Sharpcap interface pausing ever few seconds when connected to SynScanMobile ASCOM mount

[cydonia]

Hi,

I have been experiencing issues with the connection to my mount (HEQ5 Pro using SynScanMobile WIFI adapter) where although everything works and I can move the mount, plate solve etc without errors I am finding that the mount can take as long as 10-15 seconds or more to connect in the first place. Then once connected the SharpCap interface becomes periodically unresponsive. What I mean by that is I am finding that it is freezing every couple of seconds or so for a short period and then resuming again. This appears to be a consistent period of time like the UI is being frozen whilst SharpCap is communicating with the mount. It also happens when connected to the mount regardless of whether I am actually controlling the mount or not.

I only seem to be experiencing this kind of issue within SharpCap and other programs communicating to the mount (FIreCapture, Stellarium) show no such pausing issues.

This freezing can make adjusting parameters such as exposure etc quite awkward as it can freeze half way through moving a setting etc. Sometimes the freezes are longer and this then makes it impossible to use whilst remaining connected to the mount. To avoid this I am often finding I need to disconnect from the mount once I have plate solved etc. The UI was also freezing a lot whilst I was trying to use Feature Tracking the other night and it was failing to calibrate reporting movement exceeding what was expected. I don't yet know if this is because SharpCap was freezing as above or something else though as I have only tried to use the feature a few times. The display showing the video from the moon was freezing along with the UI though.

I am running the latest version of SharpCap (3.2.6248.0) on Windows 10 Pro (1909) with the latest Sky-Watcher SynScan App and latest ASCOM software/drivers.

There doesn't appear to be anything obvious in the logs reporting any issues communicating with the mount and SharpCap doesn't crash.

Any help or advice is appreciated as I'd like to try and get everything working more smoothly so I can just leave the mount connected.

Thanks,

James

[admin]

Hi James,

Although the version of SharpCap you have is the latest available via auto update, there are newer versions available on the download page. I believe that the problem that you are seeing is fixed in these newer versions – SharpCap asks the mount for its location every few seconds to update the RA and DEC figures shown in the mount area and if the mount is slow to respond this can lead to the problems you observe. The latest version sidestep this problem by running those updates in the background.

Cheers, Robin

[cydonia]

Hi Robin,

Thanks for the update I'll look into trying that version and report back.

Keep up the good work. Just renewed the Pro license without any second thought as it's perfect for what I need.

James

[admin]

Hi James,

Always good to hear from a happy customer do let me know if you still encounter the pausing problem after updating.

Cheers, Robin

[cydonia]

Sorry for the delay updating you. The new version works much better with the interface not pausing at all. I did have one small issue but the cause may not be SharpCap.

When I was making adjustments to align my target with the controls in SharpCap on a few occasions the mount failed to return to sidereal speed and continued to slew move. As I said not sure if this was a SharpCap issue or just a communication problem at the time so will keep an eye on it.

Thanks again,

James

[admin]

Hi,

There have been some issues with those button not responding when you release them if you are using remote access software to remote control the PC running SharpCap. Microsoft Remote Desktop seems fine and using the PC by its attached keyboard and mouse and monitor seem fine, but some other remote access software has problems releasing those patterns for some weird reason.

Cheers, Robin