I don't think anyone has ever experienced that. Can you try the USB dongle in a different port?

On one of our demo setups, we have a USB Bluetooth dongle right next to the camera dongle - with no interference. You can see the demo live at events such as maker faire and comic expo.

It's very strange to hear that you're having an issue. I do not have any suggestions - other than perhaps a different USB port, or a USB Bluetooth dongle

@bill is that a internal Bluetooth on a laptop? - Josh S

Thanks for the responses, guys!

@Jstarne: nope, using the Bluetooth dongle sold on the EzRobot store.

@DJ: Not having heard of this before is, in itself, helpful! Knowing that this is an oddity means there must be a specific cause.

For historical purposes, and incase it helps;

All physical structure removed. EzB, battery pack, 1 servo, ezrobot wireless camera next 15cm away.

Ezboard is the other side of the room (About 5m), I can connect and operate servo fine, without issue.

After turning the camera on, the connection to the EzB drops within a few seconds. (No dialogs show, disconnects in the same manner as if you pull the power).

Attempts to connect result in a could not connect dialogue. Tried powering off/on the ezb, still no connection. If I unpair the bluetooth, it then fails to pair (the device shows in the available devices, but pairing fails (timeout) before entering the bluetooth pin code).

Turn camera off, bluetooth pairs straight away, connection to ezb completes without problem.

(Batteries on the ezb were new and fully charged and the camera was charged fully overnight)

I repeated the same basic process with both the bluetooth and camera dongles in different ports with the same result.

Now, given that this isn't the first issue I've had with this bluetooth dongle ( McLinky Burger)) and that I now know this is an out-of-the-ordinary problem, I'm going to try replacing the BT dongle first. I have a laptop with bluetooth, but it has backtrack (linux) on it, so that's no good

If each item works individually but not at the same time the basics of troubleshooting does point a finger at your computers hardware. Are your USB 1 or USB 2.0? I know some older laptops had a very small current threshold around 100ma to 250ma where modern usb provides 500ma to 2000ma ( that's 2 amps at 5v). I would try using a powered USB hub that has a modern amperage rating and see if this resolves the issue. I'm 99 percent sure its not intereference as I can run a few together... - Josh S

@jstarne: The PC is relatively new, Alienware Andromeda, quadcore 64bit. 10 USB2.0 ports running at 500ma, 4 USB3.0 ports running at 900ma each. Only two ports in use. The camera and BT dongle are in two of the USB 2 ports (One in the 4 port hub, one in the 6). All other USB devices have always worked flawlessly (Everything from joypads, mice, my wacom, webcams, peavy xport guitar interface, tablets, phones, keyboards, x52 etc etc etc).

Darn bill, I hate to see this problem. I did get a different Bluetooth that I noticed had a bit better range and cheap on eBay. Here's the pic as there is no branding...

It all points to the bluetooth as far as I can make out. Replace the dongle and see what happens.

Bill, where in the UK are you? I have a spare bluetooth dongle I got from farnell when I placed an order and needed to get above the minimum order value, I'll gladly send it your way (although I am useless at finding time to get to the post office so if you are close enough you could pick it up otherwise it could be a bit of a wait for the postman).

Agreed rich