If only Apple made Phidgets...
I'm having a nightmare with 2 Text 8/8/8 phidget boards and the live help is not available, so hoping someone here can shed light on and give me some things to test.
The units power up and in FS2Phidget, TEST appears on both. I have only 4 outputs and 5 outputs only connected to one of the units. However, for lack of any instructions whatsoever, I've wired up the inputs and outputs exactly like on the 0/16/16, i.e. inputs and outputs are connected to a positive voltage (5v in my case) and I've taken the precaution of using a resistor in series with inputs as well as outputs. I'm using the input and output connector on the phidget as the switch to ground, i.e. the phidget will connect each input and output to ground when invoked by FS2Phidget. This is exactly the way the 0/16/16 works.
Now I've had one text LCD working in the past but it had no inputs or outputs, just being used for the display.
Here is my issue. Despite checking, checking and quadruply checking times 10 that I haven't screwed up the wiring, my four outputs are ALL on whenever wired to the phidget and I'm getting a dim glow from the LEDs.
How have I wired the outputs?
I have connected the positive wire from the LED to a resisted positive supply of 5 volts. I have connected the negative wire from the LED to the phidget output connector. ANd I have connected EACH ground terminal on the phidget to 0 volts and tested that all G terminals and 0v connectors around the circuit are closed.
How did I test the wiring?
I applied power to the component and connected each respective ouput terminal on the phidget to Ground, to simulate what (in my understanding) the phidget board does when working correctly.
However, even with the USB cable disconnected, when the system power is running, my 4 outputs light up making me wonder whether the phidget board is damaged. I have a multimeter and have tested resistance between the output connectors and ground and found this to have relatively low resistance which was a surprise to me. However I also checked the 0/16/16 which is working fine, and that also has a low resistance between each output and ground. This is the complete opposite of what I would expect, but given that the 0/16/16 works, perhaps my understanding of what phidgets do is wrong.
I am at the edge of my knowldege with resolving this, short of ripping out the Text units and buying another 0/16/16. I would appreciate someone giving me some steps to follow to help determine the cause of the problem. I'm also facing removing the entire electronics boards from the sim whcih is a day's work and has a very high chance of screwing up other components that are presently working.
Thanks for any help
Paul