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Support Forum » usb-serial driver install successful but no pl2303 device in /dev directory

November 03, 2012
by keith712
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hi... got the congrats message when i powered up my nk003usb kit... then i succesfully installed the pl2303 driver onto my macbook air osx 10.8.2 but when i list the items in the /dev directory i don't see a cu.PL2303000**** device listed.

this is the error message i get when i try to upload the initialload program with /dev/cu.PL23030000211A inserted for the unknown device name:

avrdude -c avr109 -p m168 -b 115200 -P /dev/cu.PL2303-0000211A -U flash:w:initialload.hex:a avrdude: ser_open(): can't open device "/dev/cu.PL2303-0000211A": No such file or directory make: *** [initialload-upload] Error 1

November 03, 2012
by dvdsnyd
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Welcome to the forums Keith! I use windows...so I may not be very helpful. But have you tried rebooting your computer to see if it is listed? Did the drivers install correctly without errors? Also, one thing to try is to search the forums for your error or problem..chances are you aren't the first person to run into it and it may have already been answered. Again, welcome David

November 03, 2012
by dvdsnyd
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Keith,

Did a quick search in the forums and This is what I found...maybe it will help you as well. Let us know what you find. David

November 03, 2012
by keith712
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thanks David... i did reboot and there were no errors... i did try to search forums but i'm a n00b (that's not an apology) to all this... i hadn't found the forum you found so fast... i'm going to check the link you gave me right now... thanks again!

November 03, 2012
by keith712
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thanks again David... the driver i downloaded directly from Prolific (http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/downloads.asp?ID=31) works perfectly... i pasted 'cu.usbserial' into Makefile instead of 'tty.usbserial' and my kit is ready to go!!!

November 03, 2012
by dvdsnyd
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Awesome Keith! Glad I could help a little...more like steer.. Now the real fun and sometimes frustration begin :-) Do you have any plans/goals or specific projects in mind with the Nerdkit? Have fun

David

November 04, 2012
by vladarino
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This was helpful for me as well. I just set up my development environment on a Mac with Mountain Lion (switched from my Windows laptop). I used tty.usbserial...I guess it works just as well as cu.usbserial.

January 08, 2013
by Whatever
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Looks like the link from the previous forum post is out of date. I cant find any PL2303 MAC drivers on the new Prolific site. Is the USB kit End Of Life?

Shocking bad form on the part of Nerdkits.com to be offering a 5 year old driver for download which is no longer viable.

Open question: Am I being a complete tit and missing something here?

(shame if not as I was really impressed so far)

January 08, 2013
by Ralphxyz
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I believe that is just Windows 8 applicable, there are drivers for other OSs (XP, Vista, Windows 7, OS X and Linux).

And yes the Nerdkit USB is at EOL for Windows 8, I hope they do not have a big inventory of USB cables, this is the type of thing that kills small businesses.

PL-2303HXA/XA EOL (End-of-Life) chip versions.

Ralph

January 08, 2013
by keith712
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hi Whatever... i'm new to avr and i also had a fews problems getting started... i chalk it up as learning experiences... as of today i'm using a macbook air osx 10.8.2 to program my nerdkit... i downloaded and installed:

Crosspack-AVR-20121207 (http://www.obdev.at/products/crosspack/download.html)

on the advice of several incredibly helpful people who seem to live on this forum... the Crosspack download replaced my AVRMacPack and Prolific PL2300*** downloads which never worked at all with my system... after i installed the Crosspack package i found cu.usbserial and tty.usbserial in the /dev directory... i went with /dev/cu.usbserial and my makefiles work perfectly (after solving a timing problem and an optimizing problem)... i've never tried the /dev/tty.usbserial device but i think it will work also...

i've heard in other threads in this forum that the nerdkits guys are busy with their business and other projects so updating their web page is low pri... but the guys (and gals?) in this forum more then make-up for some out-of-date links... hope this helps... keith

January 08, 2013
by keith712
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Ralph, we must have been posting at the same time... i saw the PL2300 MAC and assumed Whatever was using a mac... what kind of port are the windows8 people switching to?

January 08, 2013
by Ralphxyz
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Rick suggested I try the FTDI Basic Breakout.

He has used FTDI successfully for a number of years I believe.

I hope Windows 8 recognizes the FTDI USB device I ordered a couple of them.

Ralph

January 09, 2013
by Rick_S
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Arduino's, duemilanove and some others, use the ft232rl ic for their USB/Serial communications. I have a "Freeduino" board that uses it. I have however been using a FTDI type adapter that uses a CP2102 IC. It works flawlessly on Windows 8 32bit. I don't have a 64bit OS to test it on.

Since this conversation, I have just plugged in my freeduino to verify the drivers would work. Windows 8 automatically detected it, installed stock drivers, and it performs as expected.

Visiting the FTDI site, they have Windows 7, 32/64 bit drivers, and while they don't have specific drivers for Windows 8, they state that "There is no official release of Windows 8, but FTDI have validated that our drivers will function correctly with the Developer Preview and the Consumer Preview of Windows 8." Since my 32bit Windows 8 worked I'm sure your 64bit will as well since they had 64bit Win7 drivers.

Rick

January 14, 2013
by Whatever
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Hi Ralphxyz "drivers for other OSs (XP, Vista, Windows 7, OS X and Linux)." Bugger. that's what I've spent hours looking for! Could you post a link for OS X 10.8.x

Would be much appreciated.

I dug my old Win7 laptop out to confirm that it was a Mac/Driver issue and was successfully able to write a rude message about the Nerdkit staff on my LED display ;o)

However it is tragic to any Mac fanboy to have to revert to the commonsense world of PC, so I'd like to get it working for Mac if possible.

keith712 Your Crosspack-AVR-20121207 solution sounded like the answer but...no joy. Still the: make: *** [initialload-upload] Error 1 same as the original post.

I see a 'cu.PL2303-000013FA' style rather than the 'cu.usbserial' both before and after the Crosspack-AVR-20121207 - with multiple reboots of Mac Mini and Nerdkit. I also poured a circle of salt around my desk and splashed the monitor with holy water. No Joy.

Did you need to uninstall the original drivers first?


and as for the nerdkits guys being busy on other projects - don't get me started ;o)

January 14, 2013
by Ralphxyz
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Whatever, post a screen shot of your full Make attempt.

My last OS X is 10.6 but I believe people are successfully using a Crosspack on OS X 10.8.

support@nerdkits is not responding to my question about work arounds for their USB cable and Windows 8.

Ralph

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