Troubleshooting

This is the most common issue and is almost always cable-related.

Check these first:

1. Cable seated correctly? — Unplug and firmly re-plug the USB 3.0 cable on both ends (camera and framegrabber port). The connector should click into place.
2. Correct port? — Ensure the camera is plugged into one of the framegrabber card ports, not a regular USB port on the motherboard.
3. Cable damaged? — Try a different USB 3.0 cable. Damaged or kinked cables are a frequent cause of intermittent detection failures.
4. Camera LED — Check if the camera's indicator LED is lit. No LED usually means no power, which points to a cable or port issue.
5. Restart RingShot — Close and re-open the application. Cameras are scanned on startup.

If the camera is still not detected after checking all cables, try a different framegrabber port. If none of the ports work, the camera may need service — contact support.

Visual artifacts, random color patterns, or dropped frames during recording are typically caused by insufficient USB bandwidth.

Possible causes:

1. Cable quality — Replace the USB cable with a high-quality shielded USB 3.0 cable. Cheap cables often cannot sustain the data rates required for high-speed cameras.
2. Wrong port — If two cameras share the same USB controller (e.g., both on motherboard ports), they compete for bandwidth. Always use the framegrabber ports with dedicated controllers.
3. Cable length — USB 3.0 has a maximum reliable cable length of about 3–5 meters. Longer cables may cause data errors. Do not use USB extension cables.
4. Loose connection — A partially seated connector can work intermittently. Push the connector in firmly until it clicks.

Check these in order:

1. LoRa receiver plugged in? — Verify the LoRa USB receiver dongle is connected to the system and its LED is active.
2. Trigger enabled in settings? — Open Trigger App Settings and confirm the trigger source is set to "TriggerPod LoRa" and that auto-trigger is enabled.
3. TriggerPod mounting — The sensor must be mounted on a rigid part of the target frame. Soft or flexible mounting absorbs the vibration and prevents detection.
4. Sensitivity too low? — Increase the trigger sensitivity in the Trigger App Settings panel. Light arrows on soft targets may not produce enough vibration at low sensitivity settings.
5. Range exceeded? — Check that the TriggerPod is within 70 meters of the receiver with clear line of sight.
6. Battery depleted — While the battery lasts approximately 10 years, it may eventually need replacement. If all other checks pass, contact support for battery replacement.

False triggers occur when the TriggerPod detects vibration from sources other than an arrow impact.

Solutions:

• Reduce sensitivity — Lower the trigger sensitivity in the settings panel until false triggers stop, but real impacts are still detected.
• Secure the target — Ensure the target frame is stable and not moving in the wind. A wobbly target produces vibrations that the sensor picks up.
• Isolate the sensor — If the target is in a high-vibration environment (e.g., near heavy machinery or a busy road), consider adding vibration dampening between the sensor and the frame.

If the slow-motion region is showing the wrong part of the footage, the slow-motion start point in the Playback Settings needs adjustment.

How to fix:

1. Open Playback Settings in the sidebar
2. Adjust the slow-motion region start — increase the number of pre-trigger frames to include the release moment
3. Shoot a test arrow and verify the slow-motion region now covers the correct moment

Keep in mind that the trigger delay depends on arrow speed and distance. If you change your shooting distance or arrow setup, you may need to readjust the slow-motion region.

Possible causes:

• Disk space — Ensure the destination drive has sufficient free space. High-speed footage files can be very large.
• GPU driver — Export uses hardware video encoding. Ensure your GPU drivers are up to date.
• Write permissions — Check that the destination folder is writable and not on a read-only or full network drive.
• Anti-virus — Some security software may block the encoding process. Add RingShot to your anti-virus exclusion list.

If the issue persists, try exporting to a local SSD (not a network drive) and contact support with the error log.

High-speed recording requires significantly more light than normal video because each frame is exposed for a very short time.

Solutions:

• Add more lighting — This is the most effective solution. Use bright LED panels or floodlights aimed at the shooting area.
• Use filters — Open Filter Settings and increase brightness, contrast, or gamma to improve visibility of dark footage. See Filter Settings.
• Lower FPS mode — If lighting cannot be improved, switch to the 226 FPS mode (1440×1080) which allows longer exposure times per frame.