QHY vs. ZWO Drivers for 183M Sensor Cameras

Greetings!

I am strongly considering buying either a QHY183M or ASI183MM Pro camera. In addition to build quality and features, another strong factor in deciding between the two is driver compatibility and performance.

What is the current status in the QHY and ZWO driver performance with SGP? What kind of download speeds can I expect? Are there outstanding issues that I should know about?

Thank you for your help!

Best Regards,
Ben

I use a ZWO ASI1600MM Pro mono camera with SGP. I still use the ZWO native driver so that I can set the gain AND offset. With the ASCOM driver, only the gain can be set for the ZWO camera in sequence events (ASCOM 6.4SP1 does not support offset as a parameter, ASCOM 6.5 will support it). I have no problems using the 1600 in SGP (latest version of both SGP and ZWO’s camera drivers). The 1600 also works flawlessly in SharpCap Pro using the native driver.

I also use a ZWO ASI174MM mini as my guide camera in PHD2 using the ZWO native driver. This works flawlessly.

Mark W

Oooooh…Ben going for CMOS. (Must be the weather!) :wink:

Actually the weather is presently keeping me from imaging. But we all know purchasing new equipment does not help clear the weather, but rather brings in more clouds and rain …

I have a targeted need for a small pixel camera, and this sensor hits the sweet spot for what I need and doesn’t break the bank like other choices.

My searches on the topic of QHY vs. ZWO drivers shows trouble with QHY, however I note the issues are now somewhat dated. I’m hoping to get some more recent report on how both brands are working with SGP, particularly this 183 sensor.

Ben

Hi Ben…I think we spoke before re CCD V CMOS and I was thinking here that your idea (to go to CMOS) was to reduce the imaging time required…hence my reference to the weather.

Only now am I getting comfortable with my FLI ML16200 (this is where we had previous contact) and have other CCds to give me the arcsec/Pix that may suit for a variety of “jobs”.

Your post gave me reason though to go looking at the cameras mentioned even though I have no intention of buying anything else for some time. I know I would tend toward the QHY but without experience of either of the desired models, my opinion does not count.

So…(disregard my jibe at you going for CMOS) I hope others can help you out to make the right choice.

Brendan.

Yeah, I have a specific scope / pixel size target that the 183 fits for small galaxy imaging.

Don’t worry, I’m still using my FLI ML16200, but not for this configuration.

Ben

I just bought the QHY183M. The build quality is excellent and hooks up nicely to their filter wheel too, without another power/usb cable. I have been using ASCOM and X2 driver (for TheSkyX). The current X2 driver gives me a problem but the ASCOM driver seems reliable in TSX and SGP. There is a small user interface gremlin with the driver settings, which was introduced in the last version. It can be got round and I am sure will get fixed on the next iteration.

Thanks for that information, buzz. I’m glad to hear that any ASCOM driver issues are being actively worked.

Last year I had a QHY163m camera, no problems were found, everything works perfectly with SGP via ASCOM. But you need to understand that inside the camera there are powerful ceramic capacitors for USB power +5V and it is very important to turn on the camera first of all in the USB hub, otherwise if the devices you connected earlier are lost and you have to pull them out and reinsert them. I observe a powerful jump in power even on an active hub with external power when I insert the camera USB cable. I always insert the camera first and no problems. By the way, I also bought QHY183M due to the small pixel for small galaxies.

On a more general note - it is best practice to connect all devices before applying any power. That additionally avoids static discharges. I have a separate power switch for the camera and hub and another for the ‘noisy’ stuff which has motors or modulates (dew heater).

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:+1: Buzz you are absolutely right. And separate power good idea. Buzz…, which model filter wheel are you use? Have you noticed such a problem that the filters do not return to exactly the same position that they were before the change? I observe some discrepancy on my QHYCFW3-S. This can be seen even on the promotional video from QHY partner https://youtu.be/_QhH7hRxxww?t=189

This issue make a some difficult FLAT-calibrate if I have dust on my filters. My SBIG FW-8300 don’t have this problem.

In general is it not advisable to power on all equipment first that has external power including any USB hubs and then connect USB cables? If I understood this correctly, you are advising to power on the camera first and connect its USB, then connect any USB from camera or another device such as FW, correct?

This is interesting about the FW. I have ordered this very model and will examine it for its repeatability in settling filters in position after a change. Question: does this issue of misalignment occur with the FW turning different directions? Is it more consistent when the wheel only turns in one direction?

Thanks.

Ben

I have the QHY CFW3 M. You have me worried now. The wheel has little holes next to the filters. My filters are normally scrupulously clean and oversized, so I should be able to live with any potential registration issues. It is so much nicer using the cable from the camera to the wheel. I can still avoid trailing cables on the Paramount.

I saw this error only in the Reverse direction. If I choose 1,2,3,4,5… Everything is fine, exactly the same stop position. But if I select the position "4” and then “1”, I will get the wrong stop position. I just wanted to say that there is such a feature and I thought it would be interesting to you. I always select the filters in sequence as they are installed so that the position is exactly the same. And master-FLATs calibration will be better.

By the way, this applies not only to dust particles in filters. I also observed problems removing vignetting if the filter was stopped a little differently.

is there a way to make it go round in one direction?

I am interested in what you said about the sequence of powering on the QHY camera. I also have a QHY183 which I normally have it plugged into a powered hub. The powered hub and the camera are powered by the same 12V and are turned on at the same time.
I found that with this camera, powering on this way often but nit always results in the camera not being detected and I will need to unplug and then replug the camera to the hub. This is a serious PIA and I wonder how best to solve this problem.

In my portable system, I assembled all my modules in a box (focuser/hub/dew heater/48V converter (Paramount)) which powers all equipment. They are all turned on at the same time with a DPST switch… but I use a separate filtered supply to the camera equipment. The QHY183/filter wheel seems to work fine - but the NUC PC is not turned on until a few seconds later.
In my obsy system, the NUC turns on with power application - and I found it sometimes will not detect USB devices during those first few seconds. To get around that, I power up the PC, hub/camera and noisy peripherals in that order, (three power switches)

In your case it might be the PC that is not detecting the camera, rather than the camera not making itself known.

Greetings!

As there were several responses on this thread concerning various aspects of the QHY183M and other QHY products, I thought I’d post this update. I’ve had two successful nights with my new camera, QHYCFW3 (small) and QHYOAG (small). I am also using a new QHY5III178M guide camera. I am using the latest ASCOM drivers from the QHY website for all these products. The pertinent software being used are SGP and PHD2, all latest versions as of this date.

I have not noticed any issues with the FW. It appears to recenter well. I sequence through the LRGB many times during the night.

I have not had any connectivity issues. So far I’ve been able to power up each piece of equipment before connecting USB 2.0. I connect through a powered hub. The FW and guide camera both draw their power from the USB connection, so I guess this statement only applies to the imaging camera.

One issue that I am having, which is part of my learning curve, is understanding which gain and offset settings to use. This default gain from the driver was 16, which from what I have measured is a gain of roughly 0.5 e-/ADU, although I suspect this may be even less. This is corroborated by QHY’s charts on their website.

It is my intention to post fuller details and first light images on CN in the coming days.

Best Regards,
Ben