Things i wish you said in your docs…

Home Forums Botanicalls Community Things i wish you said in your docs…

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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  • #1369
    cal
    Participant

    1. That i would need an FTDI cable to change my twitter username. This should really be shown right at the start, so you can get your cable before you need it, since it takes a few days to arrive. Ideally right when you buy the kit!

    2. That you need to install (VCOM) drivers for an FTDI cable! You can get them here:

    http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm

    If you’re on a Mac, make sure to install 2.2.10, NOT 2.1.10. It will require a reboot.

    3. From the docs: “When you are ready to upload the code, select the correct serial port and NG board type on the Tools menu”. This made me want to tear out my own eyes. What are the correct settings!!?

    For me, the serial port was /dev/tty.usbserial-FTE4Y19Y. If you don’t have one that looks like that (on a mac), then the FTDI driver isn’t installed, or the cable isn’t plugged in.

    The board type (for everyone i assume) should be “Arduino NG or older w/ ATmega168”. That was posted in the forum, but not in the docs.

    4. The ‘Serial Monitor’ in the Arduino software is not in any of the menus – it’s the rightmost button on the toolbar. You should see 5 “moist: x” messages for every “watered: x” message. At bootup the console just says “Botanicalls v2.15”, *not* what the docs say.

    5. If you get an error like “timed out on reset – check xport”, try resetting your board (hit the reset button) and waiting for it to reboot. That cleared some weirdness for me.

    #1729
    botanicalls0084
    Participant

    I so agree. Have been running the kit for a while and found it to be utterly boring. Only now I found out I need some freakin cable to be able to customize the alerts.

    Where do I get a cable like this and why was it not included in the kit?????

    #1730
    Rob Faludi
    Keymaster

    Thanks, Cal.

    This is UBER helpful and we’ll update the instructions with this info. We’re working now to simplify the process much further – but this is great!

    #1731
    jpatapoff
    Participant

    I found the FTDI cable at adafruit.com. Here is the direct link:

    http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=70&sessid=473b536364170b38ac677443217ab920

    It is the “USB TTL-232” cable, which Rob has confirmed as being compatible. Can’t wait to get started!

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