AzCam is a software image data acquisition system developed at the University of Arizona Imaging Technology Laboratory. It currently operates Astronomical Research Cameras, Inc. Gen3, Gen2, and Gen1 CCD controllers and Magellan Guider Controllers.
The AzCam Configuration Guide explains general configuration options for AzCamServer and AzCamTool.
Download the AzCam installer (Windows version) here, which installs or updates all AzCam applications. This should be installed on both the server and the client machines if they are separate. Note that if the default folders are not used, most of the batch files which start the applications must be edited.
Save this file as sitecustomize.py in the python site-packages folder, typically something like C:\Python24\Lib\site-packages. If this file already exists for your installation then merge the contents of the two files. This file is used to update the python search path to find the AzCam files.
Once installed several shortcuts are added to the All Programs->AzCam menu on the Windows start menu. All the shortcuts point to files in the AzCam installation folder. These batch files may be edited as needed for your installation. In some cases it may be best to copy the files to a folder which is not overwritten by future installations, and edit the shortcuts appropriately.
Example of AzCam data and support files may be downloaded from here. These are usually installed into c:\data.
Download the AzCamDrivers which are needed for AzCam hardware installation. These files may be deleted after the appropriate driver installation batch files are executed.
Download the Motorola software tools for DSP assembly and linking.
AzCamServer Command Guide (PDF). A document which explains AzCamServer commands and syntax.
PCI interface board driver installation instructions contains instructions for installing the PCI board and the required drivers.
Conversion Guide for upgrading from AzCam 2.x to AzCam 3.x.
Autogenerated html files from Python code using Epydoc.
AzCamTool is a GUI client which communicates with AzCamServer. It is the main AzCam user interface.
AzCamTool User's Guide (still OLD) - this describes the user GUI used to operate a CCD camera. This is what to read if you just want to observe with an AzCam system.
AzCamTool Manual (still OLD) - this describes installation and general functionality of AzCamTool. It complements the above User's Guide but is not needed in order to observe.
LabVIEW software required by AzCamTool
AzCamScripts is a set of client side commands designed to be used for data acquisition and analysis. These commands are implemented in a set of python scripts.
AzCamScripts commands and documentation
AzCamCL is an interactive command line interface which utilizes AzCamScripts. It is typically used in conjunction with AzCamTool, but may act as a stand-alone client or used with any other client. It creates its own socket connection to AzCamServer. The AzCamScripts commands are loaded into the AzCamCL shell at startup and they are then executed by typing the command name.
AzCamCL uses IPython for its shell. To use AzCamCL, install IPython and add the profile file ipythonrc-AzCam.ini to the IPython home directory (usually _ipython or similar). Start AzCamCL with the batch file StartAzCamCL.bat.
AzCamCL may also be used (with less functionality) from other Python environments, which would not require installation of IPython. As an example, to start AzCamCL using the Idle environment which comes standard with Python, call StartAzCamCL_Idle.bat.
An optional folder containing user scripts may be specified with the ScriptsFolder parameter in AzCamDefaults.ini. All commands from these scripts will be loaded when AzCamCL starts and will then be available from the command line.
AzCamScripts release notices.
The DSP code which runs in the controllers is assembled and linked with Motorola software tools which may be downloaded from this site. You must install this file in the \AzCam folder to create to folder structure \AzCam\MotorolaDSPtools\... which is required by the batch files which assemble and link the DSP source code.
While the AzCam application code for the ARC timing board is typically downloaded during camera initialization, the boot code must be compatible for this to work properly. Therefore AzCam DSP code must be burned into the timing board EEPROMs before use. The AzCam timing DSP code is quite different from the ARC code and is required for AzCam operation. The PCI fiber optic interface board and the utility board uses the original ARC code and does not need to be changed. Note this applies to gen3 systems only, the gen1 and gen2 situation is more complex.
For the Magellan systems, there is only one DSP file which must be downloaded during initialization. Note that ".s" files are loaded for the Magellan systems while ".lod" files are downloaded for ARC systems.
Python-based versions (3.x) and the older C-based versions (before 3.0) are not intended to be compatible. For upgrade information, contact the AzCam help desk, azcam@itl.arizona.edu.
The documents below may be useful for previous installations of AzCam, but should not be used for new systems.