PHD2 + ASI120 Issues

[JohnSadlerAstro]

Hi,  

I am attempting to get the setup ready for imaging tonight (first time in many months, so its a learning curve all over again!). Everything seems to be working well except the guidecam. I'm using an ASI120MC through a 50mm SW finderscope, its always been a little funny with PHD2, but today I'm having trouble even getting the image looping started. Once the looping begins, frames are very slow and irregular, and entirely stop if I take the cap off the finderscope. It isn't a connection speed or camera issue as far as I can tell, I just got over 26fps in SharpCap using the same image size etc. Drivers are all up to date (from the ZWO website).

Is there anything that i can do to make PHD recognise the camera's photographic abilities and work properly with it? 🤔

John

Edited March 25, 2020 by JohnSadlerAstro

[alacant]

Hi

If you want to test PHD2 in daylight, you'll need gain zero and a very short exposure time  or a very dark room or most of your guide telescope aperture covered.

Before you change anything, my guess is that once you get under the stars, it will work fine. 2s @gain 48 would be a good starting point.

HTH and good luck tonight.

[Viktiste]

Strange. I use 120MC + SW finderscope too. It loops without any problem (at e.g. 3 sec exposures) even when connected through a USB2.0 hub. Are you sure PHD2 is connecting to the correct camera? In PHD 2 check Guide menu - connect equipment. Mine look like this:

Edited March 26, 2020 by Viktiste

[JohnSadlerAstro]

10 hours ago, Viktiste said:

Strange. I use 120MC + SW finderscope too. It loops without any problem (at e.g. 3 sec exposures) even when connected through a USB2.0 hub. Are you sure PHD2 is connecting to the correct camera? In PHD 2 check Guide menu - connect equipment. Mine look like this:

What version of windows are you running? From consultation with a few other imagers it seems that recent versions of Win 10 have caused the problems with this camera to get worse...

Unfortunately the behaviour has continued, so I may need to get a replacement that PHD can work with properly. Im eyeing up the ASI120MM Mini, its been recommended as the solution to the 120MC's woeful compatability trouble. Apparently dropped/split frames and corrections are a very common issue with the 120MC. That has certainly been my experience, even when the camera was "working". Its odd because for some people there seems to be no issue whatsoever. 🤔

John

Edited March 26, 2020 by JohnSadlerAstro

[alacant]

34 minutes ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

issue whatsoever. 🤔

Hi

Have you updated the camera's firmware? I've a copy here:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1eXBCN06Uz6pGdf-TDd_8ETVW5QRw9zSO

EDIT; don't forget to set the camera to 8 bit in PHD2.

 

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by alacant

[JamesF]

4 minutes ago, alacant said:

Hi

Have you updated the camera's firmware? I've a copy here:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1eXBCN06Uz6pGdf-TDd_8ETVW5QRw9zSO

 

 

That definitely helps, in my experience.  It does make the camera a little slower for high frame rate imaging (planetary, say), but significantly more reliable in the general case.

James

[Viktiste]

13 hours ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

What version of windows are you running?

Windows 10

[JohnSadlerAstro]

Hi,

First of all, thank you for all the advice and suggestions, I really appreciate it! I've been working through the suggestions:

I made sure the drivers were the latest version, and updated the firmware. I also tried the ASCOM drivers, and set it to 8-bit. The issue almost went, I thought it was cured at first, but after leaving the camera running for around 5 mins it hung and would not restart, I had to make a couple of attempts to begin the looping again. The end result is: I decided to order a 120 mini as a guidecam replacement, I hope to continue to use the 120mc for lunar/planetary and possibly some livestacking. 

Thanks again for the advice, eliminating these causes helped me reach a decision I didnt want to make, but needed to!   

John