Serial port not showing up.

[Kevin]

Okay everyone, I've got some answers.

The problem is with the USB port connector. Some of them were placed slightly too far to the right and some of the pins are not making reliable contact with the board. They were supposed to be all tested before shipping, but I suspect a few un-tested panels ended up being split up and dumped in the "already tested" bin.

After much testing here on the stock will still have in the shop, we found this same issue on a handful of programmers.

I am sending out replacement programmers today to the following people. If I missed you, let me know and I'll get yours out tomorrow. We're also including a return shipment label - can you please put the bad programmer back in the same envelope and return it to us? It's a quick fix for us. The replacement units have been tested and inspected and should work fine.

Sorry again for the hassle. It was actually good news for us - as I was afraid something was happening to the FTDI chip itself, which is rather expensive and not an easy fix to remove/replace.

People getting new programmers today:

DCHook
weirdbal
trent
cheif039
kreiggers
princeoffools
MTBguy

[MikeH]

I'm having the same problem. One of the programmers will charge the ringo but the other won't and neither one will show up after drivers are installed. Tried it on my Windows7 and Mac using a cable that works with my other arduino boards. How do I get replacements?

[Kevin]

Hey Mike,

I'll add you to the list.

If anyone else is having this issue, please send email to support at plumgeek dot com.

I'm not sure how many people will be effected, and emailing in will make it much easier to track the cases and get them resolved.

If you are experiencing this problem, please try the programmer on more than one computer and with more than one USB cable if possible. This issue can be driver related rather than a hardware problem, so if we can identify anyone having a software problem it'll help sort out the hardware cases.

If you want to do a DIY fix yourself, it's pretty easy if you have some flux and a small tip soldering iron (a good magnifying glass or microscope may be necessary also). Firstly you can identify which of the USB contacts are loose: Using the end of a tweezers or x-acto blade, try to slightly wiggle each USB contact side to side. If it wiggles, it needs to be tacked down to restore operation. To tack it back down: What you want to do is drench the electrical contacts of the USB port with flux. Then using a good hot iron, heat the leads and press them downward. Keep pressure for a few seconds and let the flux cook off. This should restore contact with the pads. Inspect for bridged solder joints afterward. If you get bridges, use some more flux and re-heat. Depending on your flux you may want to rinse the area with alcohol and a q-tip.

Thanks for the cooperation and sorry again for the hassle. I guess there had to be some sort of bump with the rollout eh? It could have been worse.

[ringo207]

My serial port isn't showing up. I tried to different computers running windows 7. I will submit via the contact tab on the plum geek site for a replacement programmer board.

[pixiepurls]

Hello all,

Mine arrived today.

I installed the driver first. I downloaded all the code samples, installed Arduino. I found a compatible cable (in my box of cables).

My Arduino says "port" not "serial port" that it says in the Ringo guide PDF. Just an FYI had me worried but I assumed my version must be newer.

The red light turns on when I am all plugged in.

OS X Yosemite

Updated Java



I can't get the ports to show up for USB as mentioned in the PDF guide.

[darrylr]

Kevin, apparently I too have one of the programmers with the USB connector problem. I've sent an email to your support alias.

Darryl

[kreiggers]

[MTBguy]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I received the new programmer in the mail yesterday, and it now shows up perfectly. Thank you for quickly resolving this issue. I will be mailing the defective unit back to you on Monday. Now off to the world or Arduino and Ringo for me!

[pixiepurls]

I got mine and something shows up, I uploaded the sketch but have no idea what I am doing hah! The remote doesn't seem to work as I expected and I have no OOP experience so I'll keep cracking. I get something under "tools > serial" under /dev/cu.usbserial which appears to be correct so thank you for sending it so quick, I just have to figure out how to use it!

[trent]

Got mine in the mail today and seems to work fine. Thanks! Dropped the old one back in the mail right away. Thanks again.