Problem with Lodestar

[RobertI]

I seem to be experiencing a problem with my Lodestar, any thoughts would be appreciated. I am using Lodestar Live s/w to capture very short (half second) images to provide a 'live' view. If I 'wiggle' the USB cable at the PC end, the red LED on the camera dims or extinguishes and the image capturing freezes. The only way to get going again is to uplug then plug in the USB cable. I have tried the following:

• two different cables: same problem
• all three of the USB sockets on both sides of the laptop - same problem
• wiggling the cable at the camera end: does not seem to produce the problem
• wiggling cables connected to other devices, no problems

The only thing I haven't tried is a different laptop, sadly I don't have a spare.

I seem to recall the USB socket (which is a mini USB and has now been replaced by something else) was not well regarded and was the source of problems for some people. The cable is not a snug  fit and wobbles, but has never been a problem since I bought it four-ish years ago.

Anyone got any ideas of the problem or any thoughts on further testing I could do before talking to SXpress?

Thanks.  

[ChrisLX200]

Hmm. Maybe both cables are duff? Anyway, you're briefly losing connection for some reason. The socket on the camera is certainly the source of some connection issues and it has been known to come adrift from the PCB entirely due to stress failure. Seems odd that wobbling that end of the cable doesn't cause the disconnection though.

ChrisH

[Thalestris24]

Hi

I have similar problems with my Lenovo laptop, especially in the cold. I got round it by cutting a small piece of card and wedging it between the cable end and the case so the cable is kept nice and tight in the socket. Annoying problem - simple fix! I think it must be a design fault that's somehow propagated across a number of laptop makes/models though I'm speculating a bit.

Louise

[RobertI]

Thanks for the replies so far. Sounds like the next step should be to try another cable and if no joy, another laptop. I might even try the existing setup in the warm of the house because it was 2 degrees last night and I was using the laptop outside on battery only, and a duff battery at that. Even though tests to date seem to indicate its not the Lodestar, my gut feeling is that it is the Lodestar, but I want to be 100% sure before talking to SX. 

Any further thoughts/experiences appreciated.

[roelb]

16 hours ago, Thalestris24 said:

Hi

I have similar problems with my Lenovo laptop, especially in the cold. I got round it by cutting a small piece of card and wedging it between the cable end and the case so the cable is kept nice and tight in the socket. Annoying problem - simple fix! I think it must be a design fault that's somehow propagated across a number of laptop makes/models though I'm speculating a bit.

Louise

I have a similar "USB-issue" with my Lenovo Ideapad Z580.

Not depending of the camera connected (Lodestar X2, Atik Infinity).

Roel