QuickCam Team Forums

Hi Martin,

Here it goes:

[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# date
mar feb 19 00:01:08 AST 2008
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# make
make -C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build SUBDIRS=/home/joanna/gspcav1-20071224 CC=c c modules
make[1]: se ingresa al directorio `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.23.15-80.fc7-i686'
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST 1 modules
make[1]: se sale del directorio `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.23.15-80.fc7-i686'
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# make install
mkdir -p /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/usb/media/
rm -f /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/usb/media/spca5xx.ko
rm -f /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/media/video/gspca.ko
install -c -m 0644 gspca.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/usb/media/
/sbin/depmod -ae
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# /sbin/lsmod | grep spca
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# find /lib/modules -name '*spca*'
/lib/modules/2.6.23.15-80.fc7/extra/gspca
/lib/modules/2.6.23.15-80.fc7/extra/gspca/gspca.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.23.15-80.fc7/kernel/drivers/usb/media/gspca.ko
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# tail /var/syslog
tail: no se puede abrir «/var/syslog» para lectura: No existe el fichero o el di rectorio
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# file /var/syslog
/var/syslog: ERROR: cannot open `/var/syslog' (No such file or directory)
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]#

Obviously, that should have been /var/log/syslog, not /var/syslog. Sorry about that, I fixed it in my post above.

In your latest post it looks like you didn't even try to load the module. Maybe, instead of running "make install" you can just load the binary manually. Like this:

1. make
2. sudo insmod gspca.ko
3. tail -f /var/log/syslog
4. Now plug in the camera
   

Hi, still no syslog file to do tail on, thus I ran a find on it:
/etc/sysconfig/syslog
/etc/rc.d/init.d/syslog
/etc/logrotate.d/syslog
/var/lock/subsys/syslog

Which one is the syslog I need to tail?

And, I tried your suggestions to load manually, but as root:

[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# make
make -C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build SUBDIRS=/home/joanna/gspcav1-20071224 CC=cc modules
make[1]: se ingresa al directorio `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.23.15-80.fc7-i686'
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST 1 modules
make[1]: se sale del directorio `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.23.15-80.fc7-i686'
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# file gspca.ko
gspca.ko: ELF 32-bit LSB relocatable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), not stripped
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]# /sbin/insmod gspca.ko
insmod: error inserting 'gspca.ko': -1 Unknown symbol in module
[root@localhost gspcav1-20071224]#

Unknown symbol in module gspca.ko

If you have no syslog you can use dmesg like you did earlier.

It's a little hard to tell what's wrong without the detailed output, but you're probably missing some other modules required for gspca. Try doing an Internet search for a tutorial that includes the gspca driver. There's a chance it will contain a list of required modules.

That is exactly what I have been doing, before my post.
Always research before. And I have done that.
The insmod will not do it, because of gspca.ko having some error, or not identifying a symbol, as the error shows.

Perhaps you can ask MXHAARD to help out, he did mention in a previous post:

"It is easier just to ask him"

And the latest release gspcav1_2007_1224 has the 08dd logitech quickcam in it.
I appreciate your help, if you have any more ideas, I am willing to try them.

But now, I am requesting MXHAARD to help me out, or another Linux/Webcams Guru, please!!

Sincerely,

Hector

PS: I had no problem to insmod for my wireless network interface, light went on, wifi-radar worked, connected, easy, no problem. Why these issues with the webcam?

Michel is obviously free to chime in but he's going to ask you for the same output like I did. These are generic problems that are not specific to his driver. Anyway, feel free to drop him a note and send him a link to his thread, I'm sure he'll have some additional ideas.

Martin,

I agree completely. Please accept my apologies for being so rude, I greatly, and sincerely appreciate your help.
Let us not give up so soon, it is a small thing to solve, I am sure.

I send an email to Michel as you suggested and voila!!
I have to:

1. compile with kernel source, and
2. include videodev with V4L1 option.
   

Thanks again for your help, Martin!!
Merci also to Michel!!

Don't worry about it ... Once you get it running, if you have some time, it may be useful to post what your problem was, i.e. why it didn't work previously. Then I can point people in the right direction faster in the future.

What's the word on the brightness issue? I've gotten the webcam working, but everything is too dark! If I put a very bright light source in front of me (e.g. direct sunlight at noon), I can actually see my face, but then the camera's auto-adjust makes everything dark again.

I've heard that Michel is planning to have another release of his driver in May or June this year, but I'm sure he can post an update if he manages to fix this problem earlier. ;-)

Hi,
I am an new user of the quickam for notebook, 08dd. (Not so bad though) and I just subscribe to this forum.
A word on the brightness issue; I realized that if I point the cam to light at startup, it will work smoothly.
But if I don't, the image will be dark, I would like to hack on the driver to test some changes, any clue to get started on it?
Is there any svn or cvs to get the latest snapshot code ?

EDIT:
Just to say that it's strange but I experience a full minute of freeze for the app that should capture the webcam...
Anyone else has the same problem ?

Is there a way to access the zoom and focus controls?

Aside from the brightness issue, I get only extreme closeups and a fuzzy image.

Alright, good to know. Wish I could help. It wasn't an expensive webcam; I might ship it to Michel with enough money for him to ship it back, and perhaps a little extra for his troubles. Does Michel already have a webcam to work with?

Btw, how exactly is this whole Quickam Team thing working? Is Logitech actively supporting the development of free drivers for their webcams, or are people like Michel basically reverse-engineering them? I'd rather support hardware vendors that are offering free drivers and documentation than those who are not.

Don't worry, Michel already has the webcam. He receives webcam samples from Logitech on a regular basis. Of course, if you want to send him a little something extra, he doesn't mind according to the bottom of his website. ;-)

We are actually supporting some open source developers, so that the amount of reverse engineering can be reduced. In the case of the Linux UVC driver we have also contributed code in the past. That is not really related to the QuickCam Team website project, though. Just part of our growing support for non-Windows platforms. :-)

I am surprised by your informations about Logitech support of open source developers, I called your helpline, and noone could tell me that Logitech was actually supporting driver development in any way. In fact they really said that Logitech does not support linux at all. I discover this website after I choose to buy Logitech anyway.
But for this reason I could choose another brand....
Hell now I will try to give the driver a shot.....

Well, the situation is a little complicated. There's such a thing as "official support" (which has legal aspects to it) and "unofficial support" where we provide information (like this website here) or support developers. The former one does, of course, need much more resources and unfortunately we're not quite there yet. But we're all hoping to have a little Penguin logo on the box some day soon. ;-)

I understand, I really hope this to happen soon...

Hi there,
I've also invested in LQ for Notebook (0x08dd). At first only my microphone was recognized and no video in Ubuntu 7.10.

Later I found a forum on the internet that suggested to download, compile, install nightly builds of
- gspcav1-20071224
- pwc-v4l2-20080303-042701
which I did.

Since then I am able to get a visible screen in 'camorama' but the microphone is no longer recognized (not important for me as I have another one). Camorama takes 18 seconds to fire up. It crashes if I try to change to a smaller och bigger picture.

The colors in the picture are, I must say, weird. When I point my camera towards my laptop screen I get very good distinct colors corresponding to what I see on the screen) but when I point it towards me I'm basically black and white (and I'm not that pale!). Images from outdoor do have some colors in certain areas of the picture, but mostly black and white. I tried to adjust the color settings in camorama to fix this but couldn't see a big difference.

The picture is also distorted the last lines, as stated by someone else in this thread.

I've tried Ekiga once and it didn't work. Skype seems to randomly recognize my camera and sometimes not. When recognozed a black image comes up.

---
$ dmesg
[...]
[ 3006.872000] usb 1-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 3
[ 3007.060000] usb 1-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[ 3007.064000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: USB GSPCA camera found.(ZC3XX)
[ 3007.064000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [spca5xx_probe:4275] Camera type JPEG
[ 3007.064000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/Vimicro/zc3xx.h: [zc3xx_config:588] Sensor MC501CB
[ 3007.068000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [spca5xx_getcapability:1249] maxw 640 maxh 480 minw 160 minh 120
[ 3023.156000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [gspca_set_isoc_ep:945] ISO EndPoint found 0x81 AlternateSet 7
[ 3251.220000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [gspca_set_isoc_ep:945] ISO EndPoint found 0x81 AlternateSet 7
[ 3330.496000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [gspca_set_isoc_ep:945] ISO EndPoint found 0x81 AlternateSet 7
[ 4003.636000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [gspca_set_isoc_ep:945] ISO EndPoint found 0x81 AlternateSet 7
[ 4037.348000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [gspca_set_isoc_ep:945] ISO EndPoint found 0x81 AlternateSet 7
[ 4285.156000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [gspca_set_isoc_ep:945] ISO EndPoint found 0x81 AlternateSet 7
[ 4302.328000] /home/jens/src/gspcav1-20071224/gspca_core.c: [gspca_set_isoc_ep:945] ISO EndPoint found 0x81 AlternateSet 7
---

This dmesg was generated after I was testing the camera in camorama and Skype.

I'll follow this thread and tell me if you want something tested and/or more information.

Jens

Just one little note: Installing PWC is completely unnecessary for this camera, even though it won't hurt. The PWC driver supports a different chipset and will solely work for the cameras that are highlighted in green in the compatibility list.

Lucky, I experience the same one-minute freeze. The problem with brightness can be partially solved by adding a proper option to the module
To see the available options use
modinfo gspca
with sudo insmod gspca.ko autoexpo=0
I obtained good results (still with the minute wait)
the parameter can be read from the files in the directory:
/sys/module/gspca/parameters/

One thing: with skype I obtain variable results, with in general low stability and crashing skype...

Out of curiousity - do you get a picture in Skype? I tried the loading with 'autoexpo=0' and I think the brightness is better (still the color (channels?) are messed up, my T-shirt is blue not yellow). But still, Skype does only give me black screen in the video test square in its configuration window.

I played a little bit with the code: the one minute wait can be greatly reduced by changing the timeout parameter in utils/spcausb.h from
#define TimeOut 1000
to
#define TimeOut 50
This reduces the wait time to about 5-6 sec.

With this setup the reply is yes: I can see the video in the test rectangle in skype after about 10 seconds. Without if I remember well, I couldn't see the test because it timed out. The video could be used in a standard call because it does not time out but you have to wait a minute or so.

Hello!
Surfed and googled in search for howto to make my 0x08DD work in Ubuntu Gutsy. Yet not of much result.
Finally ran into this forum.
The gspcav1-20071224 driver is compiled and loaded soccessfully, yet the cam doesn't work (something I've missed while readin this thread?).
Please, give the instruction for making that cam work, with regard to that you're talking to the average consumer, that expects everything to work out-of-box.
Ready to follow your instruction and willing to provide any information needed.
Grateful to all those who will be able to help.

I have he same problem, the cam is not working (if i start camorama, it tells me "could not connect to video device (/dev/video0)"

Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh kernel: [ 2274.316000] usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 8
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh kernel: [ 2274.508000] usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.824038] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.884487] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if1').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.895572] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if0').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.900181] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if1_alsa_capture_0').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.904908] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if1_oss_pcm_0').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.905401] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if1_oss_pcm_0_0').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.905845] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if1_oss_mixer__1').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.906420] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if1_alsa_control__1').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.950661] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_if2').
Apr 19 17:26:55 Wooosh NetworkManager: <debug> [1208618815.996363] nm_hal_device_added(): New device added (hal udi is '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_46d_8dd_noserial_usbraw').

peter@Wooosh:~$ lsmod | grep spca
peter@Wooosh:~$ find /lib/modules -name '*spca*'
/lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/ubuntu/media/gspcav1
/lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/ubuntu/media/gspcav1/gspca.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/kernel/drivers/usb/media/gspca.ko

Thank you in advance for helping me

Sysiphos, in your case it's obvious that the driver is not even loaded. You need to load the gspca driver using modprobe or insmod first.