STXL11000 - Camera becomes unresponsive during session

Discussion in 'STX and STXL Series Cameras' started by Steven Mohr, Apr 3, 2018.

  1. Steven Mohr

    Steven Mohr Standard User

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    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    Hello,

    For a period of 8 months this camera has worked well with irregular stops during sessions. These glitches are typically handled by user scripts that reboot the system and cycle the power to the camera. In these cases, the camera was unresponsive, but recoverable with these actions. The camera then performed until system shutdown in the morning, warmed up and shutdown correctly.

    In the last week, the system has been unable to recover the camera once it faults [more so, doesn't detect the failure - so the system is in a wait state, rather than a failure to do something]. Some thing new, and difficult for me to see what is happening. In this new case, the camera is still unreliable following a power cycle. It can take a number of cycles of closing the programs, cycling the camera power, before the camera resumes operation. But then it becomes highly likely to fail again within the same session. I have the STXL Log file attached for you to review.

    Could you please have a look at this log to see if there is anything there you can interpret as to what is happening? I see its a long file, with the errors appearing nearing the bottom 1/7 of the list. A snippet is below of what I see in the attached log:

    At t = 8054.705: -------------------------
    At t = 8054.705: ReadComPipe : Rx Error - 8
    At t = 8054.705: ReadComPipe : Ask/Got = 2048/-1
    At t = 8054.705: data : 8F, 04, E8, 04, CB, 04, D2, 04, D9, 04, 95, 04
    At t = 8054.705: MicroCommand : ValidateMicroResponse, cameraID = 17, error = 8 - RX Timeout
    At t = 8054.705: CCDDigitizeLine : MicroGetPixels - 1st line, err = 08 - RX Timeout
    At t = 8054.705: CC_READOUT_LINE : end, err = 08 - RX Timeout
    At t = 8054.705: =========================
    At t = 8054.705: CC_END_READOUT : begin ----> GRAB END
    At t = 8054.705: MicroCommand : MC_READOUT -> RS subcommand: RS_END_READOUT
    At t = 8054.705: -------------------------
    At t = 8054.705: AsyncWrite : Error: Unknown OS Error, Ask/Written=4/-1, Short=5.
    At t = 8054.705: WriteComPipe wr error : 0xe0010000 -
    At t = 8064.798: AsyncRead : Error: 258, ret = -1, Totals : dwSize/dwBytesRd = 2/0, Short=2
    At t = 8064.798: ReadComPipe wr error : 0x00000102 - The wait operation timed out.

    At t = 8064.798: -------------------------
    At t = 8064.798: ReadComPipe : Rx Error - 8
    At t = 8064.798: ReadComPipe : Ask/Got = 2/-1 -> ACK
    At t = 8064.798: data : 06, 00, C8, 0D, 09, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00
    At t = 8064.798: MicroCommand : ValidateMicroResponse, cameraID = 17, error = 8 - RX Timeout
    At t = 8064.798: CC_END_READOUT : end, err = 00 - No Error
    At t = 8064.798: =========================
    At t = 8064.798: CC_START_EXPOSURE2 : begin ----> GRAB START
    At t = 8064.798: StartExposure Params : ccd=2, exposureTime=11, shutter=Leave
    At t = 8064.798: StartExposure Flags : 0x00000000: triggerIn=0, triggerOut=0, lightClear=0, msExp=0, fastReadout=0, dualChannelMode=0
    At t = 8064.798: MicroCommand : MC_STATUS
    At t = 8064.798: -------------------------
    At t = 8064.798: AsyncWrite : Error: Unknown OS Error, Ask/Written=2/-1, Short=3.
    At t = 8064.798: WriteComPipe wr error : 0xe0010000 -
    At t = 8074.891: AsyncRead : Error: 258, ret = -1, Totals : dwSize/dwBytesRd = 6/0, Short=6
    At t = 8074.891: ReadComPipe wr error : 0x00000102 - The wait operation timed out.

    At t = 8074.891: -------------------------
    At t = 8074.891: ReadComPipe : Rx Error - 8
    At t = 8074.891: ReadComPipe : Ask/Got = 6/-1 -> ACK
    At t = 8074.891: data : 06, 00, C8, 0D, 09, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00
    At t = 8074.891: MicroCommand : ValidateMicroResponse, cameraID = 17, error = 8 - RX Timeout
    At t = 8074.891: CC_START_EXPOSURE2 : end, err = 08 - RX Timeout
    At t = 8074.954: =========================
    At t = 8074.954: CC_QUERY_COMMAND_STATUS : begin
    At t = 8074.954: MicroCommand : MC_STATUS
    At t = 8074.954: -------------------------
    At t = 8074.954: AsyncWrite : Error: Unknown OS Error, Ask/Written=2/-1, Short=3.
    At t = 8074.954: WriteComPipe wr error : 0xe0010000 -
    At t = 8084.991: AsyncRead : Error: 258, ret = -1, Totals : dwSize/dwBytesRd = 6/0, Short=6
    At t = 8084.991: ReadComPipe wr error : 0x00000102 - The wait operation timed out.

    This camera is part of an observatory that runs daily.

    Regards

    Steve Mohr
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    What is the camera serial number?
     
  3. Steven Mohr

    Steven Mohr Standard User

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    Hi Doug,

    Information:

    STXL-11002: X13010173
    FW8 STXL: 1302
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Rx Timeout indicates a USB interface error. There are lots of things that can cause that... most likely being an issue with the USB hardware.

    Are you using the power supply that came with the camera? Any extension cable?

    Have you checked for damaged USB cables? Are you using a USB hub (tip: avoid doing that)?

    If you are running from a laptop, make sure power management isn't shutting down its USB port.
     
  5. Steven Mohr

    Steven Mohr Standard User

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    Location:
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    Hi Doug,

    Thanks, that will be enough for me to check the system out. I have a dedicated power source going to the camera, but the USB is going via a powered [2amp] USB hub. I will direct a quality USB cable from the PC [I'll look to give it its own tree] to the camera directly as a first response. Then I'll see how it goes. If this is the case, it may be a sign the hub is failing [4 years old], and then a simple fix. I'll be a few weeks before I can check that.

    Thanks for the quick response.

    Steve
     
  6. Steven Mohr

    Steven Mohr Standard User

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    I thought to provide a USB tree view of my system. I will try to shift the STXL to its own root.
     

    Attached Files:

  7. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Sounds like a good plan. I always recommend connecting cameras directly to the computer if at all possible. Sharing traffic can overwhelm the hub and cause problems.

    Also if you are using a desktop computer that has jacks on the front, I suggest using one on the back instead. The extra wiring inside the computer always results in extra reflections that degrade signal quality.
     
  8. Steven Mohr

    Steven Mohr Standard User

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    Location:
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    Thank you Doug.

    It will be a while before I get up there again, but will provide feedback after I do the exchange.

    Bye

    Steve
     

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