SBIG AO-8 and SBIG Dual CCD Cameras

[Darryl Whitworth]

Hello,

Is there anyone using SGP Pro and PHD2 with an SBIG AO-8 and an SBIG camera with a dual CCD. 

Is there still a limitation with only using one of the two CCDs in the camera when using PHD2 like there is with PHD? 

I really want to get my AO-8 and SBIG ST2000 working using these two great software applications.

Thanks

[Darryl]

Hi,

To summarize after a good nights sleep. When is PHD2 going to get SBIG AO-8 support?

Thanks

[Andy Galasso]

Darryl,

I can't give an estimate at this point when it might get done. Somebody did loan us an SBIG AO unit to test with, but I have not had time to get it working with PHD2.

Andy

[Darryl]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the response and update.

Darryl

[Gary Weller]

Any update on this?  Maxim is on my last nerve.

[Andy Galasso]

Gary,

The biggest problem we have supporting the SBIG AO is that SBIG's programming interface only allows a single application to control a camera and its associated devices like the AO.  Typically you have an imaging application controlling the main imaging chip, which means no other application can connect to the AO.

This is very similar to the problem we have with SBIG dual-chip cameras.  Once the imaging app connects to the camera, the guide chip is inaccessible to PHD2.  One imaging app, Sequence Generator Pro, provides a solution for PHD2 by exposing the guide chip as an ASCOM camera so that PHD2 is able to access the guide chip through SGP.

If your imaging app could provide an interface to the AO then we could control it through the imaging app.

What imaging app are you using?

Andy

[Andy Galasso]

update: One of the SGP developers, Ken, offered to add AO access to the SGP API Guider ASCOM driver so this will open up a path forward for SGP users with SBIG AOs.  Once the ASCOM driver changes are ready we will work on the PHD2 changes.

Andy

[rob pfile]

On Friday, November 18, 2016 at 5:20:42 PM UTC-8, Andy Galasso wrote:

update: One of the SGP developers, Ken, offered to add AO access to the SGP API Guider ASCOM driver so this will open up a path forward for SGP users with SBIG AOs.  Once the ASCOM driver changes are ready we will work on the PHD2 changes.

Andy

that would be great; i have an AO-8 sitting on the shelf due to lack of compatibility with PHD2.

you guys already support the SX AO right? one problem i had in the past with Equinox Image was that the mount bumps were entirely asynchronous and often occurred in the middle of a frame. do you have the ability to bump inbetween main imager captures, regardless of the current deflection of the AO?

thanks

rob

[Andy Galasso]

Rob,

Yes, the SX AO has been supported since the beginning of PHD2.

Regarding bumps, PHD2 has a "Bump on dither" option which causes the bump to happen when the imaging app tells phd2 to dither (regardless of the current deflection of the AO).  In this way the bump is happening while the dither is settling and before the exposure starts, potentially eliminating bumping during exposures.   Even if there has to be a bump during an exposure, you can adjust phd2 to make the bump gradual enough that it is has virtually no noticeable effect on guiding.

Andy

[rob pfile]

excellent, thanks for the reply. i'll have to wait for the SBIG AO support to experiment with it, but it sounds like it's going to work well.

rob

[edgellmh]

Andy

I will switch over to SGP. But I have been trying to get CCDAP and MaximDL to work because they offer automated dusk and dawn flats.

marshall

[Brian Valente]

I don’t know if SGP has a relative time, but in SGP you can schedule flats and many other events.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

Brian

 

 

Brian Valente

Brianvalentephotography.com

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[edgellmh]

Brian

The nice thing about CCDAP is that it knows when to start taking flats and it knows where to point the scope.

marshall

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