AC4040 Camera Unexpectedly Disconnects when Taking HDR Frame

When I ask MaximDL for an HDR frame, the camera goes through all the "motions" for the exposure time (green bar completes) but when downloading begins, after a few seconds the AO window disappears, camera disconnects and an error box popup appears "Camera Disconnected Unexpectedly (-4)". Maxim must be quit and restarted to reconnect to the camera.

I have verified that the software will acquire HSP, High Gain and Low Gain Images, but not HDR. In the past before Firmware upgrade to Rev 15 and software upgrade to MaximDL 6.5, I was able to acquire HDR image, but that's over a year ago.

I last used DL Config version 2.7.1.0 to upgrade firmware.

Any other info needed and any idea what is going on? Want to compare HDR mode and HSP for acquiring high dynamic range images, so this is not "mission critical" but I would like to know if something is configured wrong.

Thanks, Greg

 

Colin,

The selective suspend settings I found a few of the FTDIchip settings that needed adjusting, but that did not correct the issue. The Sequence of observable events are the exposure finishes, the window says "Downloading" then the AO Guider window and Log window show the "X" window turning red, then the Main Maxim window "X" turns red, then the Guider windows disappear and the message pops to the screen.


After that, if I try to reconnect, I get errors that there is no Guide Camera, No Filter Wheel, and no Cooler, and the Camera does not connect. If I exit Maxim and restart the Program, same effort. If I exit the program AND cycle power to the camera, it reconnects as normal and will acquire images in HG, LG, and HSP. HDR is the only mode showing this behavior.

 

Hello, I just upgraded to Maxim DL 7.02 And the above problem still exists. I suspect there is some driver incompatibility with my camera? All modes but HDR work. I would guess that I could downgrade firmware back to revision 8 which did acquire HDR images to verify that I do not have a cameral electronics problem, but don't know if that is the best way forward after Upgrades to Maxim DL7. Any suggestions?

 

Doug, thanks for the info and it prompted me to reinstall Firmware version 8, which I know was taking HDR pictures in the past. I had the same problem with the camera hanging in HDR mode, so that points to something specific to my camera. Any ideas? I'm reluctant to send in just for that problem, although the murky Arizona summer skies have not been very productive...

 

Just upgraded to Maxim DL7. Here is that the DL Config (x64) utility says I'm running.

dlapi.dll ......................... 2.8.0.0
DLAPIWrapper.dll .................. 2.8.0.0
ASCOM.DLImaging.Camera.dll ........ 6.4.22.0
ASCOM.DLImaging.CameraExt.dll ..... 6.4.22.0
ASCOM.DLImaging.FilterWheel.dll ... 6.4.22.0
ftd2xx.dll ........................ 3.2.16.1
ftd3xx.dll ........................ 1.3.0.4
wpcap.dll ......................... Not Installed
packet.dll ........................ Not Installed

 

Yes

 

No, all other modes work perfectly.

 

Just an update...Upgraded to MaximDL 7.0.3 and still see the HDR mode hanging and shutting down the camera.

 

Colin,
Thanks for the update. I’ll wait to hear what you find. Let me know if you need any more details of my computer configuration.

 

Adam, I just shipped the camera to Ottawa. Cooler failed. You’ll have it there to test. I’ll certainly try this when it comes back. Thanks

 

Adam, just paid the invoice for service to my camera. Any chance you get to check if the "fix" for HDR acquisition works while you have it in your shop?