diff --git a/tangostationcontrol/tangostationcontrol/beam/delays.py b/tangostationcontrol/tangostationcontrol/beam/delays.py
index 59d566a1e629506463473e2f6ce05606dad6bf6e..850213c0cc64cdb72cb567a9b8c5334a464f4965 100644
--- a/tangostationcontrol/tangostationcontrol/beam/delays.py
+++ b/tangostationcontrol/tangostationcontrol/beam/delays.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class delay_calculator:
     def convert(self, direction, antenna_itrf: list([float])):
         # explicitly check validity to get a proper error message
         if not self.is_valid_direction(direction):
-            raise ValueError(f"Could not convert direction {direction} into a pointing") from e
+            raise ValueError(f"Invalid direction: {direction}")
 
         # obtain the direction vector for a specific pointing
         pointing = self.measure.direction(*direction)