QHY5II-L planetary imaging woes

[traveller]

I tried using my QHY5II-LC for imaging of Jupiter for the last few nights with very little success. So far I have tried the following
1. Firecapture: cannot get it to work (Java Platform SE Binary issue, tried to fix it using some online tutorials, but eventually gave up).
2. EZPlanetary: camera can be connected, but interface difficult to use. Jupiter is horribly burnt out and cannot seem to be able to adjust exposure time and therefore difficult to know when the image is in focus.
3. SharpCap2: again, camera connected and recognised, but then for no reason, the preview freezes and refuse to work. I tried selecting camera as native QHY5II-L and also QHY (WDM), the native QHY5II-L seem to be working then the preview freezes, the QHY (WDM) seem to be able to capture frames in preview but no image shows no matter what exposure settings etc I play with.
I am running all the above using a Win 7 64 Bit OS with EQMOD via an EQDIR cable connected to Stellarium via Stellarium Scope.
Any help will be much appreciated.
:shrug::help::confused2:
Bo

[Shiraz]

not sure Bo. Assuming that it is a QHY5L-II, the high performance driver package on the QHY site includes WDM, and should work with Firecapture.

Is it a QHY5-II or a QHY5L-II? you identify it as a QHY5II-LC, which does not seem to be listed on the QHY site. The QHY5-II and QHY5L-II are quite different cameras and maybe you have inadvertently loaded the driver for the other one?

agree that EZp has an odd UI, but if you have the patience to figure out where they have hidden stuff, it works well. Stick with Firecapture though, it is in a different league.

[Camelopardalis]

I've used EZPlanetary and it's straightforward enough...when you click on the gain or exposure buttons it pops up a keypad, and with the exposure time be sure to check you click the right time frame, i.e. ms.

Try something like 35ms and a gain below 10. I haven't managed to bag Jupiter so far this season, as the seeing has been awful when I've been free, but last year I was capturing Mars and Saturn with a gain around 8 to 10, just note that Jupiter will no doubt he brighter and you'll need to knock it down a bit. Or shorten the exposure time, 20 or 25 ms, depending on the frame size you're using.

How bright/dark it appears will also depend on the focal length/ratio, I was around 7m, f/25.

[traveller]

Thanks Ray,
Yes it is the QHY5L-II-C, the "C" denotes a colour sensor you can also get a QHY5L-II-M for mono sensor (which I have also).
I had lots of troubles with Firecapture, it simply would not load up. I tried to start it by clicking on the QHY icon on the main menu and also via the Firecapture QHY exe file, both come up with the Java Platform SE Binary issue and forced to close the program.
I will give the mono camera a try tonight and reinstall the QHY5L-II drivers to see if that makes any difference.
Bo

[traveller]

Thanks Dunk,
I am imaging using the C8 f/10. I did play with the EZplanetary tabs with exposure and gain etc, but to be honest, it's a pain in the backside to use (for me anyway).
When SharpCap worked briefly, I was able to get focus much quicker as the controls were intuitive to use.
Will update QHY drivers and see how I go.
Bo

[Camelopardalis]

Ah yeah with a C8 at f/10 the gain I mention should be in the ballpark at least, maybe a little bright. As you're using f/10 you can dial the capture size down (you need to quit and reopen EZP to achieve this) and bump your frame rate up by dialling down the exposure length. I'm using the colour version too with my C11.

As for the interface...it might be a little primitive, but I'm a Mac user so anything on Windows I find a bit clunky :lol: but it gets the job done.

There are a couple of options you might want to set in the options. First is to use SER video format, it's the quickest/lowest load. Then adjust the USB transport down as low as you can without it stuttering. I use a value of 0 for this on a 4 year old netbook so no doubt most machines are more powerful than this and should handle it well. A lower value will maximise the frame rate the camera is allowed to send down the USB.

For focussing I use a bahtinov mask on a nearby bright star, I have no idea what the focus functions in EZP do.

[traveller]

Thanks Dunk, will keep trying with the settings you recommended (and avoid being sucked dry by mozzies).

[traveller]

Quick update,
I can connect to Firecapture under the generic webcam exe link, then I choose either QHYCCD (WDM) or QHYCCD Native WDM. However, both are limiting the resolution to 640x480 max.
:help::question::shrug:

[Merlin66]

Bo,
Firecapture 2.3 and the QHY5L II (mono) seem to work well together.
What can I check to help you??

[traveller]

Thanks Ken,
Just downloaded v2.3 and gave it a test run, same problems :shrug:
Again, I can connect the camera via QHYCCD WDM through the webcam shortcut but not through the QHY shortcut.
:confused2:
Bo

[Merlin66]

Bo,
Hmmm
If the QHYxxx.dll files are in the folder then I must assume there's a problem with your Java.
I recently had to download an update -
What version of Java SE are you using?
I have jre 1.8.0_40 download dated 30/3/15
https://java.com/en/download/ie_manual.jsp?locale=en

[Shiraz]

maybe you have an older version of the WDM driver? - from the QHY download page for version 2.1.
"Note: FireCapture do not support WDM filter parameter to set different resolution. You need edit the max resolution from 640*480 to 1280*960(For QHY5L-II) or 1280*1024(For QHY5-II) in fireCapture ini file to get the maxium resolution."
It's not an ideal solution, but it may be a useful temporary workaround until you get to the bottom of the problem.

If any help I am running Java 1.7.0_67 and it works OK with Firecapture v2.3 and the QHY5LII

[traveller]

Thanks Ken,
I am running Java Version 8 Update 40, same as yours. I re-installed V8.40 following your link, nope, nada, nyet...



Thanks Ray,
I managed to manually over write the ini file and can now get max resolution of 1280x960, still going through the webcam exe file and choosing QHY WDM file, at least that works. Will try Java 1.7.6_67 and v2.3 and see if that works.
Bo

[Merlin66]

Very strange...
I'm using the latest QHY drivers etc.
Did you install the software as "administrator"?
This can make a difference in software finding things.....

[traveller]

I reinstalled QHY driver as administrator and ran FC as administrator, both failed....
At least I can get it to work in Native WDM mode and run as 1280x960 resolution.