QHY camera image capture issue

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uboat112
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 7:13 am

QHY camera image capture issue

#1

Post by uboat112 »

I have three QHY cameras (168C, 183C, 183M).
168C works OK with SharpCap3.1.522 but not with 3.2.5897.
183C works OK with SharpCap3.2.5897 but not with 3.1.522.
183M works OK with either SharpCap3.1.522 or 3.2.5897.

Also 168C worked OK with 3.1.522 before 3.2.5897 was installed but not OK after 3.2.5897 was installed.
So I can't install both 3.1 and 3.2 and use 3.1 for 168C and use 3.2 for 183 C/M.

The symptom is that Camera doesn't send an image. It finishes the exposure but nothing shows up in the preview. In capture mode, time just keeps ticking.

I use Windows 10 Home version.

All these happened in the native driver mode.
With ASCOM driver, the issue is the same (no picture) or worse (crash).
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Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

there is a new version of the QHY SDK currently in prerelease testing – hopefully this will be available soon and will resolve some of the issues you are seeing.

I am very surprised that you see problems in 3.1 after installing 3.2 however. SharpCap 3.2 doesn't install any component systemwide (everything it installs is in its own folder) so it shouldn't be possible for installing SharpCap 3.2 to affect the results you see in SharpCap 3.1.

Cheers, Robin
uboat112
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 7:13 am

Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#3

Post by uboat112 »

Hi Robin,

Thanks for the reply.
On further test, it looks like the issue was not the SW but the HW.
When I connected 12V power supply, all worked OK with SharpCap3.2.
The only SW issue that I am seeing now is that the number of single frame captures is not correctly done.
It stops one frame short of the total number of frames and starts an endless captures in a separate folder.
It is not a big deal though.

Thanks,
Insung
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Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#4

Post by admin »

Hi,

good to hear that you've solved that part of your problem with the connection of the power supply. If you could post the exact details of how you're starting a sequence of single frame captures that is not working correctly then I will see if I can work out why and correct that for a future version.

Cheers, Robin
uboat112
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 7:13 am

Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#5

Post by uboat112 »

I selected 'single frame' in the select capture limit and checked 'perform a sequence of captures' in the capture sequence and specified the number of frames to capture in the sequence length. BTW, I am seeing no capture issue with QHY183C in a colder temperature. It works well in the room temperature but when I tried it outside tonight (temperature was around mid 40 degF to low 50 degF). I tried multiple times with different USB cables but was not able to capture frames. With the same setup, QHY168C and 183M worked with no problem. I think there is some HW issue in QHY183C.
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Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#6

Post by admin »

Hi,

just to say that I think I fixed the issue with the last capturing the sequence being unlimited frames and that fixes the latest version of SharpCap 3.2 which you can download from the usual place.

Cheers, Robin
uboat112
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Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#7

Post by uboat112 »

Thanks Robin for the quick action. I will try the new version.
Some other issues I found is

1) SharpCap crashed with 'force still mode on'
2) QHY ASCOM capture mode doesn't work. Camera doesn't send any image back.
3) I suspect this as a HW issue but to check if you are hearing this type of issue, QHY183M and QHY183C work well at room temperature but miss a lot of frames (time continues to tick) at outside temperature (it was around mid-40 deg F.). Same power supply, same PC, same USB cable. QHY168C works well in both conditions.
uboat112
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Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 7:13 am

Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#8

Post by uboat112 »

Hi Robin,

I tried the latest SharpCap and found the indefinite image capture problem was fixed.
Thanks for your work.
I also found that an older QHY ASCOM driver version 0.1.51.15 works well with QHY183C and 183M. The latest version 0.1.51.19 doesn't work.
There was no other version between these two in QHY web site.

One minor issue is that if I select ASCOM driver, SharpCap crashes in the first time. I restarted SharpCap and select the ASCOM driver again. Then it works. Another minor issue is that SharpCap was trying to initialize a filter wheel with QHY183C. Not sure if this was an intended action as QHY183C seems to have a filter wheel control port.


Thanks,

Insung
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Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#9

Post by admin »

Hi,

I have the older CFW2S model QHY filter wheel and I use it without bothering with the Ascom driver – just connect the wheel to the camera and make sure that it has finished its initial rotation before you try and open the camera in SharpCap. There's no need to select anything in the SharpCap hardware setup using this approach, the wheel will appear automatically if it is attached to the camera as an 'on camera wheel '.

Is the above approach possible for you?

Cheers, Robin
uboat112
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Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 7:13 am

Re: QHY camera image capture issue

#10

Post by uboat112 »

I don't have a filer wheel. I wait for the filter initialization message to disappear and then SharpCap works.
Sometimes when SharpCap was not receiving any images, I was suspecting if this filter initialization has any part in it.
If not, it is not bothering me.
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