Eclipse Sequence Generator

[admin]

Hi fishie,

OK, thanks, I can repro something like this issue (sometimes getting 2 not 3 frames) in a short sequence that changes exposure then captures and repeats. I suspect that it might be something to do with the speed in which the new capture is started after the old one has just finished, but I will investigate further.

cheers,

Robin

[Fishie]

Hi fishie,

OK, thanks, I can repro something like this issue (sometimes getting 2 not 3 frames) in a short sequence that changes exposure then captures and repeats. I suspect that it might be something to do with the speed in which the new capture is started after the old one has just finished, but I will investigate further.

cheers,

Robin

Hi Robin,

I tested the script with my second camera, a QHY168C, but the same problem appears. I wonder how nobody reported this problem in 2024's eclipse?

Best,
fishie

[admin]

Hi,

can you try the very latest version from the downloads page please? I made some changes that I hope will eliminate this problem.

thanks,

Robin

[Fishie]

Hi Robin,

Happy to report the updated version seems to solved the problem, thank you!

I noticed that with the Max Delay Before Exposures in the sequence generator set to 0, the camera did not have enough time to update its exposure settings in the first frame. I wonder is there an optimal setting for this, where the camera can have enough time to update the settings, but not using too much time such that the number of frames collected can be maximized?

Also, I noticed while running the sequence, the zoom level of the live view could not be changed. It would be better if we could zoom in to check the focus and zoom out to check the framing while running the sequence, as the whole eclipse would take quite a long time.

Best,
Fishie

[admin]

Hi,

glad to hear that the main problem is resolved now.

The thing with the change in exposure time is that the behaviour for that depends on the make (and sometimes model) of camera. There are lots of unknowns - does the camera finish the current frame when sent an exposure change, or stop it early? Are there multiple frames 'in flight' at any one time between the camera sensor and SharpCap (in which case you will see those already in flight arrive with the old exposure even after the exposure has seemingly been changed), etc. All of these are internal details of how the camera and its SDK work that manufacturers don't typically document, so any knowledge of this would be based on trial-and-error testing of a specific camera.

All that being said, a delay of a few times the larger of the old and new exposures would probably be sufficient for the change to take place. In a few places in the code where I need to deal with this sort of issue, I typically wait for five frames to pass after changing the exposure to be sure that we are seeing 'new' data.

The lack of access to the zoom is a tricky one. The theory behind locking out the menus and controls during a sequencer run is to stop people from accidentally breaking the sequencer run by an ill advised change in the menus or controls - it makes the sequencer predictable and helps make it possible to track down issues as I can reproduce what someone else did. On the other hand, some controls are harmless (like zoom), but disabling everything else while keeping them active is a lot more complex than just disabling everything.

I wonder if a button on the sequencer progress to re-enable everything with a 'here be dragons!' warning is the right approach?

cheers,

Robin

[Fishie]

Hi,

Sometimes with the "Max Delay Before Exposures" on the Eclipse Sequence Creator set to a non zero value, the first frame of some short exposure times still carry the settings of the last exposure. I solved it by manually editing the generated script and extended the delay times to around 0.3 to 0.5 seconds (I was using a Touptek ATR2600C camera).

It would be great if a button with warning on the sequencer progress could re-enable everything!

Best,
fishie

[admin]

Hi fishie,

I did add the 're-enable' button - that will be in SharpCap 4.2 when it comes out (I'm basically only fixing bugs in 4.1 now).

cheers,

Robin