From youngs@ccu.umanitoba.ca Mon May 24 06:53:31 1993
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: youngs@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Scott D. Young)
Subject: Re: Format of ST-4, ST-6 and others
Nntp-Posting-Host: ccu.umanitoba.ca
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Date: Mon, 24 May 1993 01:09:13 GMT

In <09.26019@abbs.hanse.de> j.jahn@abbs.hanse.de (Jost Jahn) writes:

>Format of ST-4, ST-6 and others
>-------------------------------

>Hello all CCD owner and programmer.

>I'm interesting to receive the format description and the description
>of the control commands of the SBIG ST-4 and ST-6 camera (and Lynx,

   The format of the images can be TIFF or FITS, as well as the SBIG
   format. The problem is, the FITS format is done incorrectly (i.e. what
   ever it writes, it's not a FITS file of the file that you started with)
   and no software I've ever seen uses SBIG's format except SBIG. One of
   our programmers has writeen an ST-6 to FITS conversion program; I will
   talk to him to see if he can shed some light on the format.

>if available).  SBIG, resp. his (german) distributor makes a great
>mystery of this, especially of the control commands.  Otherwise
>anyone can decode the control commands by using a second PC
>or an interface analyzer.  But to avoid double work I think anyone
>have done this before me and maybe he or she will be so nice,
>to e-mail me those commands.

   I think that SBIG doesn't want anyone to know how they control the chip
   because their afraid no one would buy their support stuff. Not that I'm
   knocking SBIG, but the ST-4 and even the early ST-6's were very much a lear
   learning experience for them (and us at the U of M). 

>I don't understand SBIG.  If more software would be available for
>controlling and processing their CCD chip more chips would be sold...

   The ST-6 is designed for taking pretty pictures of things in the sky. It
   does not use all of the tecniques needed for high-precision photometry
   (although it should do that alright...I'll see). I think SBIG might have
   been a bit rushed to put the ST-6 on the market, and this *may* have
   caused a few problems that they don't want public domain. Purely
   speculation, this last part. It really is a great camera, provided you
   know what you want and are willing to learn a lot from other sources
   to get it.


>  Jost Jahn

   Scott Young
   DISCLAIMER: All of the above is my opinion. Don't be offended, SBIG!