Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse to

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exrayspecks
 
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Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse to

Post by exrayspecks »

Hi guys,
I've had my MicroView USB microscope for a bit now and remember fondly the first day I got it as a birthday gift, connected it to my MacBook Pro using MicroCapture, and immediately zoomed into the nether-regions of my fingerprint. Kinda gross actually.
In any case, fast-forward to today (and all day yesterday) when I connect this baby, neither of my Mac computers (iMac with 10.9 BANNED NOR MacBook Pro with 10.7 Lion) recognize it as a camera.
Sure, the LEDs light up but none of my camera interface apps (PhotoBooth, QuickTime, iMovie) allow the camera to be selected as a video source; they only show it as a selectable microphone audio device. Even the latest version of MicroCapture (2M, I think) does nothing! I just get the message at the bottom, "No Device Connected... etc."

So... after some rather Heroic efforts, if I do say so myself, to resolve this issue on my own; I've failed utterly.

Some "interesting" facts:
- When I check my Macs' respective System Hardware Profiles, the microscope shows up as USB connected, but displays as an audio device (microphone) and not a camera.
- It is being connected directly to each computer, not through a hub device.
- Problem is the same on both computers, under both OS Xs.
- I have no idea what to do!

Thanks in advance for spending some time on this.

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

How long have you had the microscope now?

exrayspecks
 
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Re: Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse

Post by exrayspecks »

Not 100% sure but definitely > 1 year and < 2 years. Do you guys know of a bad batch of units or something?

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

No, I was just wondering if it was within our warranty period. But unfortunately, it's not.

exrayspecks
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse

Post by exrayspecks »

So am I to assume you think maybe I have a damaged or somehow faulty unit?

I guess my brass-tacks question is: Do I have a software/firmware/configuration compatibility problem, or is the Microscope itself malfunctioning?

If it's either, can the problem be fixed somehow?

Seems as though lots of folks swear by this USB Microscope's compatibility with Mac in general, so I'm not sure where to go from here.

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Well, it worked for over a year, right? So it sounds like the microscope has simply failed.

If it wasn't working at all, I might suggest that the cable or USB connector has gone bad. But it seems like the microscope itself is reporting incorrect information, which indicates that it's the internal electronics that have died.

Sorry I don't havce better news. I don't know what else to tell you.

exrayspecks
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Mac and USB Microscope (ID 636) getting in fight, refuse

Post by exrayspecks »

It's no sweat! I figured this might be the case; I just wanted to get some outside input to make sure there was nothing else I could do.

I'll probably just get a new one at some point! Oh well.

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