Yes, a 64bit version is coming with v4. Also Switch support. For the ASI I need to test that against the 64bit version but it’s likely to address the issue.
Jared
“Switch support” ??
helps you switch from NINA to SGP 
I would also like to know if V4 will have a fix for the ASI6200 download issue.
Support for the ASCOM Switch Interface (turning things on and off basically).
I’m assuming the 64bit version will address this but still need to test.
Jared
Does this mean my ASCOM devices that are 32bit (not available in 64bit) will cease to work? Off the top of my head I know my QHY8 is 32bit… don’t really want that one going away!
There will be a 32bit and 64bit version. You can choose one or the other depending on what you need…so you’d have to stay on 32bit. I’m in the same boat with my QHY11. Most more modern drivers support both 32 and 64 bit.
Jared
Jared,
Beyond a 64 bit version, do you have a specific list of improvements and features in Version 4? This would provide more incentives for users to move to the subscription model vs. stay on V3 or migrate to NINA.
Mark W
I don’t understand what makes 64bits interesting while the best cameras just get 16bits sensors.
No, because there is not a exhaustive list as we’ll be continually updating V4 from now on vs holding back features for major release. V4 is likely to be our last version number of SGP that we release…that does not mean that we stop developing it…that just means that we continuously will push features into V4 and will not create a V5 as there is now no need. The initial release of V4 will include:
- 64bit
- ASCOM Switch Support
It is not a particularly large release other than the 64bit support.
This has nothing to do the bit depth of sensors. Currently SGP is a 32 bit application and as such can only access a limited amount of memory (about 4gigs). Moving to a 64bit application will allow SGP to access more memory as well as interacting with 64bit drivers (probably the main benefit). This means that things will generally be faster and have less issues with large camera arrays.
Other things that we have discussed for SGP4:
- Coordinated Dither between multiple instances
- Auto Focus Wizard to help setup auto focus
- Auto Focus targets to allow you to slew off of your imaging target and run autofocus (this is already supported for manual focus…this would extend this behavior to auto focus triggers)
- Performance improvements around download/save/display of images.
Jared
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64bit
ASCOM Switch Support
Auto Focus Wizard to help setup auto focus
Performance improvements around download/save/display of images.
I like that !
Jared,
Will there be an easy way to tell what drivers need to be changed from 32-bit to 64-bit? I’d like to go with 64-bit when it is available, but I will need to know if my equipment will work. Also, will ASCOM 6.5 be required?
Regards,
Dale
I also need to know if SGP4 requires ASCOM 6.5? I am still operating on ASCOM 6.4 and won’t upgrade until the platform is completely stable and compatible drivers are available for all my equipment. Most of my equipment is modern so I fully expect compatible drivers to be available.
I agree there needs to be a way to know whether installed drivers are 32 bit or 64 bit. It is my understanding 64 bit apps require using 64 bit ASCOM drivers. Is that true?
The download page indicates SGP4 will also be available as 32 bit. Is that true? If so, does that mean it will be fully compatible with ASCOM 6.5? I’m still am not sure all my current ASCOM drivers will work in the new 6.5 platform.
Is it possible to draw ,in the preview screen, an area corresponding to the different sensor size?
I mean a rectangle/square for APS-C , or 1", or APS-H , ecc selectable in a list of choice based on smaller sensors then what configured in camera settings.
I have a full frame camera and i would have found it very useful , mainly to verify the effective
corrected area by flattener/reducer , comparing full frame area to smaller one ; useful to select
subarea focus too, instead drawing by hand.
Franco
This is the best explanation so far. A reason to Sub now. Thanks for that. Did I hear an autofocus trainer? That’s awesome. Would love a “object” widget (Kind of like the one in Voyager) so I can pin to a toolbar to see when the target transits and such. Also would love a DARK mode!!!
Keep up the great work!
I believe SGPro will always show you the actual sensors capture. If it is a 16/9 sensor the image on screen will be 16/9 if it is a square sensor as with the ASI533 then the image shown will be square.
If you want to see what you various focal lengths will capture, most planetarium programs will do that for you, or you can go to astronomy.tools and use on its calculators.
In terms of reviewing the field of view, don’t forget the Mosaic and Framing Wizard. If you set the optics and sensor parameters up, it will overlay the frame over a DSS image. It is easy to overlook this wizard, as some only think of it as a mosaic planner. It works equally well for single pane too.
I’m hoping a revamp of the “flats calibration wizard” could be looked into soon, more and more people use USB adjustable flat panels so it should be a no-brainer to have this as part of the algorithm when calculating the flat time.
It would certainly be a help for people using CMOS with dark flats so they could keep just 1 or 2 sets of dark flats instead of 1 for each filter.
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A facility like that already exists in SGPro, though maybe you have something different in mind. I use a home-made adjustable panel and I can set panel levels and exposure times on a per-filter basis, or for “no filter” for OSC cameras, in the profile and that way I can keep a set of flat-darks without having to worry about variations in exposure times. I have an ASI294 camera and I want to make sure that the flat exposures are 3 seconds which meant manually adjusting the panel to hit the required ADU taget, but once I’d done it, I set the values into the profile and each time I run a set of flats, the exposure time and panel brightness are dialled in automatically. Maybe what you had in mind was the ability to fix exposure times and let SGPro adjust the panel brightness to hit a given ADU target, and I admit that could be useful. I also agree that it should be fairly straightforward to search on panel brightness or exposure time and give the user the option of which to fix.
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