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Beginner Question — Parallax Forums

Beginner Question

I'm a biology teacher that's been corralled to to teach about robots. I just opened the box and am using Mac OS 10.11.
I'm trying to figure out how to use the Shield Bot. I downloaded the Arduino IDE software. And started the first activity but I don't get anything like a Serial Monitor Window. I know the diagram is from Windows but I was told I could use Mac as well.
What am I missing?
Thanks.

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    Is there no button shown for the serial monitor like the one shown in the following link? I know this is Windows, but I assumed the Mac software would operate in a similar manner.

    http://learn.parallax.com/tutorials/robot/shield-bot/robotics-board-education-shield-arduino
  • I use the Arduino IDE with the Shield bot on Mac OS X and it does work fine.

    Are you getting any sort of error when you start the serial console window? If so, please post what you see.

    In the Arduino IDE, what is listed under Tools->Port?
    You should see something like /dev/cu.usbmodem1411(Arduino/Genuino Uno).
    If this exists, be sure to select it.

    Also, under Applications, start the Mac OS Console and click on All Messages under System Log Queries. See if there are any errors listed related to the serial connection to your Arduino board (Uno I presume).

    There is a slim possibility that you might have to instal an FTDI driver, but should not be needed.

    Cheers,

    Jon
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