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download to Scribbler works only occasionally — Parallax Forums

download to Scribbler works only occasionally

Duncan BuellDuncan Buell Posts: 3
edited 2009-04-29 14:05 in Robotics
I have a new Scribbler, bought a USB to serial cable at Radio Shack, and have been trying to download programs. Every once in a while it works. Most of the time it gives me the same "can't do it" excuse. I have moved the dowload speed on the cable to as slow as possible (the window says that provides better connections but slower performance, which would be ok). The actually programs (brought up in WordPad) seem to be ok. I have tried as many options of clearing, rebooting, turning off Scribbler, etc., in case there's a glitch with not taking more than one program per turn-on. On rare occasions it works...

Is this normal? I will be testing a different cable down at the office tomorrow. If I were a real consumer instead of a teacher, I would simply put it back in the box and return the whole thing as too much work to be worth it...

Comments

  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2009-04-26 22:30
    Your best bet is to contact them directly. The address for this is below.
    http://www.parallax.com/Company/ContactUs/tabid/66/Default.aspx

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    PG
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2009-04-28 01:56
    Duncan,

    See this pdf - http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/prod/robo/scribbler/ScribblerConnection-v1.0.pdf

    especially this part

    2. You may have connected your Scribbler Robot to your computer with a USB to Serial Adapter.
    There are a few things you need to know to use an adapter:
    a. We recommend the Parallax USB to Serial Adapter (#28031), which is fully compatible
    with the Scribbler Robot. To use this adapter, you will need to install the drivers for it on
    your computer. You can download the drivers for free. Go to www.parallax.com. Click
    Downloads, then FTDI USB Drivers. These drivers will work for Windows 2K/XP/Vista.
    There is also a Troubleshooting USB Driver problems link on that page.
    b. Other brands of adapters will need drivers from their manufacturer. Not every brand of
    adapter works with Parallax products. Belkin brand adapters are known not to work.

    Hope this helps!

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    Whit+


    "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
  • dandreaedandreae Posts: 1,375
    edited 2009-04-28 14:29
    This maybe related to the PC regarding the "Latency Timer".· Let's have you go to your "Control Panel" on your PC and then click on "Systems" and then click on "Hardware" and then "Device Manager" and scroll down to "Ports" making sure that the·USB adapter·is plugged in.· Once you click on "Ports" find the USB to com port and double click on it.· Now click on the "Port Setting" tab and then click on the "Advance" button, there you will find the "Latency Timer".· Change the "Latency Timer" from 16 to 1 and that should fix the issue.· If you have any more questions please feel free to contact us support@parallax.com.···
    Kind regards,
    ·Dave

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    Dave Andreae

    Parallax Tech Support·
  • Duncan BuellDuncan Buell Posts: 3
    edited 2009-04-28 15:09
    I tried turning down the timer to 1. That didn't work.

    Actually, I tried all possible combinations.

    The Parallax cable from an XP desktop with a serial connection worked.
    The Parallax cable with a Dynex DX-UBDB9 USBtoSerial, from a USB connection on the XP desktop worked.
    The Parallax cable with the Dynex adapter, from a USB connection on a Vista laptop worked.

    The Radio Shack adapter from the XP desktop worked.
    The Radio Shack adapter from the Vista laptop FAILED.

    I conclude that the Scribbler hardware works, the Parallax serial to serial cable hardware works, the Dynex adapter (borrowed) hardware works, and the Radio Shack adapter *hardware* works.

    What fails is the Radio Shack adapter, from a Vista laptop, to the Scribbler.

    I have ordered the Parallax 28031 adapter.
  • Duncan BuellDuncan Buell Posts: 3
    edited 2009-04-28 15:10
    And thanks for the help! I had not noticed the Parallax adapter gadgets or I would have bought one when I bought the Scribbler.
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2009-04-29 02:41
    Duncan Buell said...
    And thanks for the help! I had not noticed the Parallax adapter gadgets or I would have bought one when I bought the Scribbler.
    Hope you are up and running soon. I think the Scribbler is a great little bot.

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    Whit+


    "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
  • dandreaedandreae Posts: 1,375
    edited 2009-04-29 14:05
    We haven't had any sucess with the Radio shack USB adapter and Vista regarding the BASIC Stamp.· We·carry the FTDI USB serial adapter that works with Vista.· Parallax's part number is 28031.· Here is a link for more information:·

    http://www.parallax.com/Store/Accessories/CablesConverters/tabid/166/CategoryID/40/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/379/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName%2cProductName

    Dave

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    Dave Andreae

    Parallax Tech Support·
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