Hi, I image with an STX-16803, using an STX guider. I no longer use the malfunctioning AO-X; it has been removed from the imaging train. I use Maxim for camera control. In the last few days, Maxim has twice reported "Failed to activate guider," and it is the case that the guider isn't making any corrections (and clicking on the "Move" button does nothing). Both times, by power-cycling the the camera/guider, and closing then re-opening Maxim, I got the guider to engage, and it worked just fine. But, obviously, something is wrong. Is it a cable? All cables were carefully cleaned and seated after the first time, and it happened again; so I don't believe that it's a "connection" issue. I bought a new cable from you folks a few years ago when the AO-X was giving problems, FWIW. If it is likely a cable, which one would be the best to replace? And could I buy it from you and have you ship it to SRO? Thanks. Mark de Regt
Is the message actually "Failed to activate guider relay"? If so, that would possibly indicate a problem in communication between camera and mount. Do you have a log?
Thanks for your reply, Colin. All the little box shows is "Failed to activate guider re" but it seems likely that you're correct. I have attached a log from when it happened. It happened right out of the box, at the start of the night (a little after 3am UTC). I killed the runs and kept trying, with no success. Then killed the whole rig for over an hour, started up again, and it worked. I have attached the log, FWIW.
1. Did the system forget to power up the camera, or try to connect before it finished initialzing? There are multiple errors at the start: 02:36:24-3 Failed to connect to camera 1 "SBIG Universal" (CCDPlugSBIG.dll), error -13 2. The setup is misconfigured. As previously communicated, AO should be working fine; however you say it is not hooked up. The log shows a problematic mix of settings: 02:38:00>3 Connecting cameras - thread ID 9404 02:38:05$3 Connected to camera 1 "SBIG Universal" (CCDPlugSBIG.dll v7.1.0.0) 02:38:05$3 Connected to guide chip of "SBIG Universal" (CCDPlugSBIG.dll v7.1.0.0) 02:38:05$3 Connected to filter wheel 1 "SBIG AO+FW" (CCDPlugAO7.dll v7.1.3.0) If no AO: Camera 1 STX = SBIG Universal [x] Dual Chip Filter Wheel 1 = SBIG Universal <----- change this If an AO is in use: Camera 1 STX = SBIG w/AO [x] Dual Chip Filter Wheel 1 = SBIG AO+FW 3. Can you be more specific about the "Failed to activate guider relay" message? It is not in the log. Do you know what was happening at the time? 4. There are many duplicated entries in the log - almost like its contents was twinned in a lot of places. Are you using OneDrive or Dropbox or some shared drive to save the logs to?
1. No the system powered up the camera just fine. 2. Ok, I'll change the filter wheel. The AO stopped functioning properly many months ago, and I gave up on it, taking it out of the system. 3. I have attached a screen shot of the message, also showing clearly that no guiding is taking place. When it happens, it happens at the start of the image. 4. The logs are saved to the hard drive of the computer, not to a shared drive. I get them to my home computer by saving a copy to my OneDrive in the California computer, which gets it to my home.
1. We have 4 errors at start of log. Perhaps if you change the configuration per #2, it will not happen. Help me understand "no guiding is taking place"? From what I see, MaxIm it is tracking, and says it is moving the telescope. Perhaps since TheSkyX is controlling the mount (eg for a Paramount) it is either not responding or already moving the mount. That would explain the Failed to activate guider relay. Well this has me stumped - I am seeing lots of duplicate log entries, which is not normal. Literally almost every line is duplicated. For example: Code: 03:22:52$5 Setting guide target 03:22:52$5 Setting guide target 03:22:52$5 Guider reference position set to (120.00,63.00) 03:22:52$5 Guider reference position set to (120.00,63.00) 03:22:52$5 Using target position (120,63) 03:22:52$5 Using target position (120,63) 03:23:00$5 Setting guide target 03:23:00$5 Setting guide target 03:23:00$5 Guider reference position set to (118.00,63.00) 03:23:00$5 Guider reference position set to (118.00,63.00) 03:23:00$5 Guider algorithm 'Single Star' initialized 03:23:00$5 Guider algorithm 'Single Star' initialized 03:23:00$5 Acquiring guide target 03:23:00$5 Acquiring guide target 03:23:00$5 Using target position (118,63) 03:23:00$5 Using target position (118,63) 03:23:01$5 Guider Tracking Started 03:23:01$5 Guider Tracking Started 03:25:03$5 Guider algorithm 'Single Star' ended 03:25:03$5 Guider algorithm 'Single Star' ended 03:25:03$5 Guider Tracking Stopped 03:25:03$5 Guider Tracking Stopped I'll ask colleagues in development if they have seen that before.
By "no guiding is taking place," I mean that no corrections are being made. Yes, it says it's "moving the telescope," but it's not. And when I stop "guiding" (keeping the mount tracking), and give a "move" command," the mount does not move. When guiding actually is taking place, those guide error typically are less than 0.25 pixels. No guiding is taking place--no mount corrections are being made--when I'm getting the Failed to activate guider relays" message.
Check with Software Bisque for suggestions. MaxIm sends guide commands using the Guide settings, Control Via settings, which is usually done with ASCOM 2X driver for TheSkyX. It has no control of the Paramount other than to make the request.
