Definatly something a miss Marc , my QHY10 goes directly to what ever
temp I set with no bouncing around at all with TEC on and it uses the same DC201 and latest drivers
Definatly something a miss Marc , my QHY10 goes directly to what ever
temp I set with no bouncing around at all with TEC on and it uses the same DC201 and latest drivers
So you pretty much flatline on the setpoint or close to it? Do you know how much Amps the camera draws when the TEC regulates? Does it vary? Mine is full 3A each time it turns on. No ramping up or down. I suspect that maybe why it's bouncing. Like autoguiding with max aggressiveness.
If I set it at -15c it may go to 0c for a min or 2 then down to -17c then in a few min settle at -15 give or take about 0.2c so as close as I can reasonably expect. I havent payed much attention to power draw just
that the temp was spot on as far as I was concerned and did it in a couple steps. Maybe try reinstalling the drivers again ?
ps try a few different temps and see , maybe its having trouble getting to -20
If I set it at -15c it may go to 0c for a min or 2 then down to -17c then in a few min settle at -15 give or take about 0.2c so as close as I can reasonably expect. I havent payed much attention to power draw just
that the temp was spot on as far as I was concerned and did it in a couple steps. Maybe try reinstalling the drivers again ?
Did that already and also tried two separate ascom platforms: 5.5 and 6.0. Same result in 3 softwares as well. Maximd DL 5.x, Nebulosity 2.x and EZcap supplied by supplier.
I restored the laptop back from a previous image without any drivers each time so I know it's not an old driver conflict. I suspect the DC-201 but without knowing more how it operates I can only speculate at this stage.
Otherwise I shot some darks and it seems ok. Just the TEC playing yoyo.
Check the cable out to - I find that the pins are easily bent , even try a diff cable ?
I have only one cable. It's brand new and the pins look fine. I posted on QHYCCD forums as well. Will wait for Theo to chip in. It's gotta be something simple. Everything else seems to work fine out of the box.
Well it's reproducible. Left the camera on for an hour with -25c set point. Plenty of time to settle. It's bouncing between -16c an -30.1c. Exactly like before. Since then the Camera was powered down and the laptop rebooted.
I have it working fine in Neb2 and Maxim DL 5.x as an Ascom camera. I was shooting some darks and playing with the TEC on the bench last night. Temp control is new to me so I'm experimenting. When you set the cooling point in Maxim to let's say -10c it goes down to -20c or less. It also fluctuates a lot +/-7c. Is this normal? I thought the regulation would have been within +/- 1c ? Or does it need time to settle down?
I used Gain 1 Offset 60 and apart for hot pixels 10min darks were ink black. No noise. I couldn't even stretch the data. So I think something's not right. The camera is working because if I do a 1s exp without the cap on I get saturated white. I just thought it was odd to have hardly any signal on a 10min dark. Maybe gain1 is too low. What do you use?
Hi Marc
The offset and gain settings will be specific for your camera. I have just reset my gain and offset as a took a new darks library. My settings are Gain = 15, offset = 115. This gives me a dynamic range of 500 - 65450 ADU.
I only use Maxim (via ascom driver) and set the temp at -20. The camera will overshoot (~ -22 to 23) then fall back below the set temp then gently creep up to a stable temp of -20. Once there it never moves, just stays rock solid, only the current draw moves (usually down as the night progresses). I never bother going below -20 as it makes bugger all difference to noise even though the camera can easily reach -30 and beyond. Just stresses the peltier and you will shorten its working life plus I can use -20 all year round both summer and winter. Also Marc why do you have two exact same temp readings in those images you posted from Maxim? There is no guider attached so there should be "no camera" in the second box. Not sure why its there..
Mine behaves same as Martin describes Marc - bit of overshoot (degree or two) for a minute or two before stabilising within 0.5 degree of temp for ages. Sounds like something is amiss. Theo will help sort.
The offset and gain settings will be specific for your camera. I have just reset my gain and offset as a took a new darks library. My settings are Gain = 15, offset = 115. This gives me a dynamic range of 500 - 65450 ADU.
I only use Maxim (via ascom driver) and set the temp at -20. The camera will overshoot (~ -22 to 23) then fall back below the set temp then gently creep up to a stable temp of -20. Once there it never moves, just stays rock solid, only the current draw moves (usually down as the night progresses). I never bother going below -20 as it makes bugger all difference to noise even though the camera can easily reach -30 and beyond. Just stresses the peltier and you will shorten its working life plus I can use -20 all year round both summer and winter. Also Marc why do you have two exact same temp readings in those images you posted from Maxim? There is no guider attached so there should be "no camera" in the second box. Not sure why its there..
Cheers
Mark
Thanks Mark. Yeah I'll sort out the gain/offset looking at my skycount once I have this TEC sorted out. My camera overshoots the target by a lot (>10c) then oscillates a lot (+/-7c) but doesn't settle down. Even after one hour. I did three tests. One at -15c, one at -20c and one at -25c. At -25c it bounced between -16c and -31c continually. I posted all the graphs on QHYCCD and QiuHY said the DC201 is faulty or the power supply is faulty. I replaced the power supply and tested again. Same erratic behaviour. Nothing like what you guys are experiencing.
re: Maxim DL I must have setup the second camera as a QHY as well from previous tests.
Mine behaves same as Martin describes Marc - bit of overshoot (degree or two) for a minute or two before stabilising within 0.5 degree of temp for ages. Sounds like something is amiss. Theo will help sort.
Thanks Rob. Yes. It seems consistant across all QHY9 user feedbacks I've got so far. I'm liaising with Theo right now.
re: Maxim DL I must have setup the second camera as a QHY as well from previous tests.
Marc if the second camera is not connected then there should be no reading in that second panel at all. I am a little confused as to why it is there. Yes by the description you gave of the TEC behaviour something is definately amiss. It takes mine about 5 mins to equalise at -20 and generally moves between -19.9 to -20.1 at the absolute most but only as the TEC % backs off during the night as it gets colder and it is hunting for the new setting. I am sure Quiy and Theo know what they are doing and will have you sorted quickly .
Marc if the second camera is not connected then there should be no reading in that second panel at all. I am a little confused as to why it is there. Yes by the description you gave of the TEC behaviour something is definately amiss. It takes mine about 5 mins to equalise at -20 and generally moves between -19.9 to -20.1 at the absolute most but only as the TEC % backs off during the night as it gets colder and it is hunting for the new setting. I am sure Quiy and Theo know what they are doing and will have you sorted quickly .
Mark
I have no idea why either but not worried about it at this stage. One thing at a time. Theo should be sending me another DC201 soon to test again. 1% on the TEC power slider will bring the temp to -30c so it's all or nothing. It doesn't regulate. 1% or 70% has the same effect and I think that's where the problem lies.
I have no idea why either but not worried about it at this stage. One thing at a time. Theo should be sending me another DC201 soon to test again. 1% on the TEC power slider will bring the temp to -30c so it's all or nothing. It doesn't regulate. 1% or 70% has the same effect and I think that's where the problem lies.
Yep sounds like the problem all right. Make sure he sends you another cable as well just to be sure. If all is working well the fan on the camera will not start until you turn on the coolers in maxim. Also watch the TEC light on the DC201. It should not light up until you turn the cooler on.
Yep sounds like the problem all right. Make sure he sends you another cable as well just to be sure. If all is working well the fan on the camera will not start until you turn on the coolers in maxim. Also watch the TEC light on the DC201. It should not light up until you turn the cooler on.
Mark
Theo's tested another camera + power unit and shipped them to me already. No questions asked. Should get it tomorrow. Sent back this one with the DC201. He'll figure out what's wrong with it.
Temperature set point is ignored. 
Relief! 
frustating in the mean time though.
