(ASI120mm) SharpCap ignoring exposure time, not updating image or polar alignment info
Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 3:55 am
Specs: ZWO ASI120mm, Sharpcap 2.9 (included software), Windows 10 on Lenovo Thinkpad
Hello-
I'm not sure if this is the right spot to ask about this, so please point me in the right direction if it's not.
I'm using a ZWO ASI120mm camera, which came with SharpCap 2.9. When I went to use it last night, I came across an issue where the software was ignoring my exposure time setting and going for however long it felt like. Please see this image: https://imgur.com/a/YYE4g
On the bottom right, the exposure frames turned to x/-y, going for around 8 seconds at a time, regardless of what I set the exposure time to. I tried playing around with the different camera settings to see what might be causing it, but I couldn't seem to figure it out. This happened both in and out of the polar alignment process.
On top of this, sometimes the preview image wouldn't update, which proved to be a hassle when I was trying to use the polar alignment tool. I often ran into a case where I would be moving the mount but not see any kind of movement on the screen, only to have the image update and show me that I was now off in the other direction. The feedback was not consistent at all, sometimes not updating for 20 seconds at a time.
I'm new to astro-imaging software and CCD's, so I'm not quite sure what the cause might be. It was around 35-40 degrees last night - could the cold have something to do with it? I also had used a USB extension cable on a 2.0 port - could that have caused some kind of lag? Is there a setting I was overlooking?
Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.
Hello-
I'm not sure if this is the right spot to ask about this, so please point me in the right direction if it's not.
I'm using a ZWO ASI120mm camera, which came with SharpCap 2.9. When I went to use it last night, I came across an issue where the software was ignoring my exposure time setting and going for however long it felt like. Please see this image: https://imgur.com/a/YYE4g
On the bottom right, the exposure frames turned to x/-y, going for around 8 seconds at a time, regardless of what I set the exposure time to. I tried playing around with the different camera settings to see what might be causing it, but I couldn't seem to figure it out. This happened both in and out of the polar alignment process.
On top of this, sometimes the preview image wouldn't update, which proved to be a hassle when I was trying to use the polar alignment tool. I often ran into a case where I would be moving the mount but not see any kind of movement on the screen, only to have the image update and show me that I was now off in the other direction. The feedback was not consistent at all, sometimes not updating for 20 seconds at a time.
I'm new to astro-imaging software and CCD's, so I'm not quite sure what the cause might be. It was around 35-40 degrees last night - could the cold have something to do with it? I also had used a USB extension cable on a 2.0 port - could that have caused some kind of lag? Is there a setting I was overlooking?
Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.