APT is not working with the Atik 314L+ mono cooled camera!

[Altair8389]

Hi SGL,

I recently purchased a licence for APT and am testing it on my dSLR and also cooled Atik 314L+ camera. It seems to work ok with the dSLR but it is not doing so well

for the Atik 314L+. I am using the ASCOM ATIK driver for Atik 314L(1396) in APT. I have tested image capture with the lens cap on and I am getting abnormal images such as

lines across the sensor for a 1 second and a bright thick white line at the bottom of the sensor. This did not happen with SharpCap 4.0 and Artemis Capture (ATIK software).

Does anyone know if there is another driver, or is the legacy drivers pre 2019 which might work better ? Or shall I reinstall the Atik drivers.

I am using the latest version of ASCOM.

 

Here are some error messages I found in the log in APT.

I tested APT again and I did choose the ASCOM camera option (shift+connect: CCD: Ascom). I tested a short and long exposure (30 secs) and show you the equivalent image in jpg. There is an error exeption message in the log which I also attach.

2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) DBG FullWellCapacity - Exception occurred.
2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) DBG electronsPerADU - Exception occurred.
2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) DBG Error reading camera parameters.
2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) Op Connected to Camera Atik Camera Driver
2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) DBG ASCOM driver
2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) DBG Get Gain - Exception occurred.
2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) DBG Can't read gain setting.
2023/06/06 11:48:52 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:52) DBG Get BlackLevel - Exception occurred.
2023/06/06 11:48:58 (UT 2023/06/06 10:48:58) Op CCD auto cooling stopped. Use the Cooling Aid to cool the camera.
2023/06/06 11:49:00 (UT 2023/06/06 10:49:00) DBG SC Status - checking for plan triggers
2023/06/06 11:49:00 (UT 2023/06/06 10:49:00) DBG Refocus Check: Skip check because daytime


Is there an error in the camera driver or is the camera driver wrong?

Ivo (APT forum) says the problem is the driver, as APT does not change anything.

 

Many thanks.

Magnus

[michael8554]

Does it work with Artemis Capture, Atik's capture software for that camera ?

Michael

Edited June 10, 2023 by michael8554

[Altair8389]

2 hours ago, michael8554 said:

Does it work with Artemis Capture, Atik's capture software for that camera ?

Michael

Yes, it seems to. I tested darks with Artemis capture. Tried imaging the moon with Sharpcap which seemed to work ok despite my focus not optimal.

 

Magnus

[michael8554]

Oops, you mentioned it worked with Artemis in your first post  😆

If there's a APT forum, contacting that would be the next step.

Michael

[Gasman]

I think you choose the Atik 2 option in Ascom!

Steve

[Altair8389]

Hi Steve,

 

Thanks, I did not think of that - choosing Atik 2 option in Ascom.

Well I reinstalled the Atik drivers using an old driver version from 16/8/2018 : SetupAtikCamerasUniversal-4.2.2.9.exe (download from the Atik Camera website), not the latest version of the Universal drivers in March 2023.

Now the Atik 314+ seems to be better controlled and works normally in APT (taking test shots), not tried out in the dark sky yet.

It also works for Artemis Capture and SharpCap 4.0 (choose Atik Camera in the drop down Camera menu).

Superb!

 

Magnus