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Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 4:30 am
by mmeichle
I am installing a new QHY 174M cooled. I have Sharpcap pro 3.1 and used sharpcap for other cameras in the past. (I really like the program.) Should I install the QHY patch which is listed on the QHY website? It is just a DLL update, or does it modify Sharpcap itself? Will the patch work with any version of sharpcap or will it affect my other camera functionality? Thanks.

-mmeichle

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 8:09 am
by 1DegreeN
I think it is just an update of the QHY dll. I have the 168C and 163M and haven't installed the "sharpcap patch". Instead I try to keep the QHY SDK up to date following the instructions on this page: http://qhyccd.com/SWHIST_SDK.html

So far I've had no problems but I've only used SharpCap for short exposures with both cameras.

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:23 am
by admin
Hi,

The QHY patch simply updates the version of the SDK used by SharpCap.

There is currenly no need to apply the patch if you are using the latest SharpCap 3.1, since I already have the latest QHY SDK in that version of SharpCap (latest SDK is currently from Dec 2017). I usually update the newest release of SharpCap fairly quickly when a new SDK is released by one of the major vendors, but if there is a delay then you can use the patch to update the SDK version or copy the newest SDK dlls into the SharpCap folder manually - this usually works fine.

cheers,

Robin

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 10:45 pm
by eseavey
I am not sure what is happening, but when I update Sharpcap, I need to manually replace the QHY dll with the latest one I downloaded from their site. If I don't, my qhy224 camera will expose about half of what I set sharpcap to. In addition, my QHY5P-II guide camera keeps changing the exposure gain or something perhaps related to the autostretch. I want the image to stay stable and not go bright and dark randomly.

Thanks

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 5:47 pm
by admin
Hi,

which version of SharpCap are you using and where are you getting the QHY dll from (which version are you downloading). The newest version I have is the last one on this page - http://www.qhyccd.com/SWHIST_SDK.html - which is in SharpCap 3.1 already. Of course, it could be that version *introduces* bugs with your camera perhaps?

thanks,

Robin

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:58 pm
by eseavey
I updated sharpcap to the latest version. After I checked the exposure behavior, I had to swap out the dll. These are the DLLs that QHY sent to me by email, after I alerted them about the problem. I assumed they are the same as the ones on their site, now I am wondering if the version they uploaded to their site is different than the one they sent me.

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 8:38 pm
by admin
Ah, OK. I suspect that QHY have given you a pre-release version of the dll that is newer than any they have released. I have had a couple of ones like that to test from them recently, but always with a request not to put that testing version into SharpCap yet :( So, anyway, I have to wait for the public release of the dll before it goes into SharpCap.

cheers,

Robin

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:21 am
by eseavey
That is interesting. I did email them today about this issue, and will update you when I hear from them.

Thanks

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 5:57 pm
by eseavey
Looks like QHY came out with a new DLL couple days ago. I tried it and it is working well. Sharpcap now thinks it is not the most current SDK, and comes up with a warning.

Re: Is the QHY patch for SharpCap necessary?

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 7:01 pm
by admin
Hi,

the new SDK from QHY is already in SharpCap 3.1.5174, so no need to install it separately. The latest SDK ***DOES*** require you to have an up-to-date QHY driver (you will see a warning message if your driver is too old and won't be able to see your camera).

You can get the latest QHY USB3 CMOS camera driver from http://www.qhyccd.com/file/repository/l ... dition.zip - other cameras you will have to check the appropriate page on the QHY web site.

cheers,

Robin