QHY Filter wheel connection error

[cuthbertdavies]

Using Sharp Cap 4.0 it will not connect my filter wheel. It is connected to the camera using the cable provided by QHY. However using Sharp Cap 3.2 it connects just fine setup the exact same way. Not sure what is going on or what has changed in 4.0

[admin]

Hi,

I must admit that I hadn't tried out the QHY filter wheel connected via the camera for a while, so I had to go and dig out the wheel and a compatible camera to check it still worked.

For me, all seems fine in SharpCap 4.0 and 4.1. The things I am aware of are

* The camera needs 12V power before the wheel can be used, even if you can take pictures on the camera without 12V power

* The wheel must have finished its initial calibration spin after power on before you open the camera, otherwise it does not show up.

This was tested with a QHY174M-GPS and CFW2-S

If you check the SharpCap log after opening the camera, you should be able to find the line that records if SharpCap is being told about the filter wheel port on the camera

Code: Select all

Info    14:36:01.015845 #1  CONTROL_CFWPORT implemented : True   

That will be false if the QHY camera is not reporting the filter wheel port. There is also a second check to see if the filter wheel is actually connected, which is not recorded so clearly in the log. To see that check you will need to turn on an option in the SharpCap logging settings to record additional information about camera communications before opening the camera. If you do that you should see this in the log

Code: Select all

Verbose 14:42:06.106361 #1  Camera : SharpCap.Cameras.QHY.IQHYCamera.IsFilterWheelPluggedIn :: Starting IsFilterWheelPluggedIn()
Verbose 14:42:06.609273 #1  Camera : SharpCap.Cameras.QHY.IQHYCamera.IsFilterWheelPluggedIn :: Completed (returned True) IsFilterWheelPluggedIn()

cheers,

Robin