/status

As root user --

cd /usr/local
mkdir observatory
mkdir observatory/prefs
mkdir observatory/status
chown -R observer.users observatory

where the last command would give ownership to the user who is 
running the camera.  Alternatively (although less secure) allow any user
to read and write to the tree.

The programs xmccd1 and ccd read prefs files and write status files in this
tree, as do the companion programs xmtel1 and tel.  Some of our specialized
scripts which are offered as examples here also use files under "observatory"
to control flow.


VI. Start the INDI server 
-------------------------

Once the camera is connected and has uploaded its firmware, start the INDI
server with the command


cd data
indiserver ccd

where "data" is the directory into which you will store your image files.  
On a given night, start with an empty directory to be sure you do not
overwrite older images with new ones.

This operation should be done as a conventional user.  It should not be 
necessary and is not desirable to do this as root.  When the server starts 
the ccd driver, the driver will read a configuration file that is by default 
in /usr/local/observatory/prefs . Images acquired will be saved in the 
directory in which the indiserver is started.  The server is compatible with 
XmTel, our telescope control software.   To start them simultaneously, put 
the drivers on the command line when calling the server

cd data
indiserver ccd tel

In this case you may have "queue" files for data acquisition ready for xmtel
in the data directory.  Both xmccd and xmtel will access scripts that are
conveniently kept in /usr/local/bin, or in your own $HOME/bin directories.


VII. Start the user interface
-----------------------------

Once the server is running with the camera driver you may control the camera
using the xmccd INDI user interface.  The camera fan and the "on" light will
indicate that it has loaded firmware.  To use the INDI interface cd to a
local directory where you will save images and issue the command

xmccd

The program will spawn ds9 for image display and open a window to control the 
camera. 

The user interface and the server do not have to be on the same computer.  See
the REMOTE file for instructions on how to set this up to work over the
network.   The protocol makes very low demands on network resources. 
Alternatively, xmccd works very well under a VNC server with TightVNC as a
client for an "on-site" experience at remote observing.


VIII.  Run the camera from the command line
-------------------------------------------

Use the command line with setINDI to run the camera without a user interface. 


IX.  Run the camera from XEphem
-------------------------------

With the indiserver running as described above, start xephem as usual. Follow
the menus --

View -> Sky View
Telescope -> INDI panel
Connect
ccd

This opens a display with options to control all camera parameters.


X.  Alternative direct camera control interface without INDI
------------------------------------------------------------

The command

xmccd1

will run the camera without an indiserver.  You should not start the indiserver
with the ccd driver if you want to use xmccd1.  The indiserver requires xmccd.


XI. Filter wheels
-----------------

XmCCD is designed to control a filter wheel, and with SBIG cameras it will
detect and use the internal filterwheel if it is available.  You should
select the filter wheel by setting it in protocol.h.  The header file is 
annotated and it is simple to make your choice before compiling the
executable files for your camera.

XmCCD also allows you to select an external filter wheel option on compiling. 
With this, XmCCD will call an external routine and pass a filter number
argument to it, supporting in principle any hardware. 


XII. Scripts
-----------

There are several scripts given in the the xmccd distribution as examples.
Two of them --

transfer_image
set_camera_filter

should be edited installed in your computer's /usr/local/bin/.  The first one
is called by ccd to initiate an image transfer to ds9.  The script provided
does this by running setxpa locally.  If your instance of ds9 is on another
computer, you may need to use this to copy files or handle other tasks following
the acquisition of an image. The second one is used to run an external filter
wheel.  A dummy version should probably be installed even if you are using an
internal filter wheel to help the software start up smoothly before it knows
your system configuration.

There is also a program "ccd_monitor.sh" which may be started as a daemon
and allowed to run during the entire data acquisition if you want to process
images with a script after they are stored. It looks for a short timestamp
file ccdnewimage in /usr/local/observatory/status as a flag that there is 
new data to work on.  The file ccdnewimage is written by another script
ccd_process.sh that runs (when the option is selected) every time the camera
stores an image.  The purpose of the two scripts is to separate the work done
post-processing from the actual exposures and to avoide threading conflicts 
in Python.   

One very useful result is that the ccd_process.py script that is called by
ccd_monitor.sh can make guiding corrections based on stars selected in ds9.
Instructions on how to do this will be in the documentation on the XmCCD
wiki. With this feature, if the telescope can take images without guiding 
that are  of high quality in a cadence of, for example, 100 seconds, you can
effectively run on a single target unattended for hours with feedback from
the images you acquire to keep the telescope on target.  We use this for
real-time photometry with AstroImageJ.


XIII.  Send your comments
----------------------

Please let me know how this is working for you and what features you would like
to see added. There is a short TODO list in the main directory.


John Kielkopf (kielkopf@louisville.edu)
March 17, 2013






  
