Hi all... We're having a problem with our STXL filterwheel/autoguider; it seems to not be registering any light on the autoguider chip. It's worked in the past. I've attached two screenshots: 1. image from primary imager showing the pickoff mirror as far into the FOV as possible to allow the max amount of light (shadow at top of image), and 2. download from autoguider in daylight hours. Looks like just noise. Pointing the primary imager at the bright Moon or a bright star still shows up as noise in the AG imager. Thanks for any suggestions! Steve SPARQ Observatory
What software are you using to acquire the images? We can't tell anything from .JPGs, we need .FITs files. Looks like it may not be opening the shutter for the guider. Is it an FW8G-STXL ? Self-guiding filter wheel?
Hi Colin: We have an FW8S-STXL, guiding thru SkyX. I've attached a .fit of daylight image. BTW, thnx for the help you gave no long ago on the MaxDome dome shutter problem: we replaced the shutter control board and everything works fine, so there must have been a problem with the previous board. Steve SPARQ Observatory
It looks like things are mostly working; the image isn't all zeros. Some possibilities: 1. Bad HDMI Cable or corrosion on the contacts. Disconnect and Power off camera. Remove HDMI cable that goes between the top half of the FW8G-STXL and the Remote Guide Head port on the STXL camera. Reseat both ends of the cable. Or replace the cable with a new one. The HDMI cable is pretty standard - you could get it at a computer store/office supply/electronics store. Try again. 2. Software issue. As an alternative, try CCDOPs. If you don't have it, get it here: https://cdn.diffractionlimited.com/downloads/InstOps.exe Or if you have MaxIm DL, you could try that. 3. Hardware issue. It could be that the small vane shutter that covers the chip isn't moving. You'll have to pull the camera setup off the scope and put it on the workbench. You can open up the filter wheel assembly, and you'll see a small motor looking thing that operates the shutter on the guider. You could run the software and see if the shutter moves. Sometimes the tiny screw that holds the vane shutter on the motor shaft comes loose over time. Let us know.
