Safe to upgrade SFT8300C from 2.62 to 2.63?

Discussion in 'STF Series CCD Cameras' started by Chris Fellows, Dec 13, 2019.

  1. Chris Fellows

    Chris Fellows Serenity Mobile Observatory - Chris Fellows Cyanogen Customer

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    Hello all,
    I just bought a new kit and am attaching my STF8300C to it. I am using a PrimaLuceLab Eagle3S and SGP to control the camera. I have installed the newest drivers via the Driver Checker but am having download issues (download times out) when running the camera in SGP. I noticed that there is new firmware (I am currently on 2.6.2) available but when I went to upgrade I got two warnings and chickened out.

    Is it safe? Is it my problem?

    Thanks
    CmF
     
  2. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Version 2.63 only has changes relevant to the STF-3200 and STF-8050. There are no changes that affect the STF-8300. Therefore I would recommend against updating it.

    The download issues are probably related to your USB interface. Check your cables. Avoid using USB hubs if at all possible. Avoid plugging into the front panel USB connector on a desktop (they typically have poor quality internal wiring that compromises reliability).

    Also please see:

    https://forum.diffractionlimited.co...spend-re-enabled-in-windows-update-1909.6546/
     
  3. Chris Fellows

    Chris Fellows Serenity Mobile Observatory - Chris Fellows Cyanogen Customer

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    I changed the USB cable with a know good one, I am not using a hub (I am using the Eagle3s from primalucelabs) and have tried both USB 3 and 2 ports on the device. I am still getting very strange performance from the camera. It takes 10 or 15 seconds for the camera to connect, seems to take a frame when I click "take one" from sgp (I have tried 1 second @ 1x1 and 2x2 binning) and then it goes into downloading and will try for about 60 seconds and then I get the error.

    I have gone thru the recommended power settings above and confirmed power setting are correct.
     
  4. Chris Fellows

    Chris Fellows Serenity Mobile Observatory - Chris Fellows Cyanogen Customer

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    Here is another update. I downloaded and installed CCDOps5 to see if it was a SGP issue or a PC/Driver issue. The camera is acting the same but in CCDOps I get a progress bar during download. The file is being downloaded via the USB connection but it is VERY slow. I did a 3x3 binned dark shot and after 5 minutes it was less than 25% downloaded.
     
  5. Chris Fellows

    Chris Fellows Serenity Mobile Observatory - Chris Fellows Cyanogen Customer

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    Sorry, I posted a couple of updates to the thread but neglected to hit the reply button. Here are my updates again.

    "I changed the USB cable with a know good one, I am not using a hub (I am using the Eagle3s from primalucelabs) and have tried both USB 3 and 2 ports on the device. I am still getting very strange performance from the camera. It takes 10 or 15 seconds for the camera to connect, seems to take a frame when I click "take one" from sgp (I have tried 1 second @ 1x1 and 2x2 binning) and then it goes into downloading and will try for about 60 seconds and then I get the error.

    I have gone thru the recommended power settings above and confirmed power setting are correct."

    and

    "Here is another update. I downloaded and installed CCDOps5 to see if it was a SGP issue or a PC/Driver issue. The camera is acting the same but in CCDOps I get a progress bar during download. The file is being downloaded via the USB connection but it is VERY slow. I did a 3x3 binned dark shot and after 5 minutes it was less than 25% downloaded."
     
  6. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    That’s really bizarre behavior. It sounds like the USB interface is barely working.

    Can you try it on another PC?
     
  7. Chris Fellows

    Chris Fellows Serenity Mobile Observatory - Chris Fellows Cyanogen Customer

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    That is my next step but it will have to wait till tomorrow. I am at my dark sky location and the other PC is running my other kit. I ran this camera on the old PC for years so I assume it is going to fire right up. I also think this is a USB issue but other gear seems to be working fine on it. I have a sesto-senso focuser that fires right up and runs fine. I will let you know how it works on the other PC but like I said, i'll bet it works fine. The new PC is running Windows 10 enterprise and I am wondering if that might have something to do with it. Do you know if the drivers have been tested with that OS?

    Thanks Doug. I'm out under the stars...
     
  8. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Yes the drivers work with all versions of Windows.

    Enjoy the clear skies. It’s cloudy here. :(
     

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