Protee : How to setup machine vision cameras

[goatbarn]

I never turn my computer off, I put it in sleep. It still loses all camera settings every time.

[thelono]

Par2pro posted a link to a program called usbview. I can't find it now but you can looks for it here or on the Protee thread. Or Google it.

You want the cams to be on separate 'Root hubs'.
Each root hub will have 4 usb ports do only use the one port for the cam and nothing else on the other 3 ports.
So you need 3 root hubs or more. One for each of the cams and then the rest can be together on root hub.

I do not have issues with the cams forget the settings! My usb ports stay powered on even after I turn off the computer.
That is a Bios setting I believe all computers can use.
I also updated the firmware in the cams but do not think it had to do with that.

Thanks! (and psace too). Turns out my high end gaming laptop that I am using for Protee setup only has 2 root hubs according to that usbview utility. I only have 4 usb ports, 3 USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0. The three USB 2.0 hubs are on the same root hub so I did have my cams on the same hub. I am going to try this evening to have one of the cams on the USB 3.0 port as it has its own root hub. I wonder will this work? Otherwise its new computer I guess.

[psace]

Yes, I had the same problem using a gaming laptop. The problem is we usually have other usb devices hooked up to the usb 2.0 ports. If not, you may be in luck. Otherwise, you may have to upgrade like I did.

Does anybody else ever have the vcam not show up in the device manager once in awhile after starting the computer up? When this happens I have to unplug it from the usb port and then plug it back in and it will then appear.

[goatbarn]

My HCam sometimes doesn't show up after waking my computer up. I just restart my computer and it usually fixes the problem. Not sure why this happens every so often.

[thelono]

Yes, I occassionally have my vcam missing after waking from hibernation or re-starts. I have to un-plug then plug it back in then it shows up again in the device manager..

Also, I have this thing where when I re-start the computer, it seems to re-install the drivers for the cams (i.e. new device found pops ups) and it goes searching the web for updates. Kind of annoying. I wonder why the drivers aren't locked in?

[psace]

These machine vision cameras certainly are fussy. So many different issues for people. The old webcam/pseye cam setup was definitely a lot easier to setup and use but of course, not as accurate.

[syhlif32]

thelono if you got to 320x240 you got enough bandwidth to have both cams on the same root hub.
Or you can use V-cam in 640 x 480 on the Usb 3.0 port and H-cam in 320 x 240 together with the other usb stuff you got on the other ports.

[thelono]

thelono if you got to 320x240 you got enough bandwidth to have both cams on the same root hub.
Or you can use V-cam in 640 x 480 on the Usb 3.0 port and H-cam in 320 x 240 together with the other usb stuff you got on the other ports.

Hmmm, maybe I'll give that a go...when I switch back to 320x240 do I have to move and re-adust my cameras to get the ball back in the red square?

[syhlif32]

Hmmm, maybe I'll give that a go...when I switch back to 320x240 do I have to move and re-adust my cameras to get the ball back in the red square?

Yes

[jhp016s]

Ok guys, I need a little help with the H-cam. I posted two screen shots. The first is just a chip shot with a 9 iron, why is this reading -3 launch angle, it really seems to miss a lot of chips. The second is a driver and reads zero, but looks like it should really be more like +1. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
chip9.jpgdswing.jpg

[ZMax]

The problem is the fat streak. I posted in the Protee thread that a fix will be in the next release.

Btw, will you be joining us for online play?

[Par2Pro]

Hey JHP016s -

Just to confirm you know that the HCAM launch angle is the horizontal direction, not the vertical launch angle correct?

[bubba22]

JH welcome. Cory is right, I think you mean azimuth not launch angle. As Z said there is a fix coming for the thick streaks. In fact there are many good improvements coming! You gotta join us online! Really fun!

[jhp016s]

Cory and bubba, i did know it was the cam for left and right directional readings, just didnt know all the technical terms. Do u think the hcam setup looks pretty good other than the fat streak? I will be joining online, just need to get the router all set up wit z's instructions.

[bubba22]

Setup seems good.

[goatbarn]

Does anyone know why I would've lost all my protee camera settings ie raster, sensitivity, offset, ground, right exclusions...etc.

For some reason they all defaulted to some random values.

I recently: installed a new PSU, and installed the setupMV camera utility (can't remember name of .exe).

I can't seem to find out why this is. But I spent another hour fine tuning those values that I had perfect for my setup. Was wondering if anyone else had this happen to them in the past.

On another note, does anyone use the path correction settings for driver, irons, wedges in the settings file?

Also, has anyone used the setMV camera setting utility? I can't seem to get the cameras to assign the correct values on the correct camera. They keep switching between camera 1 and 0 and so the value of the Hcam end up on the Vcam and visa versa. Ugh.

[ZMax]

I have path correction set to - 3 for all clubs. Make sure your lighting is perfect before adjusting.

SETFFmv does not help for me. I just the computer on.

[goatbarn]

Yes I actually set up -3 for all clubs last night too

Had it set at -3 last year, then when i reinstalled everything this year I left it at 0. Went to the range and had a little overdraw compared to the sim. -3 seemed to be good for me.

[psace]

Strange about the interface settings. Mine have never changed. Did your settings file change for any reason?

The utility file never worked for me either. Should just leave the damn thing running all the time, I guess.

What does changing the clubface correction to -3 do? I have always left mine on the default. All these different settings are starting to make me feel like I am in one giant maze.

[ZMax]

Added a solution for those that loses camera settings on power down.

[ZMax]

Added a second option for the lens.

[bubs3141]

Do you guys use the large camera housing that came from Protee or do you use something else?

[bubs3141]

CB_VI1-BS 32-CP 3_ 9.jpgCB_VI1-BS 32-CP 4_ 5.jpg

[bubs3141]

does the vertical cam look good

[bubs3141]

CB_HI1-BS 34-CP 0_ 9.jpgCB_HI1-BS 34-CP 0_ 6.jpg

horizontal camera

[Par2Pro]

For my system and some of my customers I use a ball marker for the Vcam.

ball-marke-sm.jpg

[bubba22]

does the vertical cam look good

Need to adjust the red box to where the ball is located. I would suggest the area opposite the cam be a black sude curtain so you can get the best emage contrast and no errors.

[psace]

I agree with Bubba. The ball must be in the red box for both cams. A black blackout curtain makes for a very dark background and nice white ball streak.

In the vcam you also need to adjust the ground slider so the red line will line up with the ball streak in your capture screen. There is little background noise in the vcam capture which is a good thing for good ball detection.

In the hcam capture screen there is little ball detection in the capture screen. It looks like the ball was not captured but some noise in the background was picked up by the hcam. The capture screen looks a little bright but it is difficult to tell from the picture. You could try a little less gain and see what happens.

[bubs3141]

Need to adjust the red box to where the ball is located. I would suggest the area opposite the cam be a black sude curtain so you can get the best emage contrast and no errors.

does the golf bag effect the screen at all? or just put the curtain behind the bags. Also getting the ball on the hcam in the red box is not fun. Does anyone have any suggestions on a better mount that does not move once you tighten it. The one that I am using does not get it completely tight.

Also one thing I noticed is when I was using a 75W spot par30 on the hcam it seemed to bright. it made the whole area too white and could not see the ball. So I switched it to a 50w par20 and it seemed to look a lot better on the interface screen. Will this effect its accuracy since it is not a par 30?

[ZMax]

Good suggestions guys. Keep it up. Bubba22, can you move these camera questions and answers to the camera thread?

Thanks.