MH 721 will not show up as device

[Ben Hood 0]

I have searched the forum and customer support for answers but nothing works. 

I bought a MH 721 a few years ago on an ebay auction by Selltopia. US Cutter claims they have never uses this name and therefore REFUSES to help me unless I buy new software from them. A BBB search shows that US Cutter also uses the Selltopia name and lists the US Cutter owner as Marcus Oesterwinter. He is the one listed on the return address on my cutter that is in a US Cutter box.

So, my mistake was not using the cutter when I first received it. It was put in a closet and forgot about. Now I am trying to use it but cannot get any help from customer support because they CLAIM they cannot find my info in their computer. Even after I sent them a pic of the shipping address from the box.

I FINALLY got the cutter to work in the free SignBlazer I downloaded but it is a trial version so I figure it will run out shortly because I cannot get a code for it. The cutter came with Inkscape and I believe SignCut 2.

I have downloaded the drivers from US Cutter site but still will not recognize the cutter. I have tried connecting to 2 laptops, 1 with Vista and one with Windows 10. Have also connect via printer cable to a desktop but still nothing. 

In device manager I cannot show any port other than the USB COM4 that the USB is plugged in to. It will not let me change the driver saying it already has the best driver for the port. I have tried the FTDI Chip but cannot get it to download,  plus I am worried about screwing up my USB.

On Windows 10 it does show up in printers under Unspecified as FT232R USB UART. 

What am I doing wrong? If SignBlazer runs it I am sure SignCut should work also....

[mb20music 760]

17 minutes ago, Ben Hood said:

 

I FINALLY got the cutter to work in the free SignBlazer I downloaded but it is a trial version so I figure it will run out shortly because I cannot get a code for it.

17 minutes ago, Ben Hood said:

 .

 

 

 

Signblazer trial software will never expire, no registration code is required.

 

 

[Ben Hood 0]

Ok.... Every time I log back in Trial Mode counter goes up so didn't know if it would get to a certain number and lock up or something.

[arty-rc 719]

Signblazer is a free program that will never expire. Go to the signblazer posts on this forum and download the "Trial free" version of it. 

[Ben Hood 0]

8 minutes ago, arty-rc said:

 

[Wildgoose 4,200]

That's also odd that you can cut through SB but not SIgncut. With your SignCut program is it a subscription? They have a 7 day free trial and are a great program but they aren't free. You either buy a lifetime dongle or pay a subscription in several payment options. I have not used SignCut 2 but am a big fan of SignCut Pro 1. 

[Ben Hood 0]

My cutter came with a trial version of SC. I can still transfer stuff from Inkscape into it but cannot get it to cut anything. It will not even do a calibration cut. I believe it has something to do with the problem a lot of people are having with the driver.

It really sucks that US Cutter claims they offer lifetime support but that IS NOT true!

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

1 hour ago, Ben Hood said:

My cutter came with a trial version of SC. I can still transfer stuff from Inkscape into it but cannot get it to cut anything. It will not even do a calibration cut. I believe it has something to do with the problem a lot of people are having with the driver.

It really sucks that US Cutter claims they offer lifetime support but that IS NOT true!

 has the trial period on the signcut expired - that would make it not cut - 

PS Support should know within an hour that selltopia was used by uscutter - 

[Ben Hood 0]

I just installed SC for the first time last week. I think the issue is the computer not finding the driver for the cutter. Regardless if the SC is expired the cutter will not show up as a device.

I think they know they were lying to me about Selltopia but again the tech I was talking to didn't have very good tech support quality.  Kept saying "yeah ummm... ok" like 20-30 in the 5 mins I was actually speaking to him and not on hold.

If you look up US Cutter on Better Business Bureau website, Marcus Oesterwinter is listed as the owner. His name is the one listed on the return address. So at SOME time or another they were one in the same company. I tried telling him that but got the same response that they could only help if I bought a newer cutting software. I just want to find a way to hook up the cutter. It seems a lot of people have had the same problem with the MH 721 so it isn't a new thing at all.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

I am not very experienced with the MH 721 but a lot of the users who have worked the kinks out tend to run serial cables or Triplite keyspan adapters from what I read within the forum. If it's a connection problem that might be something to consider. Going back to SignCut, if you are still within the 7 day trial (and probably beyond that truthfully) have you contacted their tech support? SC has awesome tech support. If you can or did cut through SB but can't get it to work through SC then perhaps they will walk through it with you. They logged in remote to my mac way back when I was new and had me up and running very easily. 

Inkscape if free and SignCut has subscriptions that are as short as a week I think so you can get going without a lot of expense and then decide what to do for your cutter driver. 

[Ben Hood 0]

Tech support will not help. They claim they cannot find me in their system.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

as a usb device it will not show up as the MH refine cutter - it only shows the chipset that is in it internally to covert the usb to the serial commands the mb uses.  once you install the drivers for that chipset (usually the ftdi drivers) that is what shows up - like goose said the tripplite adapter with the serial is much more stable and less problems that the internal chipset.  I think where most people get hung up on this is they think it is like installing a printer - a plotter is not like a printer.

[slice&dice 2,450]

You want to get your machine working quick?

Get rid of the version of SignBlazer you have. Uninstall it.

Then, download and run the HYBRID (no nag screens for trials or registration) and when the program is running, go to Cut/Cutter Setup and choose "Redsail" as the machine (the manufacturer in China).

http://download.uscutter.com/SBEforUSCutterSetup.exe

FTDI driver -- http://www.uscuttersupport.com/downloads/Drivers/cdm20828_setup_windows.exe

or, pay $50 for Vinyl Master and be happy.

 

[KYSIGN 233]

I just brought my old MH721 out of storage and hooked it up in my home office via serial connection. It works straight from SignBlazer and Flexi without the need to install anything else. It doesn't show up in device manager either. I did have to carefully clean the end of the serial cable with a wire brush Dremel tool attachment to remove oxidation before it would work.

Most people recommend that you use a keyspan USB to serial adapter instead of direct USB. This apparently reduces the number of errors associated with static and communication errors. Thankfully I have an older system on hand that has on board serial.