SharpCap Forums

When I connect to my Atik 383L+ mono camera using the "Atik Cameras" driver I have found that using the sequencer to set a cooling program (to allow me to cool\warm the camera slowly) fails. The code I use for cooling is as follows:-

SEQUENCE
COOL DOWN TO -15 RATE 2 TOLERANCE 0.1
END SEQUENCE

the reported error as soon as i run the sequence is:-

19:11:21 Starting : Sequence
19:11:21 Starting : Cool the camera down to -15°C at up to 2°C/minute
19:11:21 Error : 'The camera cannot set a target temperature' while running step Cool the camera down to -15°C at up to 2°C/minute
19:11:22 End : Sequence halted due to error.
19:11:22 Finished

the same sequence code works fine with my ZWO ASI 294MC Pro using the ZWO drivers

Thanks

Keith

Hi Keith,

if you use the camera controls manually without the sequencer, can you set a target temperature for the camera and then watch it cool down to the target? If that works then we likely have a sequencer specific issue. If it doesn't work manually then for some reason cooling on Atik camera is playing up.

cheers,

Robin

Hi Robin,

Thanks for the quick reply, yes manually setting the target temperature with the sliders works well.

Also when using the Atik drivers it doesn't offer the option to turn the cooler on/off?

Best Regards

Keith

Hi,

thanks for checking - I can now see what has happened and I have a fix that I hope to make available in an update later today.

I have checked on the cooler on/off situation - while there is a function in the SDK that might achieve that, there is no documentation for it (that I can find anyway), which makes me reluctant to start using it. The best thing is to set the target temperature to ~30C for cooler off.

thanks,

Robin

Just installed update and can report the Atik 383L+ cools and warms now perfectly using the script

Thanks for fixing this, it makes a huge difference in avoiding the dreaded frosting on the sensor or subjecting it to thermal shock.

I would be happy to try out a beta version on my camera if you wanted to experiment with the cooler on/off feature.

Best Regards

Keith

Hi Keith,

glad to hear it works I am not aiming to do the cooler on/off right now as it feels more a 'nice to have' rather than a 'I can't do stuff because of this' thing. I still have many things in the second category to be getting on with

cheers,

Robin