QHY cameras: Updated QHY test build - 2.6.1dev11_qhytest8

[Andy Galasso]

We received an updated Windows SDK library from QHY which is reported to contain some stability improvements. Here is a Windows installer using the new QHY SDK:

http://openphdguiding.org/phd2-2.6.1dev11_qhytest8-installer.exe

We do not yet have OSX or Linux versions of the QHY SDK, so it's still just Windows for now.

Please give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Andy

[Brendan Kinch]

Andy - connected and did a short test today......just to see the camera (QHY 5 II) connected OK......not too happy with the picture I was getting......note the vertical line that is not evident when I use other versions.  (Daylight test in the obs - so no guide test).

[Andy Galasso]

Thanks Brendan.  I pointed QHY to this message thread, but in case they are not watching it I'll consolidate any feedback we get and forward it to them.

Let's wait a bit to see if anyone else has a chance to test the new SDK.

Andy

[Alessandro Torchia]

Hello,
Probably I am missing some bits, so excuse me. Tried it and I have a qhy6.
It 's correct that it should work with this camera and I have to choose "qhy camera" in the menu?
It says incompatible camera while it works just fine if I chose the ascom driver I usually use with this same build.
Thank you

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[Andy Galasso]

Alessandro,

I do not know whether or not the new SDK is expected to work with a QHY6.  I forwarded the question to QHY and I'll let you know their response.

Andy

[Andy Galasso]

Alessandro,

I just got a response from QHY and they are updating the SDK to support the QHY6.

Andy

[Alessandro Torchia]

Thanks!!

[James Freeman]

FWIW, I see that QHY has a new QHY5L-ii ASCOM driver available (it is tagged with a July 6 date).

http://www.qhyccd.com/Download.html

Regards,

Jim

[Andy Galasso]

Thanks for the info, Jim.

For anyone using ASCOM to connect to the QHY camera, just use the latest version of PHD2 from openphdguiding.org (preferably the latest development build).  The QHY test versions like 2.6.1dev11_qhytest8 are for testing the new native connection code -- connecting to the camera directly without going through ASCOM.

Andy

[peter wolsley]

Andy,

I have been using this QHY test version many times now with my QHY5II-M.  Works find.  I always tweek the camera gain to optimize SNR when I move from DSO to DSO and the gain changes always work predictably.  I always use subframes...no issues.

Peter

[Andy Galasso]

Hi Peter, thanks for the feedback.

Andy

[Vince]

Working well indoors Andy, thanks.  Will let you know how it goes live when I have a clear sky again.

Vince

On Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 2:04:42 AM UTC-4, Andy Galasso wrote:

[Valerio Giu]

Dear all, I am new here but I would like to share my experience.
I have used a QHY5-IIL for more than a year and all of the sudden the past week or so something went wrong and it timed out in PHD2.
The camera disconnets or hangs.

tried to uninstall and reinstall the drivers, latest version on the QHY website stable and also tried the beta version. I Also tried the newer and older PHD2.
nothing worked. Even used the latest ascom driver instead of native and same issue.

Than on another laptop I found an older version of a driver QHY5IIDriver141212.
I installed it and everything worked fine with no issues. All this was on a laptop with win 10 and tried with usb2 and 3 ort connection with the camera. The old driver works just fine. WHat I dont get is why the new driver was also working up to a week or so ago and all of the suddend just stopped.

I hope I have helped someone to understand the issue with this experience.
By the way I sent the same description to Qiu of QHY ccd . I will keep you posted when he gets back to me.
Cheers

[Andy Galasso]

Hi Valerio,

In our experience when an equipment configuration that was once working starts becoming unreliable, the culprit more often than not is the USB cable or USB connections. I would recommend trying a different USB cable on the original PC with the original drivers and software that was working for you before. Also try moving to another USB port on the PC. If you are using a USB hub or USB extension cable try eliminating that and connecting the camera directly to the PC.

When you moved the camera to another laptop you also tweaked the cable and the connectors. Since you made multiple modifications (cable, connections, pc, drivers, and software) I don't think we can say that the driver is the culprit.

Hope that helps,

Andy

[Valerio Giu]

hello Andy,

I agree with what you said, but my test was very simple and consistent.
New laptop, no hub, same cable. Connected to all ports available, 2 USB3 and 1USB2.
Not working with new drivers in any port. Changed cable usb, no luck.
Then installed old driver and the camera works with no issue in all the usb port 2 and 3. Tried another usb cable and still work.

Reinstalled new driver and fails again. Then reinstalled old driver and it works........

This is telling me that the drivers are the issue, but I am not an expert to be sure 100%, but these multiple tests are pointing vs the driver issue.

What do you think?

Regards,
Valerio

[Andy Galasso]

Ok, that sounds like you have ruled out the cable. We'll have to see what QHY says.

Andy

[Vince]

This version works just fine live, Andy.  I hope you will incorporate the SDK into the next PHD2 version, because it is the only driver for the QHY5L-II that allows both binning and gain control on the PHD2 Camera tab.

Thanks,

Vince

On Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 2:04:42 AM UTC-4, Andy Galasso wrote:

[Andy Galasso]

Hi Vince,

Thanks for the feedback.  We plan on merging the new SDK into the main PHD2 code base once we have a version that works for Mac and Linux. We're still working with QHY on that front.

Andy

[peter wolsley]

Andy,

I am using this QHY test version [2.6.1dev11_qhytest8] and tonight I noticed high CPU usage.  Sure enough when I use the QHY Camera option and begin guiding I get 30% CPU usage for PHD.  When I switch to CMOS QHY5II Camera (ASCOM) the CPU usage drops to 3% for PHD.  If I use the latest build of PHD [PHD2 Guiding 2.6.2]I get the low 3% CPU usage.  It seems that the QHY Camera method really hogs the CPU.

Peter

[Andy Galasso]

Thanks Peter. I reported that to QHY.

Andy

[Vince]

Thanks Andy, I just posted a prod about it on the QHY forum.

Vince

[Vince]

Andy, Peter is right about the CPUs on this one.  I didn't notice it live but just ran it indoors and mine is up to 27%.

Vince

[Andy Galasso]

Vince, Thanks for confirming.  The ball is in QHY's court now.

Andy