USB 3 contact cleaning or something else needed?

Alan Sipling:
Hi. Do you run any cables through your mount or via a usb hub? If so, bypass the mount or try a powered hub. I had an issue like this with zwo2600 and it was my cem70 mount usb ports playing up. 
Hope you get it sorted.
Alan

No, I run the camera usb cable directly to the pc on the scope. Power does go through a power box but I tried bypassing it and feeding the camera directly but it made no difference.

For cleaning contacts I use either:
https://www.crcindustries.com/qd-electronic-cleaner/
or
https://hosatech.com/product-category/accessories/cleaners-conditioners/caig-cleaners-conditioners/?_gl=1*19unyhn*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTUzOTkwNDM0OS4xNzUzMDMzNjEw*_ga_FNPRHR3WF4*czE3NTMwMzM2MDkkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTMwMzM2NDAkajI5JGwwJGgxOTk5NDE0NTgw

Power (electrical leak) or power saving settings in Windows, disabling the whole lot of them (the ones related to USB port) helps. More likely the former than the latter. Also check that the USB ports on the PC hold the cable tightly, as any poor contact increases the voltage losses and increase the chance of this occurring.

My 2600 was always flakey with USB3. Here is what I found:

1. USB2 is much more reliable with that camera. The download time is a bit slower yes but it's still pretty fast. Up to you to decide if it's worth the trade-off.
2. USB3 cables are more sensitive to length. I would advise never having more than 6' of USB3 cable between POWERED devices/hubs. In other words, if you have a minipc on your pier or mount, then a cable goes from that to your mount (via internally wired mount or through-the-mount cabling) and connect it to your camera, that cable should not be longer than 6'. If it will be, I strongly suggest using a powered USB hub like a Pegasus Powerbox at the mid-way point, ensuring no cable on either side of it is longer than 6'. The Pegasus Powerboxes are expensive but have been very reliable and rock-solid for me. 
3. I've tried many, many brands of cables and the best hands-down are Star-Tech. For USB3, get the Star-Tech Super Speed cable. 
4. Ensure you have the USB speed turned down in the ZWO driver settings. Use the native driver, not ASCOM. 
5. It isn't uncommon for the boards or ports on these cameras to go bad after a few years of routine use. If the above does not allow it to work reliably, I would send it in for RMA. The RMA process can take a while.

Hi,
I'm experiencing an issue with my 2600MM. In NINA or other software, when I take an image, it fails to download. "Error Camera download failed" message. I tried three different cords and the issue occurred. It was a new configuration, so I thought power might be an issue. I powered it directly with its own supply, but there was no change. 
I then removed and replaced the USB 3.0 cable in the camera several times, and it appears to be working now (during the daytime). 
I'm thinking that the contacts need cleaning. Is there any product for cleaning the contacts? Or could the problem be an internal problem with the port connections? 
Thoughts?
Thank you 
Scott

If running Windows, pull up the taskbar search tool, type 'computer manage' and click on 'Computer Management'.
In Computer Mnagement click on 'Device Manager' under System Tools.
Expand: Universal Serial Bus Controllers and you get a long list of USB Hubs and Devices.
Windows sets each HUB to turn OFF  when not being used so to save Power. 
In astronomy we sometimes leave ports inactive long enough for them to be put into PowerSave Mode.
To prevent this from happening you can go through each item in the list and turn off the POWER SAVE feature.
You find that option on a TAB labeled "Power Management".    Most HUBs will have that TAB, others won't; so you should go through the entire list and check.
You check by " RIGHT MOUSE CLICKING" on a USB Root Hub to open it's Properties.  If the Properties pannel has a TAB labeled "Power Management" then click that TAB to reviel the OPTIONS.  Clear (remove by clicking) the check mark next to "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

Besides the settings in Computer Manager' there is also another place in windows to control the power management feature; that is in the Screen Saver Advanced Options.  This is also worth investigating because Windows will reset that check mark for any new device you plug in, or a same device you plug in to a different USB Port that the device has not been connected to before.

The screen saver opton is in your Display Settings.   Serch "Screen Saver" and slect "Screen Saver Settings".  
There you will see a linked blue line labeled "Change power settings" .    
The Power Options Panel shows your Preferred plans "Ballanced" or "Power Saver".  To the right is linked Blue Text options labeled "Change plan Settings".  < click it.
In the fnal pannel there is a Linked Blue Text Line labeled "Change advanced power settings" to open the Advanced settings panel.    
Microsoft does not make anything easy.....



 In the Advanced Settings Options you will have a list of items.  Click on the "USB settings" item to expand it's options.  Then click the + USB selective suspend setting.  Click the blue text and select 'DISABLED".    Now new USB connections made with new equipment won't 'easily' get set to Power Save Mode.   I also set my Hard Drives to NEVER TURN OFF.
Unfortunately, Microsoft is relentless at turning Power Save  on through Windows Updates and other methods.  So when a USB port starts to missbehave, check it's power setting in Computer Manager.

Exposed contacts as in a USB cable connection are subject to corrosion over time. It's probably a good idea to go all over all of them with contact cleaner every six months or even more if your hardware is exposed to a lot of dew. USB cable testers are out there and not expensive. It would be a good thing to have to help troubleshoot "mysterious" hardware issues.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I did all those suggestions and as of this moment, it is working! I'm running short exposures in loop to give it a workout. No idea if it is permanent , but I'll take it for now and report back. I just installed the photocage on it for me recently acquired 11" Rasa, so it'd be nice if it stays working. lol

edit…I wrote too soon, it's back to not working after maybe 2 minutes looping

Switch to a usb 2 cable, i bet problem solved. :-)

Tony Gondola:
I would start with some basic trouble shooting. 

Are your drivers up to date, both ASCOM and Direct? This includes ASCOM its self.

Are your usb cables good? Buy or borrow a tester. Short of that try them one by one with another piece of equipment.
Really give them a workout, moving and bending them around. You can also just test them for resistance and continuity with a simple multimeter.

Is your power supply giving out enough amps and voltage? You can't go by the label, you have to test.

Are the USB ports, hubs you are plugging into good? All all your connections clean?

With a know good power supply and a known good cable does the camera work long term on the bench?

Process of elimination. As a smart man under pressure once said "what do we have on the spacecraft that's good"

Well I tried the camera in the house using an ASIAIR and a laptop. The camera worked fine. I tried two different computers in my observatory, an AstroPC and a Mele 2 mini-pc and with both of those the camera failed. The ZWO response said the problem could be caused by temperature too. So I want to get the camera warm and try it again. I kind of hope it fails so I know what the issue is, versus the mystery.

I added ferrite bead cores to a bunch of my cables, I think it helped my USB3 be more reliable.  USB3 can produce a lot of EM noise and is also sensitive to noise.  Same with my GPS antenna, which didn't work at all until I cut down on the EM noise.  You can get a box of ferrite bead cores in a variety of sizes for only $10.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrite_bead

Tony Gondola:
I would start with some basic trouble shooting. 

Are your drivers up to date, both ASCOM and Direct? This includes ASCOM its self.

Are your usb cables good? Buy or borrow a tester. Short of that try them one by one with another piece of equipment.
Really give them a workout, moving and bending them around. You can also just test them for resistance and continuity with a simple multimeter.

Is your power supply giving out enough amps and voltage? You can't go by the label, you have to test.

Are the USB ports, hubs you are plugging into good? All all your connections clean?

With a know good power supply and a known good cable does the camera work long term on the bench?

Process of elimination. As a smart man under pressure once said "what do we have on the spacecraft that's good"

Well I tried the camera in the house using an ASIAIR and a laptop. The camera worked fine. I tried two different computers in my observatory, an AstroPC and a Mele 2 mini-pc and with both of those the camera failed. The ZWO response said the problem could be caused by temperature too. So I want to get the camera warm and try it again. I kind of hope it fails so I know what the issue is, versus the mystery.

I wonder, can't you connect the camera directly to the laptop without going through the ASIAIR? Just use NINA, Sharpcap or Zwo's applications to read the camera. The way you're doing it now you have no idea if it's the camera or the AIR.