Accessing MGEN-3 in Sharpcap

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Moorefam
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Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2020 11:46 am

Accessing MGEN-3 in Sharpcap

#1

Post by Moorefam »

I currently use Lacerta autoguider MGEN-3 to successfully guide my Skywatcher AZ-EQ6GT mount and dither my Sony A7 III camera. I would like to dither my mono CCD camera using MGEN controlled from my laptop via Sharpcap.

I have downloaded the MGEN drivers and accessed MGEN camera as camera type in Sharpcap while also identifying my mono CCD camera.

Sharpcap shows the MGEN casing but with a blank screen and with no enabling of the arrow keys. I am able to click on its dithering function however.

I use an FTDI cable between the laptop COM port and the mount and the FTDI drivers enable me the control the mount OK via ASCOM and Cartes du Ciel skychart software OK.

Has anyone come across this problem and been able to fix it please, so I am able to see the MGEN screen and use the arrow keys in Sharpcap to control the MGEN autoguider?
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admin
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Re: Accessing MGEN-3 in Sharpcap

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

you might be better off asking MGEN this question as I think it will be some subtlety of their ASCOM driver that is causing the problem.

Some general things that might be worth trying are :

* Try both the 32 and 64 bit versions of SharpCap to see if there is any difference
* Make sure you have the latest update to SharpCap 3.2 from the downloads page
* Make sure that if you start multiple applications you either run all of them as administrator or none of them as administrator (mixing the two causes communication problems).

Robin
Moorefam
Posts: 47
Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2020 11:46 am

Re: Accessing MGEN-3 in Sharpcap

#3

Post by Moorefam »

I would have gone to MGEN direct but they only allow this from dealers. I have asked help from 365Astronomy who are the only UK distributors and they have asked MGEN for me. The MGEN website is very sparse and not much help though does tell me what to do right enough, which I have tried, but the problem remains.
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Re: Accessing MGEN-3 in Sharpcap

#4

Post by admin »

Hi,

OK, that's a bit cheeky of them to be honest, as the sort of technical question that you are asking tends to get muddled if it has to get relayed through a third party :(

One thing you can do is turn on additional logging in SharpCap (near the bottom of the first page of the settings) - this will record pretty much all the communication between SharpCap and the MGEN ASCOM driver. It's possible (not guaranteed, sadly) that something odd might show up in the log that would help understand the situation.

cheers,

Robin
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