Looking to get a RN-1, a question first...
Looking to get a RN-1, a question first...
by zapod
Sun Dec 10, 2006 1:53 pm
Hi folks,
I'm hoping to acquire a Robonova soon, but I have one question. For programming the RN, what is the minimum PC requirement? You see, we're a Mac household, but have a couple of old Win98 PCs to hand. Is Win98 enough, or do I need Win2K or XP?
TIA
S.
I'm hoping to acquire a Robonova soon, but I have one question. For programming the RN, what is the minimum PC requirement? You see, we're a Mac household, but have a couple of old Win98 PCs to hand. Is Win98 enough, or do I need Win2K or XP?
TIA
S.
by gdubb2
Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:02 pm
The user manual states that RoboBasic, RoboScript, and RoboRemocon are all compatible with Win 98, ME, 2000, and XP.
Good Luck and have fun with it..
Gary
I did read somewhere in the forum, that someone had a small problem with 98 or ME, but it was solved with the Com port settings.
Good Luck and have fun with it..
Gary
I did read somewhere in the forum, that someone had a small problem with 98 or ME, but it was solved with the Com port settings.
by Ric
Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:37 pm
Hi Zapod
I struggled for a while using an older Win98 laptop. The software seemed to run fine but I had problems uploading code. I put this down to serial port connections though. I then changed to a newer xp laptop and used a serial to usb adapter which was successful.
I'd imagine had I found 98 drivers for the adapter and used a usb on the older laptop then all software would have been compatible.
Ric
I struggled for a while using an older Win98 laptop. The software seemed to run fine but I had problems uploading code. I put this down to serial port connections though. I then changed to a newer xp laptop and used a serial to usb adapter which was successful.
I'd imagine had I found 98 drivers for the adapter and used a usb on the older laptop then all software would have been compatible.
Ric
by zapod
Sun Dec 10, 2006 8:56 pm
Thanks guys,
Unfortunately we have a G5 imac, so no Parallels here...
I do have some experience with USB>Serial adapters under Win2K in industrial comms and have generally found them to be OK - our main industrial programming tool uploads via serial.
If I'm right in assuming that RN ships with a 9-pin serial connector I should be OK with Win98se.
Cheers,
Zapod
Unfortunately we have a G5 imac, so no Parallels here...
I do have some experience with USB>Serial adapters under Win2K in industrial comms and have generally found them to be OK - our main industrial programming tool uploads via serial.
If I'm right in assuming that RN ships with a 9-pin serial connector I should be OK with Win98se.
Cheers,
Zapod
by plingboot
Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:09 am
In theory, you could run virtual pc and then XP on your G5 - that's what i was going to do until i got an intel MacBook.
I farted around with parallels, but to be honest i found that there were too many variables when hunting down bits which just wouldn't work when they should have (in theory).
In the end i downloaded BootCamp and simply loaded an XP partition onto the mac.
Even then i had to try a couple of different serial/USB devices to get one which worked. I settled on a Lindy USB2 deveice, which works in around 7 out of 10 attempts to communicate - but simply unplugging and replugging sorts the times it doesn't.
So, to sum up. In theory a G5 running virtual pc and XP with a usb/serial converter should work. But in reality you'll probably have to spend a lot of time dialing it in only to find intermittent success.
I farted around with parallels, but to be honest i found that there were too many variables when hunting down bits which just wouldn't work when they should have (in theory).
In the end i downloaded BootCamp and simply loaded an XP partition onto the mac.
Even then i had to try a couple of different serial/USB devices to get one which worked. I settled on a Lindy USB2 deveice, which works in around 7 out of 10 attempts to communicate - but simply unplugging and replugging sorts the times it doesn't.
So, to sum up. In theory a G5 running virtual pc and XP with a usb/serial converter should work. But in reality you'll probably have to spend a lot of time dialing it in only to find intermittent success.
Update
by zapod
Sun Dec 31, 2006 9:24 pm
Hi guys,
Well, thanks to the efforts of the Robosavvy store, I received my RN-1 on the 22nd of December.
I completed the build on the 27th and I have to say I'm extremely pleased and impressed by the quality of the kit as well as the development environment.
Back to the question of what will run RoboBasic - I have it installed on our Win98 P3 and it's fine. As a test, I put it on an old Win95 laptop with passive lcd screen and 32Mb of ram. Runs fine on that too, if a bit slowly - ideal though for those demos away from home tho...
So having now labeled the groups and servo numbers I'm ready to get down to the nitty gritty of programiing some cool moves...
Well, thanks to the efforts of the Robosavvy store, I received my RN-1 on the 22nd of December.
I completed the build on the 27th and I have to say I'm extremely pleased and impressed by the quality of the kit as well as the development environment.
Back to the question of what will run RoboBasic - I have it installed on our Win98 P3 and it's fine. As a test, I put it on an old Win95 laptop with passive lcd screen and 32Mb of ram. Runs fine on that too, if a bit slowly - ideal though for those demos away from home tho...
So having now labeled the groups and servo numbers I'm ready to get down to the nitty gritty of programiing some cool moves...