MacMini 3,1 - FTDI serial port not showing - PL2412U

Hi all:

I reinstalled 10.7.5 on my old MacMini 3,1 on to a new drive. (old drive was failing). With Indigo 6. I installed the FTDI drivers (from the website, per the Interface instructions), and for some reason the Insteon Interface doesn't recognize it. Indigo was the first application I installed on a clean installed 10.7.5. The second application was FTDI driver. I've restarted a few times and the "Configure INSTEON//X10 Powerline Interface" does not allow me to select any serial ports. There are none available.

In my previous install, everything seemed to be working fine. Not sure why it is having issues now. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

-JP

[jay (support)]

Open a terminal window and paste in the following command. Copy/paste all text from the terminal in a reply post.

Code: Select all

ls -la /dev/tty.*

Thanks. interestingly, the FTDI driver doesn't appear to show up.

crw-rw-rw- 1 root wheel 18, 2 Mar 30 17:36 /dev/tty.Bluetooth-Modem
crw-rw-rw- 1 root wheel 18, 0 Mar 30 17:36 /dev/tty.Bluetooth-PDA-Sync

-JP

[jay (support)]

The most likely reasons (in no particular order):

• The PowerLinc is malfunctioning
• The USB cable is bad
• The driver isn't actually loading

Open the System Information app (I think it was there back in 10.7) and see if something like this shows up anywhere on the USB bus:

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FT232R USB UART:

  Product ID:   0x6001
  Vendor ID:   0x0403  (Future Technology Devices International Limited)
  Version:   6.00
  Serial Number:   XXXXXXXXXX
  Speed:   Up to 12 Mb/sec
  Manufacturer:   FTDI
  Location ID:   0x14313000 / 19
  Current Available (mA):   500
  Current Required (mA):   90
  Extra Operating Current (mA):   0


That's how a PowerLinc shows up. If not, then it's likely one of the first two above. If it does show up, then something is causing the driver to not load. You might want to go back to the FTDI website and make sure you got the right driver: since 10.7 is so old it's likely the newest release doesn't work with it and you'll have to download a legacy driver.

Hmm. The PL doesn't appear on the USB bus. Will experiment with different cables, placements or plugs. Since it was working only yesterday, I would assume that it is a software issue.

I can also reboot with the older drive and find that the PL works fine under the previous install. Unfortunately, that drive is failing, so it is not a viable option.

I've gone to the FTDI website and downloaded the version of the driver that is for my version of OS X, 10.7.5, (driver version 2.2.18) and that is what I've installed.

Looks like I have the PL up and running. I installed an earlier version of the driver that I happened to find on my old drive. And I plugged the PL into another USB port. All seems to be working pretty well.

My only issue now are the I/O Line Controllers. They don't seem to be responding. I tried relinking and even creating a new device. This is what the log shows:

PowerLinc Linking - entered discovery linking mode (240 seconds)
PowerLinc Linking - syncing PowerLinc links (address 3C.4B.D5)
PowerLinc Linking - . . adding: INSTEON plc link to controller 17.D7.8D, flags 03, group 01, data 00 00 FF
PowerLinc Linking - . . adding: (not added -- probably already exists)
PowerLinc Linking - sync complete
PowerLinc Linking - PowerLinc links updated
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
PowerLinc Linking - sending engine version request to 17.D7.8D
PowerLinc Linking - no response from device
Error Linking - device failed to send engine version information
Error linking failed

[jay (support)]

Those errors mean that the device isn't responding to the PowerLinc's initial request for information from the device. That's almost always some kind of signal issue. Check the signal troubleshooting guide for tips on diagnosing and solving those issues.

[matt (support)]

Since these are I/O-Lincs, just temporarily plug them into the same outlet/circuit as the PowerLinc to see if they work there. If they do, then you know it is a signal issue.

So I plugged the unit into the same outlet as the PL. Same issue seems to be happening. Other devices seem to be working. Did find a malfunctioning switch on the other side of the house. Will try to replace it to see if that is causing problems. Generally, all of my hundreds of other Insteon devices seem to be working. But the I/OLincs will not work.

[jay (support)]

Do a factory reset on one of them and see if that makes any difference (leave it plugged in by the PowerLinc).

Didn't appear to do anything. I still haven't replaced the switch on the other side of the house that appears to be malfunctioning. It does a "Send failed (no acknowledgement)". Could that be interfering with the PL? Is it possible my PL is having issues regardless?

-JP

[jay (support)]

It most likely wouldn't be causing failures only with I/O Lincs. You can air-gap that switch by pulling out the LED pipe below the switch - that will cut all power to it and help with your diagnostics.

Well, did the air gap thing. Didn't seem to make a difference. I've tried with two different I/O lincs. And neither will resync or be acknowledged. All other devices seem to be working ok.

Well, it looks like I solved the mystery. I did actually do factory resets on both I/Os. The two I/O lincs I've been testing must both be malfunctioning. I happened to have two others I/O lincs that I had disconnected a while ago. They both linked perfectly.

I'm hoping I can fix these other two I/O lincs.

-JP