Monkey 252 Posted November 23, 2012 Hi monkey, allow me to make a quick suggestion -- since your computer is 'homemade', there should be a free PCI slot inside, and for around $5 or $6 you can get a PCI expansion port serial card to just plug into there. This one, for example -- http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-to-2-Dual-COM-RS232-Serial-I-O-Port-Card-Adapter-/310326268888?pt=US_Internal_Port_Expansion_Cards&hash=item4840e313d8 Also, be aware of the right-side set-screw stop position for the pinch roller. I've mentioned this several times in these forums, but I still want to call your attention to that. Not sure how I missed your post (sorry) but yeah thats the route im looking at going since for some reason my on board serial port isnt registering anything when I plug the cutter into it. As for the pinch roller, thats some good info. Luckily so far Ive stayed away from that area unintentionally. I have been lining vinyl up on 3rd large tick mark from the right which is the 13th overall tick mark from the right. And just pure luck where I have that first pinch roller is directly lined up with the arrow keypad so I can just reach with finger while holding vinyl in place to lock it down. Using 24" vinyl right now but glad you posted that in case I use a 30" piece sometime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted November 23, 2012 Nothing happens when you plug into the serial port. No pop-ups....it's not USB. IT's just there. When you chose the port, you should chose com1. That is the normal for serial. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monkey 252 Posted November 24, 2012 I originally hooked up the serial during install when it said to hook up cutter but computer didnt find anything so thought it wasnt working. So I tried USB and instatly found it and installed it. I thought the serial port should have done the same thing as the USB, but now that I know different, Ill play with that some more today before ordering a serial card. May be able to save me a couple bucks there to go towards better materials. Thanks everyone for all the info and tips. Its great how helpful this forum has been for me. Hope someday Ill have the knowledge where I can help someone also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monkey 252 Posted November 28, 2012 Well got it hooked up on the serial port and working..YAY lol. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xpaperman 719 Posted November 28, 2012 I bought a new desktop computer just for my new SC cutter as my laptop has no serial port. I hooked everything up via serial and my cutter did not work. It would work via USB on desktop but not serial. Although it was a brand new cable, I bought another one just to rule out the "bad cable" theory. Still no luck. Called US Cutter and they tapped into my computer via internet to look around. After 30 minutes, their answer was that I needed a null modem adapter. I then went and purchased that. Now, it still don't work. I am out almost 500 bucks (new puter, monitor cables etc) trying to get the serial to work and still no luck. I have not called customer service back yet as I am disappointed with them at this point. (I had another issue with them but will not go into it). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,708 Posted November 28, 2012 @ xpaperman...Why didn't you just purchase a keyspan adapter for your laptop? It would have only cost about $28.00. Some less than that. Or a serial card for your laptop? You don't need a new up to date expensive computer to run a vinyl cutter. Actually I stay back on XP, with an XP backup laptop. XP computers/with serial can be had cheap on the big auction site. Less than $100.00 http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Keyspan-High-Speed-USB-Serial-Adapter-USA-19HS-/120420154018?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c0999baa2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xpaperman 719 Posted November 28, 2012 MzSKEETER, part of the reason for the new computer was I really wanted to keep my cutter stuff, and my personal stuff separate. Maybe it is just me and OCD...... but I wanted a desk, an area.... a space for my cutter and possible business. I didn't really want to bog down my personal laptop with tons of files etc. I do have corel on my laptop so I could do some work away from home but I want the bulk on the home pc. I did get a good deal on the home computer, most of the expense is in the monitor. I went overboard there because I wanted to. Plus, before purchasing the pc, I had read a lot on the forums about going serial if you can as it was the best route. After rereading my previous post it almost appears as I passed blame that I was out 500 bucks on to US Cutter, that was not really what I meant, I was more disappointed in the fact they spent so much time with me on the phone and (it appeared when they told me the solution they were guessing, that is what it felt like anyway) that I did what they asked and it didn't work. Before I bought the cutter, I did some homework and was already prepared for the pc purchase before I even bought the cutter. So the money spent there doesn't bother me. I guess it really just comes down to the fact I have always hated calling any type of customer service for any reason. I know they are busy and have to deal with people that don't check things like plugging something in before calling. I like to try and research problems and try and resolve them myself. If I can't get it then I will call for help. Just disappointed that their "fix" didn't fix the issue. I am sure it must be something simple that I and they have missed, we are all human. I will add, I do love this forum!! I have learned a lot just from digging around in the threads. The community here is great! I hope that as time goes on and I am able to help others with things I have learned along the way. :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,708 Posted November 28, 2012 I will tell you one of the funniest situations I fixed on here, was a guy who bought an MH series cutter and he sas having a heck of a time trying to get it to set up and cut. The reason, he claimed he bought the MH cutter was to cut narrow vinyl strips like 6" wide. He had a Roland 24 " cutter that he owned for 6 or 7 years, But said that it wouldn't cut narrow vinyl. So, I questioned him on that, I told him to move the left pinch roller over to the right. He was adamant that it wouldn't move. It was permanent. I looked up his cutter in the Roland user manual. It said, that the left pinch roller was movable. And I told him it was a movable pinch roller. I told him to take the top off the cutter and look for a set screw. Sure enough there it was. He loosed the set screw and was able to move the left pinch roller any where he wanted it.. So, he bought another vinyl cutter for no reason. He owned this Roland cutter for 6-7 years and never read the user manual. LOL . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monkey 252 Posted November 28, 2012 All I had to do was plug the serial cable up and check the com settings to match what it showed in the noob manual. Then went into SCALP did a test image. I did have to, and still do, manually select com1 each time i send a cut, if I leave it on auto detect it tells me there is a problem with the USB connection.......probably cause its not hooked up that way anymore lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
