BackyardNIKON BETA 02g is ready for download.

[admin]

BackyardNIKON BETA 02g is ready for download. 

 

Change log (from BETA 02f)

- bug fix: Live view on D3/D3s was not working due to a non-seekable memory live view stream on this model.  I'm hoping my change will solve this issue as I do not have a D3 to confirm.

- bug fix: Planetary jpgs were not always copied in the download folder.

- bug fix: Spot histogram was not always showing.  I'm hoping my change will solve this issue as this issue was random and difficult to reproduce.

- bug fix: BULB over USB on high-end models was not working.  This fix was tested with a D810 but

should work for D800, D600, D610, etc...

- bug fix: Planetary encoding background process no longer prevent image download in image capture.

- bug fix: Software version and software date fix in exif date.

- bug fix: Wrong filename sequence was used in file name.

- change: Drift Alignment box grid now displays a target circle as well.

- change: Low disk space warning is also display on screen in addition to the log file.

- change: Extended the beta key until late-December.

- added: Mirror-lock using SERIAL CABLE only.  I was not able to make it work over USB cable <_>

- added: The active thumbnail in the thumbnail strip is now highlighted.

- added: Battery percentage in the camera information center for most models.
- Testing on XP, Vista, W7, and W8

 

This BETA 02g will NOT overwrite your current BETA 02f installation.

 

http://www.binaryrivers.com/download/setup-BackyardNIKON-v100-BETA02g.exe

 

PLEASE REPORT ISSUES using BETA 02g in this thread.

 

Thank you,

[BigDob17.5]

 

Yes, BYN has over 95% of BYE's funcitonality... but a few selective features I was not able to figure out yet; and 'save to camera' is one of them <_<

 

Regards,

 

The one feature I'd like to see as well. I image using a little laptop, so I have to transfer my images from the laptop to the sD card then to my desktop for processing. "Save to camera" would save me a lot of time.

[s3igell]

Couldn't you simply Transfer those Image Files across your Home Network ??

 

It'd seem a faster Transfer Rate (especially if wired Ethernet) than having to Download into your Image Catalog via whichever App manages your Card Reader.

[Crunchmeister]

First time trying this beta tonight. It connects to my camera but no live view at all. Focus module not working. It seems to try to take a picture if I set a program, but hangs once the shot is taken and nothing gets saved to the computer. Then it started crashing. After the crash, as soon as I tried to fire it up again, it would crash before completely loading the program. I rebooted my computer and was back to the original issue. No live view.

 

My laptop is currently running PHD while I'm imaging with an intervalometer. I'll upload the log files once I'm done.

[admin]

First time trying this beta tonight. It connects to my camera but no live view at all. Focus module not working. It seems to try to take a picture if I set a program, but hangs once the shot is taken and nothing gets saved to the computer. Then it started crashing. After the crash, as soon as I tried to fire it up again, it would crash before completely loading the program. I rebooted my computer and was back to the original issue. No live view. My laptop is currently running PHD while I'm imaging with an intervalometer. I'll upload the log files once I'm done.

 

What is your camera model?

[Crunchmeister]

D7000

[admin]

D7000

 

Well, as it turns out the D7000 is the most tested camera with BackyardNIKON because it is one of my test/development camera so it does work.

 

Are you sure you have your camera dial set to "M"

 

Are you sure you do NOT have mirror up ON?

 

 

 

 

 

[Crunchmeister]

I just got back inside and plugged it in, and now it's working again. No different settings. Everything is exactly the same.

 

This is what I get repeatedly in the log from not being able to enable the frame focus.

 

2014-11-02 20:17:48,888 [Main] DEBUG - ButtonPlus_MouseClick(btnFrameFocus = 'Frame & Focus')

2014-11-02 20:17:48,951 [Main] INFO  - Camera action fired: 'LiveviewStart'

2014-11-02 20:17:49,133 [Main] ERROR - [kNkMAIDResult_DeviceBusy] (kNkMAIDCommand_CapSet, 33342, kNkMAIDDataType_Unsigned, 1)

2014-11-02 20:17:49,133 [Main] ERROR -    at BinaryRivers.Camera.Nikon.Wrapper.NikonTaskQueue.Invoke(Delegate d, Object[] args)

[admin]

I just got back inside and plugged it in, and now it's working again. No different settings. Everything is exactly the same.

 

This is what I get repeatedly in the log from not being able to enable the frame focus.

 

2014-11-02 20:17:48,888 [Main] DEBUG - ButtonPlus_MouseClick(btnFrameFocus = 'Frame & Focus')

2014-11-02 20:17:48,951 [Main] INFO  - Camera action fired: 'LiveviewStart'

2014-11-02 20:17:49,133 [Main] ERROR - [kNkMAIDResult_DeviceBusy] (kNkMAIDCommand_CapSet, 33342, kNkMAIDDataType_Unsigned, 1)

2014-11-02 20:17:49,133 [Main] ERROR -    at BinaryRivers.Camera.Nikon.Wrapper.NikonTaskQueue.Invoke(Delegate d, Object[] args)

 

Thanks for getting back to me.

 

This is odd, but it does explain why BYN was not able to activate live view... the camera was busy.  But it does not explain why the camera reported it was busy in the first place <_>

 

 

 

[Crunchmeister]

And the camera wasn't doing anything. The memory card was empty, and there was nothing else happening at the time. It had been sitting connected to my laptop with BYN loaded for some time as I finished setting up before I actually tried using it. I rebooted my laptop, turned the camera power on and off to try to reset everything, but it started doing the same. And after a few attempts, BYN crashed, and any subsequent attempt to start it back up (even if I powered the camera off and back on) would cause BYN to crash at the splash screen. Nothing short of a reboot of the machine would fix the crash.

But oddly enough, when I got home and tried it here, it seemed to work fine. I'm baffled, but I'm sure not as much as you are, since you know this code.

 

 

[astroman133]

It seems that whatever was different between your setup when BYN failed and when BYN worked is the culprit.  It could be anything. The possible culprit could be low battery, a flaky/overloaded USB connection, or cold ambient temperature.  Without more information about what was different between the sessions when it worked and when it failed, we are only guessing.

[Crunchmeister]

When set up inside, I had basically the same setup. The only difference was the ambient temperature. I even used the same cables etc, including the 15 foot USB cable that goes to my hub that everything is connected to. 

 

And just FYI, I thought of it possibly being a cable or an overloaded USB hub (even though it's a USB 3 hub). My second attempt, I tried connecting the camera directly to the laptop instead of via the hub, and the result was the same.

[whwang]

For me, transferring files from one computer to another is not that difficult, if this is the only thing I have to do.  However, in my imaging routine, there are situations when image files will be only written to the memory card on the camera.  This means I will still have to handle the card.

 

For example, after a long night of imaging in the field, I may shut the computer down, start to pack things, and at the same time leave the camera there taking dark frames (using a timer shutter release).  It will save me lot of time if I can pack the computer and all the USB cables first, because there are just too many cables.  (Saving time is important, especially when I will have to go to work in the next day.)  After I finish packing the computer, all the USB/RS232 cables, the guide scope, etc, the camera would usually have already taken a few good dark frames and the sky would be probably bright enough for me to take twilight flats.  If BYN cannot write files to the card, some of the images will be in the laptop while others on the card.  And the two different sets of files may follow different naming logics.  This is not good for data transferring or archiving, at least not making things any easier.  

 

In the past when I use BYE, I just wrote everything to the card.  Then the files taken without and with BYE would nicely coexist on the same card in the same directory.  I only realize this is a very convenient thing after I found that this is no longer possible in BYN.

 

 

[SteveRosenow]

I had one issue this evening while testing it on some delayed cable order builds (the ones alluded to in a previous thread)

Not long after the first test firing, it completely shut down and disconnected the connection with my camera. 

I also have a suggestion - can we set the default to go straight to RAW instead of RAW+JPG?

The latter puts a serious hurtin' on my computer's processor. 

logfile-[20141104-15h40m49s562]-backgroundworker-[5152]-2014-11-04.txt

[admin]

I had one issue this evening while testing it on some delayed cable order builds (the ones alluded to in a previous thread)

Not long after the first test firing, it completely shut down and disconnected the connection with my camera. 

I also have a suggestion - can we set the default to go straight to RAW instead of RAW+JPG?

The latter puts a serious hurtin' on my computer's processor. 

 

Hi Steve,

 

Yes, go to settings and set the image quality to RAW only.

 

Regards,

[karlwlewis]

The last two versions of the Beta give me the same problem... I can't get it to connect to my Nikon D5200.  I know the SSD card is huge, 64 GB, but it won't connect even with that card removed.

 

I'm using it with a DSUSB from Shoestring, and I have some reason to believe that that device is working... since the DSUSBcheck program finds it and can sort of make  the camera work.  (That's twitchy, too, but Doug from Shoestring says that bit is normal, since he doesn't own all the Nikon models and so isn't exactly sure how to send the right sequence of commands to all of them.)

 

With my D300, connection usually take a few tries, but it does eventually start talking.  (With the D300, the problem has been an inability to actually fire the shutter.  Backyard Nikon *thinks* that it is firing the shutter, but the camera is unaware.  For the D300 I do have both the DSUSB and a serial cable attached.)

 

For the purposes of testing, I tested all this with no USB hubs, everything was hooked directly to the laptop.

 

I'm using Beta G, on Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit, with Service Pack 1.

 

Thanks,

 

Karl

 

 

[astroman133]

Karl,

Have you tried connecting BYN to your camera without the DSUSB cable connected (only the main USB cable).  I know that you need the DSUSB cable for BULB exposures, but that troubleshooting step may provide additional information.  Such as, if you still have a connection issue then there is some other issue that is occurring.

Does Windows see the camera?  You should get some indication that the device is present when you connect the main USB cable and power the camera on...before trying to connect with BYN.

Is the memory card empty?  If not, that could be your issue since the Nikon SDK wants to index all the images before connecting.  As another step, put in an empty, or nearly empty, memory card.

BTW the camera's memory card is not normally called a solid state disk (SSD).  That term is usually used for memory-based devices that are designed to replace a rotating magnetic disk drive on a computer.

[cdnpilot]

With my D300, connection usually take a few tries, but it does eventually start talking.  (With the D300, the problem has been an inability to actually fire the shutter.  Backyard Nikon *thinks* that it is firing the shutter, but the camera is unaware.  For the D300 I do have both the DSUSB and a serial cable attached.)

 

'Twitchy' - is that a technical term?  I have a D300 with a Shoestring DSUB and it is solid. When I use the DSUB Check program is solid for my testing. However, Doug had to send me 4 cables until I got one to work... If it is intermittent in the DSUB Check, I would suggest you have a DSUB cable issue.

 

Kevin

[karlwlewis]

Karl,

 

Have you tried connecting BYN to your camera without the DSUSB cable connected (only the main USB cable).  I know that you need the DSUSB cable for BULB exposures, but that troubleshooting step may provide additional information.  Such as, if you still have a connection issue then there is some other issue that is occurring.

 

Does Windows see the camera?  You should get some indication that the device is present when you connect the main USB cable and power the camera on...before trying to connect with BYN.

 

Is the memory card empty?  If not, that could be your issue since the Nikon SDK wants to index all the images before connecting.  As another step, put in an empty, or nearly empty, memory card.

 

BTW the camera's memory card is not normally called a solid state disk (SSD).  That term is usually used for memory-based devices that are designed to replace a rotating magnetic disk drive on a computer.

 

For the D300, yes, the 'puter sees the camera on the USB cable.  There is no additional USB connection available on hte D5200, beyond the one that the DSUSB device is connected to.

 

The memory card is not empty... I can try that.  (Though, as I say, even with no memory card in the D5200, BYN won't connect to it.)

 

SSD?  Yeah, I do actually know the difference... but, SSDs are on my mind, lately, (we're fixin' to but a SAN storage device consisting of terabytes of SSDs), so instead of typing SD, for "Secure Digital"  I got carried away and typed SSD.

 

'Twitchy' - is that a technical term?  I have a D300 with a Shoestring DSUB and it is solid. When I use the DSUB Check program is solid for my testing. However, Doug had to send me 4 cables until I got one to work... If it is intermittent in the DSUB Check, I would suggest you have a DSUB cable issue.

 

"Twitchy", as in I can wake the camera up, but I can't generally get the test program, (nor BYN, to fire the shutter). It is not inconsistent, it just doesn't work the way I'd expect or hope.   Perhaps I should discuss the issue further with ShoeString Doug.

 

Thank you, Gentlemen.

 

Karl

[cdnpilot]

Yes - that sounds like the cable and the problem I had. With the cable now, every time I click on the (forget name) button, the DSUB Check fires the shutter.

 

kevin

[admin]

Yes - that sounds like the cable and the problem I had. With the cable now, every time I click on the (forget name) button, the DSUB Check fires the shutter.

 

kevin

 

Thank would be the test cable button

 

 

[cdnpilot]

Well no - I think it was assert and de-assert.... but it activated the shutter...

[admin]

Well no - I think it was assert and de-assert.... but it activated the shutter...

 

Oh, the buttons on the actual DSUSB app tester.

 

Yes, for Nikons the ASSERT and DEASSERT must be used otherwise it will not work.  Sorry.

 

 

 

[karlwlewis]

To focus on the camera I'd most prefer to use: the Nikon D5200...

 

DSUSB check works.  The camera and the computer will talk, so, I think for this camera, I can rule out problems with the cable connecting the DSUSB to the camera.    BYN will NOT connect to the camera, however.  I've emptied the SD card, and I have tried various sequences of connecting the camera to the DSUSB device, and the DSUSB device to the computer and starting up BYN before, during, or after all that, and nothing makes any difference.  It will not connect with an empty SD card.  It won't connect with no card.  I'm out of ideas.  Is there any way I can capture debugging information to help diagnose the problem?

 

I'd *kill* to make this work.  Achieving focus, or rather failure to achieve focus, has so far been the most frustrating obstacle to capturing any good images.  :^(

 

Karl

[astroman133]

Karl,

 

The DSUSB cable is for BULB exposures only. You still need a regular USB cable for setting exposure parameters and image download.  You have never said that you are using BOTH cables.

 

Yes, BYN creates log files in the logs subfolder of the location specified by the BackyardTEMP folder setting that is in the Settings dialog. If you are cabled correctly then sending those log files to Guylain may help with additional troubleshooting.

[karlwlewis]

Karl,

 

The DSUSB cable is for BULB exposures only. You still need a regular USB cable for setting exposure parameters and image download.  You have never said that you are using BOTH cables.

 

Yes, BYN creates log files in the logs subfolder of the location specified by the BackyardTEMP folder setting that is in the Settings dialog. If you are cabled correctly then sending those log files to Guylain may help with additional troubleshooting.

 

Thanks, astroman133...  I will try another UBS cable.  I only have one for the D5200... it's an odd-ball connector.  A new one is on order.

 

Karl

 

 

[cdnpilot]

Thanks, astroman133...  I will try another UBS cable.  I only have one for the D5200... it's an odd-ball connector.  A new one is on order.

 

Karl

 

 

Isn't just the standard mini USB connector? All the other Nikons I have are just that.

[karlwlewis]

Isn't just the standard mini USB connector? All the other Nikons I have are just that.

 

No, the D5200, (and a bunch of other recent Nikon models), use a tiny connector on the far end.  It's the same shape as the one for the D300, (for example), but about half the size.  It isn't the micro connector that my cell phones use, either.

 

Karl

 

 

[kbthomas59]

The AstroTortilla plate solver more-or-less recognizes the Backyard Nikon TCP server and does initiate one exposure on my camera, but stalls on "waiting for camera".  What might be done to fully emulate Backyard EOS so that the Nikon on BackyardNikon works in the software?

[admin]

The AstroTortilla plate solver more-or-less recognizes the Backyard Nikon TCP server and does initiate one exposure on my camera, but stalls on "waiting for camera".  What might be done to fully emulate Backyard EOS so that the Nikon on BackyardNikon works in the software?

 

Choosing BackyardEOS in AT works as-is with BackyardNIKON, they use the same protocol.

 

Having AT take a picture with BYE or BYN is the same as taking a PREVIEW image in BYE/BYN.  This forces the image quality to JPG only and this may be the root cause.

 

Make the PREVIEW work first.

1) Go to settings and set image quality to "IN CAMERA" -> BYN will never attempt to change the image quality anymore.

2) Use the camera menu and set the quality to RAW (or RAW + JPG is you want raw as well during normal deep sky imaging)

3) Take a Preview image in BYN, does it work?

4) If yes try with AT.

5) If not, make sure the camera dial is set to M and that mirror lock is OFF.

 

Keep me posted,

 

EDIT:  Setting the image quality to 'in-camera' means that you are 100% responsible for setting it to RAW using the camera menu before an imaging session.

 

 

 

[kbthomas59]

AstroTortilla does work.  Thanks for the help.