mesoSPIM_troubleshooting

Troubleshooting a mesoSPIM setup

❓ Lasers are on, but I see no light in either arm

Also: Laser is shining in both arms (two light-sheets simultaneusly)

Possible reason: ThorLabs shutters are turned off or in manual mode

👉 You need to set each of the two ThorLabs shutter controllers to run on TTL input mode: after turning on the shutter controller, press and hold ENABLE butting for several seconds until the status LED blinks. Repeat this every time the shutter was turned off or the whole system was shut down, this is a common 'gotcha' point.

❓ Everything seems to work fine, but the image is pitch black in the Camera Window

Also: you adjusted the histogram parameters to match the pixel values, but the image contains only noise

Possible reasons: Ludl filter wheel has its shutter closed; the filter position is incorrect; the assigned COM-port is incorrect and communication fails.

👉 Check if the Ludl filter wheel shutter is open (flip the shutter switches on its controller). Check if filter is actually moving when changed in mesoSPIM software. Check for COM-port errors in the mesoSPIM console. Compare COM ports in Windows Device manager with the port assigned to filter wheel in the mesoSPIM config file, and change the config file if necessary.

Further possible problems

• Stage wobble of mesoSPIM V4
• Optical fibers need polishing
• Image stripes caused by the galvo