Staff Assigned: Bill Lynch ST4000XCM Imager issue

I am the original owner of SBIG ST-4000XCM

It has been used for many years for images though not for the last couple of years.

Recently when restarting using the camera, I’ve encountered issues with the main imager showing significant distortion in the images …. even in the bias and dark frames.


I’ve checked and reinstalled the 64-bit driver for the Windows 10 PC that the camera is connected to.

The SBIGDriver log does not show any error codes.


Both CCDOps and CCDSoft show the same issue. I generally use CCDSoft for imaging.

I’ve used the original power supply for the camera… powered from AC.

Also eliminated any other noise sources… shutting down the mount and other guiding/surveillance cameras that are running.


From one image to the next, the amount of light distortion can very significantly.

I have run a series of images with the lens cap on … for both the main imager and the autoguider sensors. The camera was not mounted to a telescope at the time.

The autoguider does not seem to be as affected.

The camera was cooled to 5 C in all images.


I’ve attached a dropbox link to FIT images… All images were taken with CCDSoft 5 with the exception of one image that was done with CCDOps for comparison.


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fmpuxpt6w7tm068/AABkbpTwNzhIs5Ul8b6qYc8ka?dl=0


Also attached is a screen shot from CCDOps showing the camera info.


Can you offer any advice on what to try next to diagnose this issue… or other recommendations?

 

Thanks for that quick assessment. Bill has been in contact. Ditto on the hope that it is just a power supply issue... maybe some degraded caps.