From: Milton Aupperle <milton@outcastsoft.com>

Date: April 2, 2012 9:50:44 AM MDT

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] More problems with camera initialization, Firewire Flea3

George;

On 2-Apr-12, at 6:47 AM, George wrote:

Hi,

Just so you know, as it says on the description of the Astro IIDC Group at the top of the page (second paragraph down):

"If you have a software, registration or other technical support issue, then you should send it to us directly using the support e-mail address listed on the Astro IIDC web site."

So please send all further issue reports to our support address at :

support@outcastsoft.com

so I can deal with them directly ad not clutter the list up with our back and forth questions.

I am a new user of both the Flea3 and Astro_IIDC software. I am running on a (late 2006) iMac 24 under Lion 10.7.3 using an IdotConnect Firewire 800 10 ft. cable. Initially, I had difficulties with other Apple applications grabbing control of the camera and not allowing Astro_IIDC to access the camera (iChat and iPhoto).

I continue to have similar camera initialization problems. Last evening while setting up I had considerable difficulty getting a proper Astro_IIDC camera connection. When I plug in the camera, the status light comes on. When I start Astro_IIDC and select the camera, it responds with an error that no camera is available. I went through several iterations of unplugging the camera and reconnecting the camera before and after starting Astro_IIDC. Eventually, I was able to connect to the camera after 15 to 20 minutes of trying. After successful connection the interface seemed to work fine, even through a couple of connects and disconnects.

When you first posted to the list on March 21st, you mentioned that the status light was blinking. Is that still happening or not? The light should be solid and non blinking a few seconds after the camera is powered up. If it continues to blink on and off afterwards, then there is probably a Camera hardware issue. Here are the Flea 3 status lights (it's only one color) copied and pasted form the Flea 3 Technical reference manual, section "8.2 Status Indicator LED" on page 116: The table may not align perfectly in the e-mail messages depending on client and fonts used.

LED Status Description

Off Not receiving power

Steady on Receiving power and successful camera initialization

Steady on and very bright Acquiring / transmitting images

Flashing bright, then brighter Camera registers being accessed (no image acquisition)

Steady flashing on and off Indicates possible camera problem

Slow flashing on and off Indicates possible camera problem

So if you plug the camera into your Mac, wait a few seconds for the camera to fully initialize, is the camera light a solid green color or not?

I also asked later on if there were any error messages showing up in console window (launch Apple's "Console" application located in the Utilities folder of the Application folder) too, which may give us a clue to your issues.

What other information can I collect to help diagnose this problem. My camera is new, does it need a firmware update?

My gut feeling is still that this is a hardware issue, likely with the Camera or Cable or possibly even a Mac . What would be useful is to plug the camera and cable into another Mac or a PC and see what happens with the status light. You will not need to install software or drivers, the camera will initalize itself on power up and then should turn a solid color after a few seconds.

Another question, I can only use the image processing capabilities when the camera is connected. Is this correct? I have installed the camera with the unique camera registration option. I hate to keep my camera plugged into my computer and powered up while it is not being used.

That is the case. The Mac or the Camera act as a verification device for the unlock key. That is stated in multiple places (manuals, read me, web sites, ordering pages etc.), especially before you place your order here:

http://www.outcastsoft.com/ASCASTROIIDC.html#PURCHASING

which I have copied and pasted below:

"If you purchase an unlock key for a camera then you can use that camera on multiple Macs, simply by copying the unlock key to those other Macs. This is intended for a Lab situation where you have many Macs with one or a few shared camera. Please note that the Astro IIDC application will need this camera attached to the Mac each time the application is launched to verify the unlock key. Once it's verified, you can unplug the camera and continue using all of Astro IIDC's non camera features until you Quit the application."

Note that if the hardware you use (Mac or Camera) fails or is repaired so that the serial number has changed, we will issue a new unlock key for it (up to one per year) to replace it for free.

HTH..

Milton Aupperle