QX3 Microscope

  • Thread starter Thread starter Terry Pinnell
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Terry Pinnell

This is a bit of a longshot for both newsgroups but maybe one of the
experts here has at some time used the INTEL Digital Blue QX3
Microscope and can offer some advice please?

Years ago I used this successfully on an old W98 PC. With that machine
recently consigned to the local tip, today I dusted off the pristine
looking QX3 and tried it on my two remaining PCs. After re-installing
with the 97 MB 'XP update' downloaded from INTEL, I get similar
problems on both my AMD Athlon XP1800 (XP Home) and my Quad Core Q9450
2.66 GHz (XP Pro). In both cases the device just doesn't seem to
exist. I get messages telling me to it's not plugged in when I try to
run the QX3 viewing software. And I can't see it in Device Manager.

It's intended for kids from 5 upwards (I qualify) so made to last. But
must I conclude that, despite its robustness it's a hardware fault,
as the trouble-shooting guide appears to imply? And that there's
nothing left to try? (I removed its 9 retaining screws but could see
nothing obviously amiss.) Reluctant to bin it ... ;-(
 
Terry Pinnell said:
This is a bit of a longshot for both newsgroups but maybe one of the
experts here has at some time used the INTEL Digital Blue QX3
Microscope and can offer some advice please?

Years ago I used this successfully on an old W98 PC. With that machine
recently consigned to the local tip, today I dusted off the pristine
looking QX3 and tried it on my two remaining PCs. After re-installing
with the 97 MB 'XP update' downloaded from INTEL, I get similar
problems on both my AMD Athlon XP1800 (XP Home) and my Quad Core Q9450
2.66 GHz (XP Pro). In both cases the device just doesn't seem to
exist. I get messages telling me to it's not plugged in when I try to
run the QX3 viewing software. And I can't see it in Device Manager.

It's intended for kids from 5 upwards (I qualify) so made to last. But
must I conclude that, despite its robustness it's a hardware fault,
as the trouble-shooting guide appears to imply? And that there's
nothing left to try? (I removed its 9 retaining screws but could see
nothing obviously amiss.) Reluctant to bin it ... ;-(
Click to expand...

I've installed these at one of my schools and had them working flawlessly
under XP. I've just searched through my drivers disc wallet and can't find a
disc for it so I assume I dl the drivers from Intel, it's been a few years.
ISTR that i had a similar problem, is the software supposed to be installed
before connecting the deveice? Possible I installed it in safe mode.

Anyhoo, my point is it does work under XP so don't give up, if I remember
I'll have a look at it when I go into school next Thursday and so if I can't
suss out how it's done.
 
Terry said:
This is a bit of a longshot for both newsgroups but maybe one of the
experts here has at some time used the INTEL Digital Blue QX3
Microscope and can offer some advice please?

Years ago I used this successfully on an old W98 PC. With that machine
recently consigned to the local tip, today I dusted off the pristine
looking QX3 and tried it on my two remaining PCs. After re-installing
with the 97 MB 'XP update' downloaded from INTEL, I get similar
problems on both my AMD Athlon XP1800 (XP Home) and my Quad Core Q9450
2.66 GHz (XP Pro). In both cases the device just doesn't seem to
exist. I get messages telling me to it's not plugged in when I try to
run the QX3 viewing software. And I can't see it in Device Manager.

It's intended for kids from 5 upwards (I qualify) so made to last. But
must I conclude that, despite its robustness it's a hardware fault,
as the trouble-shooting guide appears to imply? And that there's
nothing left to try? (I removed its 9 retaining screws but could see
nothing obviously amiss.) Reluctant to bin it ... ;-(
Click to expand...

I had one of those. It looks cool and *is* cool. It would be
interesting to see if a utility like USBView can see the device when
it's plugged in. As far as I know, you don't have to have the proper
drivers for it to be visible there. If it's not, that I would suspect
something's wrong with the device.

http://www.ftdichip.com/Resources/Utilities.htm
 
BigH2K said:
I've installed these at one of my schools and had them working flawlessly
under XP. I've just searched through my drivers disc wallet and can't find a
disc for it so I assume I dl the drivers from Intel, it's been a few years.
ISTR that i had a similar problem, is the software supposed to be installed
before connecting the deveice? Possible I installed it in safe mode.

Anyhoo, my point is it does work under XP so don't give up, if I remember
I'll have a look at it when I go into school next Thursday and so if I can't
suss out how it's done.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's reassuring. Although in my case I seem to have
exhausted all the obvious approaches. I will try again in Safe mode
too, as I hadn't thought of that. If only the USB cable wasn't
hard-wired I'd try replacing that, as all the evidence appears to be
of a 'dead' device - no light, not recognised by the software.

So much for Plug 'n Play ...
 
Terry said:
Thanks, that's reassuring. Although in my case I seem to have
exhausted all the obvious approaches. I will try again in Safe mode
too, as I hadn't thought of that. If only the USB cable wasn't
hard-wired I'd try replacing that, as all the evidence appears to be
of a 'dead' device - no light, not recognised by the software.

So much for Plug 'n Play ...
Click to expand...

$29 is significantly more than zero, but you can still get a QX3:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nice-Intel-Play...s=66:4|65:1|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:200
 
Terry said:
Thanks, that's reassuring. Although in my case I seem to have
exhausted all the obvious approaches. I will try again in Safe mode
too, as I hadn't thought of that. If only the USB cable wasn't
hard-wired I'd try replacing that, as all the evidence appears to be
of a 'dead' device - no light, not recognised by the software.

So much for Plug 'n Play ...
Click to expand...

Try looking for it with UVCView. This used to be on the Microsoft site,
but was taken down. It looks like this archived copy is fixed now.
It has the right size (167,232 bytes) and md5sum = 93244d84d79314898e62d21cecc4ca5e
compared to the copy I got a few years ago.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070307...f-a31d-436b-9281-92cdfeae4b45/UVCView.x86.exe

What the program should do, is display config data coming from a USB device.
Depending on whether the USB device supports USB1.1 or USB2, that determine
where in the entries it is placed. If you can see your device when it is plugged
in, then the hardware is probably working.

You could get similar information from Device Manager, but the
display on UVCView may be a bit easier to deal with. With Device
Manager, there are hidden devices and the like.

Paul
 
Thanks, that's reassuring. Although in my case I seem to have
exhausted all the obvious approaches. I will try again in Safe mode
too, as I hadn't thought of that. If only the USB cable wasn't
hard-wired I'd try replacing that, as all the evidence appears to be
of a 'dead' device - no light, not recognised by the software.

So much for Plug 'n Play ...
Click to expand...

I have this microscope and it is running in XP, IIRC it needed to be
installed with a disk

There is still some online documentation at

http://support.intel.com/support/intelplay/qx3/index.htm

I'll look for an instal cd if you have no luck

AJH
 
Paul said:
Try looking for it with UVCView. This used to be on the Microsoft site,
but was taken down. It looks like this archived copy is fixed now.
It has the right size (167,232 bytes) and md5sum = 93244d84d79314898e62d21cecc4ca5e
compared to the copy I got a few years ago.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070307...f-a31d-436b-9281-92cdfeae4b45/UVCView.x86.exe

What the program should do, is display config data coming from a USB device.
Depending on whether the USB device supports USB1.1 or USB2, that determine
where in the entries it is placed. If you can see your device when it is plugged
in, then the hardware is probably working.

You could get similar information from Device Manager, but the
display on UVCView may be a bit easier to deal with. With Device
Manager, there are hidden devices and the like.

Paul
Click to expand...

Thanks all, those follow-ups have helped me make some encouraging
progress. I installed both tools but see that UVCView is the latest
version so I've settled on that. Initially both were showing this port
as unconnected, but after several runs the QX3 appeared. So that means
the hardware is probably OK, which is good news. (This is all on my XP
Pro Intel PC; maybe I'll get similar success on the XP Home Athlon
later.)

However, on running the application I'm getting a message that it's
unable to communicate with the microscope and suggesting I restart the
PC. Several cycles later and still no joy.

The situation could be complicated by the fact that I'm now running
the XP version, downloaded from Intel's site, on this XP Pro PC. I'll
have to check again that there are no residues from the original
CD-based setup program.

---------

I know I should strictly raise this next point as a new post, but as
it arose while using those USB viewers I hope it's OK here.

The display by UVCView is showing a yellow warning at Port 8,
apparently due to an unknown device:

My Computer
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
RootHub
[Port1]
[Port2]
[Port3] : USB Composite Device
[Port4] : HP USB Sync
[Port5] : Generic USB Hub
[Port1] : USB Human Interface Device
[Port2]
[Port3]
[Port4] : USB Human Interface Device
[Port6]
[Port7] : Intel Play QX3 Microscope
[Port8] FailedEnumeration : Unknown Device <----
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
RootHub
[Port1] : EPSON Perfection 2480/2580
[Port2]
[Port3]
[Port4]
[Port5]
[Port6] : USB Mass Storage Device
[Port7]
[Port8]

But in Device Manager I see this, which has no yellow exclamations.

Universal Serial Bus controllers
Generic USB Hub
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller Standard OpenHCD USB
Host Controller
Unknown Device
USB Composite Device
USB Mass Storage Device
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub

I haven't yet identified what the 'unknown' device is, but will now
proceed to track it down. As I've raised before, I wish there was some
visual correspondence between these displays and the physical PC case
itself! Step 1 is to find which is Port 8 ;-)
 
Thanks all, those follow-ups have helped me make some encouraging
progress. I installed both tools but see that UVCView is the latest
version so I've settled on that. Initially both were showing this port
as unconnected, but after several runs the QX3 appeared. So that means
the hardware is probably OK, which is good news. (This is all on my XP
Pro Intel PC; maybe I'll get similar success on the XP Home Athlon
later.)

However, on running the application I'm getting a message that it's
unable to communicate with the microscope and suggesting I restart the
PC. Several cycles later and still no joy.

The situation could be complicated by the fact that I'm now running
the XP version, downloaded from Intel's site, on this XP Pro PC. I'll
have to check again that there are no residues from the original
CD-based setup program.

---------

I know I should strictly raise this next point as a new post, but as
it arose while using those USB viewers I hope it's OK here.

The display by UVCView is showing a yellow warning at Port 8,
apparently due to an unknown device:

My Computer
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
RootHub
[Port1]
[Port2]
[Port3] : USB Composite Device
[Port4] : HP USB Sync
[Port5] : Generic USB Hub
[Port1] : USB Human Interface Device
[Port2]
[Port3]
[Port4] : USB Human Interface Device
[Port6]
[Port7] : Intel Play QX3 Microscope
[Port8] FailedEnumeration : Unknown Device <----
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
RootHub
[Port1] : EPSON Perfection 2480/2580
[Port2]
[Port3]
[Port4]
[Port5]
[Port6] : USB Mass Storage Device
[Port7]
[Port8]

But in Device Manager I see this, which has no yellow exclamations.

Universal Serial Bus controllers
Generic USB Hub
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller Standard OpenHCD USB
Host Controller
Unknown Device
USB Composite Device
USB Mass Storage Device
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub

I haven't yet identified what the 'unknown' device is, but will now
proceed to track it down. As I've raised before, I wish there was some
visual correspondence between these displays and the physical PC case
itself! Step 1 is to find which is Port 8 ;-)
Click to expand...

Hmm, after re-booting the situation has returned to its previous state
;-(
I get message in tray that "One of the USB devices attached to this
computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it."
UVCView now shows Port 7 as the one with the yellow exclamation mark.

---===>Device Information<===---

ConnectionStatus: FailedEnumeration
Current Config Value: 0x00 -> Device Bus Speed: Low
Device Address: 0x00
Open Pipes: 0
*!*ERROR: No open pipes!

===>Device Descriptor<===
*!*ERROR: bLength of 0 incorrect, should be 18
bLength: 0x00
bDescriptorType: 0x00
bcdUSB: 0x0000
bDeviceClass: 0x00
*!*ERROR: Device enumeration failure


Which seems to imply that the error I reported as a separate issue was
in fact connected with this QX3 device. Although it *was* shown as a
quite separate entry!

BTW, Device Manager still has no yellow warnings.
 
Have you tried to run the program with all other USB devices
unplugged ?
(I have a scanner that runs fine. As long as there is no other
USB device plugged in :-)
 
Terry Pinnell said:
This is a bit of a longshot for both newsgroups but maybe one of the
experts here has at some time used the INTEL Digital Blue QX3
Microscope and can offer some advice please?

Years ago I used this successfully on an old W98 PC. With that machine
recently consigned to the local tip, today I dusted off the pristine
looking QX3 and tried it on my two remaining PCs. After re-installing
with the 97 MB 'XP update' downloaded from INTEL, I get similar
problems on both my AMD Athlon XP1800 (XP Home) and my Quad Core Q9450
2.66 GHz (XP Pro). In both cases the device just doesn't seem to
exist. I get messages telling me to it's not plugged in when I try to
run the QX3 viewing software. And I can't see it in Device Manager.

It's intended for kids from 5 upwards (I qualify) so made to last. But
must I conclude that, despite its robustness it's a hardware fault,
as the trouble-shooting guide appears to imply? And that there's
nothing left to try? (I removed its 9 retaining screws but could see
nothing obviously amiss.) Reluctant to bin it ... ;-(
Click to expand...

I remembered to have a look today at what software I used and it looks as if
it was d/l from Intel. The file is called "QX3Plus.exe" 93.6mb in size and
was dated 15/6/2006, file version 2.11.15.0. Don't know whether this is what
you have but as I said previously, it will work under XP Pro.

Peter.
 
Try looking for it with UVCView. This used to be on the Microsoft site,
but was taken down. It looks like this archived copy is fixed now.
It has the right size (167,232 bytes) and md5sum = 93244d84d79314898e62d21cecc4ca5e
compared to the copy I got a few years ago.

What the program should do, is display config data coming from a USB device.
Depending on whether the USB device supports USB1.1 or USB2, that determine
where in the entries it is placed. If you can see your device when it isplugged
in, then the hardware is probably working.
Click to expand...
You could get similar information from Device Manager, but the
display on UVCView may be a bit easier to deal with. With Device
Manager, there are hidden devices and the like.
Click to expand...
   Paul
Click to expand...

Thanks all, those follow-ups have helped me make some encouraging
progress. I installed both tools but see that UVCView is the latest
version so I've settled on that. Initially both were showing this port
as unconnected, but after several runs the QX3 appeared. So that means
the hardware is probably OK, which is good news. (This is all on my XP
Pro Intel PC; maybe I'll get similar success on the XP Home Athlon
later.)

However, on running the application I'm getting a message that it's
unable to communicate with the microscope and suggesting I restart the
PC. Several cycles later and still no joy.

The situation could be complicated by the fact that I'm now running
the XP version, downloaded from Intel's site, on this XP Pro PC. I'll
have to check again that there are no residues from the original
CD-based setup program.

---------

I know I should strictly raise this next point as a new post, but as
it arose while using those USB viewers I hope it's OK here.

The display by UVCView is showing a yellow warning at Port 8,
apparently due to an unknown device:

My Computer
 Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
  RootHub
   [Port1]
   [Port2]
   [Port3]  :  USB Composite Device
   [Port4]  :  HP USB Sync
   [Port5]  :  Generic USB Hub
      [Port1]  :  USB Human Interface Device
      [Port2]
      [Port3]
      [Port4]  :  USB Human Interface Device
      [Port6]
      [Port7]  :  Intel Play QX3 Microscope
      [Port8] FailedEnumeration :  Unknown Device <----
 Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
  RootHub
      [Port1]  :  EPSON Perfection 2480/2580
      [Port2]
      [Port3]
      [Port4]
      [Port5]
      [Port6]  :  USB Mass Storage Device
      [Port7]
      [Port8]

But in Device Manager I see this, which has no yellow exclamations.

Universal Serial Bus controllers
 Generic USB Hub                            
 Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller  Standard OpenHCD USB
Host Controller                            
 Unknown Device                            
 USB Composite Device                            
 USB Mass Storage Device                            
 USB Root Hub                            
 USB Root Hub                            

 I haven't yet identified what the 'unknown' device is, but will now
proceed to track it down. As I've raised before, I wish there was some
visual correspondence between these displays and the physical PC case
itself! Step 1 is to find which is Port 8 ;-)
Click to expand...

I just experienced the same problem with a QX3 that was given to me by
a friend. It failed to recognize the device when plugged into either
USB 1.1 or 2.0 ports. A truly helpful XP pop-up balloon indicated a
USB device failure to recognize. In addition, nothing showed up in
Device Manager, not even an Unknown Device. I found that the problem
was a dead clock crystal on the internal circuit board. It is
actually pretty easy to open and the crystal can be removed and
replaced with only basic soldering skills and a standard soldering
pencil. Fortunately, this can be accomplished without unscrewing the
PC board from the lens assembly. The failed crystal is a 48.0000MHz
metal can labeled X2. It is the 2-leaded metal can marked 48.0000 and
is lying down on its side next to a similar can standing on its end.
I replaced X2 with a new part and the device recognized immediately
and worked great with my XP box........ Great, except that it hijacks
the screen resolution (normally 1280x1024) and screws up my desktop
settings upon exit. Is there a way to force it to run in a window
instead of going to full screen? I tried various compatibility modes
without any success. Anybody have any ideas here?

Dadumagoo Kent, Ohio
 
This is a bit of a longshot for both newsgroups but maybe one of the
experts here has at some time used the INTEL Digital Blue QX3
Microscope and can offer some advice please?

Years ago I used this successfully on an old W98 PC. With that machine
recently consigned to the local tip, today I dusted off the pristine
looking QX3 and tried it on my two remaining PCs. After re-installing
with the 97 MB 'XP update' downloaded from INTEL, I get similar
problems on both my AMD Athlon XP1800 (XP Home) and my Quad Core Q9450
2.66 GHz (XP Pro). In both cases the device just doesn't seem to
exist. I get messages telling me to it's not plugged in when I try to
run the QX3 viewing software. And I can't see it in Device Manager.

It's intended for kids from 5 upwards (I qualify) so made to last. But
must I conclude that, despite its robustness  it's a hardware fault,
as the trouble-shooting guide appears to imply? And that there's
nothing left to try? (I removed its 9 retaining screws but could see
nothing obviously amiss.) Reluctant to bin it ...  ;-(
Click to expand...

Sounds like a bad 48.000MHz clock crystal on the MPU. (Marked 'X2' on
circuit board.) Either the crystal has stopped oscillating or it has
gone off frequency, either of which can result from droppage or
defect. See my post at the end of this thread. An ECS part# ECS-480-
S-1, $0.40 thru Digi-Key, will probably work fine.

Good luck. It is a nice little 'toy'. I am using it for PC board
inspection at work.
 
Sounds like a bad 48.000MHz clock crystal on the MPU. (Marked 'X2' on
circuit board.) Either the crystal has stopped oscillating or it has
gone off frequency, either of which can result from droppage or
defect. See my post at the end of this thread. An ECS part# ECS-480-
S-1, $0.40 thru Digi-Key, will probably work fine.

Good luck. It is a nice little 'toy'. I am using it for PC board
inspection at work.
Click to expand...

Nice detective work! Especially as you presumably found the crystal
fault without the aid of QX3's magnification ;-)
 
Nice detective work! Especially as you presumably found the crystal
fault without the aid of QX3's magnification ;-)
Click to expand...

Okay, this QX3 has gone from kewl to sah-weet!!!!! As to my question
earlier, I say nevermind. I found that when I uninstalled the Nazi-
ish, resource hijacking software from Intel that plays holy-hobb with
my desktop, there was enough residue left behind of the drivers (or
they were already there) such that I can use it as an imaging input
device directly into the word processors for Corel, OpenOffice and
even Microlost. Perfect for lab reports and failure analyses. Simply
insert image and select the QX3 from the drop-down list of imaging
devices. The pop-up menu allows total control of lights and of gamma/
contrast/resolution settings. I haven't had this much fun since
finger-painting in kindergarten, and I don't care to think of how many
years ago that was! Let me know if the crystal does the trick. My
next adventure is going to be creating a LabVIEW application to make
it a perfect tool for my workbench.

Still the Magoo
-end-of-line-
 
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