FreeTrack Forum

Ok I dont know what the deal is  here, I am using a MS vx3000 cam that has a 3 point setup.  It worked for the longest time after some initial putzing around.  For months I was flying around with the joy that is head tracking.     Lately things have been very weird.   And I honestly do not know what changed....

What happens in, I start Free track, get the cap on and hit "start".  I see the points from the LEDs in the black area on the right for a split second, then they are gone. (they used to be there all the time, I could watch them move with the LEDs like that are supposed to).

Occasionally the system will still work; I will see the 3 green dots in the lower right hand corner and tracking works fine in games even tho I cannot see the mesh head or the dots.  Even then after about an hour or two it will just stop working agian.

But just about as often, nothing will work.  All the dots will be red and the cam just doesn't seem to pick up the LEDs at all.  Sometimes I have to restart free track, and its a crap shoot whether or not I will see the mesh model and the points, I dont see any ryhme or reason to it.  Sun spots, full moon, who knows.  I dont make any changes and it may or may not work.

I have tried new batteries (this unit uses a AA battery), moved the cam closer, different light conditions.

No idea what is causing this randomness, it worked perfectly for months and suddenly is acting very, very strange.

What can I look at?  All out of ideas here.  

All these views and no ideas?  

I am going through withdrawls here, seems I can only get it to work about 25% of the time.

I have tried new batteries (this unit uses a AA battery), moved the cam closer, different light conditions.

Might be obvious, but have your tried unistalling and reinstalling? Resetting default values and setting them up again? Did your Windows Update get new drivers for your camera without you knowing it? Did you try a different camera? (webcams have a lifespan of around 3-5 years according to most manufacturers), did your LED's become weaker due to over-voltage or usage?

- To test the LED's: Get a TV remote (if you use IR) or any appliance/toy with a red LED and move it around the camera's view. If they work, then you might need new LED's.

- To test camera drivers/software: Go to control panel, system, device manager, uninstall the camera -> go to unistalll programs -> unistall cam drivers/software -> restart -> reinstall.

- If you have IR LED's which are difficult to check because, obviously, they dont shine, take a closer look at them and see if they seem to have a burn/black spot near the center of what could be described as the "filament" (which is not a filament as a regular lightbulb, but the analogy helps). If they're burned they will have a dark spot at their center.

Hope this gives you new ideas, although you probably have worked on some by now.

Good luck!

Enrique

enriquefc @ 10/02/2011 - 09h23 a dit:

I have tried new batteries (this unit uses a AA battery), moved the cam closer, different light conditions.

Might be obvious, but have your tried unistalling and reinstalling? Resetting default values and setting them up again? Did your Windows Update get new drivers for your camera without you knowing it? Did you try a different camera? (webcams have a lifespan of around 3-5 years according to most manufacturers), did your LED's become weaker due to over-voltage or usage?

Thanks for responding!  Lets see:

- have uninstalled/reinstalled several times now.  Not sure about Windows update, I dont have automatic updates on so I doubt that.  Still using the same camera, I  have had it about 6 months.

No idea if the LEDS are weak or not, they are IR so I cannot see them.  Is there any way to test?

enriquefc @ 10/02/2011 - 09h23 a dit:

- To test the LED's: Get a TV remote (if you use IR) or any appliance/toy with a red LED and move it around the camera's view. If they work, then you might need new LED's.

Confused here; are you talking about testing the LEDs on the hat or the camera?  What do I poing a remote at?  For grins I tried a few remotes aimed at the camera, didnt see anything.  Although none of my remotes have a red LED.  Does that matter?

enriquefc @ 10/02/2011 - 09h23 a dit:

- To test camera drivers/software: Go to control panel, system, device manager, uninstall the camera -> go to unistalll programs -> unistall cam drivers/software -> restart -> reinstall.

Good idea! Will try. I have a vx3000.

enriquefc @ 10/02/2011 - 09h23 a dit:

- If you have IR LED's which are difficult to check because, obviously, they dont shine, take a closer look at them and see if they seem to have a burn/black spot near the center of what could be described as the "filament" (which is not a filament as a regular lightbulb, but the analogy helps). If they're burned they will have a dark spot at their center.

I cant see anything obvious, these LEDs are light blue, very small and I cannot really see into them very well.

Is there any way to test IR LEDs for "life"?  I have no idea what is going on here, it used to work so well and now its just very random.

You can also try looking at the LED through a cell phone camera to see if they are lite.

Falstar @ 10/02/2011 - 15h42 a dit:

You can also try looking at the LED through a cell phone camera to see if they are lite.

Brilliant!  That works great, I can see all 3 points lit up.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the camera, no difference there.

So, I guess we are back to the software then.  Really confusing me, even when it DOES work I do not see the points on the black screen anymore.  I used to be able to, in fact that is how I was able to adjust the threshold to get the crosses nice and crisp.

Any ideas why that screen is always just black now?!  Actually when I first hit "Start" I can see them for a split second, then they go away.  Sometimes I see the mesh skull and sometimes not.