Resolved SBIG AO-8T plug-in needed for MaximDL

Discussion in 'Legacy Models - Community Support' started by Geoff Hughes, Dec 13, 2019.

  1. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    Where can I download a plug-in for my AO-8T guider? MaximDL seems to require one. The guider is connected to a FW8G-STT filter wheel connected to an STT-8300 camera. I also need a driver for the filter wheel.
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2019
  2. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    Where can I download a FW8G-STT filter wheel driver? ? It is connected to an STT-8300 camera. I also need a plug-in for my AO-8T guider. I haven't been able to find either on the Diffraction Limited website.
     
  3. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    That all comes with MaxIm DL. You need to use the SBIG w/AO driver for the camera and the filter wheel.

    Make sure you have installed the latest SBIG drivers using the SBIG Driver Checker.
     
  4. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    I have those two set and the filter wheel set to SBIG Universal. I just reinstalled the SBIG Driver Checker and got any online updates. The first time I got "Camera 2 failed. Could not initialize CCD camera (27)". After reinstalling I get the same message but with error code (1) instead of (27).

    Update: I tried again after selecting "dual chip mode" and now get "Error opening filter wheel. Error (6) initializing filter wheel." Since the filter wheel is ahead of cam2 I believe this is a step backwards.
     
  5. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Set Camera 1 to SBIG w/AO. Set Connect To to your camera model. Swap Chips to No. Guide Chip to External. Ext. Trigger to Off. Click OK.

    Turn on Dual Chip mode.

    Set Filter Wheel to SBIG AO w/FW. Set Model to Standard. Click OK.

    Click Options. Turn on threading for both filter wheel and camera. Click OK.

    Connect.
     
  6. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    Per your instructions:

    Camera 1 - check
    Connect To - check
    Swap Chips - not found; I have Guider ABG = OFF; Binning = On-Chip; Priority = High; Guide Chip = Internal because the other option is External Remote and I'm using the AO-8T, not a remote guider
    Guider Chip - not found
    Ext. Trigger - not found

    This is all under panel "Setup Filter". (I'm using Pro V6 of Maxim.) I see the panel you're describing in Help. What Setup Filter is displaying for me under SBIG Universal is a table of filter names assigned to each filter wheel position. That's the mystery. How do I bring up your panel?

    When I select "Dual Chip Mode" Camera 2 is greyed out. I guess that's okay? The only filter option other than SBIG Universal that seems remotely likely is AO Adapter and that went nowhere.

    When I click Connect I hear 2 rapid kind of low beeps, an SBIG AO Control window briefly displays then disappears and the message "Error opening filter wheel. Error (6) initializing filter wheel" displays.

    I think I have cables connected correctly:
    • AO-8T to camera's I2C port for power and communication
    • filter wheel to AO-8T's I2C port
    • USB connecting camera to laptop
    • HDMI connecting camera to filter wheel. ??? I haven't seen that instruction anywhere but the guy I bought the setup from says it's correct. If I remove the HDMI cable and try to connect I don't get the beeps, etc., just "Error opening camera in dual chip mode. Could not initialize CCD camera (27)"
    Still unsure about a plug-in for the AO-8T (got a message once saying I need it) and driver for the FW8G-STT. Your website doesn't seem to offer one for this model. Problem or not?

    Re: SetupDriverChecker. I decided to redownload and rerun it. I clicked the link for the download on the SBIG Universal Help page and on the panel that comes up a warning says if I'm using an SBIG camera for the first time (which I am), follow instructions in the "Installing USB" app, but the link to that pdf doesn't work. So I reinstalled anyway. Same result as above.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2019
  7. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Sorry wrong screen for SBIG w/AO. Set as follows. Also will be very explicit what to click where.

    Camera Control window Setup tab:

    Under Camera 1: Click Setup Camera.
    Set Camera Model to SBIG w/AO.
    Set Connect To to your camera model.
    Guider ABG doesn't matter.
    Binning On-Chip.
    Guide Chip External Remote.
    Click OK.

    Under Camera 1: Check Dual Chip Mode.
    (Yes Camera 2 will grey out)

    Under Camera 1: Click Options.
    Advanced (at bottom) both check boxes ON.
    Click OK.

    Under Camera 1: Click Setup Filter.
    Set Filter or Controlling Camera Model to SBIG AO w/FW
    Set Model to Standard.
    COM Port doesn't matter
    Click OK.

    Cable connections sound correct. The HDMI cable is for the guider head. You won't get any error messages if it's missing, but you will get blank images from the guide chip.

    SBIG w/AO is the plug-in for STT with AO-8.
     
  8. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    Thank you.

    In the first set of instructions, Connect To now has my camera model as an option, not just USB, etc. :) Maybe checking the two boxes under Advanced did the trick!

    Under Setup Filter: SBIG Universal is the only SBIG option showing. I've set model to Standard. See attached screen shot.

    Now, after the two beeps, I get a different screen for two seconds though. (progress?) It's SBIG AO Control. Then I still get "Error opening filter wheel. Error (6) initializing filter wheel"
     

    Attached Files:

  9. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    All cameras have to be powered up and connected before you start MaxIm DL; otherwise the software won't see the model number. So that's what's different there.

    Version number looks old. What version of MaxIm DL are you running? You might want to update to the latest version, as there have been a lot of improvements related to AO guiding and more. Use Help menu Check For Updates.
     
  10. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    I installed MaximDL620 back in April (and reinstalled today with Maxim closed, then I rebooted) but Help->About Maxim DL Pro in my program says it's 6.10. Something's fishy. C: Program(x86) says 6.20. Will it take awhile for SBIG AO w/FW to to be added into the drop-down?

    I made sure I followed your sequence: power, connect, start Maxim. Same result (filter wheel error). But I'm glad you specified because I did not know that.
     
  11. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Something is really wrong with your installation. Please uninstall MaxIm DL, and then manually delete the MaxIm DL 6 folder under C:\Program Files (x86)\Diffraction Limited. Then reinstall.
     
  12. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    Done. And I now have V6.20 and the SBIG AO w/FW option under Setup Filter! I checked all settings under Setup Camera, Options, Dual Chip and Setup Filter and everything is set up as directed above.

    I am still getting the filter wheel error message. SBIG AO Control window pops up momentarily, then "Error opening filter wheel. Error (6) initializing filter wheel". It is surely in the software somewhere, a driver or something. So the FW8G-STT filter wheel driver is built in?

    Thanks for sticking with me on this!!
     
  13. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Odd about the filter wheel because it is controlled through the camera; it does not need a separate driver. Must be something wrong with your settings.

    Makes sure you have it set as described above:

    Under Camera 1: Click Setup Filter.
    Set Filter or Controlling Camera Model to SBIG AO w/FW
    Set Model to Standard. <- important
    COM Port doesn't matter
    Click OK.
     
  14. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    Settings all as described. They are pretty straightforward. ??? We're missing something. Does it sound like hardware could have ANYTHING to do with it?

    Where do we go from here? I've posted on another forum thinking someone may have experienced this error. Slim chance it will go anywhere but who knows?
     
  15. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Error 6 (not -6) is “Bad Parameter”. That sounds like a mismatch between the MaxIm DL plug-in and the camera drivers.

    You did update the SBIG drivers, correct? With the SBIG Driver Checker? What version is it showing?

    Failing that, please ZIP you settings folder (My Documents/MaxIm DL 6/Settings) and upload here so we can have a look.
     
  16. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    Yes I ran SBIG Driver Checker (SetupDriverChecker64), which shows version 4.05 Build 0. Zip file is attached.
     

    Attached Files:

  17. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    That seems unlikely; it would be very old.

    Look at the main screen. It should show sbigudr.dll at 4.99 build 7.

    If not then download an updated version of the driver checker from:

    ftp://ftp.sbig.com/pub/SetupDriverChecker64.exe
     
  18. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    I downloaded and installed the Setup file which gave me the 4.9.9 version of the dll, which I moved from Windows->System where it landed into Maxim DL V6 along with a bunch of other dll's. That seemed to move things along some. No more filter wheel error. Instead I got a new message telling me to rerun SetupDriverChecker. I did and the resulting panel listed the dll as Not Found, presumably because I moved it. I clicked Update and the dll at the latest version reappeared under Windows->System and I get the filter wheel error again. Basically, assuming the dll is correctly placed under System, nothing changed. Screen shots showing new version, the new message when dll was moved, and a second message when I pressed Enter on that message. Thought they might tell you something. ?? Anyway I moved the dll back under System for now.
     

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    Last edited: Dec 16, 2019
  19. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    Sounds like maybe you have multiple copies of sbigudrv.dll in your system search path, and that's mucking things up.

    I recommend that you search your drive for all copies of the file and delete all of them except the one in your system folder.
     
  20. Geoff Hughes

    Geoff Hughes Cyanogen Customer

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    There are multiple copies in Program Files(x86): one under DriverChecker\SBIGdrivers, one under DiffractionLimited\MaxDL6, etc. So I should delete it under these applications that put it there when they were installed?

    By the way, I am not connected to the mount. The camera and laptop are sitting on my desk. All I want to do is connect to the software. I don't think this should be a factor, should it?
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2019

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