I've been running my STT8300 without problems for quite some time. Tonight the cooling stopped working completely. While software (MaxImDL, TheSkyX CAO, CCDOps) showed 100% cooling, and the dual fans were clearly operating, the temperature would not budge from ambient, despite being set for -30C. Up until today, I had been successfully using a power supply set to 14 volts because of an extended length of cord on the DC side, and able to deliver 5 amps. Tonight I tried the original 12 volt power supply. The problem remained. The LED lights on the side showed just green, or green and one orange. Does this indicate problems with both power supplies? I note from the manual that there is a "user accessible fuse" that might have blown, but everything else about the camera - taking an image, filter wheel changes, guiding with an AO - seems to work fine. Any suggestions about what I could do about getting up and running again?
You probably need to contact Bill @ SBIG Service & Repair. It may be that the camera's internal cooler power supply has failed.
Yes. Of course I just finished my observatory and the first night working it remotely the cooler gives out: http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/517774-pier-tech-telestation-5/page-3?p=7438660 Last page in the above. Camera should up in the photo sticking out of the roof. The fan(s) was sounding noisy before I left. This is just air cooling right? Any fuses that can be replaced? Maybe my wife will do it for me? Bill's e-mail has an out of town notice... tried to harass Tin also...
Where is the S/N located? Will get tomorrow. Maxim shows it starts dropping the cooling temp, then stops cooling. Says cooler is off. CCD still connected. How do you set the fan manually to 100%
CCDOpps it starts cooling then stops and temp goes back up. 6.13. Will be home tomorrow and see if the fan stops.... Camera remains connected during all this. This is one of the first in the series.
Make sure the input voltage isn't low. That can cause the camera to shut off the cooler to protect themselves.
Well, I am at home and looking at it what happens is that when it is booted up it starts cooling normally. I set it to aim for -10C. But it just suddenly changes to cooler off. The fan is running throughout all this. I retried it with CCDops and get the same thing. The second time I did this it occurred faster than the first time. I do not see how the power could be a problem. These cords have been a pain but I have mine locked down solid. The 12V converter is the original and plugged directly into 110V. This just happened one day to the next. The lights are initially one green then it turns orange after it fails. It is Friday. Should I just send it to Santa Barbara. Otherwise I wait until next week and lose 3 days. SN T12070042
A 12V converter?? Do you mean the power brick that came with the camera? Can you confirm the camera is not powered by battery and is using the original power cables and brick that came with the camera? For some reason the camera is not receiving adequate power. As per the users manual: The red LED indicates the voltage level of the power supply to the camera which is useful when operating in the field from a battery. This is a multi-colored LED. It is blank when voltage to the camera is normal (11 - 14 volts), yellow when the voltage drops below 11 volts, and red when the voltage drops to 10 volts or less. When the voltage drops to 10 volts or less, the camera may still operate, but the cooling is automatically turned off. It is possible there is a problem with the power supply board in the camera that is causing this issue, in which case it would need to be returned for service.
Thanks for returning my call Tim. Looks like it will have to go in. It is using the original power brick...
Some follow-up. I hope it may have been the plug again. I worked on it and do not hear the up and down whine as much. Though still loud. I have ordered a new power supply and replacement fans. Thanks for the help. Fingers crossed.
