Hello,

I replace recently Ccdsoftv5 by Maximdl, the driver for the FLI ccd is better.
Since I replace it I have some problems :

- ccdautopilot3 give me an error message and I can change it by the Help/Troubleshooting/Disable Revision Checking and it works after but I need to enable the fonction at each time of use of ccdAP3 !

- I have an other problem with the Paramount sometime on the night, the connexion with the paramount is not good ! you can see the log attach, I have a warning at the beginning of the session.

- And so I have a problem with Focusmax, I have an avertissement at the beginning of imaging, but perharps it is not the good forum to discuss of this subject.

Nicolas Outters

ccdap20090220_013934.log (16 KB, 40 downloads) night of 20/02

Hi Nicolas,

quote:

- ccdautopilot3 give me an error message and I can change it by the Help/Troubleshooting/Disable Revision Checking and it works after but I need to enable the fonction at each time of use of ccdAP3 !

See http://ccdware.infopop.cc/eve/...1040351/m/6821086792

quote:

- I have an other problem with the Paramount sometime on the night, the connexion with the paramount is not good ! you can see the log attach, I have a warning at the beginning of the session.

Make sure Telescope Server settings are properly set in TheSky. Check all boxes except "Log current telescope position..." unless needed for dome control.

The Maxim error at the end of your session is a failure of Maxim to talk to your camera driver. You will need to investigate that.

quote:

- And so I have a problem with Focusmax, I have an avertissement at the beginning of imaging, but perharps it is not the good forum to discuss of this subject.

Your FocusMax version is incompatible with Maxim 5. A patch file to a suitable version, 3.4.18, is available from http://www.ccdware.com/downloads/

Hi Nicolas,

I believe you will find that CCDAP3 is a discontinued product and that changes and/or fixes have been stopped for this version. You should consider upgrading to version 4 as there have been quite a few changes to it due to changes in MaximDLV5. That being said, I'm not exactly sure what the error message is about the Paramount, but most errors with the mount happen due to communication issues between TheSKy6 and the Paramount. Might be worth checking all your connections and cables to be sure all is fine there. I have seen the FocusMax message and I agree that it is a nuisance, but I think that it comes from PinPointV5 and you probably need to contact the author of PinPoint to get that resolved. You might also try upgrading FocusMax to the latest version 3.4.19 to see if that resolves the message. HTH ....

thanks Franck, I will corrige the new version of Focusmax and would be consider the V4 of CCdAP !

Nicolas Outters

The latest version of FocusMax is 3.4.20. Not 3.4.18 or 3.4.19.
It seems as if new versions of the software I use come out at least weekly. And I'm getting sick of it.
Almost all of these 'upgrades' seem to be forced because some OTHER software (that I do not use) has changed, or has a newly discovered bug or incompatibility - or there is some new incompatible camera that a few people have bought and that will not work with the 'old version'.
I know John announces what the changes are in each new version of CCDAP4 and I appreciate that.
I am tempted to not upgrade unless there are true "bug-fixes" for the programs I use or some real, enhanced, new features included.
But then when I do that (don't upgrade) I get caught because I really should have upgraded or changed some settings in some other program.
I'm not against real 'progress'.
I am against the proliferating complication and size of software upgrades that are for me really not upgrades at all. I'm very happy with the hardware and software I have now.
So, you might say, "Then don't upgrade."
But if I don't, then all of a sudden something stops working the way it did and it will be my fault for 'not upgrading to the latest software version. (Software Bisque's upcoming TheSkyX is a case in point.)
This is off-topic, I know. But I HAD to write it. Sorry for the rant.

Hi Don,

Technology will never "stand still"

Something we have to live with as all software has a lifecycle. For the most part, once you have all your software working to your satisfaction, you don't need to upgrade. If your software stops working, then something has changed and it is often a challenge to figure out what. If a certain software developer changes their product to add new features, if you don't want them, you really don't have to change. If you do want them, then it will be necessary for you to make sure that it is compatible with all your other software.

My understanding is the FocusMax ver just released (Ver 3.14.20) has an added feature to allow you to set the number of exposures to take before a point is added to the V-Curve routine. This has the possibility of making better V-Curve data, therefore producing better focus, which we all would like to have !! It doesn't effect your other software one way or the other as it is a function that you can use or not use.

As we rely on more and more software to help us collect better data, things just get more complicated and sometimes we just get caught in the middle.

Hi Frank,
Yeah, I know. I know all things have a lifecycle. I just wish they were a bit longer.

Hello John and Frank,

I have downloading the latest version of ccdAP4 and so I will create a new post on ccdAP4 !
The only thing I have to said is that when I want to open correctly Focusmax on V3 or V4 of ccdAP is to open Focusmax before ccdAP.

Nicolas Outters

This is always recommended, Nicolas. When you allow CCDAP to launch FocusMax and FocusMax then has to launch the driver, timing typically fails. So it is a good idea to always launch FocusMax first, let it completely start, and then connect to it via CCDAP.