New STT-8300 Image Defect Problems Continue - amp glow?

Doug.

I was able to test your theory to use "disable slew during image download" in ACP last night. The results verified that there was NO glow in the 20 exposures at 90 seconds with 5 second guide exposures.

I also tested without "disable slew during image download" and the glow appeared in most of the 20 frames.

Hopefully this is enough info for you to figure out a solution. Just let me know if you need me to test something else out and please keep us updated on your progress and whether you are able to reproduce the issue.

Thanks
Sam

 

Hi Colin.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I always have the camera directly connected to the computer and the mount is also directly connected. I've had this set up for over 2 years without seeing any USB related issues so I doubt it would be related to this issue (unless installing Windows 10 completely changed the way of handling USB connections).

Hopefully Doug's insight into the end of exposure sequence is pointing in the right direction. So far his theory is proving to be on the right track.

Sam

 

Sam - no significant changes in the camera logic. Several years and versions ago I did add the monitoring of the CameraStatus values and it made things a bit more robust for a couple of misbehaving cameras.

So at least you have a way to avoid the amp glow with ACP assuming you're essentially unaffected by the slow-down.

 

Hi Bob. I didn't think there was much change in the ACP process.
Yes, I'm glad I have a work around to this issue, but it does add some time to my imaging plans. I would like to be more efficient if I possible.

However, this doesn't solve the problem for others who are using SkyX.

If there were no significant changes in ACP, that leaves Windows 10 upgrade and SBIG firmware/drivers the only other changes on my system.

Doug, were there any changes in firmware/driver that you can think of since the beginning of 2017 that might be related to this delay in the end of imaging process?

Sam

 

Sam, I have been out of the loop here for a few days...

I have seen the glow since I first started using the camera -> December 2015 - January 2016

Dean J.

 

I am using the camera control module for The Sky X Pro.

Dean

 

No I hadn't seen that. Thank you very much. I will check out the release notes and upgrade my software.

Dean J.

 

Yes, it sure seems as if you and Sam are on the right track with your investigations. I am very hopeful that we can figure out a way to apply this knowledge to my situation.

Dean J.

 

Hi Doug. Glad that you're looking into it.

This is definitely an issue that I'd like to resolve soon. I've been integrating some of my images for the last 6 months and the glow in the top left corner is quite pronounced when integrated.

Additionally, the work around of setting "disable slew during image download" in ACP is causing other issues for me. First, it is highly inefficient. It adds an additional 10 -15 mins to each hour long plan that I have, which means I loose about an hour of imaging time each evening. Secondly, for some reason I am getting a lot of failed plans because of guiding errors now. I have not been able to identify the exact reason yet, but it all started when I changed the "disable slew during image download" setting in ACP.

So long story short, the ACP workaround is exactly that, a workaround. This is not something I would like to rely on for very long.

One last thing, I have heard from another user at my observatory that they are experiencing the amp glow in the top left corner as well on both an STT and an STX. So it leads me to believe that this is more prevalent than we think.

Please keep us up to date on your progress in identifying the problem and let me know if you need me to do any testing. Anything I can do to help as I am loosing valuable time now due to this issue.

Thanks.
Sam

 

Hi Adam.
Do you want the raw files or calibrated files? glow is more obvious in the calibrated files.
Sam

 

Hi Adam and Doug.

here is a link to download the files. I have included raw files and calibration files. The master flat is bias and dark calibrated. The bias and dark are not calibrated.

I have included to sets of subs. one set are subs taken with "disable slew during image download" and one set without.

Please let me know if you need anything else.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5Pc06wVp3ClMmgxRlc1eHZmTXc/view?usp=sharing

Sam

 

Gentlemen, I was out collecting images with the STT-8300 & FW8G-STT on Thursday night and I have some additional information for your consideration.

You will recall that I had reported that on a two night trip last month I had reported that I had one night of data collection - about 24 exposures - without an instance of an amp glow affected image and then the next night I saw the amp glow effect in 9 of 24 exposures.

I usually set longer guide exposures - 5 or 6 seconds - to avoid chasing the seeing at my site. However, I will go down to 3 seconds if the conditions allow.

With Sam's observations and Doug's information in mind I set the camera for 3 sec. guiding. I was able to collect 36 exposures without an instance of the amp glow. So the likely explanation for why I would see the effect on one night last month and not the other was that I had set shorter guide exposures - probably 3 seconds - on the night that I got all clear images.

I am going out again tonight to collect some more data. I will do all of my data collection with 3 second guide exposures. However, I will also experiment with longer exposures - 4 and 6 seconds - to see if I can induce an amp glow event.

Dean