New Models of ActivBoard and Macintosh and USB issues

[powersm]

I want to confirm these statements:

1. The new ActivBoards that use the ActivInspire Software are NOT compatible with PowerPC Macintosh computers.
2. The new ActivBoards cannot be connected via USB more than 6'.
3. The new ActivBoards even if used within 6' via USB are not as responsive to the ActivPen as the older models.


We currently have 21 ActivBoards of the older model (pre-2009) and they work great. We installed 9 of the new boards and had nothing but trouble because of the items listed above.

Who else has seen this? Can we get the quality back on the original boards?

[cnorris10]

I have especially had trouble with the usb connection and the Mac. The computer does not always detect the board, even if the driver is up to date. It seems that if you plug in a mac that is running dual boot (windows and mac) then the usb works a bit better. This fix is something that I don't like particularly because I don't understand why it works. We don't have any of the older boards, so it is hard to compare...

[powersm]

Ok. Now I just installed ActivInspire 1.3 with the 5.4.6 driver on a Dell Inspiron 1150 running Windows XP SP2 and the new series 3 ActivBoard is behaving the same way. The pen is unresponsive -- I have to tap the board up to 10 times on each location on the board when calibrating and you have to press very hard on the board surface to write. This is using the supplied USB cable. What the heck is going on?

:mad:

[Daryls]

Ok. Now I just installed ActivInspire 1.3 with the 5.4.6 driver on a Dell Inspiron 1150 running Windows XP SP2 and the new series 3 Activboard is behaving the same way. The pen is unresponsive -- I have to tap the board up to 10 times on each location on the board when calibrating and you have to press very hard on the board surface to write. This is using the supplied USB cable. What the heck is going on?

:mad:

You may want to contact Tech support on this one, we certainly havent seen that sort of behaviour here.

Daryl

[russee]

These post are a real encouragement - I am a total newbie and thought the problem was just me! Our school just installed about 15 boards since Thanksgiving 2009 and most seem to be working great, although some teachers are having problems of consistency in response from day-to-day. The solutions for some have been to unplug and re-plug the connections a few times??
Now, I as the only Mac user, I am having a more basic problem - the projector is not accepting/receiving the signal from my computer, so after the 5:00 "no signal" countdown shuts off. Seems to be a consistency problem again as an installing technician had the board working fine with my computer at one point. A fellow teacher who is having great success with his PC was not able to get the board or projector to run with my computer, nor was the Promethean phone tech support person.
I am using a MacBook running OS 10.4.11 and ActiveInspire 1.3.15321
i look forward to seeing more posts and potential solutions on this forum.
Thank you, Russ

[markrobinson]

Can I recommend calls and checks with support if you are having issues. Are you using the power supply for the board or driving it all via USB?

To confirn. The Inspire software will not work on non-Intel MACs - it is built on a completely new codebase for MAC, PC and Linux.

[tylerr]

Hi everyone,

Let me just say that we got 2 brand new ActivBoards (the new models) installed today.

I was VERY concerned when I picked up the styluses and tried to write, and how stiff they were! It made me very mad. It was impossible to write with.

I talked to the installers, and they were clueless. They sure weren't much help.

I figured out that if you take the stylus and press it fairly hard against a table (don't crush it, though), and repeat this a few times, the pen isn't as stiff anymore. It's still not great, but its much better.

**Disclaimer-I'm not sure if that's the most ideal method. I did it out of anger, and it seemed to help, on both ActivBoards that we purchased. Don't blame me if you crush your pen into an oblivion**

I think this is a major design flaw. It is almost impossible to write with without doing what I said above.

As far as the "cannot go more than 6 ft," this is false. We actually were provided with a cable that was about 15 ft. I'm guessing that the cable must be a larger gauge in order to power the hub and the board. I'd get a better cable if I were you.

I can't say anything about the Mac issue, because I (happily) don't own any macs, and neither does my school.

-Tyler

[aepriebe]

I just got my Promethean board this week, and am having much difficulty connecting it with my MacBook. I have been attempting to use Bluetooth to connect to the board, and have been able to see the board in my list of devices, but the projector will not display my computer screen. I have downloaded all the necessary software and drivers. If only I had an instruction manual that dealt with connectivity issues! Can anyone offer some help?

[gaycard]

I was just wondering if anyone knows how to actually connect a macbook to the board? the port used for pc laptops isn't on a mac :(

i'm a student teacher and would realllllly like to use my own laptop on the board. any ideas what cables? :)

[LisaD]

Should be a USB cable.

Lisa

[gpatrenos]

We have 5 of the new boards at my school and we have had no problems with connectivity.{}
I advise my teachers to use the USB cable to the board. You have to connect to the projector anyway so why bother with bluetooth ?:rolleyes:
We are using iMacs and MacBooks. Many of our teachers use their own laptops, you do need the proper adapter to connect to the projector. ;)

[mgoitia]

We have recently put in 150 new Boards. The Pro 300. These do not connect well with the Macs at all. Connectivity is a huge issue for us. 50 of the boards are in the High Schools. The rest are spread out in the elementary and middle schools which have an entirely different set of issues. Once the boards are connected to the Mac computers if you log out and someone else logs in there is a RED X and the board will not connect. The ONLY solution we have found after spending HOURS/DAYS troubleshooting this is to shut EVERYTHING down and then unplug the power for the board for 15-30 seconds then reboot everything. USB 99% of the time comes back. The teachers are dealing with this issue as we will be going to PC’s in the fall at the High schools, but the PC’s present their own set of issues. POWER specifically. We are using CAT5 USB extenders and we have USB mice and keyboards, and don’t forget the teachers who have USB jump drives. The computers we have which are brand new HP’s do not supply enough power to everything so when the board gets plugged in, the computer wither freezes or you get no connectivity for the board. At least with the PC you can go into device manager and force the USB by scanning for hardware changes. There has been a lot of spiking issues as well with the boards Mac or PC does not matter, so far I have put in 12 calls for AC3 electronics boards as well as the replacement of the USB hub board. We are very aware of the latest versions of the software/USB drivers / and firmware. They are all up to date. A room may work for an entire week before it loses connection and we are back in the same room. Some rooms have not given us any problems. We are purchasing external powered USB hubs for all the computers hoping this will resolve the power issue on the PC’s..This has been a daunting project and I am not looking forward to our next deployment.

[DBarnwell]

Hello, mgoitia. It sounds to me like you're having technical issues and need support; we'll be happy to assist but this is not a support forum. I'll PM you in a moment with additional information but in general feel free to contact us through the knowledgebase at prometheankb.com, or in the US by phone at 888-652-2848 op3. Thank you!