QHY5 111 178c problems

[KeithT]

This is a weird one!
I have two QHY5-111 178 cameras - one mono and one colour. I use Sharpcap Pro V3.2.6433 and W10
The mono camera is recognised, frame rate around 50fps and the black screen goes bright white when I remove the sensor cap.
The colour camera is recognised, frame rate around 25fps (because it's colour) but the screen remains black when the cap is removed from the sensor.

The camera was sent back to QHY and they 'repaired' it but I have no idea what they did. When it came back, it was the same. Modern Astronomy have sent me a brand new one to test - same thing happens! It can't be that two cameras are faulty.

I have updated all the QHY software using they 'one stop package' and the mono version still works fine.

I downloaded the EZCAP 64bit software (I hate trying to use this) but guess what - both the colour and mono cameras register an image by turning the preview screen white.

So - I am a loss as to what the problem is. Why would the mono work in SCPro but not the colour. I have tried lots of various exposure/gain/offset/usb settings, all to no avail.

Any thoughts please.
Thanks

[admin]

Hi,

I'm just wondering if somewhere in the past you've set some odd values for some of the controls for the colour version of the camera and you are now being bitten by the fact that SharpCap remembers the control values from the last time you use the camera and restores them when you next open it. This makes sense in a lot of cases as it saves you re-applying your default values every time you start the camera, but can sometimes trap you by remembering settings that are causing a problem.

The way out of this is to hold down the <CTRL> key while you are opening the camera – this stop SharpCap from reloading the previous settings hopefully you will find the camera leaps back into life. I've just tested with my 178C and I could get the image to go black if I set the brightness control to -1.00, so value like that being remembered could be part of the problem.

Cheers, Robin

[KeithT]

Thanks Robin - that has cracked it - burst into life.
Thing is, these cameras do apparently expire at times and it was easy to assume that was the problem after talking to the dealer.
Thanks very much for your advice and for getting the problem sorted.
Regards
Keith

[admin]

Hi Keith,

Glad to hear that it work. I think I should add this particular hint to the FAQ

Cheers, Robin

[KeithT]

Yep - that would be a great addition.
Thanks again for the help