Atik 460ex cooling accuracy

[andyo]

Hi 

Can anyone who is using a 460ex with artemis capture please help with some info. I have not had mine that long and find that when I set the cooling to -10c that the accuracy tends to fluctuate between -9.5 to -10.5 approx. This may be normal for this camera but with my old 314l+ it was always accurate to within 0.1c.

I have used different usb leads tried different ports also used 3 different power supplies and also two different computers and all the latest drivers are installed but always end up with the same result so I am starting to think that i am expecting to high a degree of accuracy from the larger chip any help appreciated

[Freddie]

I set mine to -15 and once cooled it always shows -14.9 and never changes until I warm it up again.

[andyo]

1 hour ago, Freddie said:

I set mine to -15 and once cooled it always shows -14.9 and never changes until I warm it up again.

Thanks Freddie

[swag72]

As I recall the cooling on my Atik 460 was constant... it didn't change. But I'm not convinced that +/- 1 degree is going to make much by way of difference. Perhaps you could try it at a lesser temperature just as an experiment and see if it's a little more constant by using less % of the maximum cooling. It could be at -15 you are near the top end of it's maximum cooling and it's struggling to maintain a constant temperature .....

Just an idea worth trying

[NigeB]

I run my 460ex at -9.9 degrees and it stays stable at that temperature through the night. I seem to recall trying it at -15 and finding that it struggled to reach that temperature (it was during a warm spell). I agree with Sara - you could be near the limit of its cooling performance.

I will set mine to -15 next time I'm running and report back. But the weather has become much cooler here in the last few days, which may give the system a helping hand...

 

Nigel

[Freddie]

Mine is set to -15 all the time and even on warmer summer nights here in the tropics of Kent if it can hit the set point it maintains a constant temperature. If it can't reach the set point it cools down to whatever it can manage and stays constant at that temp, whatever that happens to be.

[NigeB]

Hi Andy

Another thought, and an observation.

Are the fan exhaust ports on the camera all clear? I've occasionally  found insects (mainly lacewings here) taking up residence in my kit, never in the CCD, but if warm air isn't able to get out easily this may lead to instability.

One thing I do notice with Artemis is that occasionally it seems to take longer than normal for an exposure to be transferred from the camera to the PC. When this happens, it looks like a short term (~10 second) hang of the machine, and during that time the cooler window can show a rise in temperature, or a "warming up" signal, or a display in terms of power rather than temperature. As soon as the image has downloaded, the temperature window instantly returns to -9.9 degrees.

 Do the fluctuations you see correlate with image download times?

Nigel

[andyo]

Thanks for the great replies everyone 

3 hours ago, NigeB said:

Do the fluctuations you see correlate with image download times?

thanks for the reply NigeB

but no correlation to image download times,the fluctuations  can occur at the start middle or end of the capture or even when not taking a capture at all and the fan ports are also clear.

4 hours ago, swag72 said:

As I recall the cooling on my Atik 460 was constant... it didn't change. But I'm not convinced that +/- 1 degree is going to make much by way of difference. Perhaps you could try it at a lesser temperature just as an experiment and see if it's a little more constant by using less % of the maximum cooling. It could be at -15 you are near the top end of it's maximum cooling and it's struggling to maintain a constant temperature .....

Just an idea worth trying

Thanks for the reply Sara

I have already tried different temperatures and the same thing happens. I did initially think it could be due to it being near its maximum cooling a couple of months ago but the ambient temperature when I tried today was only 12c it is supposed to be able to reach to 25c below ambient so should easily be able to reach -10c with a few degrees to spare also the other evening the ambient temp was 4c and it did it then. Looks like it is going to be an email to Atik support then to see if they can get to the bottom of it.

I should point out that I am setting the cooling to -10c and not -15c 

[Gina]

As I recall, I ran mine at -15°C and that was about the limit.

[johnrt]

-20 all year round here in balmy Sevenoaks, it's outside now at -20C on the nose and running at 80% cooling power.

[ChrisLX200]

I always ran my 490EX at -10deg, I never saw any difference when running lower temperatures..

ChrisH

[andyo]

2 hours ago, ChrisLX200 said:

I always ran my 490EX at -10deg, I never saw any difference when running lower temperatures..

ChrisH

 

13 hours ago, johnrt said:

-20 all year round here in balmy Sevenoaks, it's outside now at -20C on the nose and running at 80% cooling power.

 

14 hours ago, Gina said:

As I recall, I ran mine at -15°C and that was about the limit.

 

19 hours ago, Freddie said:

Mine is set to -15 all the time and even on warmer summer nights here in the tropics of Kent if it can hit the set point it maintains a constant temperature. If it can't reach the set point it cools down to whatever it can manage and stays constant at that temp, whatever that happens to be.

Thanks for the replies I am wondering what power supplies people are using. I am using a bench power supply regulated at 13.8v which Atik have informed me is fine but at the maximum voltage they can reliably take

 

[Freddie]

Mine is nothing special so doubt it is a power supply issue unless your bench supply unit is faulty.

[andyo]

2 hours ago, Freddie said:

Mine is nothing special so doubt it is a power supply issue unless your bench supply unit is faulty.

I have tried two different bench power supplies. I have now removed the camera from the obsy and set it up indoors just the camera different power supply different usb lead different computer and tried reducing the cooling to -7c but it still does it. Getting fluctuations between -6.6c and -7.4c. I also noticed when i clicked warm up it cooled to -7.8c before warming up.

[Freddie]

Well yours is definitely operating in a different way to mine then for some reason. Maybe it needs to go back to Atik for a check up. You won't miss much with all this rain !!!

[RayD]

Likewise the others above, whilst of no use to you, once set at either -10 or -15 mine goes there and stays there, albeit unless it's chilly out it does struggle to get to and hold -15.

[andyo]

9 hours ago, Freddie said:

Well yours is definitely operating in a different way to mine then for some reason. Maybe it needs to go back to Atik for a check up. You won't miss much with all this rain !!!

Yes emailed Atik and that is what they suggested send it back for a check 

[kirkster501]

Andy, update us abut sending it back to Atik please?  How did that go and how long did they have it for?  What did they charge you?

[andyo]

On 15/11/2016 at 21:36, kirkster501 said:

Andy, update us abut sending it back to Atik please?  How did that go and how long did they have it for?  What did they charge you?

Hi Steve

The camera was only bought August  so it is still under gaurantee. I contacted Atik outlining the problem and they advised me to inform FLO to arrange collection for return , they arranged for a courier to pick it up at my convenience, which was done last Thursday. Atik contacted me today letting me know the camera is ready and is on its way back to me should get it Monday. They found the problem to be the peltier was not perfectly seated and this was causing the instability. These things happen and for me it shows a companies worth with how they deal with such problems, both FlO and Atik have been superb with the way they have done this, great communication and dealt with quickly with as little inconvenience to myself as is possible