LIVE STACKING MEMORY STUCK AT 2GB

[WLAL]

Hi,

Got the latest 64bit version of SharpCap with a new machine running windows 10 home with 8GB RAM but it will not let me increase the memory beyond 2GB even though I have a valid Pro Licence. Tried reinstalling to no avail. The bottom slider is totally unusable and will not move.

I am also getting strange problems with my ALTAIR 183C Protec which I have just used since I got the new machine. At the end of a capture the exposure hangs and eventually drops the frame, but, as it drops, the fan on the 183C STOPS and then starts again on a new exposure.

So... Have I got several problems here or is it all to do with memory?

1. Does SharpCap allow you to use 50% of the max installed RAM or 50% of what is available rounded down, in my case it would be 50% of 5.3GB
2. Is 5.3 GB available memory too small for the massive 5444 pixel Raw12 colour image for live stacking?
3. Is the DDR or USB hub on the 183C faulty (I am in touch with Altair having sent them a diagnostic which seems no problem).
4. Is SharpCap buggy

I used to have a 64bit Win7 with 16GB of RAM and never had any problem with Sharpcap or the 183C

Anyone had similar issues?

Thanks

[admin]

Hi,

the limitation is that the total of the two sliders must be less than 1/2 of your physical memory, so if you want to take one slider above 2Gb, you have to move the other below 2Gb first.

I keep meaning to change it to allow higher maximum for 16Gb or more of total memory. Only using 4Gb on an 8Gb machine is reasonable - if you start using too much more the system will bog down. You could probably use 10-12Gb on a 16Gb machine and 24Gb on a 32Gb machine though.

cheers,

Robin

[WLAL]

Thanks Robin,

I followed the excellent advice on USB fault finding:
1. I disabled the USB power settings in Win 10 - did not work
2. I Changed the USB3 lead to another socket - Did not work
3. I removed the camera and placed it on a short USB3 lead - did not work
4. I used yet another short USB3 lead in another port - did not work
5. I changed the memory sliders to double the Live view memory

So, Sharpcap connects to the camera with no problem, allows control of exposure and cooler. So this means its not a USB connectivity issue.
On opening in Sharpcap It will do 1-3 exposures and then start hanging and dropping and camera fan stops briefly until exposure starts again
The USB hub on the 183C works fine like always and connects to the other planetary camera and the Sesto Senso focuser.

The ONLY thing I can think of, is that the DDR memory on the Camera has blown.


Thanks for the help.

[admin]

Hi,

did you try turning down the USB Speed setting in the controls on the right? I think it defaults to 1 (0-2 range), but can be turned down to zero for extra stability.

Unfortunately the conclusion that the cooler and other controls work meaning that USB is OK is not valid - setting controls only uses a tiny amount of USB bandwidth and is rarely sufficient to trigger any but the very worst issues - it's the high amounts of data transfer when frames are captured that tend to cause the problems.

If the fan is stopping then restarting it means that the camera has stopped responding to SharpCap and SharpCap is attempting to reset it to try to coax it back to life. Usually this is a result of a frame being more than about 15s overdue.

Another idea is to try USB2.

cheers,

Robin