In the last few days I started experiencing long download times with my STT-8300M, on the order of around 30 seconds. Previously I was getting download times in the 1-2 second range. The time is the same at all binning levels (1x1, 2x2, 3x3) and in all the software that I have tried (TheSkyX Pro, Maxim DL 6, CCDSoft). As far as I can tell, the drivers and firmware are up to date. Any idea what might be causing this? Should I be looking at swapping out cables? Or does this sound like a software issue? I am running Windows 8.1 -> USB extender -> Paramount MX -> STT-8300M. USB to the camera is coming out of the instrument panel on the Paramount MX. Cheers, Joe
In the last few days I started experiencing long download times with my STT-8300M, on the order of around 30 seconds. Previously I was getting download times in the 1-2 second range. The time is the same at all binning levels (1x1, 2x2, 3x3) and in all the software that I have tried (TheSkyX Pro, Maxim DL 6, CCDSoft). As far as I can tell, the drivers and firmware are up to date. Any idea what might be causing this? Should I be looking at swapping out cables? Or does this sound like a software issue? I am running Windows 8.1 -> USB extender -> Paramount MX -> STT-8300M. USB to the camera is coming out of the instrument panel on the Paramount MX. Cheers, Joe
Joe, Doug or one of the other staff members will probably reply when we reopen on Tuesday. Monday is a holiday in Canada. Have you changed anything in your system or software right before all this started happening?
It was already posted to the STT section. Have you changed anything in your system or software right before all this started happening? Try running the camera direct to the computer and see if the problem goes away. Then run it through the mount, test, if ok then run it though the mount / extender. If you have updated no software, drivers or OS updates then it's probably hardware.
I had the same issue with the same camera and brandX software. Don't know if this will help, but at least it's a place to start. Slow 1x1 download for sbig autoguider Discussion in 'STT Series' started by Gunny, May 25, 2015.
Thanks. I have made a few changes recently, including updating the firmware about 2 weeks ago. But I only noticed the problem a few days ago so I am not sure that the two are related. I will try going through a direct connection to the computer and see if I can isolate the problem.
This is interesting in that I used to have the same problem, but it appears to have gone away. The autoguider was taking over 1 min to download images at 1x1, but was normal at 2x2. And since I was getting good guiding at 2x2, I left that as my default and forgot about the problem. So I just checked the autoguider again at 1x1 and the download times are normal, in that they are the same speed as when I download a 648x488 subframe from the main CCD. Still slow, but not experiencing the extreme slowness as before. Also, based on your observations I tried downloading different subframes from the main CCD, but the relative download times are still the same. So this doesn't appear to be the same issue as the autoguider was experiencing. Thanks for the suggestion. Cheers, Joe
I have tried connecting the camera directly to the computer and the problem persists. I tried all 4 USB ports on the back of the computer and 3 different USB cables of different lengths. I am not sure if any of the cables I tested was the one that originally came with the camera. I tend to shuffle cables around based on the assumption that all USB 2.0 cables are created equal. The power supply is directly connected to the camera, and it is the original one. Is there anything else I can try?
Hello Joe, Have you tried getting rid of tsx for autoguiding and just use maxim for the autoguiding? When I had the problem with the tsx autoguiding, the bisque bros were not interested in solving the problem and I couldn't get an answer from them. Maxim will at least tell you where the problem lies and if guiding works with maxim the problem will be on the tsx end. You may have better luck with the bros on their forum in getting an answer, since this is a known problem that they have not addressed.......Gunny
Hi Gunny, The longer download times that I am experience are happening with both the main imager and the autoguider. And they seem proportional to the size of the image being downloaded with either chip. So it seems like an overall slowness. Also, the times are the same in either TheSkyX Pro, Maxim DL 6, or CCDSoft, so it appears to be a problem somewhere in the USB download itself. I had mentioned that in the past I was experiencing abnormally long autoguider downloads at 1x1 binning, but that is no longer the case and I am not sure exactly when or why it stopped happening as I usually auto guide at 2x2 binning anyway. Cheers, Joe
Hi Joe, It seems that you have exhausted all the options that I can think of. The hub has been addressed with your testing. Only other thing I can think of is trying the downloads with ccdops. That's what gave me a clue as to what piece of software was at fault. When I connected my camera directly to the computer and just used ccdops, everything worked. I take it that you are using a self guiding FW? What happens if you disconnect that and just operate the main chip? Never was too thrilled about that hmdi cable, so I sent the autoguider cover back and now have a standard cover. I'm also using the sti camera on a separate 60 mm scope. Wish I had some more ideas..........................Gunny
Hi Joe, I had a similar problem long and variable download time. It was related with my antivirus, Malware, Windows defender programs . As soon I added Maxim in the list of trusted applications, this problem gone.
Antoine, That looks like it solved the problem. Thanks! I never would have thought of that. Cheers, Joe
I think a lot of strange problems reported are related with antivirus and other defender programs, download time and timeout are the most common. If you add some trouble with USB cables, and connectors, It's not easy to do a diagnose when a problem is reported.
