QSI Camera Disconnect

SGP:

Two nights in a row now my QSI 683 has undergone a disconnect during image capture. Luckily both times this has happened when downloading dark frames. I capture several 20 min dark frames, but then connection errors appear in the log file. Could you please advise me how to diagnose and fix this issue? Is this an SGP problem or QSI driver problem?

I am able to reconnect to the camera by closing SGP and starting again. The camera is still being cooled when I reconnect, but the last frame is obviously lost.

Thank you!

Last dark image saved:
[08-28-17 06:14:03.187]

First connection error: can’t read camera temp
[08-28-17 06:17:19.845]

Best Regards,
Ben

Hopefully the log file is uploaded correctly:

BenKoltSGPLog.zip (155.9 KB)

Here’s an update on my QSI camera disconnect problem.

I found an old thread about a similar issue, and it was suggested there that disconnects are often a USB hub issue. I’ve been meaning to switch over to a more rugged hub that I already have, so I did that before last night’s imaging session. There were no disconnects, and so I will just continue to monitor my sessions and hope that this solves the problem.

I discovered another problem related to the filter wheel that I will address in a new topic.

Best Regards,
Ben

I have done hundreds of hours with SGP and a QSI 683wsg - no issues. What is your filter wheel one?

buzz:

This is the integrated filter wheel that is part of the QSI 683wsg-8 itself. I also have had no issues with this for several years until now. However, as I said last, changing out the USB hub may have fixed the problem, or at least I didn’t experience the issue last night.

Ben

That is good news Ben. Mine is connected to the hub within the Paramount, which in turn is connected to a StarTech industrial USB2 hub. When my various mates have had issues with their cheap hubs, I have loaned them one of these and the problems went away. Usefully, they have a 12V DC power feed, so I can dispense with the horrid PWM bricks.

All,
I’m not sure if this is a wider issues or not as i have recently been facing the same issues with my qsi 683 wsg. i think my problems started after the .23 update and also appears in .24 beta

i thought my issue was hub related so replaced my hub but i still face issue with the qsi camera randomly disconnecting.

out of interest i decided to download the maxim dl demo to see if i faced the same issue, but in testing i found i had no connection issues with maxim dl, so wondering if this is a bug.

Rich

Rich:

In addition to the disconnect problem I noticed that SGP was not changing filters for auto focusing. I had it set to change to L for focusing, but this wasn’t happening. SGP used instead whatever filter was currently set. As you know with the QSI camera the filter wheel is integrated with the camera, and it’s possible the disconnect was related to SGP getting confused about filters. Don’t know that for sure, of course.

I ended up doing a bunch of things, perhaps where at least one of which will address my disconnect problem.

First, I updated from .23 to .24 beta as I had not done that yet. Interestingly there was a comment in the release notes that some older code had to be re-introduced to solve a QHY camera issue concerning filters, but I don’t know if this has anything to do with the QSI disconnect problem I was having.

Second, I did a complete overhaul of the QSI drivers by removing them from the computer and then reinstalling them. This meant I had to reload filter definitions, and I noticed there had been a small discrepancy here before. Could that have been related?

Now I was able to quickly determine that my autofocus issue was fixed. SGP now changes to the L filter for autofocusing as I had originally set.

And I have not had disconnect issues for the past couple of nights. Hopefully this is fixed as well, but it’s still possible my issue is still there but I have not yet repeated the conditions of the problem.

You may try reloading the QSI drivers. Good luck!

Best Regards,
Ben

Hi Ben,

I’ve already tried downloading the latest qsi driver and reinstalling and had no joy, replacing usb hub, no joy. it definitely seems lime a sgp specific issue as i’m not getting it happening in maximdl

i’m not saying it’s sgp directly it could be some driver screw up which needs windows rebuilding, but it is interesting to seee that other qsi owners have recently faced similar issues

Well, I thought that my issue had appeared to be resolved by replacing the hub, but last night I experienced the same problem again! Looking back at at ribuck’s last comment, he said that this is not an issue that he has had with other imaging software, so I’m starting to think there’s a problem happening that is specific to SGP. Lucky for me the error didn’t occur until close to the end of my imaging session, but who’s to say this couldn’t occur right in the middle after I’ve gone to bed?

I would appreciate advice please on how to to best diagnose this issue, try to isolate it, so that the developers can ascertain once and for all whether or not SGP is the culprit. I note that the disconnection happens during image acquisition. I am able to close out SGP, then restart it, and then connect again. Cooling has note been interrupted, but of course the last image is lost.

I have already uploaded my log files in the first post and would appreciate somebody examining it. Thank you, and I sincerely hope we can resolve this issue soon.

Best Regards,
Ben

I have two QSI CCDs and have never experienced what you describe.

I am sure there are many SGP/QSI Users who have not experienced this disconnection at download. This does suggest that there is something specific to your set up.

You have uploaded your SGP logs and I wonder if the camera log would also help diagnose the issue. I’m not sure where this is stored? Perhaps in the Ascom folder in Documents?

Have you tried changing your usb cable (not just your hub), can you eliminate your hub all together? What happens when you take calibration frames? Are you using a new sequence created in the latest beta or a sequence created with an older beta?

Barry

Barry:

I plan to replace the cable (should have done that when I replaced the hub), but that will disturb my current set up and orientation, so I’ll need to wait on that a couple of days. The good news is that the next night after my last disconnect I had a full imaging session without disconnect. Whatever the problem is it’s intermittent and (to my knowledge) unpredictable. After tomorrow night I will be taking all my equipment down and will be sure to replace the cable for next time.

That’s a good idea to check the ASCOM logs. I may have time to look into that later this evening. Thanks!

Best Regards,
Ben