Atik EFW2 sequencing problems with DUSK.

[Craney]

Hello everybody,

( I think this could be a driver or ASCOM setup thing and so I have tentatively put it into the Software forum..... please move if better elsewhere ).

 

This could be a simple one, but it is evading me at the moment, but I am a bear of little brain.

I have a Atik 414mono, EFW2 running on a Win 10 pro Toughbook.

About a week or so ago during the last bit of clear skies,whilst using DUSK  I noticed that some of my subs didn't look right the morning after.   ie.  that's meant to be a BLUE sub and looks suspiciously like a H-Alpha.    
On investigation,   when performing  single or looped shots on the normal camera menu tab, it could find all  1-9 slots.... ok  and relocate to find the correct slot.......but when I set up the sequencer and set it off going in good faith , ( and left to get a cup of tea etc)  ...it went to position '2' instead of the required '1'   etc.... and since I have  a LUM,R,G,B,Ha sequence  it took a RED sub and not a LUM one.....and so on.

An additional fact which might be useful in diagnosis is that in the sequencer menu, the Filter wheel option only goes up to 8 max.... but just a menu away to the side, the same program reckons I have got 9 slots..... hmmmm confusing ??

.....and another thing,   an old version of  Artemis Capture works Ok  with the sequencing without changing anything on the computer.    Then back to DUSK and it's up to the silly behaviour again.   What could be the issue??

I could have been going wrong for a long time, ... oh my.... hope I have not published any 'unbelievable'  images,  but the lack of clear nights has hidden the problem behind the long list of other more immediate issues...  ??

Anyways, any help much appreciated.

Sean

[ollypenrice]

Firstly your FITS headers should show which filter was used for which capture so you can, albeit laboriously, go through them all and put them in the right place. (I would make a separate folder for each filter and asign each checked image to the right folder rather than rename the files. That's just me.)

I haven't used Dusk and don't want to because there is nothing wrong with Artemis so far as I'm concerned. However, could this have anything to do with the nature of the sequence you've chosen? Normally with sequencers you can scroll 1,2,3,4 etc or choose 1,1,1,1, 2,2,2,2, etc.

Olly

[Craney]

Thanks for the reply Olly,

I have had the EFW on the table today watching what it does in DUSK.   I was right, the individual snapshot and loop function recognises all 9 filter positions and correctly  works through them when manually selected.  

Alas,  when you input a sequence of filter changes in the PLANNER section, the sequencer goes straight to position 2 when you want it to go to position 1.  In fact I cannot get the sequencer to go to position 1when in this mode..... which was my LUM  filter.     But once it has made this mistake, it is then consistent with the relative positioning for the next step. ie  position 2 beomes 3,   3 becomes 4 etc....   This error occurs with  1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4........ and  1,1,1,1, 2,2,2,2, 3,3,3,3, 4,4,4,4   type runs.       Thankfully it is not a random error, or sporadic.  It seems to me that the planner resets where the 'home' position is on the FW.

So, why not set everything  "position minus 1"...... ah yes, but remember the sequencer/planner only recognises 8 positions.... so I cant enter '9'  for it to incorrectly go to '1'  if that makes sense.

Various attempts at reloading software did not make any difference.

Thanks for the heads up on the FITS files.   I will see if I can yield any info from them.

I know what you mean about Artemis.   It is very much belt and braces, but hey!!..... its clear and simple.   Dusk has a bit more functionality to it  and a modern looking user interface, but essentially it does the same job.....It is a nice environment to work with and if it all performed flawleessly I would be a convert.

I have put a message out on the ATIK forum as well. Fingers crossed.

Cheers,

 

Sean.

[Craney]

A-Ha !!!!    so I'm not going totally du-lally.

Those great folk at ATIK  have listened to my ramblings and detected a bug in the code which resulted in the above issue.

    "....this issue has now been fixed and the core software will be updated this week ".  

That is about 12 hours after I initially reported it.   Excellent customer service.

So    @ollypenrice   , if you are thinking of moving over to Dusk then maybe wait a week or so just in case.

 

Sean.

[ollypenrice]

2 hours ago, Craney said:

 

So    @ollypenrice   , if you are thinking of moving over to Dusk then maybe wait a week or so just in case.

 

 

I'm not! Artemis Capture is perfect for me but I'm sure that, between them, the software brigade will oblige me, in the end, to switch to something they tell me is better.

Olly

[Jezphil]

On 05/06/2019 at 16:46, Craney said:

A-Ha !!!!    so I'm not going totally du-lally.

Those great folk at ATIK  have listened to my ramblings and detected a bug in the code which resulted in the above issue.

    "....this issue has now been fixed and the core software will be updated this week ".  

That is about 12 hours after I initially reported it.   Excellent customer service.

So    @ollypenrice   , if you are thinking of moving over to Dusk then maybe wait a week or so just in case.

 

Sean.

Hello.

I'm about to buy an Atik CCD camera. In the tech specs on Atik Cameras, the software is listed as Windows, except for the Horizon versions. I'm a Mac user, so hoping to use Dusk. This may sounds like a dumb question, but presumably Dusk can be used on the other Atik Cameras(apart from Horizon) also, as you have an Atik 414 mono? Did you have to download drivers to make that work, or just Dusk onto a Mac and it was good to go? Thanks in advance.

Edited August 28, 2020 by Jezphil

[Craney]

46 minutes ago, Jezphil said:

Hello.

I'm about to buy an Atik CCD camera. In the tech specs on Atik Cameras, the software is listed as Windows, except for the Horizon versions. I'm a Mac user, so hoping to use Dusk. This may sounds like a dumb question, but presumably Dusk can be used on the other Atik Cameras(apart from Horizon) also, as you have an Atik 414 mono? Did you have to download drivers to make that work, or just Dusk onto a Mac and it was good to go? Thanks in advance.

Hi there,

First off, no such thing as a dumb question in this hobby.    

I am pretty sure  the DUSK  download suite contains all the relevant sub-programmes  and drivers needed to work.  I only have the one Atik camera ( 414 mono)  and so I cannot say for certain if you can just plug'n'play  with the rest of the camera range, but I suspect you can as the installation routine does not ask for you to identify specific cameras.

Also when I use APT with the 414ex, upon registering the camera, the ATP dialog box finds  and lists the ATIK drivers without me having to  search the folders, so I guess DUSK must keep them in an accessible place.

I cannot  enlighten you with regard to Macs.  I have enough trouble getting my head around Windows. 

Maybe join the Atik forum and post a question, they are very helpful.

Btw, which camera are you going for ??

 

Sean.