Getting Stentura 200 SRT to work with Plover

[Jake Dredd]

Stentura 200 SRT:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHRXA4SGZONFl5Z2M

The cables:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHUl9tb0s1LWtlVkE

How i have them plugged in:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHb0theW5fU21aMFU

Plover version:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHMV9sN2ZOOWtvMTg

Plover settings:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHdnFkSHMyTW93WFk

Stentura disconnected:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHcHR4Z2NTM0daMjA

My power adapter:

Input 100-240v AC 50/60Hz 0.4A

Output: 12V 0.7A

I am having trouble getting my stentura 200 srt to work with plover. I turn on the machine. Start plover. Then I get stentura disconnected. I used the settings listed above in addition to varying the baudrate (600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200). It always shows Stentura: Disconnected. 

I haven't tried with another USB to serial yet. Acculaw just took 2 weeks to deliver me the black adapter and I'm hoping I've overlooked something. Hate to wait another few weeks.

[Jake Dredd]

What usb to serial have worked for you guys? Where can I order one? Would prefer something other than acculaw (shipping time to Canada is too long).

[Steven Bhardwaj]

Hi Jake,

I'm not sure I'm super qualified to support this kind of issue but I'll give a shot at giving you all the best resources I know about. Thanks to those resources, I recently got a Stentura 400SRT to work on my Ubuntu 16.10 laptop.

Here's a wiki page with in-depth discussion of working with a Stentura 400 SRT on different OS's, including particular USB-to-serial cables that have worked.

https://github.com/openstenoproject/plover/wiki/How-to-setup-and-use-Plover-with-a-Stentura-400SRT

And here's a wiki page with a bunch of links to discussion threads in the google group about people that got particular different setups working.
http://stenoknight.com/wiki/Steno_Machine_Notes

What OS are you running?

Cheers,

Steven

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[Jake Dredd]

thanks for the links I'll dig into them.

I'm running windows 7 64 bit

[Jake Dredd]

StarTech.com 2m DB9 RS232 Serial 9-Pin Null Modem Female to Male Cable, Black (SCNM9FM2MBK)

Tera Grand - Premium USB 2.0 to RS232 Serial DB9 Adapter - Supports Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000, 98, Linux and Mac - Built with FTDI Chipset

 didn't work. This is getting pretty frustrating

 

[gfs...@yahoo.com]

I use a Stentura 200 SRT with Plover.

I use the IOMEGA Serial to USB adapter cord.  I bought it many years ago (I think 2006?) while still in court reporting school.  It's never failed me and I have done many jobs.  

I hope this helps and good luck.

--Glorious--

  

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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[Steven Bhardwaj]

Jake,

"I am having trouble getting my stentura 200 srt to work with plover. I turn on the machine. Start plover. Then I get stentura disconnected. I used the settings listed above in addition to varying the baudrate (600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200). It always shows Stentura: Disconnected. "

Did you hit "scan" and try the different "port" settings in plover's configuration?

Have you gotten plover working with other input devices?

-Steven

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[Jake Dredd]

Yeah I have Plover working with my keyboard currently. I hit scan. Selected the right port. Still not working.

Is there any other software I can use to test and see if my machine is working? 

I've tried 2 serial null modem cables and 2 usb to serial adapters with no luck.

Running windows 7

[Ted Morin]

You probably won't be able to inspect serial activity for the Stentura as it's a two-way protocol.

I'd recommend maybe requesting a student-trial of digitalCAT (should be free for at least 3 months), you don't need to mention your machine afaik. https://www.stenovations.com/digitalcat/

That would be one way to check, but to be honest I'm not sure they'd do anything differently from us.

It sounds like you are doing things right, I'm afraid that I have 0 experience with any real Stentura machine. I'd ensure that:

- You are checking with the paper tape open. This will catch strokes even if output doesn't work for some reason.

- The USB to serial adapters are not "printer-only" adapters as some are (no idea why)

Did you verify the machine worked from the previous owner (if any)?

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[Jake Dredd]

I sent them an email asking for a trial version.

The machine was labeled as tested and working.

I'm going to try it on another machine. 

 

[Tom Fetherston]

I have a Stentura 200 srt that I got working but it is really sensitive to the usb adapter you use, plus you have to have the right cable. ( believe it is of the "null modem cable type", mentioned above which IIRC, crosses RX and TX lines.  It is so fiddly that I went and got a serial card that it worked, (with little problem), and was thus convinced that it did work and kept me going until I got a usb adapter that worked with it.  Some of the recommended adapters did not work for me.  Unfortunately, I can't tell you the adapter that did work for me as I got it from work and can't make out any maker/model info.

[Jake Dredd]

Thank you for this!!

[Jake Dredd]

Just bought a star tech brand USB to Serial and still not able to get it working. Just requested an activation code for the digital cat software to try that. 

Does anyone have a known working usb to serial for the 200 SRT? Also a known working realtime cable?

[jessica caudron]

I dont have those things anymore since I bought a used Wave and just use the USB cord now, but have you tried putting the 200SRT in TX bolt mode?

"I hear you can set the machine into TX Bolt mode by pressing the 2nd and 3rd keys (from the left) at the same time, and the display should show a serial connection icon. Plover would need to be in TX Bolt mode, baud 9600."

This was somewhere in this group from I think August 2016.

[Kovacsics Róbert]

On Tuesday, 4 October 2016 00:19:49 UTC+1, Jake Dredd wrote:

Stentura 200 SRT:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHRXA4SGZONFl5Z2M

The cables:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHUl9tb0s1LWtlVkE

How i have them plugged in:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHb0theW5fU21aMFU

Plover version:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHMV9sN2ZOOWtvMTg

Plover settings:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHdnFkSHMyTW93WFk

Stentura disconnected:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8-fRSsjncGHcHR4Z2NTM0daMjA

My power adapter:

Input 100-240v AC 50/60Hz 0.4A

Output: 12V 0.7A

I am having trouble getting my stentura 200 srt to work with plover. I turn on the machine. Start plover. Then I get stentura disconnected. I used the settings listed above in addition to varying the baudrate (600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200). It always shows Stentura: Disconnected. 

I think mine user 15200, which you did not mentioned, but I am sure you tried. I think, but I can't test it as I replaced my circuitry with a Raspberry Pi Zero (my adventure is at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/ploversteno/l6LDaf855hg). I used this serial adapter http://amzn.eu/cRfC598 with a realtime cable I got off from ebay. Did you try on a different OS? I would also give that a try, e.g. you can put a Linux Live CD onto a CD/DVD or a pendrive, then try with that

[Jake Dredd]

Does this mode work for the 200srt? It doesn't have a display to show an icon. I'll try pushing those buttons though!

[Jake Dredd]

Thanks. I've ordered this one http://www.usconverters.com/usb-serial-adapter-xs882

based on a post that mocked the prolific chipset (all my adapters were prolific by chance):

"I have about 8 different usb - serial adapters that I have bought over the years, all of them are from different manufacturers. Some work with Windows 7 32/64 some don't. By looking inside the adapters I found out that they all contain one of these 3 processor chips: FTDI, Prolific and Silicon Labs. The FTDI chip USB to serial adapter works perfectly with all versions of Windows, the Silicon Labs works mostly fine too. No serious troubles, only sometimes Windows can't open the port in the first try and I have to restart. Prolific is the one that is most unreliable. Sometimes it works with Windows 7 sometimes not. I have never been able to find out why. It simply just don't respond sometimes.

I never had an adapter with the WCH processor mentioned earlier in this thread, but that will probably be the next I will buy and test."

Fingers crossed.

[Jake Dredd]

okay just tried the usb to serial above and it didn't work. Suspect the steno machine itself is broken. Fuck me eh?

[Ted Morin]

Maybe the seller's "tested and working" didn't include serial functionality. Did you get a change to try DigitalCAT?

On Nov 22, 2016 2:03 PM, "Jake Dredd" <fpsd...@gmail.com> wrote:

okay just tried the usb to serial above and it didn't work. Suspect the steno machine itself is broken. Fuck me eh?

--

[Jake Dredd]

Testing that tonight with the new adapter. I'm traveling to a repair guy in my area maybe this weekend if it fails

[Jake Dredd]

Okay I was able to get the stentura to work! Turns out the board on my machine was busted! Buyer beware when purchasing from eBay! I used the serial adapter mentioned above with the default transfer cables.