USB Serial Missing

Firmware
1

So during setup my core showed a virtual serial port of tty.usbmodemfa131 after being configured and claimed this serial port went away.

I have flashed to following code to the core similar to your serial demo code.

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600); // open serial over USB
Serial.println("Hello Computer");

}
void loop() {
Serial.println("Hello Computer");
Delay(1000);
}

I do not see a virtual serial port to connect to under /dev/ I’m running os x 10.9 on a Mac Mini.

I’ve tried this on two cores and both do the same thing.

So how do you re enable the serial port after initial setup?

2

And as a follow on post I’ve also hooked up a 3.3volt FTDI to the TX pin and changed the code to also output to Serial1.

Serial1 also appears to be missing as i’m not receiving any data.

3

@mrOmatic Currently your code doesn’t run until after it has a connection to the Cloud; have you gotten it through the Wi-Fi connection and still don’t see a connection?

4

Ok figured it out. Combination of impatience and slightly misleading UI.

I was expecting it to work once the web UI said “Ready” and then resetting the Spark as a further test as I assumed that the firmware was already loaded.

The solution was just to wait it out and eventually the Spark reset itself and when it came back up it was working as expected.

I think this will be a common trap for many people used to USB based firmware flashing.

Can I suggest a change in the UI/feedback from

Compiling code…
Flash successful! Please wait a moment while your Core is updated…
Ready.

to

Compiling code…
Flash upload successful! Please wait a moment while your Core is updated…
Updating Core. Core will restart automatically when done.
1 Like
5

Thanks @mrOmatic - good feedback! We will tweak the language there.

6

Would it be possible to have another line of text that something like “Core back online!” in the web IDE after a successful flash and reboot? It’s probably non-trivial to implement, but it would be nice for remote programming (when you aren’t in the same room, building, zip code) as the Core.