SharpCap Sequence Editor Questions

[Al Loan]

Hi,

Firstly, this is a fantastic forum, excellence information and a wide variety of topics.

I'm now using SC Sequence Editor with very positive results, I have two questions, hoping someone can assist.

1. When planning a sequence I enter the various camera settings, FITS, exposure, gain etc. All's good, and running a full test shows the camera gain at 120. However when viewing the "Selected Step Properties" in edit mode the gain value setting appears to default to "0". See attached image. Changing the setting to 120 and then saving the sequence and then returning returns the same "0". Again, the sequence is working fine, I'm just curious as to why this gain value returns, (defaults) to zero. Note that the Sequence panel area does contain the action, "set Gain to 120"

SSE screenshot

120 gain image.PNG (33.84 KiB) Viewed 5306 times

2. I would like to SSE park my mount in a second position, (not home). I have this position set up in EQMOD and it works with no issues. Is there a way to add a second park position in SSE?

Thanks everyone,

[yomamma]

I have always created a camera profile with the required values already set and then just load the camera profile that you need. No need to set any variable values in the Sequence editor as it only adds a lot of code to the run that you have to plow thru when following up on issues.

[admin]

Hi,

the problem with the gain step is fixed in SharpCap 4.1 (now in release candidate stage - see https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap/sha ... p-4-1-beta). I remember fixing it about 3 or 4 weeks back

If you want to stick with SharpCap 4.0 then you can use the capture profile trick mentioned above.

On the subject of parking, unfortunately ASCOM does not offer a way for applications to park to an alternate position - all that SharpCap can do is send a 'Park' message, which the ASCOM driver will interpret and then do its thing. It might be that there is a way to adjust the default park position in the ASCOM driver settings, but that sort of option isn't available in every driver.

cheers,

Robin

[Al Loan]

Hi folks, thanks for the speedy responses, much appreciated.

I believe I'm setting up the camera profile via the inputs when using the basic Deep Sky Sequence Planner. I then conduct an edit using SC Sequence Editor to allow my scope to park prior to taking darks. The reason for this is my current targets are very close to the meridian after my lights, (slightly past). This allows for the session to run to the end without a meridian flip or attendance.

ASCOM allows for multiple park locations, perhaps is this a feature that could be added to SC Sequence Editor?

Cheers,

[admin]

Hi,

unfortunately the ASCOM support for park positions is limited by the ASCOM ITelescopeV3 API - SharpCap can request a park or unpark action and can set a parking position, but there is no way to request (or even find out about) possible alternative park positions. You can often do that sort of thing via the 'Setup' page that is provided by the ASCOM driver, but not directly via an application like SharpCap

cheers,

Robin

[Beepa]

Several questions re editor using asi294 mcpro camera.
1)Even though I've embedded script steps in "enable camera controls", I often cannot scroll camera features to see various settings.
2)When Sharpcap autofocus fails (like dew last night), it would be nice if it would return to prior focus rather than last point on failed focus.
3)During scripted live stacking, all (but 1) of the live stacking parameters are inaccessible such as brightness history, fwhm, or histogram. Would be nice to be able to see those screens during scripted live stacking.
4)If I have to stop script because of an error, it can be resumed, but otherwise no way to regain control. Have to close Sharpcap & reload.
5) Is there any way to change number of loops in running script so I don't have to kill & rerun from beginning?
Sorry for so many questions. Thank you.

[admin]

Hi,

can you share your sequence please so that I can investigate fully?

All of those (except for the last one) should work as far as I know. Point 2 is something that was an issue in older versions of SharpCap, but is now fixed (certainly in 4.1, not sure if that change made it to 4.0). Point 3 on changing the live stacking can be done using the unlock controls step.

There was also a bug very similar to point 4 - that you would ge locked out under certain circumstances after running a sequence with the 'unlock' controls in. That was also fixed in 4.1, so definitely worth trying 4.1 - see https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap/sha ... p-4-1-beta

cheers,

Robin

[Beepa]

I see that I was running 4.0.9562. Let me update to your suggested beta version and see if the issues still persist and I'll let you know. Thank you for your response.

[Beepa]

I tried the beta version as you suggested. All of the locked issues were no longer present, although it did crash once and I had to reboot sharpcap. I think it occurred during a failed focus attempt.
As for focusing, I spent an entire dismal evening trying to get the autofocus to work. I tried every conceivable setting (including the "V" option) and got some beautiful parabolas using 9 points, but the program never returned the best focus so it crashed my script. There was a drop down that said go to "best focus" but it was always locked. Only the reset could be activated. I tried to append a photo of the data and the script to this message, but after spending an hour, I couldn't get that to work either. Frustrated and very discouraged re the autofocus.

[Beepa]

Sorry, just realized I could drag and drop focus scans from my autofocus attempts. Had many similar profiles but none found "best focus". Notice that "best focus" setting is locked. Don't know if that is the problem. Never allowed me to unlock.