Downloading the QHYCCD X2 Camera Plugin

How to Download and Install the macOS QHYCCD X2 Camera Plugin

Installers for TheSky version 10.5.0 Build 12264 and later distribute the latest QHYCCD X2 Camera Plugin.  No additional files need be downloaded or installed to control your QHYCCD camera on macOS.

How to Download and Install the Linux (ARM and x86) QHYCCD X2 Camera Plugin

To download the latest Linux and Raspbian (Raspberry Pi) QHYCCD X2 Camera Plugin:

1. From a web browser visit the QHYCCD Developer Support page.

2. Under the Developer tab click The Sky Software Plug-in of QHYCCD SDK link.

3. Under Download, click Linux, Linux_64, or RPI3 (32-bit ARM) to download the archive that contains the respective X2 Plugin installer.

4. From Finder, open the Downloads folder and double-click the file named:

• Linux_x64: LINUX_X64_TheSkyX_PlugIn_<Version Number Here>.tgz, where <Version Number Here> is the version of the most recent installer.  

• Linux: LINUX_TheSkyX_PlugIn_<Version Number Here>.tgz, where <Version Number Here> is the version of the most recent installer.

• RPI3: RPI3_TheSkyX_PlugIn_<Version Number Here>.tgz, where <Version Number Here> is the version of the most recent installer.

5. From Finder, in the Downloads folder, open the folder named MACOS_THESKYX_PLUGIN_V... to view in the camera plugin installer. The folder contains a file named:

• install.sh - This file is the installer that must be run to install the X2 Plugin.  Before this installer can be run, you must modify the file's attributes as described below!

• uninstall.sh - This script uninstalls the QHYCCD plugin.

6. Open the Terminal application.

7. From the Terminal window, use the cd command to navigate to the folder where the archive resides in the above step resides (for example, if the browser saved the file to the default folder, for the latest release as of this writing, type cd ~/Downloads/MAC_OS_TheSkyX_Plugin_V20190628_0.  

8. Make the installer script executable by typing chmod +x install.sh <Return> and then run the installer by typing ./install.bin <Enter>.   Enter the administrative password and press Return to complete the installation.

9. From TheSky Pro, click Telescope > Telescope Setup.

10. On the Imaging System Setup window, double-click Camera under Imaging System.

11. On the Choose Camera window, expand QHYCCD, and select QHYCCD Camera for all QHYCCD model cameras.  

How to Download and Install the Windows QHYCCD OEM Drivers and X2 Camera Plugin

To download the latest Windows QHYCCD X2 OEM Drivers and QHYCCD Camera Plugin:

1. Visit the QHYCCD Downloads page: https://www.qhyccd.com/download

2. On the Downloads page, click the link near the top of the page to download the latest All-In-One Pack.  The latest version of the All-In-One Pack as of this writing is 2021.10.23 (144 MB) .

3. From Windows Explorer, open the Downloads folder and double-click the file QHYCCD_Win_AllInOne.21.10.23.19.exe.

4. Close all applications that might be connected to the hardware, then run the above installer.

5. During installation, on the Select Additional Tasks window, you must turn on both the Drivers checkbox and TheSkyX (SDK) checkbox.  Failure to turn on both of these options will prevent TheSky from successfully connecting to the camera.

6. From TheSky Pro, click Telescope > Telescope Setup.

7. On the Imaging System Setup window, double-click Camera under Imaging System.

8. On the Choose Camera window, expand QHYCCD, and select CCD/CMOS Imager for the Imaging camera, or Guide Camera for the autoguider.

Turn on the Drivers checkbox and then scroll down...

...to turn on TheSkyX (SDK) checkbox.

Installing the QHY Cameras Driver

Make sure to turn on the checkbox for your model camera!

OEM driver installation complete.

The computer must be restarted before TheSky can control your camera.