Not sure how to use the TEC. Do I hit “Warm” when I’m ready to image and then “Cool”, when I’m ready to shut down?
Just now sure how to use this at all for my camera.
Just the opposite, you want to cool for imaging and return the sensor to somewhere near ambient before you shut the camera power down. I have an STF-8050M (which I believe has similar TEC cooling as your camera) and I set the cool down “Set to” box to -15C in 10 minutes, check the “On” button and the the “Set” button. You will see the “Temperature” display read the current sensor temperature, the set point temperature and the percent of power being consumed by the cooler. Depending on your ambient temperature you may not be able to achieve the setpoint and will have to settle for something a little warmer. I like to adjust my setpoint so the TEC power is no greater than 80% when the cooling stabilizes.
You can set the warmup temperature in the equipment profile so when you click the “Warm” button after you are finished imaging the TEC will gradually bring the temperature back up.
Hope this helps,
BobT
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Thanks Bob,
That really helps. I’ll set the TEC properly now when I image.
Bob,
I do have one more question. In the SGPRO doc, for the TEC panel, it says the following for “Temperature”.
“Temperature display: Displays the following information: Current CCD Temperture / Current Set Temperature (current power level of CTEC”
There is a screen cap example:
Temperature: -6.6 / -20 (100%)
I know the CCD temperature is not (6.6 C) 20.1 F and the set point is not (-20 C) -4 F so very confused by what the manual stated. What am I missing?
I believe that screen shot shows the status while the camera is still cooling, not at the requested temperature yet. What it is saying is that, at the moment, the TEC temperature is -6.6C and the power consumption is at 100%.