Hi, We have use of a remote setup with an STF8300M as the main imaging camera. We've been experiencing issues (more frequently recently) with the camera having image download issues with errors reported by Sequence Generator Pro as: [02/24/20 19:54:51.956][DEBUG][Camera Thread][SQ;AF;] SBIG Error while downloading image: RX_TIMEOUT These most commonly occur during focusing runs (when we get 10 x 5 sec exposures in short sequence), but have also started occurring during the imaging runs themselves. As a result, unless there's someone to see it happen, and deal with it (camera needs power cycling, reconnecting and re-cooling), the imaging run stops dead. Every time that we reset the camera without fail, it appears to start working again without any issues - the issues appear to be somewhat random in their occurence. I've tried setting the autoguider to stop during download and to stop during focusing to avoid issues with the USB bus being too busy, and to turn off fast downloads for focusing/framing (didn't seem to make much difference). The camera is powered from a regulated 13.8V bench type power supply rated at 20A, and I've confirmed it is running the latest firmware and latest drivers. It has a 3m Lindy USB cable connected directly to the PC. So, the question here is what are the solutions to this issue? I've seen it reported in quite a few places but with no definitive cause/resolution (I have seen suggestions around USB BUS traffic, power, cabling, drivers, TEC/chip temp, saturated pixels - pretty much everything that could be altered on the camera!) Thanks Graeme
[Should say that I tried it in debug mode with the driver, but it's so slow as to be unusable as it logs the download of each and every row from the chip). ]
Please give us a full description of your setup including all software versions, updates, hardware configuration, operating system version etc. What changed from when it worked until now, if anything.
OK - here goes. Nothing has been changed (short of the mount moving around as per normal usage) since January when the PC was replaced - it's been running fine for a good month or so, with many consecutive nights without any issues. It's now occurring quite regularly - 3 times last night, twice the night before, etc. Sometimes it will run for hours on end with no issues however - I can't pin down a way to reproduce it, though it happens more during focusing, but not exclusively (probably due to more images being taken) When the weather was warmer, I found a reproducible issue (in any software including CCDOPS) whereby if we attempted to cool the camera too far (eg from 25C to -20C - ie going from TEC off, straight to 100%) then the camera would lose connection almost immediately (resulting in errors when SGP couldn't set the cooling temp). This is not prevalent when using the "gradual cooling" that SGP offers - I'm unsure if this is related, but I've not seen this issue at all since putting this workround in place. PC is an HP Compaq 8200 Elite SFFwhich is an i5-2400 with 12GB RAM. Windows 10 Pro as OS. (build 18363) Imaging software is Sequence Generator Pro v3.1.0.449 Guide software PHD 2.6.7 SBIG drivers (driver checker reports all are up to 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 STF-8300 Firmware: stf-8300usb.bf2 2.63 stf-8300ga.bf2 2.25 The hardware in use (this is a dual rig setup at present, but only with one camera ever in use at once - and it's been the SBIG for some time now alone): STF8300M + FW8300 Lakeside Focuser Alnitak Flip Flat QHY163M + CFw2 (powered off) [connected, not in use] SGPro, Arduino based focuser [connected, not in use] Talon 6 Roll off roof QHY5 guide cam - controlled using PHD2.6.7 Mount is an MI250 + Gemini 2 - no autoguider cable in use (uses ASCOM guide commands via PHD2). Power is supplied to the mount, and camera from the bench 13.8V 20A supply. Mount reports this stable at 13.76V, and the mount is not slewing when this occurs (obviously!) Many thanks Graeme
Hi Graeme, SBIG driver version is ok SGP is a bit behind - .454 is current. Ok, so let's start with the PC since that's a big thing that changed. That's a new-to-you machine? Or a brand new machine? Have you checked the following: Windows Power Management - USB Selective Suspend is DISABLED. In the Device Manager, for all USB devices, USB hubs, USB root hubs, the power management setting is OFF (unchecked) - [ ] Allow computer to turn off the device to save power The camera has a direct connnect to the PC, with a quality, short USB 2.0 cable, and the port it is on is not shared by other devices, especially slow ones like keyboard, mouse, focuser, mount. Have you used a utility like Microsoft's USBView to see what devices are on what ports? If you have any FTDIChip devices, such as USB to RS232 serial adapters, have you got the latest hardware device driver from FTDIchip, and have you checked the power management settings are off, and Serial Enumeration is off? Windows updates -have you checked that this is not running in the middle of the night while imaging? There is also a note (by @William B ) elsewhere on the forum up a software inventory program running in the background causing issues. Will post it later if I can find it. This is a problem - indicative of a lack of current getting to the camera. Can you connect the camera to the original AC power supply that came with it? The TEC should be able to go full-on to your set point, without this problem. This sounds like a voltage dropout happening due to high current draw. If you made your own power cable, what gauge wire and how long? "Stable" is best determined with an Oscilloscope, not some sensor in the mount. I'd recommending powering the camera separately from the mount. Also, be sure you don't have any grounding issues. So, let me know what you find, and then we'll go from there. We could probably schedule a remote session, eg with AnyDesk or Remote Desktop or TeamViewer, if you don't make progress on this. Best wishes, Colin
