filter wheel

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ve1drg
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 9:15 pm
Location: Windsor, Ontario Canada

filter wheel

#1

Post by ve1drg »

I am trying to get sharpcap to see that I have a filter wheel attached.
What I get when I go to where the filter controls are at, and select setup, all I get is a nice chart etc., but it says this is a simulator.
How can I get sharpcap to get away from using similar mode and for it to see that I have a filter wheel installed.

I just need to find a way to drop out of simulator mode which I do by ticking the little tick that is there. But than I have nothing. It sees no wheel. I am left cold.
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Ted Gervais
Windsor Ontario Canada
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admin
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Re: filter wheel

#2

Post by admin »

Make sure you have installed the ASCOM driver for your filter wheel, then see https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/2.9/#Hardware%20Tab for details on how to select it.

cheers,

Robin
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oopfan
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Re: filter wheel

#3

Post by oopfan »

I am making the transition from a manual filter wheel to electronic. Having no prior experience with EFW's and ASCOM, it would be nice to be mentally prepared for disappointment.

Here is my situation. I have a total of 12 imaging filters that fall into three categories: Wideband, Narrowband, and Photometric. My plan is to purchase three 5-filter wheels in order to keep the weight down on my Crayford focuser.

I would be thrilled to discover that each wheel can uniquely identify itself to ASCOM simply by plugging in the USB cable, and then using that information to inform SharpCap that filter #1 is Luminance on wheel A, and filter #1 is Hydrogen-Alpha on wheel B, and filter #1 is Johnson/Cousins "V" on wheel C, etc.

Of course I am not suggesting that the wheel should magically know what filter I installed in a slot but it seems reasonable that there should be setup software that I can run to tell it what filters I installed. The question then becomes where is that information stored? In the EFW's flash memory or in an XML file on my computer?

Am I just dreaming?

Brian
ve1drg
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 9:15 pm
Location: Windsor, Ontario Canada

Re: filter wheel

#4

Post by ve1drg »

Robin..

I did as you said with your copy of the manual. It all works. I have the filter selected and it works.
What a good day now.
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Ted Gervais
Windsor Ontario Canada
robrj
Posts: 62
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:03 am

Re: filter wheel

#5

Post by robrj »

oopfan wrote: Fri Jun 01, 2018 11:28 am I would be thrilled to discover that each wheel can uniquely identify itself to ASCOM simply by plugging in the USB cable, and then using that information to inform SharpCap that filter #1 is Luminance on wheel A, and filter #1 is Hydrogen-Alpha on wheel B, and filter #1 is Johnson/Cousins "V" on wheel C, etc.
...
Am I just dreaming?

Brian
It would be nice but you're probably dreaming. :) FWIW, it doesn't appear to work that way for my Starlight Xpress USB filter wheel. All it does is count the number of slots available in the carousel. None of the programs I use recognize it as a different setup if I put in a different carousel. I think the only thing the ASCOM driver reports that is distinct to a carousel is the number of slots. The wheel itself rotates when it first powers up. It probably counts the positions with little magnetic sensors located on the carousel. But it doesn't get any distinct information from the carousel which is what you'd need to differentiate one from another.

What might work is to save a filter wheel profile, like you would a camera's startup settings. Then, when you change the wheel, you just select a different profile. That would require a new Sharpcap feature (probably simple), but I think it would be useful.
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turfpit
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Re: filter wheel

#6

Post by turfpit »

Brian
Having no prior experience with EFW's and ASCOM, it would be nice to be mentally prepared for disappointment.
Glad to see you are approaching the implementation of unfamiliar technology in the right frame of mind. ;)

Dave
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