Hello there, I'm remote helping my friend get his maximDL/ST-402ME setup going. I'm fairly proficient computationally, but not terribly experienced with the CCD workflow yet. In trying to get some flat frames, I could see that the images looked split in dark and light halves and the split changes depending on the filterwheel position (which also has a habit of changing by itself in maximDL 5). We put a lens on the camera just to show how a light switch on the wall is cutoff (the wall isn't actually dark to the right). It *looks* like a filterwheel problem to me (somehow the right side of the image is being occluded), but I might be doing something incredibly stupid. Can anyone diagnose what is going on by just looking at it?
This transition from light to dark seems a little to vertical to be the shutter/filter wheel. Typically if it was not positioned properly, I would expect it to be slightly horizontal. You may need to test the camera on a workbench where you can see if the shutter/filter wheel is opening all the way. If it is not working after bench test, can you send a photo of the filter wheel?
There is a more "horizontal" split when I change to another filter (i.e. the dark/light partition changes as a function of filterwheel position). I'll send a photo soon.
Ok, in the light of day it seems like the filter wheel is definitely occluding the chip. I've attached a picture of the camera control panel in maximdl5 with a picture of the filter just after taking the picture.
Yep, certainly looks like the filter wheel is not aligned. But I can not tell exactly what is happening. Is it possible to remove the 4 screws on the cover plate and send a photo of the filter wheel inside? It kind of looks like the filter wheel is upside down.
Yes, thank you. Was it working previously, then stopped? If you plug the camera in and connect it via the software, does the filter wheel appear to initialize and align properly (with the lid off)? Does the indexing toggle move freely?
The camera was purchased in 2009, long story short, it has barely been used since then and it isn't clear if the problem was there from the beginning. The filter wheel does spin on initialization but the initial position appears to be misaligned, at times completely occluded. I'll update once I confirm if the indexing toggle is moving freely or not.
Ok. We may be able to adjust the motor phase and see if it will align. Try the following steps: 1.) You will need installed on the computer with the camera, CCDOps. You can download the latest version from our website at the following link: ftp://ftp.sbig.com/pub/InstOps.exe 2.) Once it is installed, connect the camera to the computer and power it on. 3.) Open CCDOps and select "Edit" -> "Preferences". 4.) In the top-right corner of the "CCDOps Preferences window there is a small sqare (empty button). Click it to open the "Command Line Options" window. 5.) Check "Show Advanced Menu". Then click "OK" 6.) Establish a connection to the camera in CCDOps. 7.) Click the "Advanced" menu and select "Camera Configuration". 8.) There are 4 phases to choose from on the "Motor Phase" menu. Select a different one from the one you have currently set, then click the "Write It !" button. Once it is done, disconnect the camera and then power it back on for the EEPROM changes to take affect. Try each phase to see if the shutter will align.
We went through the steps carefully and, as best as I can tell, the phases were being set correctly you could see the new values being read after restarting camera/disconnecting/power cycling the camera. None of the phases worked, it so happened that phase 2 was about 90% there but after we went back to phase 2 after phase 3, the filter wheel was blocking the chip entirely. There doesn't appear to be any consistency to the wheel alignment between the phases.
Ok. You should contact Bill Lynch in repairs and see if he can help you out. Bill Lynch - SBIG Service & Repair Center 130 Castilian Drive, Suite 102 Santa Barbara, CA 93117 Bill Lynch - bill@sbig.com Phone: (805) 308-6979
