GP-CAM3 290M

Discussion of features and issues relating to Altair Astro Cameras
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nigelg
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Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:54 pm

GP-CAM3 290M

#1

Post by nigelg »

When I select this camera I get a message telling me to Adjust the USB Speed control to achieve optimum frame rates.

But all menus are greyed out, so I have to CTRL-ALT-DEL. I have tried the other camera options , Ascom, Altair cam. But these lockup the computer as well'

Nigel
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admin
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Re: GP-CAM3 290M

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

if everything is greyed out it means that SharpCap is busy trying to do something (like start the camera) and has disabled the buttons and menus until that operation completes. So it seems like the problem you are having is that the camera is not completing startup properly.

The two most likely causes of this are :

1) You have configured SharpCap to use one or more items of ASCOM hardware (Mount, Focuser, etc) and one of those is not responding during camera startup. If you have enabled any ASCOM hardware, try going back to the hardware settings and disabling it and try again.

2) The camera is stopping responding during startup - this can often be down to USB communications issues, so have a look at the USB troubleshooting tips here - viewtopic.php?f=18&t=349&p=1556#p1556 - in particular test without any hubs or extension cables and try different USB ports. It can also be worth trying using a USB 2 cable for a USB3 camera - sometimes particular USB3 chipsets on some computers (particularly older USB3 ones) don't play nicely with modern USB3 cameras. Using a USB2 cable can sometimes get things going as a workaround.

Finally, if none of the above helps then a good idea is to get SharpCap to show its log before opening the camera (Help->Show Log) and then you can see the last things added to the log before it freezes up (post the full text or screenshot showing the last 10-15 lines here).

cheers,

Robin
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turfpit
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Re: GP-CAM3 290M

#3

Post by turfpit »

Nigel

Have a look at http://cameras.altairastro.com/. Download my document in Step 1 and follow the instructions. Using just the laptop, camera USB cable, camera and AltairCapture, with nothing else connected, should help simplify the initial debugging process.

Dave
nigelg
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:54 pm

Re: GP-CAM3 290M

#4

Post by nigelg »

Thank you both for your help.
The problem was I am testing my new camera in the house, and the software was waiting for the mount to connect.
Problem solved.

Nigel
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