I’m pleased to announce the release of AstroDMx Capture 2.17.2, a small but important update that introduces a few new features alongside several fixes and improvements.

What’s New

• QHY Filter Wheel support (tested with the QHY Minicam)
• Sub-millisecond timestamp support for SER video files
• New controllable 16-bit preview transform

Fixes

• Fixed preview buffer sizing issues affecting Raspberry Pi systems and other low-powered GPUs
• Fixed an issue where Touptek cameras could incorrectly report control failures
• Fixed problems with iOptron INDI focusers

Improvements

• Improved sensor temperature readout in the UI
• Improved QHY cooling functionality

Changes

• Removed the message prompting users to switch from Video to Frame mode when entering long exposure mode
• Updated PlayerOne SDK
• Various additional bug fixes and general improvements

Looking Ahead to Version 3

Although AstroDMx Capture Version 2 was previously described as being in maintenance mode, I’ve decided to release this update as a stop-gap feature release while work continues on Version 3.

Development of Version 3 is progressing well, with a major focus on modernisation, improved UI design, and long-term maintainability. However, it is not quite ready for release yet, and I want to ensure it meets the standard expected before making it available.

In the meantime, Version 2 will continue to receive occasional updates where appropriate.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.17.2) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release Notes for 2.17.2 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

New Hardware

PlayerOne filter wheels are now fully supported on all platforms.

AstroDMx Capture 2.16.2 includes a complete native implementation of Player One filter wheel support on Linux (x86-64 and ARM), macOS (x86-64 and ARM64), and Windows, providing reliable device detection, slot control, and seamless integration with existing capture workflows.

If a filter wheel is connected, the slots can be changed from the drop-down menu, Filter Wheels (Native) and also from the capture control window. INDI filter wheels can be connected from the controls on the left-hand side of the main window.

Minor UI changes

Improved cooler readouts for better at-a-glance visibility.

The camera cooler temperature and power readouts have been updated with larger, clearer displays, making it easier to monitor cooling performance at a glance during capture sessions.

Logging Improvements

The internal logging system has been updated to provide clearer, more consistent output, which will assist me if I need to analyse problems.

Notable Bug Fixes

QHY camera TEC control improvements.

Improvements have been made to the TEC (cooling) control logic for QHY cameras, resulting in more reliable and predictable thermal behaviour.

SDK Updates

The following third-party camera and device SDKs have been updated in this release:

• QHY SDK
• Atik SDK
• Altair SDK
• Touptek SDK
• Player One SDK
• ZWO Camera SDK
• ZWO Filter Wheel SDK

Version 2 maintenance status.

AstroDMx Capture version 2 continues to be in maintenance-only mode, as previously announced.

This release represents an exception, allowing key fixes, updated SDKs, and additional hardware support to be included while primary development continues on the version 3 rewrite.

For more information about version 3, please see this article.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.16.2) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release Notes for 2.16.2 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

AstroDMx Capture Version 2 (the current wxWidgets-based codebase) is now entering maintenance-only mode.

Over the past months, I’ve been working on a major rewrite of AstroDMx Capture, porting the application to the Qt6 framework. This decision was made to address a number of long-standing issues in Version 2, particularly incompatibilities with Wayland based Linux desktops, and to create a cleaner, more modern, and scalable foundation for future development.

What this means for users

• Version 2 will continue to receive occasional maintenance updates, mainly for critical bug fixes and SDK updates.
• Releases will not be as frequent as before, and no new features will be added to Version 2.
• Active development is now focused on AstroDMx Capture Version 3 (Qt6-based), which will bring:
  • Full support for modern Linux desktops (including Wayland).
  • A redesigned, modular, and more maintainable UI.
  • Detachable controls that can be floated or reorganised.
  • A much improved histogram engine, also detachable and resizable arbitrarily.
  • Many other significant UI improvements designed for flexibility and ease of use.
  • Improved performance and scalability across all supported platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS).

About promised new features

I know many users have been looking forward to new functionality such as live stacking, guider control, auto-focus, and a full sequencer. These features remain firmly on the roadmap. However, due to the urgency of the Qt6 port, their development has been put on hold until the new foundation is complete. Once Version 3 is stable and released, work will continue on these features.

Looking ahead

AstroDMx Capture Version 3 is under active development and will take some time before it’s ready for public release. In the meantime, Version 2 remains fully usable and will be supported through critical updates as needed.

I’d like to thank everyone who continues to support AstroDMx Capture, and I look forward to sharing more news on Version 3 shortly.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.15.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release Notes for 2.15.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

Automatic glibc Detection & Optimised Dependencies

The Linux installers for x86-64 and ARM have been improved to automatically detect the target system’s glibc version. Based on this, the installer selects and installs the most optimised dependencies, ensuring better compatibility and performance across different Linux distributions.

Bug Fixes & Enhancements

Sexagesimal RA/DEC Conversion Issue

A bug in the sexagesimal conversion of RA and DEC coordinates has been fixed. Previously, certain coordinates could incorrectly add ‘60’ in the arc-minutes or arc-seconds to the FITS metadata fields, causing issues when loading images into some processing applications. This issue has now been resolved, ensuring accurate coordinate representation in FITS files.

SDK Updates & Camera Compatibility

Several camera SDKs have been updated to improve compatibility, stability, and performance across supported hardware:

• SVBONY SDK
• PlayerOne SDK
• Altair Camera SDK
• OmegonPro SDK
• Touptek SDK
• StarshootG SDK (Linux & macOS)
• RisingCam SDK (Linux & macOS)
• Mallincam SDK (Linux & macOS)
• Bresser SDK (Linux & macOS)

ChromeOS Support

Support for AstroDMx Capture on ChromeOS has been discontinued due to compatibility issues with the Crostini virtualisation environment. The application’s reliance on low-level camera access is not now properly supported within Crostini, leading to performance, stability and usability issues.

The Crostini environment has always been problematic but, due to recent changes made by Google, it is no longer possible to stream cameras at an acceptable resolution. It may be possible to stream at a low resolution (800×600 for example) but this is an unacceptable limitation. As a result, further development and support for ChromeOS have been halted.

The downloads for previous versions will remain on this site for now but will be removed in due course.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.13.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release Notes for 2.14.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This feature release of AstroDMx Capture introduces new functionality along with performance improvements that should increase frame rates for lower-spec computers when streaming from colour cameras requiring debayering. It also addresses some bugs reported since the release of version 2.9.7.

Preview Display

The preview display code has been completely rewritten, primarily to support new features for the next major release of AstroDMx Capture (version 3). A beneficial side-effect of this rewrite is an improvement in frame rates for low-spec computers when streaming from colour cameras that require debayering. This has been achieved by processing the debayering operations in a separate thread, helping to eliminate bottlenecks introduced by the debayering process.

• The use of low spec computers with high resolution cameras is not recommended.

During the operation of AstroDMx Capture, the user may see text on the preview screen. Previously, this text was displayed in yellow, but depending on the brightness of the background, it could be difficult to read. The informational text now has a black background, ensuring it remains visible even if the preview display is white.

DMx White Balance

AstroDMx Capture has included a feature called “DMx White Balance” for quite some time. In this release, the function has been enhanced with additional white balance algorithms. The supported algorithms are Simple, Greyworld, and Leaning. Greyworld is the default, but depending on the nature of the object being imaged, the feature may perform better with either Simple or Leaning. The new controls can be found in the Controls: Preview Controls group.

The hyperbolic stretch feature in AstroDMx Capture is designed to map high bit-depth streams to the 8-bit preview screen and has been part of AstroDMx for some time. This release improves the user interface for this feature, including the ability to type values directly as well as use sliders.

Flat Field and Dark Frame Calibration

AstroDMx has long supported real-time frame calibration for either the preview screen (leaving the saved data untouched) or both the preview screen and saved data. Previously, for colour cameras, this feature required the use of “Full Debayer.” In this version, it is now possible to calibrate the preview screen even when not saving fully debayered (RGB) image data. This is useful for situations where a camera produces significant amp glow, and the user prefers not to see the amp glow on the preview, while leaving the saved data untouched.

Reported Bugs

Cameras that do not operate in exposure units of microseconds were not handled correctly, causing the exposure countdown indicator to sometimes display incorrectly. This was purely a UI related issue and did not affect the operation of the cameras. This has been fixed in version 2.10.1.

When connecting to Altair cameras with specific resolutions, a crash could occur. This issue has also been fixed in version 2.10.1.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.10.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release notes for 2.10.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

IMPORTANT: 2.9.5 replaces the recently released 2.9.4.

Version 2.9.5 is a maintenance release of AstroDMx Capture that fixes a few bugs reported since the release of 2.9.1. In addition to this, the diagnostic reporting system has been significantly improve.

Diagnostic System

AstroDMx has featured a diagnostic reporting system for many years. However, due to certain issues, it has not always been possible to analyse the information produced by the diagnostics. The latest version introduces a new diagnostic system that will generate significantly more information in the event of a crash.

In the unlikely event that AstroDMx crashes, the user will see a detailed window displaying key information along with a stack trace. This information will also be saved to the user’s desktop. The following screenshot shows what this message will look like.

The user can email the stack trace saved on the desktop or copy and paste the information displayed in the crash report. The hexadecimal addresses in the report will assist the software developers in analysing and debugging the problem.

General

Version 2.9.1 underwent a complete rewrite of the ToupTek camera code. Unfortunately, this resulted in a minor bug resulting in an erroneous error message. This bug has been fixed. In addition to this, various SDKs have been updated.

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.9.5) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release Notes: 2.9.5 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

Version 2.9.1 of AstroDMx Capture is a feature release which introduces several new functions together with various improvements and optimisations for existing functionality. For a definitive list, please see the changelog.

ToupTek Derived Cameras

• Altair
• OmegonPro
• Orion StarshootG
• Risingcam
• OGMA
• Mallincam (Linux and macOS only)
• Bresser (Linux and macOS only)

The entire native implementation for ToupTek Derived cameras has been completely rewritten and several new controls have been added. The new implementation should yield faster frame rates for short exposure work as well as improved stability. The new controls are as follows:

• Low Noise Mode: This mode is switched on by default. Turning this control off will, in many cases, significantly increase the frame rates as the expense of adding a little noise to the image data.
• High Full-Well: This mode is off by default, if switched on, it should increase the dynamic range of the camera.
• Taillights: This control will turn on of off the camera’s tell-tail lights.

NOTE: The controls detailed above will only show if they are supported by the camera in use and can be found under the “Controls: Camera” control group.

Two additional ToupTek derived cameras, Mallincam and Bresser, have been implemented natively on Linux and macOS. These cameras should work under Windows but will have to fallback to the ToupTek driver.

INDI

INDI Cameras

The INDI camera implementation has had a number of improvements and bug fixes that should make using INDI cameras easier. On previous versions of AstroDMx Capture, most of the camera’s controls (excluding thermal and exposure controls) were located on the left-had side under “Controls: Camera (Non-Native)“.

As of 2.9.1, many of the usual controls, such as Gain and Offset can now be found on the right-hand side (just as they would be if connecting natively) but this is dependent upon the driver being used. Specifically, this has been tested with ToupTek and SVBONY cameras.

If the driver being used does not supported this functionality, then the camera controls will be found on the left-hand side as usual.

INDI Mounts

There have been improvements to the mount nudge functionality. Previous versions of AstroDMx allowed the mount to be nudged North, East, South and West. This version introduces nudge buttons that allow the mount to be nudged North-East, North-West, South-East and South West.

In addition to the nudge functionality, there is a new mount sync function. This function can be found under the “Controls: Mount” control group. The idea behind this function is to improve GOTO accuracy when it is not possible to plate solve. Once the Sync function has been activated, the application will take the current pointing position and the object’s position and workout the difference between the two. This difference is then be applied to additional GOTOs which should compensate for alignment error and produce more accurate slews.

INDI Configurator

The INDI Configurator has been completely rewritten. This in preparation of the upcoming INDIGO implementation.

Other Changes

Camera Exposure Settings

It is now possible to enter exposure settings with floating point precision. For example, the user can now enter 3.25ms (for 3250 milliseconds), 1.5s (for 1 and a half seconds) or 1.2m (for 1 minute and 12 seconds). Indeed, any combination of these values can be entered, unless requesting exposures in microsecond units.

User Interface

Several versions ago, AstroDMx Capture introduced a busy indicator to show the user that something is happening that could potentially take some time to complete. Unfortunately, this indicator could get in the way of other controls. The busy indicator in this version is shown near the bottom of the application window to reduce the possibility of this happening again.

Removed Functionality (Linux Build)

AstroDMx Capture’s lineage comes from Linux and right from the outset, it had a special AVI output format specifically optimised for Registax 5 and 6 running under Wine. As Registax usage as waned over the years, this functionality has been removed.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.9.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release notes for 2.9.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This version of AstroDMx Capture is a feature release which introduces a new implementation for macOS UVC cameras together with other improvements and minor features.

macOS – UVC camera support

The previous versions of AstroDMx Capture for macOS supported UVC cameras (webcams etc) via a low-level USB interface that required the user to terminate a process by using the terminal before the camera could be connected. This version has a vastly improved UVC implementation that, instead of process termination, asks the user for permission to access the camera hardware.

The new UVC implementation has improved support for the SVBONY SV205C camera, however, due to a problem with camera’s firmware, it will only work when connected to a USB2 port. This can be achieved by using a USB2 hub or by plugging directly into a USB2 port if one exists on the computer. SVBONY has been informed about this problem, so hopefully there will be a firmware update to fix this problem soon.

The old USB implementation of UVC cameras is still available for backwards compatibility.

Crash Handling and Reporting

In the unlikely event that AstroDMx crashes, a message now appears that shows a stack trace that will help the developer to more accurately diagnose the problem. This option is enabled by default and will only show if a critical error occurs. Such errors can be segmentation faults, mathematical errors (division by zero etc) or other forced termination errors.

This message can be screenshot and then sent to the developer for analysis. In addition to this, a longer stack trace is written to the log file if the application is run in debugging mode

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.8.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release notes for AstroDMx Capture 2.8.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This is a feature release of AstroDMx Capture that implements full support for the upcoming SVONY SC432M Solar Camera as well as other minor features and bug fixes.

SVBONY SC432M Solar Camera

The SVBONY SC432M camera is designed specifically for solar imaging but our tests show that it is adaptable to lunar imaging and possibly deep sky work. It uses the Sony IMX432 global shutter sensor with large 9µm pixels which makes it ideal for long focal length telescopes. The camera is very sensitive and is proving to be a capable addition to the SVBONY range of cameras.

The following are some images that we captured while testing the implementation of this camera.

Refinements

Long exposure progress indicator

The long exposure progress indicator has been improved for Microsoft Windows. Previously, the indicator could be out by several seconds, but in version 2.7.1, the indicator is now highly accurate.

Refined auto-exposure function

ZWO users can now benefit from a controllable auto-exposure and auto-gain control. Once auto-exposure or auto-gain is activated, the user will see an additional control which locks the automatically calculated value to an upper limit.

• This limit is set by the user and can be found under the “Controls: Camera” control group.

The developer of AstroDMx Capture does not advocate the use of automatic controls. It is far better to manually specify gain and exposure values, however, this could be useful, for example, when imaging the Sun during an eclipse.

Currently, this function is limited to ZWO cameras. It may be possible to add this functionality for other cameras in the future.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.7.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

Please note: All version 1 releases of AstroDMx Capture have now been removed from this website in order to save space on the VPS (Virtual Private Server).

The post Release notes for AstroDMx 2.7.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This is a feature release of AstroDMx Capture that introduces several new functions together with native support for Apple Silicon (ARM64) computers. In addition to this, there are SDK updates, various bug fixes and other improvements.

Apple Silicon

Version 2.6.3 introduces a native build for Apple Silicon computers. At the current time, this build supports cameras that have native Apple Silicon SDKs. The list of supported cameras is as follows:

• SVBONY
• DSLRs
• Altair
• Touptek
• OGMA
• PlayerOne
• UVC (Web cams)

If you are Apple user and your camera is not listed above, then you should download the build for x86-64 and run it using Rosetta.

Significant New Features

A number of new features have been implemented for this release.

SVBONY: Bad Pixel Correction

SVBONY has added a bad pixel correction function into its SDK and this functionality has been implemented in this release.

After connecting to an SVBONY camera, you should notice the new functions under the “Controls: Camera” category located on the right hand side of the main UI. Depending upon the camera used, this will either just show a checkbox to active the functionality or both a checkbox and a slider. The slider can be used to alter the severity of the correction. This function is active by default.

IMPORTANT: This functionality does not exist on the SV105 or the SV205.

Plate Solver Functions

It is now possible to specify a path to the ASTAP star database. This allows for the ASTAP command line program to be in a different directory (folder) than the corresponding star databases. This function can be found in the setup UI for ASTAP.

It is now possible to automatically reduce the size of the image that is uploaded to Astrometry.net. Many high resolution astronomy cameras produce very large files which can take a long time to upload over an Internet connection. This function reduces the size of the image which allows for a faster upload to astrometry.net and faster solves. The image size is controlled by a percentage slider and can be found under the setup UI for Astrometry.net.

Disk Space Information

AstroDMx Capture now informs the user of the amount of disk space available for captures. This information is reported in the status bar (at the very bottom of the main window), in the log window and on the capture dialog box.

In addition to this, warning messages are shown in the log window if disk space is becoming critical.

Stability Features

Previously, if a camera had a glitch, it could cause AstroDMx to lockup on exit or when changing pixel formats/resolutions. If this happened, it would need the user to manually kill the application. The reason for such lockups were caused by threads becoming “stuck” in an SDK function call. Fortunately, this didn’t happen often but could be more common with specific camera types or even faulty USB cables/ports.

This version now has a monitor that detects such anomalies and, if a block is found, AstroDMx force-terminates the offending thread before handing control back to the user. This should completely remote the possibility of AstroDMx locking up due to camera SDK problems.

If such a problem is detected, the user is shown a message indicating that processing is active and asked to wait.

macOS UI

There have been changes to improve the visual appearance of the macOS user interface. This is specifically associated with the borders that group related controls. Most of the user interface has been improved but there are still some dialog boxes that are still to be done.

For more information about the changes, please see the changelog.

Previous Release (2.5.1)

As the release notes were never published for the previous version, here is a summary of what was changed.

• Added a warning message to inform the user if plate solves were attempted with an exposure greater than 20 seconds. This warning message is a yes/no question. If answering “Yes” then the user can continue to solve at that exposure. Answering “No” cancels the request and allows the user to change the exposure.
• Bug fixes to correct plate solving problems when attempting to solve very near to zero right ascension.

For more information about the changes, please see the changelog.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.6.3) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release notes for 2.6.3 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

Version 2.4.9 is an important maintenance release which addresses some bugs reported by users since the release of 2.4.1. In addition to the following bug fixes, I have updated all the core/low level dependence and have implemented one additional feature.

Notable bug fixes are detailed below:

Capture Log

The user’s geographical coordinates and astronomical object declination values were sometimes not written to the capture log. This was due to attempting to write a degrees symbol to an ASCII file which was not supported. This resulted in no data being written.

FITS Metadata/Keywords

There was a bug introduced in version 2.4.1 which caused FITS keywords not to be written to the FITS image file under very specific circumstances. When triggered, only rudimentary keywords were written. Important values such was exposure and pixel sizes etc were missing.

Histogram

The logarithmic histogram was not scaling correctly on its vertical axis.

New Feature

Despite this being a maintenance release, there is one new feature. The feature allows the user to block writing their geographical coordinates to the FITS metadata. This could be useful if the user wishes to share their fits files online without exposing the exact geographical location. This option can be found under the FITS Metadata drop-down menu or from clicking “Settings” in the capture window.

SDK Updates

The following SDK updates are in this version:

• ATIK
• OGMA
• ZWO
• libgphoto (For DSLR Cameras)

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.4.9) can be found on the main downloads page.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS 2024

The post Release Notes for 2.4.9 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This version of AstroDMx Capture is a minor feature release together with a number of SDK updates.

Astrometric Functions

It is now possible to solve the current starfield without correcting the mount. This is useful if the user wishes to find out exactly where the mount is pointing without making any changes to the position of the telescope. This function will solve the starfield and then report the centre RA/DEC values to the user.

Astronomical Mathematics

Transit times (the time an object crosses the user’s local meridian) for circumpolar objects are now calculated. If an object is circumpolar then rise and set times show “Circumpolar” but the transit time is shown in the user’s local time.

Most of the astronomical mathematics have been rewritten for greater accuracy. It is vital that the user’s geographical coordinates are entered and that the date/time is set correctly to use most of the mount control functionality. Any error in geographical coordinates or date/time inaccuracy will result in object positions/rise/transit/set times and GOTOs being incorrect.

SDK Updates

The following SDKs have been updated.

1. ZWO
2. QHY
3. Altair
4. OmegonPro
5. RisingCam
6. Touptek
7. StarshootG
8. PlayerOne

General

In addition to the above, there have been improvements to the assisted meridian flip code.

Version 2 of AstroDMx Capture is now in maintenance mode only. The next feature release will be version 3 which will include some significant new functionality. It is anticipated that version 3 will include full support for INDIGO (https://www.indigo-astronomy.org) and include a sequencer, additional astrometric functions and auto focus controls although not all of the above will be in the first version 3 release.

If necessary, maintenance releases of version 2 will continue until version 3 is ready for release.

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.4.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS 2023

The post Release Notes for 2.4.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

Release 2.3.1 is a feature release which introduces support for OGMA cameras as well as some significant changes to the INDI camera implementation.

OGMA Camera Support

Version 2.3.1 adds full support for OGMA Cameras (https://getogma.com). OGMA cameras have been implemented natively and support all functions. This includes full control of the camera’s cooling functionality.

INDI Cameras

The INDI camera implementation has been completely rewritten in this release. The most obvious change is that INDI cameras are now connected using the same method that has been traditionally used for native cameras. The user should see a drop-down box on the connect camera dialog with two entries. The default is Native (used for a camera connected directly to the computer’s USB bus and the other is INDI. If INDI is selected, then an additional button becomes available which allows the user to specify the host and port of the INDI server.

General

Exposure values, in microseconds, can now be entered via the keyboard. For example, if the user wishes to enter an exposure value of 100 microseconds, they can type 100us. It is important to note that the value must be entered with a a lower case ‘u’ and not ‘μ‘ (Mu). This has been done for simplicity as the ‘μ‘ character is not easily accessible from a normal keyboard.

There is now an update button to the right hand side of the camera select drop-down box which forces an update to the camera list. This is useful if a camera has been connected after invoking the connect camera dialog box.

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.3.2) can be found on the main downloads page. The changes in this release are significant enough to require changes to the documentation which will be updated in due course.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS 2023

The post Release Notes for Version 2.3.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This version of AstroDMx Capture is a feature release which includes important new functionality. There have been significant improvements to the astrometric functionality, an assisted meridian flip function has been added together with FITS metadata improvements.

New Features

Astrometry

The Astrometry functionality has been completely rewritten and the UI has been redesigned.

The most significant change is the addition of the Astrometry.Net online plate solver. This solver can be used in conjunction with ASTAP but has the benefit of solving in the cloud which means that plate solves are unlikely to fail, even if the imaging field of view is very small or there are few stars. Of course, in order to use this, the user will require and active Internet connection.

In order to use Astrometry.Net the user will be required to obtain an API key. API keys are obtained by registering for an account at astrometry.net and then entering it into the plate solver configuration. Once this information has been added, the Astrometry.Net solver can be used in the same way that ASTAP is used.

In previous releases, the AstroDMx Capture plate solver had to be manually run multiple times in order to obtain the required target accuracy. This has now been automated. The user can now enter a target accuracy, and when solving starfields, the solver will keep running automatically until the target accuracy has been met. If it is not possible to reach the requested target accuracy, then AstroDMx will stop solving once the user defined number of plate solves has been reached. In which case, a message will appear alerting the user that the target accuracy has not been reached.

The plate solver UI has been simplified by separating the solver configuration from the actual astrometic functionality. This applies to all astrometic functions. For example, the starfield solver, image solver and meridian flip solver.

Assisted Meridian Flip

If AstroDMx detects that the object being imaged has transited the meridian the user is alerted and offered the choice of performing a meridian flip. After flipping the mount, AstroDMx will automatically plate solve to ensure that the mount is still pointing at the correct coordinates.

Mouse Operations

AstroDMx Capture has had various functions that can be controlled by dragging the mouse over the preview screen for the earliest versions. However, it has never been well defined how these functions work. This functionality has been improved in version 2.2.1.

At the top of the main window of AstroDMx Capture, there is a drop-down box which allows the user to select the mode for the mouse. The modes are as follows:

• ROI: A Region of Interest can be drawn over a required area of the preview screen. This will define a new region of interest
• Reticle: The custom reticle can be moved around the preview screen
• Pan: If operating in mouse panning mode and the image being previewed is larger than the preview area, the mouse can be used to pan around the image. If not operating in mouse panning mode, then this function does nothing. The user can still move around the preview screen by using the scroll bars.

General

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.2.1) can be found on the main downloads page.

The changes in this release are significant enough to require changes to the documentation which will be updated in due course.

The post Release Notes for Version 2.2.1 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This version of AstroDMx Capture is a feature release which includes new functionality as well as a number of significant bug fixes. Some aspects of this release, for example, INDI cameras is still considered to be a “work in progress”.

I plan on making another feature release which will prioritise improvements for INDI camera support.

New Features

Exposure Controls for Capturing Flat Fields

The functionality to set exposure values while capturing flat fields has been improved. Previous versions of AstroDMx had a slider which allowed the user to set an exposure for their flat fields but this was limited to 1000 milliseconds. The new function allows for arbitrary length exposures to be set.

This functionality works in the same way as the main exposure control. The following is a few examples of what can be entered.

• Typing 50ms sets an exposure of 50 milliseconds,
• Typing 5s sets an exposure of 5 seconds,
• Typing 1m30s sets and exposure of 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Negative Transform

A new transform has been added which transforms the preview screen to negative. This transform may reveal more detail.

Time-lapse Functionality

AstroDMx Capture has had a time-lapse capture function since the very first version. This functionality was limited to capturing one frame for every user defined time interval. In version 2.1.0 this capture function has been significantly improved.

The new functionality allows for an arbitrary number of frames to be saved for a given time interval. The timer can be either stopped or left running while data are being saved. Leaving the timer running means that data can be aligned to precise time points but care must be taken to make sure that the amount of time required to save the data is less than the timer interval.

To help the user ensure that the time to save the data is less then the interval timer, the software calculates the estimated amount of time required to save the data and if this time is greater than the interval timer, then a warning is given to the user.

The time-lapse functions can be found in the Capture Data window and looks like this:

If saving SER files, the captured data can be either saved into one SER or each group can be saved into separate SER files.

Improved time zone and daylight saving

The new features of AstroDMx Capture require an accurate knowledge of the user’s time zone and daylight saving in order to set the time on the mount’s hand controller and to be able to correctly calculate the rise, set and transit times of Astronomical bodies.

These values are now calculated automatically by AstroDMx but this requires an accurate system clock.

Raspberry Pi Builds (ARM)

The Raspberry PI builds have been rebranded to ARM. This reflects the fact that a significant number of users are now using generic ARM single board computers and calling this AstroDMx Capture for Raspberry Pi is no longer appropriate. The rebranding looks like this:

• 32-bit builds are now called AstroDMx Capture for Linux (ARM32)
• 64-bit builds are now called AstroDMx Capture for Linux (AMR64)

Notable Bug Fixes

A number of daylight saving and time zone bugs have been fixed together with a libstdc++.so.6 incompatibility with ARM builds of Ubuntu 22.x Linux distributions. In version 2.1.0 it should no longer be necessary to delete libstdc++.so.6 and libgcc_s.so.1.

General

For more information about the changes in this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.0.2) can be found on the main downloads page.

The documentation will be updated to reflect the changes.

The post Release notes for Version 2.1.0 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

Version 2 of AstroDMx Capture is a significant release which includes lots of new functionality as well as user interface changes. Some aspects of this release are still considered to be “work in progress”.

New Camera Support

This release includes support for the new SVBONY SV605MC cooled camera. The SV605MC is a greyscale 14bit CMOS camera which is proving to be an excellent deep sky camera. For more information about this new camera, see Dr Wainwright’s blog.

Mount Control

Mount control via INDI has been implemented in this version. This functionality allows the user to perform all the usual functions that are available from the mount’s hand controller. A summary of these are as follows:

• Mount GOTOs (from user supplied celestial coordinates, an internal object database or from astrometry)
• Precise GOTOs via astrometry (plate solving)
• Mount Nudging
• Tracking rates
• Slew rates
• Parking/unparking

Astronomical Object Database

AstroDMx Capture includes an extensive internal database of astronomical objects which can be used to perform mount GOTOs. This database can be searched on the object’s common name or catalogue name.

Astrometry (Plate Solving)

This version of AstroDMx includes plate solving functionality provided by the ASTAP plate solver.

INDI Focuser Control

Motorised Focuser control via INDI has been implemented in this version. A summary of the focuser controls are as follows:

• Shows the minimum, maximum and current focuser position
• Shows the temperature (if supported by the focuser)
• Functionality to save and easily reuse focus positions
• Functionality to set focus limits for specific telescopes
• Functionality to control focuser backlash

INDI Filter Wheel Control

Motorised Filter Wheels via INDI has been implemented in this version.

INDI Cameras

INDI camera support has been added. However, it is important to state that this aspect of the new release should be considered to be “work in progress”. Currently, there are a number of limitations with the camera implementation which mean that this support is only suitable for deep sky imaging.

The INDI camera implementation will be improved in a future release.

For maximum stability and fast frame rates, it is recommended to connect cameras via the native implementation. As all INDI functionality can be used independently, so it is possible to use the mount control functionality with a camera that is connected using a native implementation.

Documentation

There are two new pages consisting of a walk-through of the new functionality (using INDI simulators) and an overview of the new user interface.

The documentation can be found on the main documentation page.

General

For more information about the changes in this release, please see the changelog. The new version (2.0.2) can be found on the main downloads page.

The post Release notes for Version 2.0.2 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This update is a feature release of AstroDMx Capture. It implements support for a new SVBONY camera and has improved preset region of interest resolutions.

SVBONY SV705C

The new upcoming SV705C is fully supported in this release. The SV705C is an uncooled colour camera which uses the Sony IMX585 sensor with no significant amp glow. Our tests show that it is proving to be a capable camera for bright DSOs as well as for solar system imaging.

Region of Interest

This version implements a new method to generate a list of predefined region of interest resolutions. The list is now reversed, that is to say, the higher resolution presets are listed first followed by the lower resolutions. The new code stops invalid resolutions from being shown in the resolution drop-down list. It is, of course, still possible to select a custom resolution by either using the mouse to draw around an object or by using the custom resolution dialog window.

Know Issues

The known issues list for version 1.7.1.0 is the same as for the previous version. For more information please see the known issues section of this site.

General

The new version (1.7.1.0) can be found on the main downloads page.

Meanwhile, work continues to progress on the upcoming INDI support. Mount control and plate solving functionality is now stable as is filter wheel and focuser control. Work continues on the implementation of INDI cameras.

The following screenshot shows AstroDMx Capture connected to an AVX mount and a PlayerOne camera which was connected via INDI. The INDI server was running on a Raspberry Pi and AstroDMx on Fedora Linux.

The new INDI functionality will be released as version 2.0 when it’s ready.

The post Release Notes for 1.7.1.0 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This version of AstroDMx Capture implements full support for the upcoming SVBONY SV505CC, adds additional camera support for ChromeOS and fixes various issues with FITS metadata. In addition to this, many camera SDKs have been updated and, for Linux, the minimum glibc version has been increased to 2.27.

ChromeOS: Additional Camera Support

• ZWO
• Altair
• Touptek
• Omegon
• Starshoot
• RisingCam
• PlayerOne

Due to limitations associated with the virtualisation environment within ChromeOS, it is not guaranteed that any camera will work reliably under ChromeOS. Please note that in order to use the camera types listed above under ChromeOS, you must use a relatively powerful Chromebook.

Updated SDKs

• ZWO updated to 1.26
• QHY updated to 2022/7/25
• Atik updated to 20220713
• SVBONY updated to 1.9.4
• Omegon updated to 51.20268.20220209

Linux glibc (C Library)

Due to SDK requirements, the minimum glibc version has been increased from 2.24 to 2.27. When AstroDMx is launched, the application interrogates the system’s C library and either runs a binary optimised for glibc 2.34 or for older/long term support distributions, 2.27. If the application is run on an older glibc a message informs the user that the software is unable to run.

This dependency change should not cause a problem because all currently maintained Linux distributions are now at a minimum of glibc 2.27.

Known Issues

ChromeOS

The latest updates for ChromeOS seems to have broken USB3 connections. However, if a USB2 cable is used in the USB3 port of the camera, it may well work. For more information please see the known issues page.

QHY Cameras

As with all recent versions, there is still an issue with the QHY SDK specifically affecting the QHY5-LII cameras. If the QHY5-LII camera is disconnected from the USB bus then AstroDMx could throw a segmentation fault. This issue is caused by the QHY SDK and not caused by AstroDMx Capture. QHY have been informed but a fix is not yet available.

General

As usual, this version can be found on the main downloads page and the change log can be found on the changelog page. Progress with version 2.0 of AstroDMx Capture continues. Version 2.0 will add INDI mount (with plate solving functionality), camera, filter wheel and focuser support together with many other improvements.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS 19th August 2022.

The post Release Notes for 1.6.2.0 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This version implements full support for Player One cameras as well as adding new Region of Interest functionality (more information below). In addition to this, the SVBONY SDK has been updated to the latest version.

New Cameras

Version 1.5.0.0 implements full support for Player One cameras (https://player-one-astronomy.com). The hardware used for the implementation was the Player One Mars C camera but any camera from this manufacturer should work. Full cooling functions have been implemented for this class of camera but are untested because the hardware used for implementation does not support any cooling features.

The cooling functions implemented are:

• Set-point Cooler
• Dew heater controls
• Fan controls
• Cooler power

New Functionality

As mentioned above, this version implements a new ROI (Region of Interest) function. It is now possible to use the mouse to draw a rectangle or a square on the preview screen by clicking the left mouse button and then drawing the shape and size required.

If the connected camera supports ROI, then a message will appear asking if you want to use the region of interest. Clicking YES will reconfigure AstroDMx with the new resolution and will automatically set the X and Y of the region. It is still possible to use the ROI sliders and ROI nudge functions to optimise the positioning.

This functionality should make it easier to select a precise region of interest.

Updated Dependencies

The SVBONY SDK has been updated to 1.7.3 in this release. There are no other SDK or dependence updates.

Know Issues

As with the previous version, there is still an issue with the QHY SDK specifically affecting the QHY5-LII cameras. If the QHY5-LII camera is disconnected from the USB bus then AstroDMx could throw a segmentation fault.

General

For more information about this release please see the changelog. As usual, the new version can be downloaded from the main downloads section of this website.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS 27th June 2022.

The post Release notes for 1.5.0.0 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

Overview

This version is specifically a maintenance release which fixes bugs that have been reported since the release of 1.4.5.0. Most significantly, the bug which caused AstroDMx to fail to start on Ubuntu 22.04 and Fedora 36 has been fixed in this release. Various dependencies have also been updated and there is an improved feature in this release.

Improved Feature in the FITS metadata

The FITS metadata now shows the exposure start time with millisecond precision. Previously, the exposure start timestamp was written after the exposure finished but now the timestamp is created just before the camera starts exposing. In addition to this, the value written is zero padded.

Specific Bugs Fixed in this Release

• The version of libstdc++.so.6 distributed with AstroDMx was not compatible with Ubuntu 22.04 and Fedora 36. This has been corrected in this release.
• The bug which caused the camera connect dialog to appear when manually entering specific control values has been fixeed.

Updated Dependencies and Install Location

There have been significant updates to some of the dependencies required by AstroDMx. The updated dependencies are as follows. These dependencies are statically compiled so the user does not need to update anything on their system.

• wxWidgets has been updated from 3.1.5 to 3.1.6. Ultimately, this will aid in the use of Wayland display protocol (Linux) which should be available in the near future. The Raspberry Pi builds of AstroDMx are still using 3.1.5.
• cfitsio has been updated to 4.1.0 for all builds.
• The QHY SDK has been updated to 22.04.20 for all builds.

On Linux, AstroDMx now installs into /opt/AstroDMx-Capture instead of the old location which was /usr/local/AstroDMx_Capture.

General Information

There have been significant code changes in this release which will facilitate the implementation of INDI mount, camera and filter wheel support. INDI support will be released in due course.

Known Issues

There seems to be an issue with the QHY SDK which sometimes causes a segmentation fault if the camera becomes disconnected. This issue will be reported to QHY and a maintenance release will be made once a new SDK is made available by QHY.

For more information about this release, please see the changelog. The new version can be downloaded from the main downloads section of this website.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS 30th May 2022

The post New Version of AstroDMx Capture 1.4.7.0 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

IMPORTANT: Version 1.4.5.0 has superseded 1.4.4.0 which was released on the 9th April 2022. This is due to an issue which came to light immediately after the release of 1.4.4.0.

Feature Removed

Version 1.4.4.0 added a new white balance function for SVBONY cameras. However, after testing this feature on an astronomical object, it came to light that the white balance function did not perform as well as expected.

The software developer has removed this feature for the time being. It may be added again after further testing. The One Touch white balance function remains in place.

New Feature

Under very specific and highly unusual circumstances, image data outputted by AstroDMx Capture could be overwritten. This version adds protection to stop accidental data overwrite. If a file outputted by AstroDMx already exists in the specified directory (folder), then the software will detect this, alert the user and terminate the capture session.

Under normal usage, this should never happen but the new protection will prevent the loss of capture data in this unlikely event.

Other New Features

The other new features added in 1.4.4.0 remain in place. For more information about the 1.4.4.0 release, please see the news article for this version.

For more information about this release, please see the changelog.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS 10^th April 2022).

The post New Version of AstroDMx Capture – 1.4.5.0 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

UPDATE: 1.4.4.0 has been superseded by 1.4.5.0 due to issues that came to light immediately after release. Note, the white balance function detailed below has been removed in 1.4.5.0. For more information about 1.4.5.0 please see this news article.

New Feature Release

A new feature release of AstroDMx Capture – Version 1.4.4.0.

This release introduces support for two new camera types and two new features as well as bug fixes and other updates.

The first of these features is a permanently on or off automatic white balance function for SVBONY 305, 405 and 905 range of cameras. This is in addition to the “One Touch” white balance function that has existed for some time.

The second new feature is the ability to easily reconnect a camera without having to close the application or otherwise reset it. It is now possible to reconnect or connect to a new camera simply by clicking on “Connect” button.

ZWO and QHY SDKs have been updated to the latest versions.

New Camera Support

Version 1.4.4.0 introduces support for the following cameras.

• Starshoot G class cameras;
• RisingCam Cameras.

It’s important to state that these cameras have not be directly tested by the software developer due to not having access to the hardware. However, as the APIs are almost identical to other supported cameras, confidence is high that these cameras will work correctly.

The full range of features has been implemented. For example, set-point cooling, fan control, dew heater and cooler power as well as all the usual controls. The exact controls offered by any specific camera will depend upon its specification.

The software developer would like to hear from anybody who is successfully using these cameras.

Please see the changelog for more information about this release.

Nicola Amanda Mackin FRAS (9th April 2022).

The post New Release – AstroDMx Capture 1.4.4.0 first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This release is mainly a maintenance release to fix a few bugs and update camera SDKs. In addition to this, FITS image files can now be loaded into the real-time calibration system.

Please see the changelog for more information; the new version can be downloaded from the main download section of this site.

Nicola Mackin (19^th Feb 2022)

The post New Version of AstroDMx Capture Released first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.

This version introduces support for the SVBONY SV405CC cooled OSC camera and has a full implementation of its cooling functions. This camera is proving to be a solid deep sky camera, for more information please see Dr. S J Wainwright’s blog and search for SV405CC.

In addition to this, a new fully customisable reticle has been added which can be moved to an arbitrary position by using the mouse. The user is able to specify a number of concentric circles of any size as well as adding perimeter and centre makers.

AstroDMx is now HiDPI aware and should render correctly on monitors with resolutions greater than 1920×1080 regardless of the monitor scale value. The HiDPI fixes in this version correct rendering problems associated with the preview display and histogram on Mac computers.

Please see the changelog for more information; the new version can be downloaded from the main download section of this site.

Nicola Mackin FRAS (6^th Feb 2022)

The post New Version of AstroDMx Capture Released first appeared on AstroDMx Capture.