Power cutting in camera

[8611paulm]

Hello I'm having a problem with Sharpcap 4.1 and 4.0 but the problem is not present with 3.2. It was working the last time I used it before Christmas then last night I had the problem. I have a Zwo 2600mc pro and as soon as connect it to Sharpcap the power cuts to the camera. I have taken the camera from my setup and tried it on it's own and it does the same. I then tried the camera with APT and NINA and Sharpcap version 3.2 and the camera works with out problem. I then tried again with Sharpcap 4.1 and 4.0 and as soon as I select the camera it cuts the power. Hope you can help. Paul.

[admin]

Hi,

a few things I can suggest

* Make sure the camera has 12V power connected - some larger cameras require 12V power to work at all, others will work without, but can be pushing the limits for USB power, so this sort of thing could happen without 12V power.

* If you already have 12V power, check that your 12V supply is still working well (correct voltage, etc). Try another 12V 5A supply if possible.

* Try holding down the CTRL key while opening the camera - this will prevent SharpCap from re-loading previous settings, which could be causing an issue

* In the SharpCap 'Cameras' settings page there is an option to start ZWO cameras at low speed for increased stability - try enabling that option.

hope this helps,

Robin

[8611paulm]

Hello Robin I have tried every thing you have suggested. I have even purchased a new mini pc in case my problem was the usb hub I was using. The camera is directly connection to the mini pc now and as soon as I connect the camera it looses Power. I have tried the camera with ASI Studio and also N.I.N.A on the mini pc and no problems.

[admin]

Hi,

one last thing to try - put SharpCap into still mode (press the 'Live View' button at the top left of the tool bar so that it is no longer highlighted) before opening the camera. NINA and ASIAir may well default to still mode, wherease SharpCap defaults to live video mode, so maybe that is the difference.

If that doesn't work then I'm not sure if I have any more ideas, sorry.

Robin

[8611paulm]

Hello Robin I tried starting the camera in still mode in Sharpcap 4.1 and the camera cuts out. I then installed Sharpcap 4.0 as it was after I updated to 4.1 that I started getting problems. I connected the camera in still mode at first and no camera problems, I then closed the camera and re connected to 4.0 in live view with out a problem. I then went back to 4.1 version again and the camera cuts out on connection. Is there nothing I can send to you as it seems its only happening in the latest version of Sharpcap 4.1.

Thanks for your help, Paul

[admin]

Hi Paul,

I guess there are two possible causes here

1) SharpCap 4.1 is sending different commands to the camera and somehow causing the issue

2) SharpCap 4.1 is sending the same commands, but because it has a newer version of the ZWO SDK, maybe that is doing something different and causing the issue.

In your install directories for SharpCap 4.0 and 4.1 there will be a file called ASICamera2.dll.

Make a safe copy of each of the two versions of this file somewhere on your computer. Then copy the version from SharpCap 4.0 over the one in the SharpCap 4.1 folder. Now run SharpCap 4.1 by double-clicking on SharpCap.exe in the folder (not the desktop shortcut - that will probably 'repair' the install and put the other version of ASICamera2.dll back). See if SharpCap 4.1 now works using the ASICamera2.dll from SharpCap 4.0

You can also try the other way round - SharpCap 4.0 using the ASICamera2.dll from 4.1.

If swapping the DLLs over means 4.1 now works and 4.0 doesn't then the changes in the ASICamera2.dll are the problem. If things stay the same then the changes in SharpCap are where we have to look...

cheers,

Robin

[8611paulm]

Thanks you Robin, I will try that at the weekend when I have a little more time. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks, Paul

[8611paulm]

Hello Robin,

I have done the file swap like you said and it is that file what is causing the problem. I have put the file from 4.0 into 4.1 and visa versa the camera now works in 4.1 but cuts out in 4.0. Am i ok to leave 4.0 file in 4.1 program?

Thanks for your help Paul.

[admin]

Hi Paul,

yes, you can leave the 4.0 file in 4.1, but there are a few things to be aware of...

1) If you update SharpCap 4.1 to a newer version you will need to copy the 4.0 file back again as the update will install the 4.1 version
2) Running SharpCap from the normal desktop shortcut or the start menu shortcut will probably trigger 'self repair' of the install, putting the 4.1 version back - the way round this is to drag SharpCap.exe from the install folder to the desktop using the right mouse button, then choose 'create shortcut' when you let go. That should create a new desktop shortcut that does not trigger self-repair.
3) Using the older version may stop SharpCap from working correctly with other, very new, ZWO camera models.

I have just looked and I can see that there is actually a new update from ZWO that isn't in SharpCap yet, so I will add that for the next version - you never know, it might help. If it still fails with the very latest, it may be worth raising this issue with ZWO, since it doesn't happen for 99.99% of people, so something may be odd with your setup that they might be able to diagnose.

thanks,

Robin