This is a question I already posed to Bob at DC-3. I'm asking here too since I've yet to find the answer...it's somewhere between you guys ;-) Where is the SBIG AO-X setting for Locate (expsoure and binning)? Similarly where is the setting for Track binning? For the latter question first, I believe this is set in SBIG AO Control | Track (I have it at bin 3 which is what I want). When ACP takes control this stays the same; however in SBIG AO Control | Locate the exposure seems to default to what ever is set in ACP Preferences for minimum guide exposure (5 seconds in my case). There is no setting in ACP Preferences for guider / AO-X binning which switches to bin 1 regardless of what's in the bin field to start. ACP is changing this value. The problem this causes is slow AO rates (I think). Even with a high SNR guide star the initial locate is 5 seconds bin 1. This has relevance on the final calculated exposure time for the AO unit. If it's too high (say > 0.2s, then the guide rate is <3Hz). There doesn't seem to be any place to set the Locate bin in Maxim either. The usual settings for guider binning do not work when an AO is present. Thanks for your help. -Lloyd
If you're running ACP then it controls everything. I believe you'd have to customize a script, but best ask over in the DC-3 forums.
There are no scripts to customize with ACP (except the nightly observatory start/stop scripts for Expert Scheduler). ACP never touches CCDCamera.GuiderBinning under any circumstances. We have seen this before (different customers) and it has spontaneously stopped, so I have yet to know the circumstances under which it happens. It has been observed with both AO and conventional guiding. Since I haven't been able to pin it down I haven't reported it. Once you're back open after New Year, I'd love to get to the bottom of it, as it has been an occasional issue for years.
Hi Doug...has anyone taken a look at this yet? I've posted a screen video which shows the behavior. If it's not perfectly clear what is happening is I set Locate to Bin 3, ACP does and exposure. Somewhere between these to points Locate Bin goes back to 1. Consequently, the exposure for Track is longer than it needs to be and the AOX speed is slower than it can be. Where are the controls to set Locate binning other than in the AO Control screen itself? https://www.dropbox.com/s/fppt8o1py5aazmh/AOX.mov?dl=0
The last patch I put on is referenced here: http://forum.diffractionlimited.com/threads/can-not-calibrate-ao-x.2409/#post-16113 Towards the end of the thread is the combination that finally worked for me. This bin switching thing occurred both before and since that patch. If there's a new one that addresses the issue we're talking about, then no, I have not installed it.
