PC's don't seem to recognise my NexImage Camera? :(

[Chris]

Hi, 

I bought a Celesctron NexImage planetary/Lunar camera off ABS a couple of weeks ago, and I'm having real trouble trying to get it to work

I've followed the instructions - i.e. installed the capture and stacking software and then plugged the camera in, at which point the wizard is supposed to recognise the camera...... but nothing

My laptop is windows 10, so I tried with my wifes Windows 7 computer and that doesn't seem to recognise the camera either?

I've tried restarting both PC's once the software was installed, but the same result happens when I plug the camera in again, it's as if it doesn't exist?

 

I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong? Or have a bought a camera that simply does not work? 

[xtreemchaos]

hi chris,i have the NI5 it should just come straight up, try a different lead if you have one,im running 8.1.charl.

[PeterCPC]

Have you tried downloading the driver from celestron?

http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/astroimaging-cameras/neximage-solar-system-imager

Click on support.

Peter

[xtreemchaos]

Chris,just realized mines a different camera to yours, dont think your lead detatches? charl.

[Knighty2112]

Have you looked in Device Manager on either of the PC's you tried to see if it came up in the list of devices attached to the PC when you plug in the device at all? If it does you should have the option to update the drivers through Device manager.

[Oddsocks]

I think there was a USB 2 driver update for these cameras from Celestron, a Windows update prevented the original USB driver being recognised : http://www.celestron.com/media/796218/usbcam_tis_2791152.zip

Download the linked file from Celestron, run an anti-virus scan on the zipped file first, if ok, unzip and run the installer to update the camera USB driver then plug in the camera and see if it is now found.

If still having problems, with the camera plugged in, click the Windows start icon and in the search box type RUN , in the search list that opens look for the RUN icon and click it, in the RUN dialogue window that opens type HDWWIZ , now follow the instructions on screen as the manual add hardware wizzard takes you through the steps of identifying and adding new hardware that is not found by the usual plug-n-play routine.

[Chris]

charl - Thanks, yes it's the original Neximage with the fixed lead.

Peter - Thanks, I downloaded the new drivers, and it wanted me to plug in the camera to update it but it said it couldn't detect anything?

Knighty - Yes thanks, I  did look in the device manager but there is nothing there

Oddsocks - Thanks - I've followed your instructions and sadly again it didnt find the camera. I then did the RUN command, clicked on the icon and typed in HDWWIZ to add hardware manually but it couldn't recognise the camera.

 

Thanks for your help guys- I'm starting to think there is a bad connection in the fixed lead or something. I'll contact the guy I bought it off, but if he doesn't have it back I'll try selling it spare or repair for a fiver perhaps. Or I might just stick it in the bin.

I didn't pay a huge amount for the camera, the guy just probably had it in a drawer for years and didn't realise it didn't work. Maybe I should learn from this and buy a better camera from a dealer? I was thinking of buying one of those multi purpose ZWO CMOS or QHY, or an old Atik 16/Titan camera anyway. Atik's are solid, that's one brand I've learned to trust second hand.

[Chris]

I've emailed the guy I bought it from, so I will see what he says.

[happy-kat]

Not the bin, recycle if all ends that way, but hope it doesn't.

[Chris]

Yep, the recycle bin as it's mainly plastic. 

[Skipper Billy]

Should be a fairly simple task to replace the lead if the camera comes apart?

 

[Chris]

13 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

Should be a fairly simple task to replace the lead if the camera comes apart?

 

Well the seller seems to have gone to ground so I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and take the camera to bits. 

It might be the lead so it's worth a go, cheers

[Scott]

4 minutes ago, Chris Lock said:

Well the seller seems to have gone to ground so I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and take the camera to bits. 

It might be the lead so it's worth a go, cheers

you only emailed him 6 hrs ago. give him a chance to get back to you. he may well be able to help you out

[Chris]

5 minutes ago, Scott said:

you only emailed him 6 hrs ago. give him a chance to get back to you. he may well be able to help you out

Thanks Scott, no worries I didn't mean immediately as I've got family stuff to sort out, but I'll ad it to my to do list for the coming week . 

If the seller gets back to me and is willing to help that would be great....I've just got a bad feeling for some reason? 

[michael8554]

Pretty sure the original Neximage is a repackaged Philips Toucam Pro.

In which case flash it to SPC900NC  and install Windows 7 drivers, but Windows 10 may not be a go-er.

Michael

[Chris]

Thanks Micheal, but I've tried on my wifes Windows 7 PC with no joy, and if it's normal for to buy a Celestron camera and have to flash it to an SPC900nc, I have no idea what Celestron think they are doing?

I can't imagine that's usually needed with NexImage cameras? The latest updates on the Celestron site should frankly be enough.

I've emailed the guy again this morning just incase he missed my first message. I wan't to know if he's had the camera working or not?

[zicklurky]

If it's a driver issue then the device should at least show up in device manager, but with the error saying it couldn't find drivers. If I'm not mistaken, the fact that Windows doesn't see it at all means the hardware isn't working correctly. Either the cable, or worst case the camera itself  

[Oddsocks]

16 minutes ago, zicklurky said:

If it's a driver issue then the device should at least show up in device manager, but with the error saying it couldn't find drivers. If I'm not mistaken, the fact that Windows doesn't see it at all means the hardware isn't working correctly. Either the cable, or worst case the camera itself  

I Agree.

I remember reading a few forum posts on CN querying how to repair broken (hard-wired) USB cables with this camera back a few years now.

I have had one of these inexpensive (~£9-) USB in-line voltage and current meters in my toolkit for a while now, it displays actual port voltage and current being drawn by the device in real time while passing data as well (on port 1) so that if the camera is plugged in and the meter shows no current then you can say the cable is broken or electronics defective, if current is drawn but no communication then the cable is fine and electronics defective etc...Has helped me diagnose problem USB cables in the observatory where I thought  a powered hub was the problem so it paid for itself on first usage, since then it has been used to test and identify a faulty phone charger where it looked like an iPhone battery replacement was on the cards, handy gadget to have around....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DROK-Multimeter-Charging-Detector-Alignment/dp/B00J4H5I3E/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1456140099&sr=8-7&keywords=usb+power+meter

 

[Chris]

I totally agree, I think the camera is sadly dead. 

The good news is that the chap replied to my second message, and after a bit of discussion has agreed to refund me and take the camera back. I'll be off down the post office to send it back to him shortly.

He hadn't used the camera for quite some time but it was working when he last tried.

The moral of this story is to always check that a camera works before buying it. I'll be asking for recent proof of use when buying second hand cameras from now on

Many thanks for everyones help, I appreciate it

 

[michael8554]

Well Chris, probably for the best to send it back.

Re having to flash the Neximage, it would be nice if manufacturers kept all their legacy kit up to date, but they don't.

For the worst example look at the new Orion cameras that don't work on W10.

I've just bought an old Atik camera based on the Toucam, and Sharpcap on W7 wouldn't recognise it, no sign of it in the dropdown menu.

Flashed it and all came good.

Michael

[Aurora Australis]

Hi Guys , I thought i might share some news i found  out about USB. I have been having extreme trouble the last 2 months since i got my equipment getting software to talk to my scope with no success as well as 

getting my ZWO120MC camera to work only marginal success with firecapture but quality poor and settings not that responsive. It was suggested to try a Powered USB Hub after plugging it in and connecting the camera to USB it all worked and all the software immediately recognized the equipment , the same with picking up the scope.  I didn't give the USB a thought as it functioned fine with external drives and flash drives obviously not enough power for the cameras and scope connections.

Mick

[Chris]

That's an interesting finding Mick, I never would have considered a powered USB hub. 

I've just ordered a new ASI120MM and plan to use Fire capture beta (heard the plain Firecapture is clitchy with the ZWO's), and if that doesn't work I'll give SharpCap ago.

We'll see how that goes, if I have problems I'll remember to give a powered USB hub a try  

[Thalestris24]

Yeah, you have to remember that these little usb cameras take their power from the usb port. If that power's not present for any reason then obviously the camera won't be recognised and won't work! Easy to check your port with another usb-powered device that you know is working.

Louise

[Roberto Szabo]

I had problems installing Neximage camera too. It is a little tricky. But everything now is ok after following guide lines from this link:

http://www.celestron.com/support/knowledgebase/articles/how-do-i-install-neximage-93712-capture-software-and-drivers-on-windows-vista-32-bit-and-64-bit,-windows-7-32-bit-and-64-bit-operating-systems

It worked for Windows 7 and Windows 10. Hope works to you too.

Roberto