SPC900 LXmod yesyes style ;-)

[G6RAR]

Would it be possible to do the same type of setup with the Toucam 740? When I say same setup I mean with everything from the LX/Amp off board to the USB Hub. I know looking at the modes for the 740 it is totally different.

Take a look at Martins website.

all about astronomy, my equipment and pictures

Based on what he is saying, the Toucam can be upgraded to SPC900nc.

So it then becomes possible to do the mods as shown in this thread by YesYes.

Dave

[NickRose2006]

Do not reinstall your OS. It looks like a lot has transpired between your last 2 posts.

Give us more information. What is your OS? What changes did you try to make?

Bill

Well here is all the info. The last time I used the webcam was 2 nights ago and it was working perfectly but once I loaded the software for the Serial adapter the webcam is not recognized. So I did do the system restore and it still did not work. Next I tried to reinstall the drivers for the 740 but when it gets to the point of connecting to the internet, it says it cant connect.

[Gina]

Hmmm... Isn't Windows Wonderful!

[NickRose2006]

One other thing I forgot to mention is when I did the restore point it gave me a warning about the "E" Drives. Here is a pic of the warning. So should I reinstall the Operating system, would it fix the problem? I've done it many times and it does not take that long.

[MisterBill]

You didn't say what OS you have.

I am running W7 and this is what I did:

I downloaded "spc900nc_00_dw7_eng.exe" for Windows 7 from Philips webpage and ran it.

Pluged in the camera, went to Windows device manager and Right clicked on "Unknown Device"

Clicked "Update Driver Software"

Clicked "Browse my computer"

Clicked "Let me pick from a list"

Scrolled down and selected "Sound, video and Game controllers" then clicked Next

Scrolled down and Selected "Philips CE CSI" and then "Philips SPC 900NC PC Camera"

Clicked Next, and then Yes to the "update driver warning"

The Camera is now usable in Windows7. It is listed as Philips SPC 900NC PC Camera.

If you want to, you can then download and run both WcRmac and WcCtrl to flash your cam to an SPC900NC PC Camera.

Bill

[Gina]

I doubt if it requires an OS reinstall. Not many problems with drivers do. You can usually cure it by removing the driver and reinstalling that. It seems likely to me that you have the wrong driver.

Regarding Drive E:, what type of drive is Drive E:? Looks like it's a DVD or a removable drive. That would explain the error message.

[NickRose2006]

You didn't say what OS you have.

I am running W7 and this is what I did:

I downloaded "spc900nc_00_dw7_eng.exe" for Windows 7 from Philips webpage and ran it.

Pluged in the camera, went to Windows device manager and Right clicked on "Unknown Device"

Clicked "Update Driver Software"

Clicked "Browse my computer"

Clicked "Let me pick from a list"

Scrolled down and selected "Sound, video and Game controllers" then clicked Next

Scrolled down and Selected "Philips CE CSI" and then "Philips SPC 900NC PC Camera"

Clicked Next, and then Yes to the "update driver warning"

The Camera is now usable in Windows7. It is listed as Philips SPC 900NC PC Camera.

If you want to, you can then download and run both WcRmac and WcCtrl to flash your cam to an SPC900NC PC Camera.

Bill

Sorry forgot about that. I'm running Windows XP with my Toucam 740.

[MisterBill]

YesYes and the gang,

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I did enjoy the ride.

Dave, you were correct on the voltages.

Gina, thanks for the pics. They are indeed worth 1000 words each.

Fired up my camera last night and did a quick compare. Sorry for the out of focus but I just saved what was "first light". The left is as dark as it gets in South Florida near the ocean. Everyone wants to be here and keep the yard light on.

BTW, that's my Westie taking part in the testing. My wife will not enter my den/laboratory. Her excuse is, her shots are not current.

Once again, thanks.

Bill

[NickRose2006]

I doubt if it requires an OS reinstall. Not many problems with drivers do. You can usually cure it by removing the driver and reinstalling that. It seems likely to me that you have the wrong driver.

Regarding Drive E:, what type of drive is Drive E:? Looks like it's a DVD or a removable drive. That would explain the error message.

I'm using the same driver I did last time, but it won't connect to the internet. The E Drive is I think the usb's. Is it possible that the webcam might be broken?

[yesyes]

It seems that there are some fake PL2303 adapters around. Unfortunately the ebay listing I linked to in post #16 is one of the fake ones. It does not have a real Prolific PL2303 chip but one of these bonded chips with that round black blob cover. It does not seem to work on Win 7 x64 (but might work fine on older Windows).

I'm in touch with another seller and have 5 adapters on order. Will post the link when I know for sure that these are the real thing.

Just wanted to warn people not to buy the ones I linked to if you want to use them on Win 7 x64 now and/or plan to keep your modded webcam long enough that you may upgrade Windows in the meantime.

I can't edit post #16 any more. Could a moderator please put a note under that link and refer to post #135?

[Gina]

It seems that there are some fake PL2303 adapters around. Unfortunately the ebay listing I linked to in post #16 is one of the fake ones. It does not have a real Prolific PL2303 chip but one of these bonded chips with that round black blob cover. It does not seem to work on Win 7 x64 (but might work fine on older Windows).

I'm in touch with another seller and have 5 adapters on order. Will post the link when I know for sure that these are the real thing.

Just wanted to warn people not to buy the ones I linked to if you want to use them on Win 7 x64 now and/or plan to keep your modded webcam long enough that you may upgrade Windows in the meantime.

I can't edit post #16 any more. Could a moderator please put a note under that link and refer to post #135?

Hmm... I bought 2 of these! Haven't tested the one I'm using yet. I'll probably be using it with Linux, depending of which software I use. Haven't sorted that out yet.

[yesyes]

Gina, I apologise if you can't get them to work. There was I thinking PL2303 = PL2303 but apparently not.

[NickRose2006]

Well I know I was told reinstalling the operating sysytem would not fix the problem but I went ahead and did it anyways. If course it did not work and the 740 is still not being recognized by the PC. I just don't get why it's not beig recognized now when it use to before I got the USB/Serial adapter.

[yesyes]

Have you done any mods to the webcam yet or did you just install that serial adapter?

[NickRose2006]

Ok so here is the story. I have the 740 already but I'm not modding it yet, Im waiting for the SPC900NC from Phoenix. Anyway I plugged in the serial adapter to see if it got recognized and I had to install the driver so i did. So during the night imaging I plugged in my webcam for the guiding and it did not get recognized. Anyway you can look at my other post to see what I have done/tried.

[MisterBill]

Nick

goto

PCVC740K ToUcam Pro - USB PC VIDEO CAMERA - Philips Support

download the .exe program.

run it. It should install your drivers.

Do this before you plug in your camera.

Bill

[malc-c]

Whilst not cheap (£17 +VAT) I used one of these for my own EQ-DIR cable, and would consider using another for the modded web cam... make sure you get the 5v version

Buy Communication USB to Serial TTL converter cable, wire FTDI Chip TTL-232R-5V-WE online from RS for next day delivery.

Mind you, if you look at the price of a decent branded (Belkin for example) USB converter, then there isn't much difference in the price to be fair

[leenewtoastro]

exactly what i used malc. expensive but good

: a bit late popping on here but awesome job yesyes

[NickRose2006]

Nick

goto

PCVC740K ToUcam Pro - USB PC VIDEO CAMERA - Philips Support

download the .exe program.

run it. It should install your drivers.

Do this before you plug in your camera.

Bill

I've tried that already but when it tries to connect to the internet, it wont.

[JamesF]

Hmm... I bought 2 of these! Haven't tested the one I'm using yet. I'll probably be using it with Linux, depending of which software I use. Haven't sorted that out yet.

If it's a fake, Linux might well tell you what it really is.

Years ago I bought a graphics card that turned out to be a cheaper model with faked up Windows drivers and BIOS so it would report itself as the model I'd intended to purchase. Linux told me the truth when I installed the card though because it has its own tables of PCI and USB ids. I'd decided to take it on the chin and more out of interest than anything else emailed the manufacturers of the card being faked to let them know it was happening. They turned out to have their UK distributor just down the road and offered to replace it with a higher spec model than I'd originally wanted if I let them have the fake, which I thought was very decent of them.

James

[MisterBill]

Nick said, "I've tried that already but when it tries to connect to the internet, it wont. "

Do you know anyone running Windows 7? Would they let you flash your camera on thier machine using the information in post 130 of this thread?

[NickRose2006]

Both my brother and parents have PC's with Windows 7. Would this put the PC in danger?

[yesyes]

It seems that there are some fake PL2303 adapters around. Unfortunately the ebay listing I linked to in post #16 is one of the fake ones. It does not have a real Prolific PL2303 chip but one of these bonded chips with that round black blob cover. It does not seem to work on Win 7 x64 (but might work fine on older Windows).

I'm in touch with another seller and have 5 adapters on order. Will post the link when I know for sure that these are the real thing.

Just wanted to warn people not to buy the ones I linked to if you want to use them on Win 7 x64 now and/or plan to keep your modded webcam long enough that you may upgrade Windows in the meantime.

I can't edit post #16 any more. Could a moderator please put a note under that link and refer to post #135?

OK, I have received the new USB to serial adapters. These are the real thing with a proper PL2303HX chip. What's more, it has a level shifter chip on the other side that provides real RS232 levels on the serial side (+-9V measured with oscilloscope), not 0V and 5V TTL levels. And it works fine on Win 7 x64 with the latest Prolific drivers.

This is the listing on ebay:

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

The seller told me that the "Make offer" option automatically accepts offers from £5 for the rest of this week. Quite a bargain as you will get 5 adapters for £5 +£3 postage.

[MisterBill]

Both my brother and parents have PC's with Windows 7. Would this put the PC in danger?

No, it will not. I did it on mine. Remember, this will just let your camera show on a Win7 machine. While you are still on thier Windows 7 machine remember to do the last line of above, " you can then download and run both WcRmac and WcCtrl to flash your cam to an SPC900NC PC Camera."

There are several very good tutorials available on how to do this. Watch one of the video versions and print out one of the written versions before you start using WcRmac and WcCtrl. When you are finished you can then remove the programs from the W7 machine.

Your cam will then be an SPC900NC. You just have to make sure the SPC900nc drivers are installed on your XP machine.

Bill

[Gina]

OK, I have received the new USB to serial adapters. These are the real thing with a proper PL2303HX chip. What's more, it has a level shifter chip on the other side that provides real RS232 levels on the serial side (+-9V measured with oscilloscope), not 0V and 5V TTL levels. And it works fine on Win 7 x64 with the latest Prolific drivers.

This is the listing on ebay:

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

The seller told me that the "Make offer" option automatically accepts offers from £5 for the rest of this week. Quite a bargain as you will get 5 adapters for £5 +£3 postage.

Thanks very much for the heads up

Just bought myself a wodge of these - total £8 for 5 - great price I have one or two other uses for these adapters (eg. weather stations).