Problem guiding with DSI & PHD.

[Astronut1982]

Hi guys,

I was out last night & had set everyhting up to do a bit of imaging. I had centred my object & only needed to get PHD running so I could get a run of subs going when I had major problems with my DSI using PHD.

It found the camera fine but when I told it to start 1s exposures to find a guide star, the screen went a fuzzy white instead of the black with stars that I was expecting. I've used the camera many times before & this is the first time I've had this problem.

I'm stumped as to what is wrong with it as the night before it worked fine & it was put into a foamed lined flight case afterwards so I don't think that is the problem. I tried reinstalling both the camera & phd software but that didn't work & I tried using different USB leads as well. As a last resort I even tried switching the laptop on & off again but still no joy.

I'm now at the limit of my knowledge so If anyone else could point me in the right direction I'd be vey grateful. The weather is hopefully changing for the better so I don't want to lose out on any imaging time if possible.

Cheers,

Jeff

[Beyond_Vision]

Try using the camera on a powered hub the DSI takes near to the full quota of 500mA from a usb port. Some laptops struggle to power it properly.

Regards

[Beyond_Vision]

You may also have Gamma slider set wrong or the scope may be so far out of focus that the auto gain makes the screen white.

[Astronut1982]

Thanks for the tips.

I am currently using a powered hub & I used the same settings as I have done many times before, I also tried to adjust the gamma setting to see if that was the problem but it made no difference. It did briefly work for a few mins & one of the first things I did was to make sure the focus was good which it was but it died again before I could try guiding. I generally leave the focus as is when packing up so that I don't need to do it again. The thing is I also tried my DMK21 as a substitute & that wouldn't work either but I know there is nothing wrong with that camera.

I did everything the same as I have done many times before & it always worked then so I'm beginning to think that the camera has taken it's last breath! I'll give it a final try tonight if it stays clear to see but I'm beginning to lose hope. I suppose it could also be my laptop playing up as it is an old one but I think it may be camera.

Jeff