Bright corner of first exposure

Discussion in 'STX and STXL Series Cameras' started by KimRichards, Apr 29, 2020.

  1. KimRichards

    KimRichards Standard User

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  2. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    Hi Kim,
    Have you checked if the firmware in the camera is up to date?
    Quit out of any programs.
    Start the SBIGDriver Checker.
    Go to the Firmware Tab
    Get Firmware version from camera.
     
  3. KimRichards

    KimRichards Standard User

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    Hi Colin,
    I already checked drivers and firmware are up to date.
    Firmware is:
    sttusb bf2 Vers 1.10
    attga bf2 Vers 2.66

    Glow varies but is 4 to 6000 above background
    Do u want me to send FIT file?
    thanks
    Kim
     
  4. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    Yes please, a 1x1 bias, a dark (at least 30 seconds). A 10 minute dark would be good. If they are too large, you'll need to use Dropbox/WeTransfer/GoogleDrive.
     
  5. KimRichards

    KimRichards Standard User

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  6. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    Kim,
    Your dark and bias frames are perfect, and there is minimal glow and no obvious problems.
    If it is amplifier glow, it should be almost identical in the dark frames that are the same length at the same temperature.
    So, we don't have anything conclusive just yet.

    This might be a problem with TheSkyX that you used to take the images. I see the version you are running is out of date. You might check with Software Bisque on this.
    They might also be using an old driver or something they install, or there may be a misconfiguration of TSX.

    To eliminate TSX as a possibility, try taking an image with our free CCDOps software or with a Demo of MaxIm DL Pro, and see what you get.

    BTW its "Amp Glow" not "Lamp Glow" - Amp as in amplifier. :)

    I'll ask colleagues in case they have any other ideas.
    Would you mind providing the serial number of the camera from the label?
     
  7. NickA

    NickA Standard User

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    Hello, I am experiencing the exact same issue mentioned in this post (and another referenced below.) I’m curious to know if there is a fix for this issue.

    The Amp Glow (bright corner of first exposure) consistently appears in the top left corner of the first frame in a series. Subsequent frames are unaffected. I’m taking dark calibration frames at the moment (600s, 1800s) and every 1st frame has the glow. I also reviewed some recent M101 subs and the first sub in each series has the same Amp Glow in the top left corner.

    I checked similar forum posts I could find on the subject for a resolution but did not find one.

    All image capture was done with MaximDL 6.21, and my drivers are up-to-date (see below.)

    Driver Name Version Date
    ==============================
    sbigudrv.dll 4.99 Build 7 02-11-19
    sbigu64.sys 2.41.0.1338 01-27-15
    sbigpcam.hex 2.46 01-27-15
    sbiglcam.hex 2.20 01-27-15
    sbigfcam.hex 2.25 01-27-15
    sbigfga.bin 2004.11.10 01-27-15


    Exact issue:
    * Bright corner of first exposure. Discussion in 'STX and STXL' started by KimRichards, Apr 29, 2020
    * Bright corner of first exposure. Discussion in 'STX and STXL' started by VictoriaSaucier, Oct 25, 2019

    Similar issues:
    * Strange glow developing. Discussion in 'STF Series' started by Trevor Worrall, Nov 12, 2017
    * Amplifier Glow. Discussion in 'STX and STXL' started by Adam Block, May 11, 2015
    * Strange light on 16803 Frames. Discussion in 'STX and STXL' started by sixburg, Jun 22, 2016
    * STT-8300 - Possible Amp Glow Problem. Discussion in 'STT Series (retired)' started by Dean J., Feb 9, 2016
    * New STT-8300 Image Defect Problems Continue - amp glow? Discussion in 'STT Series (retired)' started by Dean J., Apr 3, 2016
     
  8. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    NickA, we need a few pieces of additional information:
    1. What camera do you have?
    2. What is its serial number?
    3. Are you running it off the original power supply or something else?
    4. Please supply a 1x1 (unbinned) FITS image - bias, dark, and light for when it does it (eg image 1 where it shows it, and image 2). If the images are too large to use [Upload a File] then use WeTransfer/DropBox/Google Drive, something like that.
     
  9. NickA

    NickA Standard User

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    Thanks Colin! My STX-16803 serial # is X18020009, and I am using the original STX-supplied power cable. Pictures sent via Dropbox links:
    Darks: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f88nekkivhbd0t0/DarkMay12202030CBin1x1-0005_1800s WHT TL.zip?dl=0
    Lights: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l4bikgcq1rk5gqa/M101Apr282020-0001Ha WHT TL.zip?dl=0
    Bias: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1r9pz6j7eoxmhgx/BiasApr22202030CBin1x1.zip?dl=0
    Note that the long exposure darks and lights exhibit Amp Glow in the top left corner. The bias frames (zero s) show no Amp Glow. Thanks for your assistance.

    Edit: Since the Amp Glow has been steadily appearing on the first frame of a series (be it a dark or light frame,) I included the first and second image for a representative M101 light frame. For the dark frames, I uploaded 3 images with Amp Glow. That said, during one session I captured 11 darks and only the first image (image 0001) displayed Amp Glow. Next session I captured 20 darks and only image 0001 displayed Amp Glow, etc.

    I am capturing all frames using MaximDL autosave sequences with "normal" readout mode.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2020
  10. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    NickA I had a fast look, did you modify these images from the norm? eg they seem to be flipped and rotated for some reason.
    Any other unusual settings in use?
    Can you give me a screen shot of the SBIG Driver Checker driver versions, settings, and then the camera firmware tab showing the camera firmware?

    When look at the darks, I seem amp glow in
    DarkMay12202030CBin1x1-0001_1800s WHT TL.fit I'll call that 1 and 0005 (I'll call that 5).
    1 has more than 5 which has more than 12 which is really clean.
    Stretch of 873 to 1164 will show the glow in dark 1,5, and next to none in 12.
    1 and 5 were taken about 3 hours apart.
    12 was taken 3 days earlier.
    So, this isn't a really useful data set for comparison purposes.
    I was hoping we'd see dark 1 bad amp glow; dark 2 normal or no amp glow; dark 3 normal or no amp glow.
    What we have here is dark 1 normal amp glow; dark 5 normal amp glow; dark 12 taken 3 days earlier no discernable amp glow (by eye).

    With a normally oriented image, amp glow in the normal readout mode usually shows in the upper left corner.
    I see what looks like a normal level of amp glow in M101Apr282020-0001Ha.fit - but if the image is rotated and flipped, it should be in the lower right corner.
    It's in the upper left, like an unrotated unflipped image.
    I don't see any amp glow in the other M101 image as you say. Nice and clean.

    So if you can pass along the info requested, then I'll ask @Doug for his opinion.
     
  11. KimRichards

    KimRichards Standard User

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    Hi Colin,

    I tried CCDOps but could not reproduce the lamp glow. Went back to SkyX and could not get a single bad frame.
    So I thought this problem had gone away but recently I got just one frame with the lamp glow issue (attached). Since my last posting I have probably taken 150 or so images with no glow and this one frame is in the middle of about 30 frames all clean.
    Note that is again a red frame?

    Any ideas?

    Regards

    Kim
     

    Attached Files:

  12. KimRichards

    KimRichards Standard User

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    Sorry just realized I had one green frame with glow. Attached.
     

    Attached Files:

  13. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    Ok, I see amplifier glow in the upper left corner in this image taken wtih TheSky X.
    Have you checked the camera's drivers and firmware to see if it is current?
    The glow should subtract out.
     
  14. KimRichards

    KimRichards Standard User

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    Hi Colin,
    Please see my previous posts on this thread. Everything is up to date.
    What I don't understand is why it is so random, varying from 1 frame in 5 in worst case to 1 in 150 in best case?
    Thanks
    Kim
     
  15. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    Kim, I re-read your prior posts.
    Yes, you are on current firmware.
    What I see is a random sample, not reproducible, and happening mostly with TheSkyX.
    You aren't current on TheSky X, they have updated it since the version you have.
    I would post a question over on the Software Bisque Forum.
     

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