I finally got the proper drivers loaded and have been able to connect to my new STC-7 camera. It connects properly through MaximDL and will collect an image. However, I turn on the cooler and set to a realistic 20C below ambient. The cooler power rapidly rises to 100% but the indicated sensor temperature slowly rises. The fan comes on full-blast but no cooling of the sensor. Suggestions?
Two tips: 1. Is the fan clear of obstructions? e.g. the camera is on it's side or attached to the telescope, the back end is not blocked by sitting on the kitchen table or something? 2. In MaxIm - Are the threading options turned on? Camera Control Window [Disconnect] if the camera was connected. Options button. Check the two Advanced options for threading are turned on - see below: If that doesn't fix it, what is your ambient temperature? Meanwhile, we'll review and a colleague may have some additional comments/questions to help diagnose what you are experiencing.
1. The cooling fan is not obstructed 2. Yes, I followed the setup instructions and turned those on before doing anything 3. Ambient is roughly 15C (fairly cool room)
Hi Paul. I'm a hardware engineer at Diffraction. Could you please clarify something for me? You say that your ambient temperature is ~15C. What is the sensor temperature before you turn on the cooler? Is it below 15C or above 15C? Even when the cooler is off, it's still actually on but on the lowest setting and without regulation. This should result in sensor temperature 5-10C below ambient. If you sensor temperature is above ambient when the cooler is off, it probably means the cooler malfunctioned. One more thing. Does the camera get hot when you turn on the cooler and it goes to 100% power? Even if fans are blasting, the camera would still heat up if the cooler is functioning properly. Thank you, Kris
I connect the camera and fairly quickly finish checking the setup and then go to the cooler setup. Once cooling was turned on, I did notice that the indicated sensor temperature seemed to be at least a few C below the ambient temperature (might have been 5C but not for certain). I just figured that was a calibration error so didn't give it a lot of thought. Maybe it was already cooling a bit. As for your second question: the first time this happened I wasn't paying much attention and the cooler was apparently at 100% for several minutes. Yep, the camera body got noticeably warm to the touch. At that point, the sensor temperature reading was at or maybe above ambient.
Paul, would you be willing to do a TeamViewer session, where I remote in to your computer via the Internet, and we do some tests together?
I don't like the idea but maybe. I know nothing about "Team Viewer". How much pain is it on this end? Besides ... what could you possibly do differently than connecting the camera and turning on the coolers?
All you have to do is install it, run it, and give me the ID and password it display. I connect, and do everything - check configuration, turn on some error logging to see if there are issues, and do some diagnostics. You can sit and watch me drive your PC as you wish. If you are not comfortable with this, then we could do this over the phone, if you are willing to follow detailed instructions. I will need your phone number and a time when you can be reached.
You can learn about TeamViewer here: https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/ Nobody can access your PC remotely unless you have it running and give them the ID and password. Once we are done, you can simply uninstall it.
Good morning Paul, One thing I'd like you to check - it's very simple. The Power plug that goes into the side of the camera may not be fully latched. Unplug the AC power supply and USB to the camera. The hood of the power plug is spring-loaded and pulls back. Pull back on the plastic hood of the power plug, then push in the plug from behind eg at the strain relief, and let go of the hood. Sometimes it takes 3 fingers or two hands to do this. Once the connector is fully inserted, there is a metal hook that latches it in place, and acts as a retaining mechanism. There's a possibility that the plug isn't fully inserted, and so the camera may not be getting full power, and as the power demand decreases over time, this is less of an issue. Let me know. We're still looking into the software-related issue. Best regards Colin
