SharpCap 4.0 Beta Now Available

[Ricker]

If I run SC 3.2 on my laptop I can view continuous video with my zwo120mm usb2. If I run SC 3.3 on the same laptop I cannot turn on continuous video. The live view option is "greyed out".

I don't know if these log entries help?

SharpCap.ViewModels.SharpCapViewModel+<appModel_OnCaptureEvent>d__114.MoveNext() :: OpeningDevice event received in UI thread
Debug: 15:52:21.5849463 Thread:#1 SharpCap.MultiCaptureProvider.OpenDevice(DeviceTagData deviceTag) :: Opening device : ZWO ASI120MM (via ZWO ASI Cameras)
Verbose: 15:52:21.5869448 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.Initialize(IImageDisplay previewTargetWindow) :: Started
Verbose: 15:52:21.5899427 Thread:#1 SharpCap.MultiCaptureProvider.OpenDevice(DeviceTagData deviceTag) :: Ended
Info: 15:52:21.5929408 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.OpenDevice(DeviceTagData dtd) :: Started
Debug: 15:52:21.5939405 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.SimpleCaptureProvider.SetupDevice(DeviceTagData dtd) :: Started
Debug: 15:52:22.3035649 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.OpenDevice(DeviceTagData dtd) :: Ended
Info: 15:52:22.3095609 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.CreateCaptureControl() :: Started
Debug: 15:52:22.3105605 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.SimpleCaptureProvider.GetControls() :: Started
Debug: 15:52:22.3285491 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Cameras.ASI.ASICameraProxy.GetControlsImpl(IPreviewControl previewControl) :: Started
Verbose: 15:52:22.3485372 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.PropertyControls.BaseValuePropertyControl`3.set_Value(TInterfaceType value) :: Ignoring property set on Exposure because value of 50000 is already the target value of 50000
Info: 15:52:22.3875144 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.ColourSpacePropertyControl..ctor(IEnumFeature mainFeature, List`1 colourSpaces, IPreviewControl previewControl) :: Colour space MONO8 is valid.
Info: 15:52:22.3875144 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.ColourSpacePropertyControl..ctor(IEnumFeature mainFeature, List`1 colourSpaces, IPreviewControl previewControl) :: Colour space MONO16 is valid.
Debug: 15:52:22.3975074 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Cameras.ASI.ASICameraProxy.GetControlsImpl(IPreviewControl previewControl) :: Ended
Info: 15:52:22.4244901 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.CreateCaptureControl() :: Ended
Info: 15:52:22.4244901 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.OpenDevice(DeviceTagData dtd) :: Ended
Info: 15:52:22.4264889 Thread:#1 SharpCap.MultiCaptureProvider.StopPreview() :: Stopping preview from MultiCaptureProvider
Info: 15:52:22.4274881 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.StopPreview() :: Started
Info: 15:52:22.4304876 Thread:#1 SharpCap.MultiCaptureProvider.SendCaptureEvent(Object sender, CaptureEventArgs e) :: Capture Event : StopPreview
Info: 15:52:22.4414801 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.Memory.Allocator.NumberOfMegabytesToMap() :: Paged memory check based on total memory of 16079Mb, available of 12862Mb
Info: 15:52:22.4414801 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.Memory.Allocator.NumberOfMegabytesToMap() :: Paged memory enabled at 1024Mb for Frame Cache and 1024Mb for LiveStack/Misc on 64 bit system.
Info: 15:52:22.4414801 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.Memory.Allocator..cctor() :: Assigning 1024Mb to non-pool memory and 1024Mb to the frame pool.
Info: 15:52:22.4414801 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.Memory.Allocator.NumberOfMegabytesToMap() :: Paged memory check based on total memory of 16079Mb, available of 12862Mb
Info: 15:52:22.4414801 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.Memory.Allocator.NumberOfMegabytesToMap() :: Paged memory enabled at 1024Mb for Frame Cache and 1024Mb for LiveStack/Misc on 64 bit system.
Info: 15:52:22.4454771 Thread:#1 SharpCap.ViewModels.SharpCapViewModel+<appModel_OnCaptureEvent>d__114.MoveNext() :: StopPreview event received in UI thread
Info: 15:52:22.5734009 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Base.CaptureProviderBase`1.StopPreview() :: Ended
Info: 15:52:22.6233701 Thread:#1 SharpCap.MultiCaptureProvider.SendCaptureEvent(Object sender, CaptureEventArgs e) :: Capture Event : LiveViewChanged
Info: 15:52:22.6383584 Thread:#1 SharpCap.ViewModels.SharpCapViewModel+<appModel_OnCaptureEvent>d__114.MoveNext() :: LiveViewChanged event received in UI thread
Debug: 15:52:22.7273428 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Models.Camera.ApplyDefaultProfile() :: Started
Verbose: 15:52:22.7343385 Thread:#1 SharpCap.Models.Camera.GetValuesToLoad(String profileName) :: Values read from profile follow:
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=FITS files (*.fits)
Binning=1
Capture Area=1280x960
Colour Space=MONO8
Temperature=26.7
Discard Split Frames=Off
High Speed Mode=Off
Turbo USB=100
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=60(Auto)
Exposure=0.05
Timestamp Frames=Off
Brightness=5
Auto Exp Max Gain=100
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=100
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
Display Black Point=0.32421875
Display MidTone Point=0.396646233332226
Display White Point=0.82521875
Notes=

[admin]

Hi,

thanks to the report – I've had two or three reports of the same problem with the ZWO 120 cameras on USB2. Fortunately I've now found the problem and I have a fix for it which will be in the next update.

Cheers, Robin

[chromus]

Hi Robin,

Finally got some clear skies to start testing.

Is there any difference between the 32bit version in 3.3 and 3.2 for Altair cameras?

The recent 3.2 versions (last 9 months or so) take a long time to open my Hypercam 183Cv2 and even times out sometimes, vs the beta taking only a couple of seconds like SC used to 12 months ago.

I am yet to start using the sequencing, I decided to do a simple set of tests.

A few oddities I noticed
* plate solving says it works and spits out a set of coordinates which appear to be accurate but doesn't seem to sync that correct position back to ASCOM no matter which option I specify in the settings menu. This was the case for both ASTAP and ASPS -> am I missing something?

* ASTAP didn't need SC 3.3 to have elevated permissions (run as admin) to work, but AllSkyPlateSolver did. I knew that ASPS often has this issue but if it's a quirk that can't be resolved it may need noting on the menu item.

[Ricker]

Robin, thank you for the response and thank you for development and maintenance of this superb tool. Your work makes alot of people happy..

Rich

[admin]

Hi,

I don't think there are any big differences for the Altair cameras in SharpCap 3.3. Usually find that they open fairly quickly and if something is slow during the opening of the camera it's often caused by the connection to other hardware (like focuser, mount etc) that is taking the time.

The plate solving still ought to synchronise the mount - I wasn't expecting anything to have changed particularly in that area. I will give it a quick test with the simulator mount to see if it's doing the right job or not.

Finally the admin thing is all to do with the security details of the other program – I don't need any admin rights to run any of the plate solving applications on my system, but if the permissions for accessing the application are a bit restrictive on your system then you may need admin rights to run the solving program. How systems get into this date, I have no idea I'm afraid

Cheers, Robin

[admin]

Hi folks,

firstly can I say thank you very much for everybody who's been testing out SharpCap 3.3 and sending in reports of any problems either here on the forums or by submitting crash reports. It's been incredibly useful and I've managed to find and fix a number of bugs (from the embarrassingly simple to the incredibly subtle) as a result of these reports.

I now have a new version ready which you can upgrade to

32 bit : https://d.sharpcap.co.uk/download.html? ... 3.3.6882.0
64 bit : https://d.sharpcap.co.uk/download.html? ... 0&arch=x64

This contains fixes for the majority of issues that have been reported so far. In more detail, the changes are :

* Fixes for slow shutdown during autoupdate or bug report
* Fix for indirect focuser move going to wrong position
* Fix for FITS header names having lower case characters in them
* Fix for flickering pixel readout if you had histogram showing in RAW modes
* Fix for pxel readout can be out of view
* Fix for scripting '>>>' prompt vanishing
* Added a test button to test plate solver integration
* Fix ASI120MM/MC USB2 problem
* Fix missing status text
* Fix invisible drop down arrows in dark mode
* Fix crash on highlight over exposed filter in 16 bit mode and missing filters
* Fix intermittent crash on second capture in still mode
* Fix crash when closing camera that started in still mode if LiveStacking active
* Make the content of the log file easier to read
* Fix issue with mount movement not stopping after releasing hotkey
* Extend beta expiry date to 1st November

If you reported a bug either here or via the crash report system and it hasn't been resolved in this update then please post here on the forums to tell me more about it – there were a small number of crash reports that I couldn't get to the bottom of. In most cases I've added extra logging that might help to track down the problem if it happens again in the version, but some might require deeper investigation.

Cheers, Robin

[calypsob]

with this feature "More than doubled performance in seeing monitor frame analysis"

Is this only offered as a readout tool? Can the seeing or fwhm be written in the fits header of an image as it is recorded?

[admin]

Hi,

the feature referred to is the seeing triggered/filtered capture - https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/3.2/#!2!Seeing%20Monitor

This is designed for high frame rate imaging, where you are capturing to video file (typically SER or AVI). Those formats don't offer the ability to add meta data information on a per frame basis (in fact both of those formats have relatively poor support for meta data information in first place).

So, I guess the answer is no – there isn't a way to save this information is just for viewing or using to filter the frames that end up in the video file.

Cheers, Robin

[wunni]

Hi Robin,

Unfortunately I had massive problems with SC 3.3 (32bit, on Win 8.1 Pro 64bit, HP Elitebook 8540p, SSD, 8GB RAM) Camera: QHY174GPS

First I loaded and started the 64bit version. But then there were some hints about unsupported functions and your general advice to use 32bit. So I also loaded the 32bit version. At that moment I had three versions of SC on my computer, SC 3.2 and both SC 3.3. So I may have created the basis for a huge chaos.
Before thoroughly testing SC 3.3. 32bit I deleted the 64bit version.
In the beginning it worked well. SC 3.3 found my 3.2 profiles that I could use. There were also a few crashes, which were uploaded as bug reports.
But then I couldn't load any more profiles, there were error messages like "The profile could not be loaded, it is violated". The camera image froze; I had to restart the camera. The 16bit-mode froze the image instantly. The GPS data was completely messed up, the coordinates jumped all over the globe, no chance to get a "Locked". It went from bad to worse.
By the way: I made a test recording in ADV. I could open it in Tangra. The generated light curve graph was empty, it did not show the light curves of the stars... (I know from others that ADV worked, but not with me...)

Since I wanted to observe an occultation event, I went back to SharpCap 3.2 - but that didn't work either! It behaved like SC 3.3...
I then updated SC 3.2. to the latest version and manually checked the profiles in an editor. The profiles seemed OK to me. I only got a small improvement. I still could not switch to 16bit, even in 8bis only a part of the image was displayed. I thought the camera was broken..!

So I removed everything of SharpCap from my computer, even manually deleted the directories. After that I downloaded and installed SC 3.2. fresh -- and luckily it works again (including the unchanged profiles; they are still OK). (I had to re-enter my Pro Key.)

A tremendous mess. I would now have to test 3.3 systematically from the scratch, documenting every step and every problem. But I need a working SC to observe... At the moment I don't have the time for extensive testing.
Such massive problems are certainly an individual case, who knows exactly what the cause was. Maybe a conflict between 64bit and 32bit versions?

This imprecise report will unfortunately hardly help you; but I wanted to tell you anyway...

Best regards,
Niko

[admin]

Hi Niko,

Thanks the reports and sorry to hear about the problems with the new version. Let me give you some pointers about how one version might or might not interact with another version which might help you understand what's going on when you have some time to retest.

Different versions of SharpCap - 3.1/3.2/3.3 and the 32/64 bit variants do not share any code with each other – they all install to their own folder and they only use code that is within that folder, so installing 3.3 will not change any of the code that SharpCap 3.2 runs.

When you first install the new version of SharpCap and use it, it will copy your settings from the previous version of SharpCap that you had installed. After that point the settings for the two different versions change independently. Settings in this context does not include capture profiles or sensor analysis results.

For a particular version of SharpCap – say SharpCap 3.3 – the 64 and 32 bit versions share settings. That is if you change something like the plate solving or hardware settings in the 32 bit version you will find the change also reflected the next time you start the 64 bit version.

All versions of SharpCap on a machine share capture profiles. Upgrading or installing a new version of SharpCap does not however change any of the existing capture profiles (unless you open one, change some settings and then deliberately save it).

Having said all of that, it's possible that running SharpCap 3.3 may have somehow put either the camera or the qhy windows driver into some sort of error state. If that was the case then you would also see problems when running SharpCap 3.2 immediately afterwards. You would probably have to unplug and replug the camera and reboot the system to be sure of clearing that sort of problem if it had occurred.

Hope this info is helpful, Robin