Camera Busy error when connecting to Atik GP
Issue #1033
closed
Using version 2 BETA025. Connecting to PHD2 using Atik GP with Atik ASCOM results in a connection but with an error message indicating camera is busy. Connecting with PHD2 external to NINA is successful as long as NINA has been closed down but fails the same way if NINA is running even when there are no connections to it from any hardware.
To reproduce, simply try to start PHD2 with an Atik GP designated as guide camera. The PHD2 server should start and connect to the camera and be ready for use. The server starts and the camera is connected but it can’t be used because an error message is shown in the PHD2 window indicating the camera is busy and it is impossible to clear.
There was discussion on this in the discord server starting at 14:16 on 9th January. I didn’t understand what was wrong but it is something to do with the Atik SDK and how NINA retrieves data from it.
I will attempt to attach the relevant log file.
Comments (13)
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repo owner
- changed status to closed
This should be fixed. Please reopen if the issue is still happening.
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I have exactly the same problem with Atik GP. As long as NINA is closed down the Atik GP works perfectly with PHD2, but as soon as NINA is started up, the GP stops working and the camera not idle error appears. This seems to have been originally reported as
#705, which accurately describes my problem. Thanks. -
I suppose there is an issue with atik’s drivers and the act of NINA scanning for cameras causes the PHD2-controlled GP to lose its mind. This is more of an Atik issue.
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repo owner
- removed version
Removing version: 2.0 Beta (automated comment)
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I just got hold of an Atik GP. I have been using Nina for sometime since. But I am having this exact issue. Atik GP functions normally in PHD2 until Nina powers up. Has anyone found a work around.
The only thing I could think of was the run a Virtual Machine for PHD2 but it was painfully slow.
I wonder if there is any way to tell nina not to look at the atik camera?
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This is likely an issue with the Atik-supplied SDK. NINA runs a device scan and asks the Atik SDK to provide a list of cameras it sees. It’s likely this process that is causing issues with the GP while it is in use by another app. This would be a bug in Atik’s SDK, as such a scanning process should not disrupt cameras that are in use by other apps. There is no way to tell it to ignore a specific device.
I would propose that you instead start NINA first, then start PHD2. This is the typical way anyhow, as connecting to PHD2 in NINA for control will also start it if it’s not already running. NINA will also tell PHD2 to connect to the relevant PHD2 equipment profile while it does this.
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Hmmm interesting, perhaps I need to make contact with Atik. It is disappointing I must say! I love NINA but may need to consider another software now..
I have tried what you suggested above and I get the same result. -
How are you getting the same result if you are starting PHD2 after NINA? NINA has already done its device scan by that time and it would occur again only if you press the
button next to the camera selection drop-down. -
Nope i still have the problem. Happy to screen record?
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Had a test run tonight with an hour of clear skies. I was able to successfully use my Atik GP with PHD2 and APT but still no luck on N.I.N.A.
Will have to stic to apt for now. Hopefully I can come back to nina one day once its been resolved. It has been my fav software so far…
Heres to the future..
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I’m not looking to purchase an Atik camera just to solve this issue, so as their customer you can report it to them. I strongly suspect it’s an SDK issue. During device scans, NINA’s native Atik driver only asks their SDK to tell us the number of Atik cameras that are connected to the system, then we ask the SDK to tell us the model name of each one, which is how it ends up being listed in the camera equipment drop-down menu. Most other vendor SDKs follow this same pattern of listing available cameras. This could also very well be a problem that is specific to this “GP” model of camera.
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Understood. I have reported it to Atik. Fingers crossed.
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I use an ATIK 16200 with filter wheel. I use NINA sparingly, but am interested in the 3 point polar alignment app. I successfully used the camera to polar align when I first downloaded NINA and the plugin. Since then, after installing several nightly updates, my camera successfully connects in the program, but times out or never completes the image download process whether I use the polar alignment app or simply try to image. The only unusual thing I see is the existence of multiple copies of my camera driver in the settings dropdown menu. I have no idea why this is happening.