Intermittent connectivity Nikon D7000 and 7100

[mlois]

Hello:

I have problems with my Nikon D7000 and 7100 connecting to Backyard EOS.

Sometimes they do and sometimes they dont.

The camera is connected to the PC as the PC recognizes the camera and I can open the files in the camera with other programs. the shoe string cable is functioning as it is recognized by the machine and can use it with image plus camera control.

 

When I try with BOS it sometimes says PC and connects but even then it takes 5 minutes for this to happen between opening the program and connecting the camera to been able to connect. Other times it says either attempting or that the camera is not connected or on.

 Even when I can connect  after an hour or so of use then it stops teh download and freezes.

 Have to reboot the machine in order for me to be able to attempt connection between BOS and the camera.

I have an ASUS computer with Windows 8

 

Here is the most recent log

23:50:24 Licensed to mlois

23:50:26 Nikon drivers initialized.

23:50:49 Attempting to connect camera...

23:50:54 Camera Not Found! Make sure it's connected to the PC and turned ON

23:50:57 Attempting to connect camera...

23:51:02 Camera Not Found! Make sure it's connected to the PC and turned ON

23:55:22 Attempting to connect camera...

23:55:27 Camera Not Found! Make sure it's connected to the PC and turned ON

23:55:29 Attempting to connect camera...

23:55:34 Camera Not Found! Make sure it's connected to the PC and turned ON

 

 

Appreciate your help with this.

 

[mlois]

Thanks.. It is always fully charged, but when I am shooting I use the ac connector

Manny

[admin]

Make sure the SD card has very few images on it.  The Nikon SDK builds an image index before passing along the connection, if you have a few hundred images on the card this can take a few minutes.

 

Regards,

[astroman133]

Backyard EOS or BYE (not BOS, that reference confused me at first) is for Canon EOS cameras.  The version for Nikon cameras is Backyard Nikon or BYN.

 

Connectivity issues such as you are reporting are usually due to faulty or overloaded hardware.

 

Are you using 2 cables, both running from the camera to the PC? The DSUSB cable will trigger the shutter for BULB exposures, but you still need to connect a second USB 2.0 cable from the camera to the PC for all other control functions.

 

If the camera supports multiple communication modes, like PTP and Normal, you should set to Normal for BYN.

 

Other things to try:

 

1) make sure that the USB port on the PC is USB 2.0 (not USB 1.1)

2) use a different USB 2.0 cable; as short as possible for testing and directly connected to the PC (no hub)

3) if you purchase a USB cable, make sure that it is a good quality cable (not the cheapest that you can find). It should be no longer than you need it to be and no longer than 16 ft without an active extension cable.

3) if using a Mac, make sure that the Windows VM has full access to the USB port.

4) for testing, try connecting only the camera (no other astro gear) to the PC

5) Make sure that Windows has recognized the camera and loaded the low-level driver. Look in the Device Manager for confirmation. If Windows doesn't see the camera, neither will BYN.

 

 

Let us know what you have tried and how it behaved...Also what type/generation of PC? what version of Windows? what version of BYN?

[mlois]

Thanks for the responses

As I stated the computer is an ASUS running windows 8. All the usb ports are 2 and not using hubs.

The computer recognized the camera and loaded the driver ( I can use the camera with other software programs and open the camera and see the photos I had.

I am using the two cables one for the stringshoe and one from the camera to the PC each on different USB's

this happens regardless of what other equipment I use. Yesterday it was just the camera and nothing else

cables are les than 6 ft

the cables are the ones provided by Nikon for each camera

I just tried again and same issue it took several  restarting the computer and waiting several minutes before BOS connected with the camera.

If this helps I noticed that when I connect the camera to the PC the screen in the camera does not change to PC. It keeps the settings I had used
When BOS is able to connect to the camera the screen says PC  and bulb

[s3igell]

Have you tried with an EMPTY SD Card??  (As Guylain suggests??)

 

BackyardNIKON (BYN for short) is dependent on the Nikon SDK, and that SDK won't complete a Connection until it has built a New Catalog of Thumbnails for ALL IMAGES on the SD Card.  

IMAGES ON SD CARD - THAT is most likely what is causing your "waiting several minutes"??

 

(And btw:  What is "BOS"?? - since you don't respond by using the abbreviation BYN or the name BackyardNIKON maybe you are talking about some Other Software...)

[mlois]

Thanks everyone. Removing the sd card help with connecting the camera. I still have problems with the shoestring freezing the program but I guess that is the shoestring. Is there any other cable than can be used?

And Sorry BOS was a typo I meant BYN

[admin]

Make sure you have a fully charged battery.  I have noticed that the DSUSB will not operate when the battery is not fully charged with my D7000.

Regards