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  #21  
Old 20-10-2014, 02:05 PM
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I think if you persist and get a good one it'll be worth it judging by Martin's results with his.

Greg.
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  #22  
Old 21-10-2014, 06:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley View Post
I think if you persist and get a good one it'll be worth it judging by Martin's results with his.

Greg.
This camera was working fine about 8 months ago Greg. This image was done with it. So I know what it should do from experience.

It appears the previous owners reduced stocks so much that repair of the camera will be faster than waiting for a new camera. It starts heading back to the States tomorrow. Doug the head of Cyanogen will ensure it is working properly before it comes back.

I don't mind having the same camera, I just want it working.
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  #23  
Old 01-11-2014, 03:26 AM
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I could be wrong, but I don't think Martin's STXL has been 100% trouble free. Nothing wrong with checking out the FLI Proline cameras. They don't have built in OAG, but you can add the AstroDon MOG to your image train.

I'm a big fan of FLI products and service. Note, that unlike SBIG, Apogee, they have not be sold.
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  #24  
Old 01-11-2014, 07:29 PM
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I could be wrong, but I don't think Martin's STXL has been 100% trouble free. Nothing wrong with checking out the FLI Proline cameras. They don't have built in OAG, but you can add the AstroDon MOG to your image train.

I'm a big fan of FLI products and service. Note, that unlike SBIG, Apogee, they have not be sold.
Yeah Martin had some issues with HDMI cable which was producing some RF related stuff but it has been sorted with a different HDMI cable.

Nothing wrong with FLI gear except the price. 9.3k just for the camera John in Australia, not to mention filter wheel, MOAG and I think maybe I would need to change the filters to square and after spending an absolute fortune on Astrodons (7 filters) I would not be keen to buy more. I take your point though. However, I think SBIG will sort this out for me.
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  #25  
Old 27-11-2014, 10:30 AM
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Update time

Well the camera has been to the US and is now headed back to me after quite a bit of time and I am assured it is fixed.

The cause of the problem from what I can gather was the A-D converter.

With the problem fixed (I have yet to test results myself but trust SBIG at their word) I can now get on with sorting little issues like flattener distance on the scope, any further tilt and guiding refinement.

I will post up a dark when I get the camera here again.
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  #26  
Old 28-11-2014, 09:09 AM
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Hi Paul,

How long was your camera in the US for? Mine's been with SBIG 29 days now. I was thinking of waiting one month before sending a nudging email to find out if any work had been done.

H
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  #27  
Old 28-11-2014, 05:42 PM
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Hi Paul,

How long was your camera in the US for? Mine's been with SBIG 29 days now. I was thinking of waiting one month before sending a nudging email to find out if any work had been done.

H
Hmmm about a month all up I think. From the time it left here until two days ago.
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  #28  
Old 02-12-2014, 05:15 PM
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Ok, I got the camera back today.

I did some darks to see what those looked like.

I have attached a copy of one of the darks. As you can see it looks pretty flat across the field, no high and low spots.

Fingers crossed that this problem has now been solved. I will do some more tests over the coming days.
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (-30 C 30 minutes-003D scaled.jpg)
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  #29  
Old 02-12-2014, 07:08 PM
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Good luck, Paul!
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  #30  
Old 03-12-2014, 09:35 AM
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Looks like the repair has been a complete success. 15 subs at 30 minutes long at -30C last night and not a single blemish showing. A much happier astrophotographer now. On to the next problem.
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  #31  
Old 03-12-2014, 04:20 PM
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I would also like to add this.

SBIG in recent weeks since the take over by Cyanogen has been responsive and kept me informed.

Doug George the head of Cyanogen kept in contact with me up until Bill Lynch took over the repair. Bill provided me with updates and even tested things the way I had asked.

No offence to any of the former heads are SBIG but I got my camera repaired faster after the take over by a factor of 10 and that says to me that SBIG are serious now about keeping customers happy.

Just my opinion and thanks to SBIG for sorting the camera out.
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  #32  
Old 03-12-2014, 05:39 PM
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Having personally carried your camera up to Santa Barbara more than once, I can say that the out-going SBIG staff/founders spent a lot of time trying to nut out this intermittent and frustrating problem....but some problems simply take time to understand & then fix.

Sure SBIG have seen some changes in ownership, but I have known Doug George for a very long time. His software and hardware integrating skills are profound (Sirius Dome owners can thank yours-truly for enlisting Doug to develop their original Dome automation systems)

I am confident Cyanogen will keep SBIG at the "cutting edge" for some time to come.
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  #33  
Old 04-12-2014, 01:53 PM
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Thanks for the feedback, Paul.

My apologies, I haven't been on here for a while. My time is being caught up in other causes.

I emailed Bill two days ago, as the camera had been with them for four weeks at that stage. It took 2 weeks to get there. So far, it's been six weeks.

Bill said that he has 3 other cameras to look at before mine, but, will get in touch with me as soon as he does get to mine.

I'm not in any real hurry at the moment, but, good to know it's getting there.

H
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