SharpCap - free Astro Webcam Capture Software

[Surfer4329]

On 31/05/2018 at 16:55, rwg said:

How did you capture your darks? If you use the 'Capture Dark' button then SharpCap captures the individual frames as temporary files and then makes a single master dark from them - the individual frames get deleted. The master dark gets files in a subfolder of the 'Darks' folder - the subfolder name is based on camera, resolution, bit depth, exposure, gain and temperature - the idea being that a 'dark library' slowly builds up of darks taken with different settings and that sometimes settings will be close enough to re-use old darks.

cheers,

Robin

I'm using DSS to create master darks for me. I'm guessing I should not be using the "Capture Darks" option then. However, last time I used the "Capture Darks" it did create a file called "Darks", but it was completely empty.

[rwg]

Ok, well check out whether the option for where to save the dark in the 'Capture Dark Frame' window was set to 'capture folder' or 'dark library' - if it was set to 'dark library' and you got no saved file in the darks folder then please send me a log if it happens again. If it was set to 'capture folder' then the dark may have been saved to your normal capture file location (but maybe the darks folder got created anyway).

cheers,

Robin

[Stub Mandrel]

Hi Robin...

I'm trying to get Sharpcap on my old Vista laptop. Then I can do planets on one scope/mount while the better laptop does the guidy-slewy stuff for the oethr mount/scope

I used to run an old version of sharpcap on it until about 2 years ago.

I've reinstalled Vista and spent a day and a half installing all the updates to get to SP2.

I am trying to install Sharpcap 3.0, but when it gets to the .NET framework it slows down and gets stuck with the progress bar below the 'w' of framework.

Any suggestions?

[rwg]

Hi,

I'd say to cancel out of everything, reboot, then download and install the .NET Framework 4.52 manually from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=42642. Doing that manually will let you see any problems that crop up (if any do) and once it is in place the SharpCap install should just sail past that bit.

cheers,

Robin

[Stub Mandrel]

DOH! Kind of obvious once you suggest it!

That's exactly the approach I had to take to get SP1 to install.

I'll have a go, thanks Robin.

[Stub Mandrel]

Hi Robin,

Still no success, I'm not convinced .net is loading as it goes through preparing the files for a long time, then disappears...

SharpCap_3.0_20180624113802.log

p.s.:  the error codes suggests not enough space on the system disc - this is a reinstall and I have >32gig free....

[Stub Mandrel]

OK, it's taken nearly a day, constantly restarting, re-running etc. in between trying to do some proper work...

Your solution was partially correct.

What took so long was that the .net framework wouldn't install.

The web is awash with similar problems and dozens of 'solutions' some of which involve typing out a few screens of command lines. Stuff that!

I tried using the repair tool, which claimed to roll back the update service but I still got message that an install was already in progress.

Eventually I decided to look for solutions other than on Microsoft's knowledge base.

The first one I looked at said 'disable the windows update service'.

Lo and behold, .net 4.5.2 then installed first time, followed by Sharpcap.

This appears to work in all windows versions to Vista, and for most situations where a program has crashed out of an install.

For Windows 7 and higher there is a Microsoft 'fixit' tool that allegedly does this and more.

[rwg]

Ah, that's interesting... I suspect that the underlying problem was that Windows update was trying to install updates and this was clashing with the install of the .NET framework.

Windows Vista has a bad time with updates these days - there have been so many that the update engine can take an age to work out what it should do. I tried to bring a Windows Vista machine up to date a few months ago (from a fresh install) and left it for 48 hours and it was still trying to work out what updates to install. I gave up in the end.

Anyway, good to hear that it worked in the end and that it was really Windows Vista that you were fighting against, not SharpCap :)

cheers,

Robin

[Stub Mandrel]

It was a windows update install failure that totally crocked the laptop and led to me doing a factory reset. Yes two days of restarts and constant updates to get it sorted to SP2.

Now I've discovered I can't update .net 3 to .net 3.5 with .net 4 installed and that means I can't put ascom on this laptop...

>WEEPS<

[Stub Mandrel]

Hi @rwg this should be obvious from your website, but...

I am about to take a licence for Sharpcap pro but I want to know if it will work on more than one computer? Basically I have an opportunity to get a second (elderly) W10 laptop  but I want the flexibility to use either for astro work.

Thanks,

[rwg]

Hi Neil,

the short answer is yes(*). There is a FAQ on the license purchase page that should answer all your license related questions!

cheers,

Robin

(*) For personal purchases. Business who want to use SharpCap Pro need 1 license per PC

[Stub Mandrel]

On 06/08/2018 at 19:46, rwg said:

Hi Neil,

the short answer is yes(*). There is a FAQ on the license purchase page that should answer all your license related questions!

cheers,

Robin

(*) For personal purchases. Business who want to use SharpCap Pro need 1 license per PC

Hi Robin, I missed your reply for some reason.

I eventually did sign up (I kept forgetting to do it ahead of an imaging session and then it was too late...)

Despite my misgivings about more complexity I tried the PA routine.

I had to wait until it was darker than usual to get a platesolve.

I was chuffed that my initial alignment with the polarscope was only about 3' out. Using the wizard was really easy, the only frustration was I couldn't get the alignment better than 24".

That can't be bad though because first three star alignment was a synch as after the first star, the target stars all turned up almost dead in the middle of the camera live view.

Even more impressive, after I set up guiding and wandered off for an hour, Microsoft decided to reset my laptop for an update. I'm not sure how much guiding I lost, but to my amazement I didn't lose any subs, at 5 minutes! This was with an HEQ5, not my old EQ3, and only 300mm focal length, about 2.7" per pixel so some room for errors, but still impressive!

 

 

[John78]

25 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I couldn't get the alignment better than 24"

Bent alt bolt is likely the cause of that one as you turn it you get a sinusoidal closer and further away from PA, but never on the money?

[Stub Mandrel]

41 minutes ago, John78 said:

Bent alt bolt is likely the cause of that one as you turn it you get a sinusoidal closer and further away from PA, but never on the money?

At 50mm diameter 24 seconds of arc is only 5 microns movement, just over 2 degrees turn of the adjusting bolt. Given the pretty primitive arrangement and the friction involved (you can't leave it loose enough to  move freely as it moves when you tighten it up), I'd say that's as close as I'm likely to get except by chance.

It's quite amazing accuracy really, 24 arc-seconds is a mile at the distance of New Zealand.

Arc-second guiding is like tracking a moving target about the size of an athletics track on the other side of the planet!

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Hi Robin,

Not sure if this relates to any recent W10-update or changing to the latest version of Sharpcap Pro...

My ZWO ASI 120MC keeps locking up. Reconnect camera usually gets it going again but sometimes I need to unplug it and sometime restart Sharpcap.

Rarely it just happens.

It happens consistently when I have been using a long exposure (typically in the LX range) and reduce it progressively to below ~50ms.

P.S. in poor seeing I use gain of 100 to get the shortest possible exposures, do you know the optimum gain for my camera under good conditions?

 

Thanks!

 

2018-10-29-1951_2.CameraSettings.txt

[rwg]

Hi Neil,

I haven't seen this particular issue before, but there have been issues with the USB2 versions of the 120MC/MM when used for long exposures and in 16 bit mode (dropped frames etc), so it kind of makes sense that the use of longer exposures would be involved in the issue. The USB 3 versions of the camera seem more stable (or at least more resistant to this sort of problem).

As to the gain question - it depends on the imaging you are doing - for planetary/lunar where you stack 100s of frames, a high gain is good to freeze the seeing. The max gain of 100 on this camera isn't really very high compared to other cameras.

cheers,

Robin

[Stub Mandrel]

Thanks Robin.

I've noticed that sometimes the green 'capturing' bars shows it as getting lots of frames but it drops every one - the dropped frame count keeps rising.

I'm wondering if its using longer USB leads that's contributing to the problem. Had a couple of glitches setting up for guiding tonight.

[R26 oldtimer]

I just noticed this thread, and I didn't know that the developer of sharpcap is one of us, in this forum!

Robin, well done! Your work is excellent and ever evolving. The fact that most of the features of sharpcap are available on the free version means that you are true to the spirit of sharing knowledge, common to the amateur astronomy community.

Now that we're done with praises, let's get down to business?. We really need a sharpcap android app?

[RolandKol]

Hi guys,

Just a quick question in relation to SharpCap+ZWO ASI cam.

In ASI cams the gain is set up using Driver.
And I am a bit confused how to interpret SharpCap Gain values

What SharpCap Gain values actually do to Gain settings of the ASI cam.

Lets say, I set up Unity gain on ASI driver (gain 139). Does SharpCap takes it as gain 139 also, or gain 0? or gain 100?

I planning to run the sensor analysis tool, which looks very handy

[David nayler]

Hi all  has anyone had the text in sharp cap control panel go missing.

Have uninstalled then reinstalled the programm but still missing text.

Regards David.

[fozzybear]

1 hour ago, David nayler said:

Hi all  has anyone had the text in sharp cap control panel go missing.

Have uninstalled then reinstalled the programm but still missing text.

Regards David.

for me every now and then with my qhy5IIm when opening the control panel all is unreadable (garbled)I close then re-open must be my laptop's graphics card but I live with it