SKJM Forum
Support => iCam Support => Topic started by: TrippinBilly on September 29, 2010, 08:41:44 PM
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When I first loaded and ran v2.1.3 on Windows (Vista) it worked fine. I restarted it the other day and now even though iCamSource reports it is connected to the server, I can't reach it from iCam on my phone. I can run v2.1.2 on my iMac with no problems and iCam connects with no issues.
Any info I can provide to help troubleshoot?
Thanks...
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If you run just the Windows iCamSource (quit the Mac iCamSource), what error message do you see on your iPhone when you try to connect to the Windows iCamSource?
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I make sure that both iCamSources (windows/Mac) aren't running at the same time.
I get a dialog box that says no iCamSources were found. I get a similar message using iCamWeb.
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Was messing around with it again this evening...
Mac version of iCamSource is not running.
Windows version of iCamSource is running and says it the title bar: Connected to Server. I have 4 cameras setup, and I can see video for all 4 cameras in iCamSource.
When I launch iCam on my iPhone, it displays the current error message:
Source Connection Error
One or more of the iCamSources returned by the iCam Broker Server could not be connected to.
I also tried connecting via iCamWeb. Num of Sources reported was 1, then after a few seconds, I got a dialog box that displayed the same error above.
I can stop the Windows version, launch the Mac version, and I have no problem viewing my cameras on my iPhone.
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Do you have a firewall program installed on your Windows computer? Make sure the ports are open (google pfportchecker). Have you enabled uPNP on your router, and auto port configuration in icamsource on the Windows PC?
If doing that doesn't work, you might have to set up manual port forwarding. If you are wondering why it'd work for your Mac, but not your PC, it's probably because you have multiple sources on your PC...which requires more ports/routing (making it more complicated).
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UPnP is enabled on the router.
Tried turning the firewall off already.
I'm leaning more toward a code issue than a network issue. Just now I double tapped the Start/Stop button (don't ask, got impatient I guess) on preferences, my iPhone got a motion detection from my Windows iCamSource. I opened iCamSource and 2 of my 4 cameras came up. Then, after a few seconds, I got and error on my iPhone from iCam: Source Connection Error: one or more of the iCamSources returned by the iCam Broker Server could not be connected to.
Not sure I understand your comment about why it worked on my Mac and not my PC as I have multiple source on my PC. I have the same sources configured on both platforms. I just make sure that the Mac iCamSource is not running when the PC is, or vice versa.
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Ohh, I thought you had only one source (a webcam) on your Mac. Have you tried running pfportchecker.exe to make sure that the ports are forwarding correctly? Are both the PC and Mac connecting to the router through the same method (wirelessly....or ethernet)? I've had some crappy routers in the past that could get overwhelmed with wireless traffic and become unstable...especially using WPA encryption. Granted, this was years ago when WPA was new. I'm just throwing some ideas out. It could be a software issue...but I'd think more people would be having the issue. What firewall program are you running? I had CA Anti-virus/Firewall. Sometimes when I "turned off" the firewall, it kept running...very frustrating. That firewall had some weird quirks. I'd try the port checker program (the one above is what the SKJM guys recommended) and verify the ports are open. I think they recommend at least 6 ports per camera be available. You might also verify that the Windows firewall is disabled during testing. I've encountered unexpected blocking behavior from the Windows firewall, despite having made exceptions for specific programs. That occured on a Vista Home machine if I remember correctly.
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TrippinBilly - If you email the PC's external IP address to support@skjm.com, I can look in the server logs to find more information about the problem. To get the external IP address, go to http://whatismyip.com in your PC's web browser. Please refer to this forum thread in your email.
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Hi all,
I have the same problem. My source is installed on windows, and everything works fine only if I use a 2 letter password. Restarting the computer and iPhone did not help. Is this a known bug in 2.1.3?
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Thanks, Jay, for the help!
The problem was that the iCam Password for some of the cameras were different than the others. I re-typed them all, and it works now!
Might want to consider moving to having a single iCam Login/Password and using it for all cameras versus entering in an iCam login/password for each camera. Unless, of course, there's a reason to have them that way...
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Wow, the password was your problem? lol Personally, I like having the flexibility of using different usernames/passwords for each camera. Maybe have a checkbox in future versions of icamsource that allows you to force all cameras to have the same username and password?
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Yea. All of the cameras had the same userid, but two of them had the same password and the other two did not. So, I don't understand why that would cause iCam to fail to stay connected, though. If two cams had the same userid/password, then why would the other two (not being the same) cause the disconnect?
Doesn't matter, as I'm glad it's running. I don't like leaving my iMac running all the time (e.g. heat). If something is going to wear out, I want it to be my Windows box. Cheaper to replace components.
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I had issues with this new version too.
I retyped the user name and password in both iCamSource and iCam on the iPhone/iPad and the connection was restored.
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Having a similar problem.. everytime iCam won't connect I have to go in and retype the username and password it it works immediately - is this some kind of bug?
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We haven't heard any reports of anybody needing to re-enter their login/password repeatedly. As far as I know, TrippinBilly and GaryW haven't had recurring problems after they re-entered the login/password once.
What error do you see on your iPhone? It might re-connecting successfully because you're restarting iCamSource, not because you're re-entering the login/password.
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Thank Jay,
Every time the computer re-starts or the modem re-starts and iCam is on autostart the message on the iPhone / iPad is "Source Connection Error" One or more of the iCamSources returned by the iCam Broker Server.......
There is a 50% chance that if I re-start the iCam program the iPhone will find the cams (sometimes not all), otherwise I need to restart and re-enter the password and that ensures 100% success that everything works..
When I'm away it becomes useless as I cannot be there to re-start the program or re-enter passwords - if by chance only one cam comes up and I re-fresh too many times it brings up the iCam Broker Servrice message and then I know no further cams can be viewed till I get home and re-start the program again.
Could there be a fix or is it just my issue?
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Ok, I can confirm there appears to be something up with the Windows version of iCamSource v2.1.3.
I left my computer running for 2-3 days, and all of sudden iCam cannot connect (e.g. No Sources).
- So, I stopped and restarted iCamSource. No effect.
- I rebooted my PC. No Effect.
- I retyped the password for all four cameras, it worked again.
It appears that the passwords somehow get corrupted and are persisted in a corrupted state.
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The next time either of your see this behavior, I'd like you to send me the iCamSource registry key. To get that, run regedit.exe (search for "regedit" in Start->Search).
Then select this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> SKJM, LLC
Right-click on the Key and select "Export" from the pop-up menu. This will save the key in a .reg file.
Please get an export of the registry key when it stops working, and then get a separate export of the registry key after you've re-entered the passwords and it has started working again
Please email those .reg files to me at support@skjm.com so I can look through the settings to see if the registry is getting corrupted. Please refer to this forum thread in your email.
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Will do. Thanks.
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Hey Jay,
I have sent the registry files to support..
Hope it helps..
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I've had a similar problem 2.1.3 for windows just doesn't like multiple cameras. I could hardly get it to connect when I had more than one camera defined. As soon as I deleted the other cameras it connected and started steaming like it used to. I have another laptop that is running 2.1.3 for windows and when I connect a second camera to it, it also fails.
Hope this helps guys.
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That may be a CPU usage issue or perhaps a USB bus issue, with your computer's USB bus not being able to power both webcams at the same time.
What was the CPU usage of the iCamSource when you added the additional camera?
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Yes the CPU did increase im using a Sony Vaio Core 2 Duo 2GHz process with 4GB ram so that should be ample.
From memory my desktop gadget had the CPU at around 55-60% and the fan was also kicking in.
I did not notice that as I selected each camera I could see the image changing.
The title of the preference window kept saying "connecting", I never saw the "connected to server" until I remove the second camera.
The other laptop I have a similar issue on is HP Centrino 2 3.2 Ghtz processor 4gb RAM and its CPU spikes at 45-50%
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If you disable the motion detection (by unchecking the Enable Motion Detection checkbox) does that allow you to run with two cameras at once? That will reduce the CPU usage of the iCamSource application.
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I'll double check that one later, but I haven't been using motion detection at this stage.
I started up the laptop this morning and it was stuck connecting... . I clicked on the stop button, re-entered the password and clicked start and it changed to connected.
BUT
by the time I got to work the camera image has frozen and it looks like the icam software has crashed. :(
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Unchecking the Enable Motion Detection checkbox should greatly reduce your CPU usage, as that seems to be a probable cause of your system's instability.
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Thanks
sorry I wasn't clear enough. I haven't used motion and it wasn't enabled
cheers
Michael
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You are seeing CPU settings as high as 50-60% with Motion Detection turned off and just two USB webcams?
With just one camera in the iCamSource, the motion detection disabled, and the iCamSource Preferences window closed (the application still runs in the systray) what % CPU do you see? Is it the same regardless of which USB camera you are using?
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with just one web cam and motion detection turned off and the preference window closed the CPU is around 25%. It doesnt matter if I use the inbuilt camera or the external logitech camera.
When I started it up this morning it would not connect to the server until I re-entered the password.
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I’ve test all types of scenarios now and it appears that auto start has nothing to do with the issue nor is there two instances of iCamsource running.
The only thing that interferes with the successful operation of the program is the password..
After iCam stops or if it doesn't start after a PC reboot - to make it work again every time, you only need to re - input just one of the passwords and all cams work again immediately again after pressing start and refresh iPhone.
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We believe we have discovered the cause of the "password corruption" problem and should have an updated iCamSource available tomorrow.
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I'm curious about something. I thought I had read somewhere in the forums that you guys use this to monitor your homes (or something). Have you not run into similar issues? If not, what are you guys doing differently?
<note: was intended for the SKJM folks>
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Please let me know when its available. Thanks!
We believe we have discovered the cause of the "password corruption" problem and should have an updated iCamSource available tomorrow.
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TrippinBilly - It was a thread safety issue with the code that encodes and decodes the passwords when they are stored in the registry / preferences. The thing with thread safety issues is that they're almost never consistent. We hadn't been experiencing this issue until just yesterday, which was how we were able to track it down and fix it.
The Mac version is currently available (http://skjm.com/icam/iCamSource2.1.3.dmg) and the Windows version will be available later today. We just have a some more testing to do with it.
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The Windows version is ready. You can get it here: http://skjm.com/icam/iCamSetup2.1.4.exe