Hi SBIG! The gain setting on my camera has reverted from 39 to 31. After resetting to 38 in EEPROM the camera keeps reverting to a gain of 31 when shut down and restarted. Even with the gain set back to 38, images are still dull and lifeless. When viewing the 'camera info' details I notice that the camera reports as 'non-ABG' despite ABG being selected in the EEPROM. After a bit of fault finding tonight, I found the 12v electrical cables from the dew heater on the telescope had made contact with the usb cables causing a 'timeout' on the camera and I wonder if this may have contributed to the Gain problem. Also....when reading the Firmware version with an older copy of SBIG driver checker the camera was reported as being a model not requiring any firmware only drivers. Is there a software fix or would the camerea have to be returned to SBIG for repair?
Furthermore, the STF-8300C's gain is fixed — the value written to EEPROM is a measured value intended for calibration purpose — if you're changing those values, it wouldn't affect image quality before calibration.
Thanks for the reply! When starting the camera it reports in 'camera info' as having a gain at 31. I then go to advanced menu and reset the gain to 'default' at 38. I then write these values to the EEPROM and then reset the 'USB offset' and write this to the EEPROM. The camera then reports the gain as 38 until it is restarted. It then reports a gain of 31. Also, the camera reports as a non ABG even though the EEPROM is set to ABG. All drivers and firmware have been updated today with latest to no effect. How do we rectify the gain setting changing and the ABG setting? Can it be done remotely or must the camera be returned to USA? (I am in Australia). Regards, Phil (Images are dull and lifeless showing huge amounts of noise even though taken with a gain setting showing 38. I first thought the camera was dewing up and baked the desiccant twice to no avail.)
Here is a screen grab of the camera info. I have never had a problem with blooming but would you buy a camera that was supposed to be ABG and showed 'without ABG' and with a gain showing at 31 when the default is 38? We have our annual 'Astrofest' coming up when astronomers from all over Australia spend a week together with our gear - imaging, viewing and comparing, and I would like to have my camera working properly b4 then if that is possible! regards, Phil
This "Camera Configuration" window should not be accessible to end-users as it is for internal development only and camera programming. In addition, it simply does not work for all cameras, and our developers have indicated it should never be used as it likely does not even work properly. Our recommendation is to contact Bill for service if there is an issue with the camera. Bill Lynch - SBIG Service & Repair Center 130 Castilian Drive, Suite 102 Santa Barbara, CA 93117 Bill Lynch - bill@sbig.com Phone: (805) 308-6979
