Hi. Just a couple of quick questions regarding the Aluma wifi update. I haven't done an update with the micro SD yet. Does it matter if the card is larger than 4GB? Should it be exactly 4GB? My concern is for the camera, not the card. I just don't want to cause any issue for the camera. Also, when I updated to DL Config 1.7.1.0 my wifi rev, that had previous shown rev 3, is now showing 12291. Just want to make sure everything is okay before I proceed. Let me know if you see any problem there. I should probably mention that I have an Aluma 8300 and my firmware is all up-to-date, rev 20. I just upgraded to MaxIm DL Pro recently, and that is version 6.22. (Very happy with the Pro version, by the way.) Thanks in advance. pam
I believe the camera came with a micro SD card and an adapter to make it SD size. If you can't find that, the card should be 4GB+.
Hi Colin. Thanks for the quick reply! You always have such great support. I really appreciate that. I'm not seeing it. Should it show on my packing list? In any case, I can pick one up. Just wanted to make sure on the size.
Just trying to get everything updated so I'm ready to shoot later this week. I looked over the packing slip. I don't see an SD listed anywhere. Maybe I don't know exactly what I'm looking for:/. But, I also don't see it in my photos of the unpacked gear. I only have the USB with the software on it. I think the smallest SD card I found available at my local store was a 32GB. Will that cause an issue? I can always order something online if you think that is too large. I also have another question. How many times should a desiccant be regenerated before it needs to be replaced. Thanks again!
The desiccant can be regenerated repeatedly and should not need replacement. I'm not sure why people purchase them separately... maybe they don't want to do the regeneration themselves? Or maybe they keep a spare so they can quickly swap them.
As long as the Micro SD card is 32GB or below, I expect it will work. It appears that we dropped the card off the packing list because they are so commonly available. The desiccant can be baked many times and reused. Its life is a function of how much moisture it has absorbed and how long it is heated. If you do it every 6 months, I would expect perhaps 5 years. If you need to bake it more frequently, I would be concerned either about your environmental humidity, a possible problem with the seal in the chamber, or most commonly, the o-ring should have been replaced. I usually replace my o-ring on the desiccant plugs with every recharge cycle. Some people will buy a second desiccant plug, bake it so it is ready to go, and swap it. Then the old plug gets baked the next time. That way the camera isn't open to the air for long. Replacement desiccant plugs are here: https://diffractionlimited.com/product/replacement-desiccant-plugs/ If it's an older ST camera you have (not listed at above link) Optical Structures, owners of FarPoint have a replacement Desiccant Plug: https://farpointastro.com/shop/sbig-camera-replacement-desiccant-plug/
Thank you both for the help! I was able to update the firmware. No issues at all with the SD card. I am now showing ver4 in DL config. Also thanks for the info on the desiccant. I can see why having a spare would be helpful. I like that plan. Are the O-rings the same size as the ones sent for the filter wheel? I have a few more questions. Not sure if it's okay to just keep adding to this. Thanks again! pam
Glad to hear the firmware update went in fine. No, the O-rings are a different size. I believe we include one or two with a replacement desiccant plug. If you want to buy a few, here's the details: https://www.mcmaster.com/9452K16/ Keep adding away... happy to take your questions.... until i run out of answers hee hee.
The ZIP file for Wifi version 4 doesn't seem to have proper headers, so it fails unzipping on a Mac. It does work on a PC with 7Zip but the header errors are also noted. The MD5 checksum for the ZIP file is OK though. Has anyone else had this problem? EDIT: Solved my own problem. The GUI based Archive Utility to unzip the files in macOS doesn't like the large files. If you go into terminal and run the unzip command line utility, it works fine.
