maybe this is a dumb suggestion but do you have any other board or product that uses a serial port that you could test with the adapter?
I don’t even know anybody that has a mactel that I could visit to test an adapter on so, like Robot Dude, I am pretty much out of ideas. 
I tried to get him to do the short pins 2 and 3 loop back test. It was ignored. But the SSC-32 LED never goes out. So that is a pretty good indication nothing is happening.
Notify, you asked me in an email about the serial port enable jumpers… Two questions…
have you tested the board on the Dell lately?
have you moved any of the jumpers after you successfully tested the board on the Dell PC?
Was asking around today to see if anyone I know has something I can test on, nothing as of yet. Thanks.
Yes. Fine.
No. Not at all.
This thread got split into two;
lynxmotion.net/viewtopic.php?t=5162
I posted result of a loopback on the Mac on the (new) thread as suggested by EddieB.
*Started LynxTerm and got ¨OP810S5000¨ in the display. Then when I type ¨ver¨ I get ¨vveerr¨ *
My apologies on the ignored comment. I’m not sure what was separated from what, but it’s been making this support very difficult to keep track of what was suggested and tried.
You are saying the loopback test works on the macbook? If it does then I’m floored! This is just baffling.
This is a major pain, but it has solved problems in the past. Check to see if there are any updated drivers for the motherboard.
I have been following this thread and also just about everything I can think of has been suggested, including to make sure that the SSC-32 works with this USB adapter with a standard PC, which if I am reading right you have done and it works.
The one thing that I have not seen in this thread is, does the Macbook provide power to the USB slot and if so how much. I think I have seen that some portables may not provide power to the USB adapter by default for power saving. I have not needed it with the few FTDI based adapters I have tried, but if you have a powered USB hub available to you, you might try plugging your adapter into it. Again it may be a long shot!
Kurt
If this a correct statement, then the adapter appears to be working. One set of jumpers on the ssc-32 (#14 below) may need to be checked for proper placement. These make the connection between the rs232 chip on the ssc-32 board to thessc-32 chip. The jumpers can be rearanged to make a loopback to check the rs232 chip. Long shot and does not explain why the ssc-32 and adapter work on a Dell.
Thanks for that suggestion, Googled and came up with;
blog.fosketts.net/2008/07/04/low-power-usb-ports-haunt-my-macbook-pro/
Whoa, what a potential good find and at the same time a major step backwards!
Try a new 9vdc battery.
Do you have a digital camera on hand that can take nice clear closeup pictures? sometimes pictures can reveal the darndest things. Just a suggestion.
I’m not sure how this was missed or not tested as it’s in the original first post of this thread? Not sure how to make it more clear.
**My USB to serial cable doesn’t work properly, or is slow. **
Check the power mapping for the USB ports. The mapping defines how much power each port has available to it. Some USB devices will take up to 500mA of power. Some mapping actually shares this 500mA with 4 or more ports. Insufficient power can cause problems. Some users mention they had to use a powered hub to get the adapter to work.
I’m going to add the words “especially with laptops” to the end of the paragraph above. I will also be adding the process for the FTDI driver changes to the first post.
Can do. Of the SSC-32 board?
Just popping out to get some new 9v batteries. It’s getting through them at a rapid rate, even though I turn off in between tests. Does that signify anything?
So it is now not working on either platform, now it is back to step 1 of debugging the issue.
What is powering the SSC-32? If battery have you tried recharging or new one?
Check the jumpers. Make sure the baud jumpers are set properly. Make sure the jumpers that connect the TTL (RX/TX) to the RS232 connection are on properly. I believe that is number 14 in the picture the zoomcat posted earlier.
Kurt
I think you mentioned that you had a couple of servos plugged in? Try removing them and see if the board works better, maybe there is a problem with one of them that is causing a problem.
Kurt
I suspected the VS=VL jumper was still installed causing the 9vdc battery to be discharged to about 6vdc. Roger said the jumper is not installed. An image might prove helpful. The SSC-32 should draw 35mA with nothing connected to the 5vdc output. Not sure of the capacity of a 9vdc battery.
These most recent postings need to be moved to the Mac specific thread as they are specific to an oddball mac setup and not general USB troubleshooting.
Agreed… this is cluttering up a sticky’d topic meant, I believe, as a more general help topic for people with the more traditional issues getting up and rolling with their ssc-32 boards.
It is of course Jim’s call. 
Well it’s a grey area at best as the macbook is an Intel based machine. I have been waiting patiently to see if Notify is up and running before I blast everything after the first post. A separate post in the mac section would be a good idea though.
The VS-VL jumper has never been installed. I removed it as per step 16 page 6 of 7 in the Base Assembly Guide.
Have removed all Servo connections.
Re the diagram from Zoomkat #14;
I have jumpers on the TX & RX and there is a solatary pin on its own.
It will not work on the Dell Laptop.
I haven’t touch any electronics since I was 11, 40 years ago. That was a Philips Electronics Kit!
My area of expertise is Software Development, particularly in Java, J2EE, EE5. All I want to do is program this arm to deliver a prototype of an application for a Global Toy Company.
I’ve spent 14 days on this todate and despite all the help am no further forward.
Dare I suggest there might be a problem with the actual SSC-32 board?
Anythings possible, but I don’t know why it would suddenly stop working. I do not know if the distributor you are using has the ability to test the SSC-32 for you, but it might be a good idea to ask. I don’t have a problem replacing it if it’s defective, but your being in the UK does complicate matters a bit.
