QHY268M & QHY268C Users Thread (Please share your knowledge and tips)

[Stuart1971]

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

Say your chip is wildly tilted from horizontal like this :   \      A beam arriving from below will be reflected downwards towards the left. If you turn the chip through 180 degrees so it is angled like this  /   it will reflect the same incoming beam downwards towards the right.  That is the test you are performing with the jig. I can't see that it matters where the incident beam hits the chip.

Olly

Yes, you are perfectly correct, I was over thinking it all, and making it harder in my head than it needed to be, thanks for explaining….and thanks for the jig idea, the thought of adjusting under the night sky in live imaging conditions, brought me out in a hot sweat….😂😂

[Stuart1971]

Well finally took the plunge and go the QHY268 mono version to go with my OSC version, and had first light the other day. Also got the 7x36mm QHY filter wheel, and some Optolong 36mm SHO filters…Happy Christmas to me….😂

This was 50 mins total of Ha, on the Bubble Nebula,  in 5 min subs, no calibration or any processing at all, just opened in PI and used the auto stretch, cropped slightly and screenshot, was just testing really that all was working as it should, and checking the tilt on this camera…which there is a tiny bit..

 

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Stuart1971

[Richard_]

Excellent news Stuart and happy early Christmas to you! 

If you have the QHYCFW3 and haven't done so already, I'd recommend downloading the updated firmware from their website under the section titled "Firmware update (202207)":

https://www.qhyccd.com/qhycfw3-filter-wheel/

By default, the filterwheel will rotate to the desired filter in the direction of shortest travel. There is a wee bit of backlash in the filter wheel which can cause the filter to not return to the exact place when switching the rotation direction. The new firmware forces the filterwheel to only rotate in one direction and thus eliminates any potential backlash. See the article by Rouzbeh below where he talks about this. 

https://astrogeartoday.com/qhycfw3-series-of-filter-wheels-reviewed/

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Richard_

[Stuart1971]

2 hours ago, Richard_ said:

Excellent news Stuart and happy early Christmas to you! 

If you have the QHYCFW3 and haven't done so already, I'd recommend downloading the updated firmware from their website under the section titled "Firmware update (202207)":

https://www.qhyccd.com/qhycfw3-filter-wheel/

By default, the filterwheel will rotate to the desired filter in the direction of shortest travel. There is a wee bit of backlash in the filter wheel which can cause the filter to not return to the exact place when switching the rotation direction. The new firmware forces the filterwheel to only rotate in one direction and thus eliminates any potential backlash. See the article by Rouzbeh below where he talks about this. 

https://astrogeartoday.com/qhycfw3-series-of-filter-wheels-reviewed/

 

Thanks…😀

Yes it was the first thing I was told to do, and works in one direction only now….👍🏻

[Richard_]

Perfect! Now there won't be issues with misaligned flats. Your Bubble Nebula looks nice and sharp. Let us know how you get on with adjusting the tilt. 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Richard_
Spelling

[tomato]

Just a quick question, I plugged a QHY268 mono into NINA tonight, it is running with the native driver but I cannot see the sensor humidity figure displayed anywhere. I already had the QHY package installed from when I acquired my 268 colour camera, so do I need the latest driver and/or version of NINA to see it?

Thanks in advance.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Not sure I just powered mine up (saw your post just before I went to bed as weather here is pants) and I can see it ok.

as far as I know I am on the latest QHY driver and also up to date with NINA releases so maybe worth a go updating them.

Good luck 🙂 

Steve

[tomato]

Thanks Steve, I’m miles behind on the NINA version and probably on QHY drivers also, time for some updates, me thinks.

Weather pants here also but the 20 minutes of clear sky was enough to get the mono and OSC cameras aligned.👍

 

[Richard_]

21 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Not sure I just powered mine up (saw your post just before I went to bed as weather here is pants) and I can see it ok.

as far as I know I am on the latest QHY driver and also up to date with NINA releases so maybe worth a go updating them.

Good luck 🙂 

Steve

Yep, I get the same screen as Steve although a little bit different. My laptop monitor is 15" and doesn't display the information the same way as Steve's screenshot. The Camera Settings box below Camera slightly overlaps with the bottom line displaying "sensor temp" and "sensor humidity". If you're using a smaller laptop monitor like a 14" then maybe this box completely covers some of the camera info? 

[Stuart1971]

1 hour ago, tomato said:

Thanks Steve, I’m miles behind on the NINA version and probably on QHY drivers also, time for some updates, me thinks.

Weather pants here also but the 20 minutes of clear sky was enough to get the mono and OSC cameras aligned.👍

 

I am only on the release version of NINA 2.1, and also use a 12 month old QHY driver, and I have the humidity display showing up….

[tomato]

OK, so I have updated NINA to 2.1 (I was on 2.0) and re-installed the QHY All-In-One software package. Now the camera will not connect via NINA or EZCAP at all.

Don't you just love this hobby?🤪

[Stuart1971]

6 minutes ago, tomato said:

OK, so I have updated NINA to 2.1 (I was on 2.0) and re-installed the QHY All-In-One software package. Now the camera will not connect via NINA or EZCAP at all.

Don't you just love this hobby?🤪

I did this recently too, the driver is very awkward to install, in that you have to make sure that everything you need is checked, if you don’t check a certain box, because you already have that part installed, it will actually un install it….

Aslo make sure you don’t check the NINA box, as that screws it all up…as it changes the SDK

Edited January 8, 2023 by Stuart1971

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Odd, although I have had issues with my QHY 268M not connecting sometimes then if I unplug the USB cable and reconnect it its then is available in the NINA drop down box.

I am not sure what issues it can cause but the instructions for loading the QHY package say to install it with the camera unplugged - did you follow this ?

However I usually get it to connect in EZCap without issues so very odd.

I certainly do empathise with you as yes this hobby just loves to give you issues like this, usually on a lovely clear night when you just want to get imaging.

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

On a slightly different note quite recently I read a thread (not on SGL - is that cries of traitor I hear ? 🙂 ) about updating the Firmware of the QHY258 but can't seem to find the thread again or find info anywhere how to do this or what levels of firmware cured what issues.
Has anyone ever updated their Firmware or heard anything similar. Obviously not really something to do unless it is curing critical issues as firmware updates are always dodgy to perform.

Steve

[tomato]

Progress is being made. When I re-installed the QHY software a list of QHY driver tick boxes came up with just the first one ticked. They all looked like old CCD cameras to me so in my wisdom I unticked them (you don't want surplus code clogging up your hard drive, right?), including the first one. That appears to be the main driver as with the first one ticked it will now connect to EZCAP and NINA. EZCAP displays the atmospheric pressure and humidity but they are still missing in NINA.

I'll try installing again with the NINA box unticked as @Stuart1971 suggests. 

It is pi**ing down here so I'm actually quite relaxed at the moment.😎

Thanks for all of your help and advice.

On the firmware question, the QHY site has a beta version of the allinone package that needs the firmware updating in the 268 camera, but I dont know how you go about this? There might be something on this elsewhere on the QHY site, but I'm leaving that well alone for now.

[Stuart1971]

4 minutes ago, tomato said:

Progress is being made. When I re-installed the QHY software a list of QHY driver tick boxes came up with just the first one ticked. They all looked like old CCD cameras to me so in my wisdom I unticked them (you don't want surplus code clogging up your hard drive, right?), including the first one. That appears to be the main driver as with the first one ticked it will now connect to EZCAP and NINA. EZCAP displays the atmospheric pressure and humidity but they are still missing in NINA.

I'll try installing again with the NINA box unticked as @Stuart1971 suggests. 

It is pi**ing down here so I'm actually quite relaxed at the moment.😎

Thanks for all of your help and advice.

On the firmware question, the QHY site has a beta version of the allinone package that needs the firmware updating in the 268 camera, but I dont know how you go about this? There might be something on this elsewhere on the QHY site, but I'm leaving that well alone for now.

You will need to re install NINA as you have changed the SDK, if you installed with the NINA box checked, even re installing with it unchecked will not put NINA back to it’s proper state….

I made the exact same errors as you a while ago, re the driver box….😮

Edited January 8, 2023 by Stuart1971

[tomato]

I’ve uninstalled NINA and reinstalled 2.1 but still no humidity or pressure readings. NINA is telling me I have an outdated version of ASCOM installed (6.5) but ASCOM is saying I’m up to date.

Anyway, not sure how that would affect the issue I’m having. The readings are there in EZCAP, so I know the hardware is good.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Very odd the ability to display the humidity of QHY camera was introduced way back in NINA according to their changelogs so you should not even have needed the update.

Can you do a screenshot in equipment - Camera just to see if it offers any clues ?

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Not sure it makes a difference but is yours the Mono version or OSC ?

[Stuart1971]

54 minutes ago, tomato said:

I’ve uninstalled NINA and reinstalled 2.1 but still no humidity or pressure readings. NINA is telling me I have an outdated version of ASCOM installed (6.5) but ASCOM is saying I’m up to date.

Anyway, not sure how that would affect the issue I’m having. The readings are there in EZCAP, so I know the hardware is good.

Ah yes you need ASCOM 6.6 service pack

[tomato]

Thanks for the tip, I’ll give it a try.

[tomato]

ASCOM 6.6 service pack installed, the NINA warning has disappeared but still no humidity or pressure displayed. This is what my screen looks like. Nothing else left but to post it on the NINA forum unless folks have any other ideas...

[Stuart1971]

4 minutes ago, tomato said:

ASCOM 6.6 service pack installed, the NINA warning has disappeared but still no humidity or pressure displayed. This is what my screen looks like. Nothing else left but to post it on the NINA forum unless folks have any other ideas...

Might be a stupid question, but is it because you are viewing on a smaller screen, as it looks like a laptop, would it maybe being cut off….🤔 just a thought…

[Stuart1971]

Also you don’t have the cooler on, does it come on when that is turned on..?

[tomato]

Cooler works fine and displays on the trend graphs, power and temp but still no humidity or pressure.

I didn't consider the laptop display, I just assumed NINA would accommodate the screen display available. I have plugged a bigger monitor into the laptop and get the same display...