Rice Port Uplink on Mac problems

[Kyaryo Ysoyav]

So I just got my saber all wired up and everything seems to be going well, except I have no idea how the RICE uplink is supposed to work. I have it wired to the right places on the port and the PC2.0 card, and the sliders and everything move, but I can't get it to change what my saber actually does....any ideas? I can't seem to find a manual that talks about the uplink. I'm assuming power should be on, (so the card has power). Does it make a sound when it connects? I'm using a momentary switch and haven't configured it for latching yet (and it would be very hard to get the SD card back out of course), could that be the problem? Oh, and I'm using a Mac. I could run windows if I have to.

[Jabbas_reluctant_slave]

Did you download the driver? http://www.silabs.com/products/mcu/P...CPDrivers.aspx If you've already done that then try pluging your rice cable in, opening rice and then pulling your kill key so that the saber is booting up while hooked up. Hope that helps.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

You may also need to swap the Rx and Tx wires on the PC (or on the RICE port) which ever is easier.

[Kyaryo Ysoyav]

I guess I'll try using the driver I suppose that could help.... If that doesn't get it, I'll try flipping the wires. Thanks for the help, I'll let you know how it goes.

[Kyaryo Ysoyav]

Ok, so it won't work on my Mac, but it works just fine on Windows. Now, however, I have a new problem. My recharge port is not functioning properly. The plug from the charger is no longer acting as a "kill key." My kill key still does, however. Is this normal? I'm sure I can just run to Radio Shack or something and buy a new plug without too much difficulty (though I'm guessing they don't sell Tamiya adaptors, but hey, I built a lightsaber, I should be able to solder it on). Any ideas? (Then I can move on to the next slew of random technical difficulties ) I'm guessing the plug head is just a tad too small.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

I guess I'll try using the driver I suppose that could help.... If that doesn't get it, I'll try flipping the wires. Thanks for the help, I'll let you know how it goes.

Having the updated driver is step one. After that, you might still have to swap the wires., I had to do both when I was testing out RICE on a CF6

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Ok, so it won't work on my Mac, but it works just fine on Windows. Now, however, I have a new problem. My recharge port is not functioning properly. The plug from the charger is no longer acting as a "kill key." My kill key still does, however. Is this normal? I'm sure I can just run to Radio Shack or something and buy a new plug without too much difficulty (though I'm guessing they don't sell Tamiya adaptors, but hey, I built a lightsaber, I should be able to solder it on). Any ideas? (Then I can move on to the next slew of random technical difficulties ) I'm guessing the plug head is just a tad too small.

Did you download (and install) the Mac version of the driver? I am using mine on a Mac (which also boots windows if I need to).

As far as the kill key, you need to make sure that the ground of the RICE port is grounded to the battery negative.

[Kyaryo Ysoyav]

Yeah I did. It might be the wire swap, but with everything running fine on Windows I think I'll just leave it. Any ideas on the recharge port?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Yeah I did. It might be the wire swap, but with everything running fine on Windows I think I'll just leave it. Any ideas on the recharge port?

It is related to how you are grounding your RICE port. You have to ground your RICE port to the battery negative. I know that had been a problem in the past. I'll have to look up the specifics again.

[Kyaryo Ysoyav]

I have it grounded to the recharge port negative. So I have to split the battery wire and splice it in? (I have the battery hooked up with a JST). Thanks again!

Wait a sec. So I could wire it to the recharge port negative, but the one the battery comes off, right? I have it wired to the main negative (that the card runs off)...that would be an easy fix. Is that right?