Promethean IWB Connections

[plexer]

This is for Dan Turner really but anyone else is welcome to join in.

I've just discovered that you can leave the serial connector in and also run the board via the usb lead as well. Leaving the power lead plugged into the serial connector.

Is there going to be any problems with this? We obviously wouldn't try and control the board from the serial port and usb at the same time but most of our laptops don't have serial so the usb is more convenient than running usb-serial convertors.

This is the biggest bugbear I have with a promethean install is that if you specify you want a usb connection in the installation they just install it as serial then provide you with a usb-serial converter. The boards allready have usb provided so why they can't get a custom made faceplate for usb I have no idea.

I just leave the usb lead dangling from underneath the board, whats one more cable anyway

Cheers,

Ben

[bossman]

We Have been installing becta approved promethean whiteboards, these come with a special box unit which will allow you to connect two external computers be it one laptop and one fixed computer and switch from one to the other very easily. Surely there must be a similar unit you could buy at not much cost to do the same thing. This would probably save you a lot of time and the teachers frustration.

[plexer]

We have some Promethean boards with becta boxes but the current bunch were installed into a specification by the lea and promethean which includes all the connections in dado trunking.

It's more likely for them to be using their laptops rather than a desktop pc in these particular locations so I prefer the native usb conenction.

Has anyone else had problems with XP spontaneously uninstalling the Activboard driver though?

Why can't promethean get it signed?

Ben

[drjturner]

Hi Ben


Driver signing is coming so don't worry.


The only thing that can happen if you have both connected is that if you use serial you have to reboot the board to get USB back.

The USB faceplate I will mention to installations, the only problem is that if it is 2m from the faceplate to the board and someone adds a 5m cable it will not be the usb standard 5 metres and the pc will not pick it up. We have had this with some resellers installations, 7metres really does not work.

[sahmeepee]

Will driver signing fix that long-standing bug with the board being picked up incorrectly as a standard human interface device in XP?

We've done the workaround in the past, but I've got another 9 boards going in this summer so it'd be good to know if it's fixed yet.

@plexer: we run quite a few boards over usb, but drawing power from the serial bodge connector and we've not had any issues as yet.

[drjturner]

Yep will remove the need to go into the device manager and update the human interface to a usb activboard.

[sahmeepee]

Great stuff Dan. Please make an announcement in here when the new version is released.

Thanks