Support to an idiot
Mattias Bengtsson
I am trying to get the tagtool mini working for my girlfriend, and the
worst thing is, i work with IT management so i will try to keep my
questions short and easy:
1) I have the Arduino UNO. After driver is installed and i open the
Arduino application i am supposed to "upload the programme". I can
upload a repeated flash (a sample according to the Arduino
instructions). The 13;th LED is blinking and according to the
instructions it says "Congratulations - your Arduino is now
installed".
Question; what does it mean to "upload the programme?" Is it enough to
just upload a sample and it should now be working?
2) When i start the tagtool it crashes saying something about Open GL
in hundreds of squares on the laptop. I guess it has to do with the
Graphic Card. The computer is an Asus EEE with 1 GB RAM and a 40 GB
SSD disk.
3) Once - if i ever manage to "upload the Arduino programe to the
Tagtool"; is the tagtool then ready to go on any PC that has the
noodkit installed? I mean, does the Arduino program stay uploaded on
the Tagtool so that i can test with another PC to see if i got it
right?
Apologize for these noob questions as i am used to read manuals, i
just dont get it how it is supposed to work.
Thank You in advance for any guidance in this matter.
Alexander Kampmann
(1) The arduino is the microcontroller used in the tagtool. I guess you
built the tagtool by yourself, so you already knew that ;)
The arduino is a microprocessor which could be used for a lot of
different things, there are several text books showing possibilities.
I've, for example, seen an motion input device as the one used with
Nitendo's Wii based on arduino.
So, tagtool is just one way to use an arduino. Thereby there are lots of
different programmes to be executed on an arduino (Maybe you have heard
of turing- completeness. In fact an arduino is turing- complete, which
means: Anything a turing- maschine can calculate can be calculated on an
arduino as well, please mind that there is a space-bound, an arduinos
RAM is not unlimited).
For tagtool, we need only one such programme. It is the one you can
download in the DIY area at tagtool.org. Upload the programme means to
upload that specific programme.
(2) I have not tried on a Asus EEE yet, by I am going to do so. Btw:
"something about OpenGL" is not an error message which is going to help
anyway.
(3) My tagtool always forgets about the programme when it is turned off.
I need to upload it any time I start a session. But there is a trick to
avoid this, unfortunately I can't remember it.
I hope I could help,
Alex
Mattias Bengtsson
I have not built it myself as i have few or no electronic skills, it
was built for me by a friend and a electro wizzard. (He built an extra
should i ruin the first one :)
He built it in a nice box, but i guess i need to have the reset button
exposed in the future.
According to the instructions in the DIY section i am supposed to:
3 Start the Arduino environment and open the .pde file (Tagtool
Arduino Program).
(i am thinking here that i might have to one - start the arduino
environment whatever that means, and two then open up the Arduino
app?).
4 Upload the program to the Arduino.
Step 3 easy, but dear God, step 4 - what program? When i open the
Arduino app, i gives me the oppurtunity to upload lots of different
samples, and i am unsure which one? I did upload the Sample "blink
constantly" successfully, and LED 13 works after that, but it seems it
wants me to upload a full set of samples or all the samples one by one
or the full program some way?
"9 | Upload the program
Now, simply click the "Upload" button in the environment. Wait a few
seconds - you should see the RX and TX leds on the board flashing. If
the upload is successful, the message "Done uploading." will appear in
the status bar. (Note: If you have an Arduino Mini, NG, or other
board, you'll need to physically present the reset button on the board
immediately before pressing the upload button.)
A few seconds after the upload finishes, you should see the pin 13 (L)
LED on the board start to blink (in orange). If it does,
congratulations! You've gotten Arduino up-and-running". (I doubt that
although the 13 LED blinks in Orange).
I am going to give it a new try tonight. The open GL error most
certainly has something to do with the screen resolution in the Asus
EEE PC, since the screen goes black about every second time. But works
a bit better when i set it to 800x600. I have a second PC to try it on
and can also try the "Upload Arduino" on a Mac as i am more
comfortable in that environment.
Anyway - thanks again!!
Kind Regards;
Mattias
On 10 Jan, 15:01, Alexander Kampmann <alexander.kampm...@gmx.de>
wrote:
Mattias Bengtsson
Please disregard from my latest post. I have gone to the Arduino site
to find _ALL_the absolutely latest software for my tagtool.
By following these instructions http://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows
I have totally misunderstood that the actual "program" i need to
upload is a file to be fetched at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/nodekit/files/Tagtool%20Arduino%20Sketch/download
Its a file / script (not a program?) that makes the Arduino board obey
Tagtool instructions?
Apologize for my ignorance but thanks for putting me on the right
track Alexander!
/Mattias
Alexander Kampmann
same thing.
First, go to http://www.tagtool.org/wp/diy/. In the section "Software"
is a link "Tagtool Arduino Program". Download that file to your computer.
In the arduino environment (or app), you go on File -> Open, than you
choose the pde- File you previously downloaded. Pressing "upload" should
do the trick now.