Back to forums

2600MC Pro disconnection issues

ZWO ASI120MM Mini ZWO ASI2600MC Pro ZWO ASIAIR Plus Power Supply
John WalshSonnyE
•43 replies•614 views
John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

Hi all,

Having an issue with disconnects every since getting a new 2600MC Pro.

I am using an ASIAIR Plus and have had over a year of use with a DSLR without this issue ever occurring.
This my 3rd night of using a new 2600MCP and on each night have had random disconnections happening.

Connections are as follows:

EQ6R-Pro on separate power supply.
ASIAIR & camera both on their own supple on night 1,
Camera powered through 12V ASIAIR output on Night 2 & 3
120mm Mini guide cam connected to ASIAIR USB port

The first night, the guide camera disconnected and gave the error message in the image below.
I assumed a bad USB cable so I swapped it out with a new one which I had.

Seemed to work ok for the rest of the night.

The 2nd night the same problems happened again but this time I noticed that the cooling had stopped on the camera at the same time as the guide camera disconnected. So I swapped out the power supply to a brand new ZWO 12V 5A one and connected the camera to the ASIAIR power port instead of it's own supply.

That worked for the rest of that night.

However here we are again tonight and these disconnections have happened 3 times already. Guide camera and cooling. Only switching off and on power to the camera in the app allowed them to reconnect.

The app version is 2.4.4(12.73)

Does anyone have any ideas? I assume it must be somehow related to the camera, given that the problems only started when I included it in the setup.

After spending so long saving for this camera, it would be rather depressing to think it was faulty
Many thanks in advance.

📷 IMG_1572.PNGIMG_1572.PNG

Helpful Engaging
Brian Puhl avatar
Brian Puhl avatar

I’m sure someone is probably going to pipe in and suggest you might be introducing a ground loop feedback issue. I’m not saying this isn’t possible but I figured I’d pipe in and say I run two systems with seperate power supplies for my mounts and have never had an issue with ground loop. YMMV. It couldn’t hurt to try and get the EQ6 on the same power source as the rest of the system.

Beyond that, I’d keep an eye on the actual voltage of the system, look for droop. Also, could you possibly be overloading the USB bus with other devices? I’m not sure what the USB bus is rated for current-wise but I’m sure it’s not low.

Helpful Concise
John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

Thanks Brian. Forgive my ignorance but how would I be introducing a ground loop? By having the (Camera, ASIAIR) & Mount on different DC power supplies?

Well Written Respectful
SonnyE avatar
SonnyE avatar

You could try a very easy experiment. I found a similar problem with my ASI2600MC Pro camera when running it on the USB3 port of my laptop at my mount.

It would drop out (an aggravating issue 🤬) and simply switching the USB cable from the USB3 port over to a USB2 port completely stopped the issue.

My conclusion is that by using blue plastic in the camera does not make it a USB3 device. It is a well-known fact that USB will operate at the slowest port the data passes through.

I believe the ZWO cameras get an advantage by using the USB2 port. The dropping out has never plagued me again since adopting the USB2 port of my laptop.

I have USB3 gear/cables from the camera to my powered hub and the cable coming off my mount to my controlling Laptop and being plugged in to a USB2 port.

Another friend concurred moving his ASI2600MC Pro to a USB2 port stopped it from such aggravating behavior. I blame ZWO ASI’s software for this behavior.

But try it and see if the problem goes away for you, too. Might be the easiest fix of them all.

Helpful Engaging Supportive
ausablebrooktrout avatar
ausablebrooktrout avatar

I have experienced with with the 2600MC Duo when I used the mount to provide power to the camera and the rest of the system. I believe this was due to under-powering the camera. When I added a separate power supply for the camera, the problem resolved. I believe that the problem is intermittent due to peek power supply loads that intermittently go above the required current. I have had the disconnection problem with the thermoelectric cooler power requirement goes up and have had this problem when the mount does a meridian flip. Both of which increase peak current draw.

Helpful Concise
wsg avatar
wsg avatar

You absolutely need two separate 12V power supplies.

One for the camera

One for everything else

There is very weak documentation in ZWO literature for all cooled cameras requiring this.

“Please notice that the camera needs to be connected to an external 11-14v power supply to implement the cooling function. We recommend you use 12V@3A DC adapter (5.5*2.1mm, center pole positive) or lithium battery with 11-14V to power the camera. If you don’t have one, please click here to buy a 12V power adapter. There are 4 different standard for different countries, please make sure you selected the correct adapter when placing the order.”

https://www.zwoastro.com/product/asi2600/

Helpful
Ian McIntyre avatar
Ian McIntyre avatar
Is your main cable USB 2 or 3?
I don't know if it was fixed in later generations, but the era I bought (had to have the board replaced because of the infamous sensor coolant leak) was notorious for disconnects when using a USB 3 cable. It would do just fine with USB 2.
Helpful Concise
John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

wsg · Nov 26, 2025, 02:18 AM

You absolutely need two separate 12V power supplies.

One for the camera

One for everything else

There is very weak documentation in ZWO literature for all cooled cameras requiring this.

“Please notice that the camera needs to be connected to an external 11-14v power supply to implement the cooling function. We recommend you use 12V@3A DC adapter (5.5*2.1mm, center pole positive) or lithium battery with 11-14V to power the camera. If you don’t have one, please click here to buy a 12V power adapter. There are 4 different standard for different countries, please make sure you selected the correct adapter when placing the order.”

https://www.zwoastro.com/product/asi2600/

Thanks for the info. When I tried the camera on the first night each unit had its own separate power supply, one for the mount, one for the ASIAIR and one for the 2600 camera. The issue occurred on the first night as well, even when powered this way

John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

Ian McIntyre · Nov 26, 2025, 05:58 AM

Is your main cable USB 2 or 3?
I don't know if it was fixed in later generations, but the era I bought (had to have the board replaced because of the infamous sensor coolant leak) was notorious for disconnects when using a USB 3 cable. It would do just fine with USB 2.

The cable connecting the camera to the ASIAIR is a red USB 3 A to B cable that was supplied with the camera. It is quite a robust cable compared to the other flat ones they provide. I can try getting a USB 2 A to B and see if that makes any difference

Well Written Concise
Frank "Voloire" avatar
Frank "Voloire" avatar

If you move the AC connector which plug into the camera it power on/off even with the slightiest movement?

(if this is the case, I just got my camera back from China after 2 monther for repair, it was the motherboard)

Out of warranty of course :-)

John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

Frank "Voloire" · Nov 26, 2025 at 09:44 AM

If you move the AC connector which plug into the camera it power on/off even with the slightiest movement?

(if this is the case, I just got my camera back from China after 2 monther for repair, it was the motherboard)

Out of warranty of course :-)

Thanks Frank. I’ll check that this evening. Would be shocking if that’s the case as I have the camera less than a week and it’s brand new

Peter Nielsen avatar
Peter Nielsen avatar

Hello,

I have a Touptek 2600 Mono, which I think has identical electronics to the Zwo Kamera. I use Nina and have sometimes problems with a correct registration of the camera into Nina. The camera is sometimes connected but the cooling is not running. Reconnection solves this problem and I think this is a software problem, not a hardware problem.

Concerning powersupply: My EQ6R needs a separated powersupply which guarentees > 12 V during action. The original has 12 V, 6A. If falling below 11.7 V, the EQ6R stops working and is diconnected from Nina. Therefore I have a separate 12 V 20A stabilized powersupply for all the rest. I personally think the powersupply for the camera is less critical. I think it is more likely software (driver) or connection problems.

I would connect the camera by day with short USB-cables and look what happens (even over some days time). If it still hat connection problems, send it back.

CS Peter

Helpful
Peter Nielsen avatar
Peter Nielsen avatar

Hello,

I have a Touptek 2600 Mono, which I think has identical electronics to the Zwo Kamera. I use Nina and have sometimes problems with a correct registration of the camera into Nina. The camera is sometimes connected but the cooling is not running. Reconnection solves this problem and I think this is a software problem, not a hardware problem.

Concerning powersupply: My EQ6R needs a separated powersupply which guarentees > 12 V during action. The original has 12 V, 6A. If falling below 11.7 V, the EQ6R stops working and is diconnected from Nina. Therefore I have a separate 12 V 20A stabilized powersupply for all the rest. I personally think the powersupply for the camera is less critical. I think it is more likely software (driver) or connection problems.

I would connect the camera by day with short USB-cables and look what happens (even over some days time). If it still hat connection problems, send it back.

CS Peter

Helpful
John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

Peter Nielsen · Nov 26, 2025 at 11:47 AM

I would connect the camera by day with short USB-cables and look what happens (even over some days time). If it still hat connection problems, send it back.

I’ll give that a try. Better not set the cooling the same though (-10C) as it would be quite the delta from ambient room temperature.

Thanks Peter.

SonnyE avatar
SonnyE avatar

If a moderator ever reviews my reply…

I think plugging it into a USB2 port may cure your problem.

BlackStarsAstro avatar
BlackStarsAstro avatar

This might not be relevant. My 2600 MC duo and 2600 MM pro had connection issues until I put ASI Studio on my processing computer and connected them to see if the issue was the cameras or the software causing the issue. Strangely enough the issue solved itself and I have not had a disconnect in a couple few years now. May be worth a try before returning camera.

Clayton Ostler avatar
Clayton Ostler avatar

I have the duo, so this may not be the same but here is what I have learned.

The camera will draw (more than 3 amps) occasionally. This means that

  1. Dont expect the power passthrough of the asiair to be a good solution. It will appear to work but you will get random cut out, and weird imaging artifacts that will make you crazy

  2. If your power supply says it give 12v 5amps, make sure that this is (per port) not stretched across whatever is connected to the power supply. It is very likely that the asiair and camera could be pulling more that 5amp when the fan is running and the air is guiding, processing etc.

Here is where I landed.

  1. Power supply 1. Has a DC port that outputs 12v 5amps. That goes to my camera

  2. Power supply 2 (different unit, not just a different dc port on the same unit). This has a 12v 5amp, that goes to my asiair, and then my asiair powers my mount from the dc out.

This solved my weird issues,

Double check your USB cables are quality and not wiggly loose, when you are guiding/moving loose cables combined with any breeze can be a problem too.

Hope this helps

Helpful
Willem Jan Drijfhout avatar
Willem Jan Drijfhout avatar
Looks indeed like a current or voltage issue. To rule out current issue, just turn off camera cooling and see if the problem persists. Cooling is by far the biggest current draw, so with that off, you will never exceed any current draw limits.
However, it might very well be voltage issue. I've had similar intermittent camera issues, and turned out that by the time the power reached the camera it had dropped to something like 11.7V or so. You will have voltage drop in cables, asiair, etc. Best is to feed the system with something between 12.5-13V. This ensures that all equipment will have at least 12V. Stabilised outlets help a lot as well, making your setup less sensitive to big temperature drops, aging battery packs etc.
Helpful Concise
Habib Sekha avatar
Habib Sekha avatar

Is there any chance you are using long (extension) 12V cables? If so that might be the culprit.

I almost returned a new 6200MM when I had from the start a connection problem. It just didn’t turn on while other camera’s such as the 2600 worked flawlessly on the same cables etc.

I was informed by the supplier that ZWO made some changes to protect the electronics if the current (Amps) gets too low.

A 5 amp supply solved my problem.

Helpful Concise Supportive
John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

I just thought I would update everyone who kindly participated here with the situation as it is at the moment..

I have had about 4 opportunities to test the camera under the sky since I last posted here.

  • I could not replicate any of the issue by wiggling the power connectors at the camera input or the asiair input.

  • I replaced the 12V 5A supply with a 12.8V 5A supply which I previously used for an EQ5 mount.

  • I replaced the red ZWO USB 3.0 cable with a shorter Lindy USB 3.0 cable.

  • I removed the USB flash drive from the ASIAIR and began saving to the onboard EMMC.

I got 3 nights of imaging without the guide camera disconnecting or the cooling stopping.

On the 3rd night I tried with the USB flash drive back in and saved to it without any issues.

I had one more night of imaging a few nights ago and a new problem arose, one which I’ve read about online before.

I lost the first few images of an autorun due to the asiair getting stuck on ‘loading’ and the autorun constantly cycling on ‘image 1’, with the image never being saved to either USB flash or the EMMC.

I happened to have a Lindy USB 2.0 A to B cable so I swapped that out and imaged for the rest of the night.

Currently it is unclear to me whether that has actually fixed anything, since the issues seem so random in nature.

The ASIAIR registers a 12.7V input with 12.6V at the power port going to the camera.

I don’t know if this is a camera issue still of some other thing..

Helpful Respectful
SonnyE avatar
SonnyE avatar

SonnyE · Nov 26, 2025, 12:50 AM

You could try a very easy experiment. I found a similar problem with my ASI2600MC Pro camera when running it on the USB3 port of my laptop at my mount.

It would drop out (an aggravating issue 🤬) and simply switching the USB cable from the USB3 port over to a USB2 port completely stopped the issue.

My conclusion is that by using blue plastic in the camera does not make it a USB3 device. It is a well-known fact that USB will operate at the slowest port the data passes through.

I believe the ZWO cameras get an advantage by using the USB2 port. The dropping out has never plagued me again since adopting the USB2 port of my laptop.

I have USB3 gear/cables from the camera to my powered hub and the cable coming off my mount to my controlling Laptop and being plugged in to a USB2 port.

Another friend concurred moving his ASI2600MC Pro to a USB2 port stopped it from such aggravating behavior. I blame ZWO ASI’s software for this behavior.

But try it and see if the problem goes away for you, too. Might be the easiest fix of them all.

Have you tried using a USB2 port?

Works for me, and for others with disconnection issues. 😉

Well Written
John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

SonnyE · Dec 5, 2025, 05:50 PM

Have you tried using a USB2 port?

Works for me, and for others with disconnection issues. 😉

You know Sonny, I missed your original post above. Apologies and thank you for the suggestion!

So I would use either USB 3.0 or 2.0 cable from the camera into one of the USB 2.0 ports on the ASIAIR?

Can be an easy potential fix to try for sure

Respectful
SonnyE avatar
SonnyE avatar

John Walsh · Dec 5, 2025, 05:57 PM

SonnyE · Dec 5, 2025, 05:50 PM

Have you tried using a USB2 port?

Works for me, and for others with disconnection issues. 😉

You know Sonny, I missed your original post above. Apologies and thank you for the suggestion!

So I would use either USB 3.0 or 2.0 cable from the camera into one of the USB 2.0 ports on the ASIAIR?

Can be an easy potential fix to try for sure

Hi John,

No, you didn’t miss it. There was a problem (apparently) with my log in. My password didn’t meet all the criteria. So, my posts all had to be approved by a moderator.

Salvatore reached out to me, and we got it straightened out. The above reply was still under the vail of moderation, so I tried editing it (but merely opened it and re-posted it) and wa-la.

But as near as I can figure (and others I know with disconnection issues) simply slowing down the data by plugging it into a USB2 port fixes these ASI cameras that suffer this fault. (Blue plastic does not make a port USB-3)

I do not use an ASI Air. They were a twinkle in their Daddy’s eye when I began. I used USB hubs. But they were troublesome. Another friend suggested I use a Powered USB hub. So, I mounted (Velcro’d) a 7 port StarTech USB hub to my telescope, connected it to my 12volt daisy chained power supply, and have a single USB3 cable from the mount down to my laptop.

The powered USB3 hub supplies power to the individual items that are powered by USB voltage. In my case, my guide camera and my Rotator, for example. That way, those USB powered items are not depending on the meager 5 volt USB power to come all the way from my Laptop. That 5 volts is available right there at the USB3 hub. As well as 2 amps of current. Which is far more important than the voltage. Current does the work, voltage just gets it there.

Moving that cable from my computers USB3 port to the USB2 port has completely cured the cameras dropping out tendencies. Slowing it down has not affected anything. My images are still spaced far enough apart that there is plenty of time for the download to take place between images.

More importantly, using a USB hub (powered) has allowed me the freedom to use any equipment I prefer (Pegasus, ASI) together for my equipment. Where ASI Air is finicky and only wants ASI equipment used with it. I require the freedom to use what is best for me. IE: My Pegasus Astro Focus Cube2 uses a full 12 volts to run the motor, not the measly 5 volts my ASI EAF used. More umph for adjusting.

But try the port change. It has worked for several of us backyard astronomers. 😉

Helpful
John Walsh avatar
John Walsh avatar

SonnyE · Dec 5, 2025, 06:42 PM

John Walsh · Dec 5, 2025, 05:57 PM

SonnyE · Dec 5, 2025, 05:50 PM

Have you tried using a USB2 port?

Works for me, and for others with disconnection issues. 😉

You know Sonny, I missed your original post above. Apologies and thank you for the suggestion!

So I would use either USB 3.0 or 2.0 cable from the camera into one of the USB 2.0 ports on the ASIAIR?

Can be an easy potential fix to try for sure

I do not use an ASI Air. They were a twinkle in their Daddy’s eye when I began. I used USB hubs. But they were troublesome. Another friend suggested I use a Powered USB hub. So, I mounted (Velcro’d) a 7 port StarTech USB hub to my telescope, connected it to my 12volt daisy chained power supply, and have a single USB3 cable from the mount down to my laptop.

Hey Sonny, thanks for the detailed reply.

I started about a year and a bit ago on the photography side of things after being a visual guy.

I picked up an ASIAIR 2nd hand after a couple of months and it has worked great for the most part. I ultimately want to migrate to PHD2 and NINA but I dont own a laptop and have no need for one outside of the hobby.
It’s something I will eventually set up though for sure.

I am going to put the camera into the USB 2.0 port and report back once I get some testing done. Don’t know when that will be. The weather in Ireland is abysmal

andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
John Walsh:
I am going to put the camera into the USB 2.0 port and report back once I get some testing done. Don’t know when that will be. The weather in Ireland is abysmal


*Same here but you don'y need clear weather to test that bit. Just run it indoor.