CCDSoft vs CCDOps for SBIG STi

[Dennis]

Hello, venerated SBIG users!

I have just obtained an SBIG STi and occasionally it drops out (with an error message) during an auto guiding session, usually after a few minutes.

I also have The Sky X Pro with Camera Control SW which operates the STi perfectly well.

So, I was wondering, is there anyone out there who has installed CCDOPs and is using it to operate the STi?

Thanks

Dennis

[lazjen (Chris)]

I can't answer your question, but I can tell you I use my ST-i with PHD2 for guiding. Maybe you could use that instead?

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by lazjen

I can't answer your question, but I can tell you I use my ST-i with PHD2 for guiding. Maybe you could use that instead?

Thanks Chris – I might try CCDOps 1st and if I find the interface to “old fashioned” I’ll give PHD2 a go. It is nice to have a few alternatives!

Cheers

Dennis

[Paul Haese]

Dennis, it might pay to check that you usb's are not going to sleep. That might be the cause for the drop out. Some idiot who works for microsoft thought it would be a good idea to make the default setting auto sleep. If you uncheck that you shoukd be ok.

Also make sure you are not using a hub with it too. For some reason most hubs don't provide enough power for that camera. A direct connection with the computer produces good results for me. I am using maxim though.

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

Dennis, it might pay to check that you usb's are not going to sleep. That might be the cause for the drop out. Some idiot who works for microsoft thought it would be a good idea to make the default setting auto sleep. If you uncheck that you shoukd be ok.

Also make sure you are not using a hub with it too. For some reason most hubs don't provide enough power for that camera. A direct connection with the computer produces good results for me. I am using maxim though.

Thanks for that information and suggested fixes Paul, I appreciate your help.

Oddly enough, the (unchanged) system and set up behaved flawlessly the other evening for the entire session.

I’ll look at the USB Power Management options and see what the default is and change it accordingly. Now that I remember, I had a similar problem with “Power Options” on my IBM ThinkPad for the Firewire DMK cameras.

As an aside, I always have cameras plugged into the native USB ports and only have devices such as focuser controllers and external hard drives (for star catalogues and data files) on powered hubs.

Cheers

Dennis

[lazjen (Chris)]

Just a counterpoint - I plug my ST-i into a powered hub and have no problems with it at all. All my USB devices go via the hub (it's a mixed USB2/USB3 7 port one), with only the hub connected to a laptop USB port. Simplified things a lot.

[Dennis]

Thanks Chris, it seems a bit of a lottery then, whether or not USB devices work with native ports or those provided by powered hubs?

All my cables are less than 3 metres, just to complete the picture.

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Just to complicate matters, I had the same error message last night with the STi connected, via a 3 metre USB cable, to a native USB3 Port on my ASUS Notebook. I then unplugged the STi cable from that USB3 Port and inserted it into the adjacent native USB3 Port and voila, the STi recovered and worked flawlessly all night.

It seems there are (native) USB3 Ports and then (native) USB3 Ports!

As Paul mentioned previously, Power Management has been disabled for all USB Root Hubs.

Cheers

Dennis

[lazjen (Chris)]

I should mention I never plug the ST-i into a USB 3 port (directly). It goes to a USB 2 port on the hub, which in turn is connected via USB 3 to the laptop.

I had no end of grief trying to get the ST-i working on USB3.

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by lazjen

I should mention I never plug the ST-i into a USB 3 port (directly). It goes to a USB 2 port on the hub, which in turn is connected via USB 3 to the laptop.

I had no end of grief trying to get the ST-i working on USB3.

Hmm, that’s interesting. All I have on the ASUS Notebook are x3 (native) USB3 Ports, so I guess there is some unusual property about one of these that makes the STi fall over, yet its sibling located right next door to it, appears to work.

I'll just count my blessings and keep my fingers crossed.

Cheers

Dennis

PS - I’ve just thought – have you updated your SBIG Drivers via the latest version of the SBIG Driver Checker?