ezcap issue with QHY9

[Somnium]

i have an issue where ezcap is crashing every time i try to connect it to my QHY9. if i do anything else in the software before i connect to the camera it appears fine, but as soon as i select the QHY9, i can't perform any actions and i get an error asking for me to wait for the camera or close. there is limited things i can try because it is a remote observatory but i do have my brother down at the site while i test operations out this week. i have tried restarting the computer (the IT crowd solution to all computer issues) and also tried cycling the power to the camera to no avail. i have made no configuration changes since last night and it ran fine then, oh the joys of setting up a remote observatory ...
if anyone has any thoughts let me know.

[billdan]

Hi Aidan,

Had a similar occurrence with my QHY12 and it turned out to be a dodgy USB hub, ( sometimes it was fine other times it would crash). Since then I purchased a good quality 5 Metre USB cable and connect direct to the notebook and it never failed again.

Also the USB pins on the camera socket can get rust on them (from dew) and need cleaning with WD40 occasionally.

Bill

[Somnium]

you know, i was thinking this might be the issue, i am running a really long 10m cable. i am also having issues with one of my relays not closing on command. i will swap it out when i head down there on Friday and see if that helps.

[Somnium]

i replaced my 10 mtr usb cable that was running into a usb hub with an expensive 5 mtr active repeating USB 3 and connected it directly to the camera. that seemed to solve the issue for a while but now i am getting the issue again. extremely frustrating ! maybe i need to change the cable going directly into the camera ... i dont know, stuck for ideas

[billdan]

I can image how annoying it must be, especially when it worked Ok for a while.

You could try reloading the QHY9 driver and also see if EZcap has an update.

If I could afford it I would get one of these USB loop-back testers. At least I would know my cables and hubs are up to scratch.

http://www.passmark.com.au/products/usb2loopback.htm

Regards
Bill

[Visionoz]

Aidan

Had a similar experience with my QHY11 when new to it and after changing usb cables without the problem going away I discovered that you must use the specific drivers provided by QHY - contacted Theo for it and used his packaged version (his versions are fully tested and working) and no more problems.

YMMV
HTH
Cheers
Bill

[RobF]

Are you using the latest StarSense drivers for the 9 Aidan?

[Somnium]

I assume so, I re-downloaded the drivers from the gamma electronics site recently ...

[RobF]

They look like 2011. I don't use Ezycap, so not best to advise. Changed recently to the newer drivers on the QHYCCD website and very pleased so far with Sequence Generator Pro. Seem to download a lot faster, and "touch wood", haven't had a freeze downloading frames since....

[Somnium]

Thanks for that Rob, i swapped out the cable and it seems to be running okay. i have heard good things about SGP, i am tossing up whether to get that or use CCD autopilot.

[Somnium]

i shouldnt have spoke so soon, last night it randomly stopped working, i downloaded the new driver, new version of EZcap and new ASCOM driver, it took 1 picture then froze after that ...

[RobF]

Agggghhhhh!!!
Sounds like time to email or phone Theo for morale and tech support? :tasdevil: :bashcomp:

Have you tried running without the extender cable and using different camera program?

[Somnium]

I have tried with a number of combinations of cables, I am trying tonight with a single cable so we will see. I have run it with the skyx camera add on with the same issues. If I can't resolve I will be emailing theo

[Somnium]

:doh::mad2:

new USB extension, new USB without extension, new USB without extension and directly into the computer, new drivers, new version of capture software ... and ... fail. still getting the issue and it is now completely unusable.

i thought i might be able to image for the first time with the new mount tonight but it is not to be

[Somnium]

while i wait for the weekend and the opportunity to bring the camera home to run more definitive tests i thought i would take stock of my troubleshooting. the best i can do is to get the camera working for about an hour before it freezes up and that can only be done by disconnecting the USB from either the camera end or the computer end. below is a list of things which, surprising to me, had no affect on it.


replacing the USB cable
connecting the camera directly to the computer, not via a hub
turning off and on the camera
un installing and re installing the driver
ditto for the ASCOM driver
ditto for EZcap
restarting the computer (unbelievable i know ...)



to the limit of my knowledge of computers this makes absolutely no sense ... if anyone can tell me how an issue can persist after power cycles and driver installs but be temp fixed by unplugging the USB cable i am all ears :question::confused2:

[Somnium]

for those of you playing the home game, it seems that thesky or maybe other programs ( i had this issue prior to installing thesky) are tying up communications to the camera. even after a restart of the computer and the software ... so by selecting disconnect in thesky when the status is already disconnected, i am able to re-establish comms to the camera. strange but hey i have the ability to talk to my camera now :)

[LewisM]

Awwww, no more whispering sweet nothings in your ear? You have to talk to it like a wife now? :P

[Somnium]

haha it is a bit like that.

[Somnium]

it worked for a full week but now i am locked out :( looks like another 4 hour round trip ...

[Somnium]

this issue has stopped me from imaging for at least a month. i have replaced the computer, used the ASCOM driver instead of the QHY one in TSX, i think i am also using a different FW driver. the only thing that has remained consistent is TSX software and the camera itself. the camera hung after i was playing around in TSX tour function which was being unresponsive. i am on the software bisque forum to see if anyone has any ideas but it is a really confusing issue. when i got the issue i tested a number of different things to see what would resolve it, including

Restarting TSX
trying alternate software to run the camera (EZcap)
restarting the computer
restarting the camera
unplugging the USB at the camera end with the power to the camera and computer still on
unplugging the USB at the computer end with the power to the camera and computer still on

the only thing that worked and consistently works is unplugging the USB while the camera is off.

the above tells me that it is simultaneously not a software or a hardware issue ... therefore it is a black magic curse

"when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"

[billdan]

Hi Aidan,

So sorry to read you are still having problems with the camera.

Why don't you take the camera and TEC home with you and run EZcap at home for a week (create a dark library for different exposure times) and see if you can replicate the problem.

If so, contact QHY and raise a service ticket, and let them log onto your home PC and see if they can solve the problem. They can upgrade the firmware from remote if its out of date.

EDIT: I recently got my 3 year old QHY12 back from them and they replaced the complete main board for $65 + $45 air freight, apparently the tracks on the old main board were corroded.


Regards
Bill

[PRejto]

Perhaps the "need to uplug" USB is due to a grounding difference between the USB on the mount (or close to mount) and the USB ports on the computer. Just a guess, really. I don't have a QHY camera but I had some problems with an SX camera that sound rather similar and maddenly random. I too was using a long extender cable. I finally ditched the extenders and inexpensive hub and replaced with the Icron Ranger 2204. All my USB problems were completely resolved. One thing I learned is that dfferent hubs, including the MKS built in hub can cause different sorts of issues with different equipment. For example my Moravian G2-8300 camera will not run through a Digiport powered hub up on the mount running into the Icron at the mount base (all other gear runs fine in that configuration), but the Moravia runs perfectly plugged into the MKS hub and then into the Icron. The only difference is the two hubs.

I do hope you get it sorted. It does sound like there is something unusual with the QHY USB though I wonder if you could possibly have more than one issue going on due to the long cables. Regardless of the QHY issue I think you are asking for problems by persisting with over long USB cables. The Icron is expensive but not compared to the $$$ already spent.

Peter

[Somnium]

Hi Bill, i took the camera home and ran it off 2 different computers for that past 2 weeks, i will contact QHY and see what they can do, but i am starting to think this is just a limitation of the camera, it doesnt seem to like swapping between camera control software. i would love to know if anyone has the same camera permanently connected to a computer while using either TSX or astrotortilla. perhaps it just isnt designed to be operated remotely and perm connected.


thanks for the info Peter, i tried to eliminate all variables as a part of the testing and as such i used multiple cables and set ups. in it's current configuration it is sitting on my desk at home with a short cable directly connected to the computer, i dont think it is a cable related issue. i am thinking that there is something to do with the fact that the camera operates under 2 types of power, USB and 12v, it seems that both need to be cycled at the same time to reboot the camera. for some reason restarting the computer might not fully cycle the USB power ... that is the only thing i can think of ... frustrating.

[billdan]

I had a hunt around various forums yesterday (QHYCCD, SGL, CN and Astronomy Shed) to see if anyone was experiencing similar issues to yourself but I came up empty handed.

I know in the QHY12 manual it wants the 12V TEC power to be inserted after the cables are plugged in , and removed first on switch off. I'm not sure how important this is. But it could be a timing issue with power sequencing.

Bill

[Somnium]

i am just special i guess ... i have stuck to the power up process that QHY recommends. i have run out of trouble shooting techniques, i might just have to deal with it.

[PRejto]

As a last ditch effort could you build remote switch into which you plug the USB from the camera? Perhaps you could just interrupt the 5 volt supply in the USB cable. That ought to be the same as unplugging the camera. Not sure how one might do this but I bet it's been done by someone. Both of my cameras occassionally need to be USB unplugged to restore function (though not since I switched over to the Icron 2204). Thinking about operating remotely I've wondered if I could build such a device.

One thing I've thought of trying is to run the camera into a powered hub. Perhaps powering off the hub with have the same effect as unplugging the camera given that generally powered hubs do not function when unpowered. Powering off the hub would be a lot easier to control remotely than interrupting the USB power directly.

Peter

Here is a bit of a discussion on the subject:

http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/142100/circuit-to-disconnect-usb

http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/71918/at-which-level-of-voltage-is-usb-device-disconnected

https://www.quora.com/When-I-disconnect-a-USB-from-a-computer-what-disconnects-first-the-digital-or-physical-connection

This might have the most interesting info:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/138394/how-to-programmatically-unplug-replug-an-arbitrary-usb-device