Loose USB, no connection - cautionary tale

Sparki
#1

Problem solved, just a tip for others. Short version - make sure the USB cable is fully inserted into Sparki if you are having problems connecting even if some of the LEDs light up.

After installing software I tried connecting Sparki. Power & RGB lights came on but any movement of the cable or Sparki and they would shut off and come on again. I could not upload sketches to Sparki, and the Serial Port selection was greyed out on Windows computer. On a Mac there were Serial Port choices, but all bluetooth and none worked. I installed the software on 4 different computers. Finally on the fourth I shoved the USB cable further in on the Sparki and it started to load the drivers. It’s worked fine since then including going back to the first computer.

#2

I had the same problem. The solution for me was to pull the USB cable out of the slot a bit. If I push it all the way in then it won’t work.

#3

Well, I have fiddles with the Sparki USB connection and I still only see Bluetooth drivers under Tools->Serial Ports. I’ve got the RGB thing going and when I force in the USB as much as possible, only the green light appears. I’m open to any ideas. Thanks, Neil

#4

Thanks Zax, I had exactly this problem - I had assumed Windows 8.1 was my issue until I saw your post, reattached the USB cable and everything worked!

#5

If you have problem detecting the USB serial port it might be that the loaded program is not running properly and/or has not opened up the serial port correctly. For these cases you need to upload code by holding the reset button until the Arduino IDE says it’s uploading the code, just follow the instructions here:
arcbotics.com/products/sparki/pa … et-button/