Hello, I have a ST-i mono that I purchased awhile back and it seems to have some sort of issue where horizontal bands run across the image (not always but often... like every couple of frames). Also, each section (between bands) will have a different brightness level. I was wondering what I need to do to get it repaired and how much it would cost? Thanks, Brandon Nichols
Hi Brandon, Before sending it in for repair, a couple questions: Can you attach a Bias, Dark, and Light frame in FITS format, taken with either CCDOPS or MaxIm DL? That way we can have a quick look to see what is going on. Is this a new problem that suddenly started? Did you download and install the latest SBIG Driver Checker? Just click this link: ftp://ftp.sbig.com/pub/SetupDriverChecker64.exe Check the drivers are updated, and that the camera has the latest firmware. Put it on a known-good, short (eg 1m/3ft) USB cable directly to your PC with nothing else on the USB bus (no hubs, extenders, etc) and if it's a desktop, plug it into the back motherboard USB port. I've seen issues where the ST-I isn't getting enough power from the USB port (it needs a full 500mA port) on laptops or when other things are on the bus, and also where you have multiple devices running at the same time, it is slow reading out so that some areas of the image appear brighter. The issue you describe doesnt quite sound like that, but a FITS set will show u. If this doesnt clear things up, contact @Bill at our repair centre in California. Bill at SBIG dot com.
Hello Colin, thank you for the reply! The problem is not new... it has been happening for quite a long time really. I just haven't had but a couple opportunities to use it over the last few years. I do recall it doing the same thing two years ago when I had about 2 weeks to do some imaging. I have checked the drivers and they are up to date along with the firmware. I noticed that the camera worked much better in CCDOPS when compared to TheSkyX. However that's because I didn't have the auto contrast set to "SBIG". That made things much much better! I still get the horizontal lines fairly often but I have to have the contrast turned up to be able to see them. Much much better... maybe I'm ok. I'm goiong to use it tonight and if I'm still having issues I'll post some cal files and lights. Thanks! B
See Software Bisque's support site for help on this. It's a TSX configuration issue, not a camera issue. It's regarding the ST-i and high priority downloads. There is a thread about this symptom and a fix for when you use the ST-I as the imaging camera, and late on, a fix for when you use the ST-I as an autoguider. http://www.bisque.com/sc/forums/t/28497.aspx The problem was resolved 2 years ago.
