
Trouble-shooting tips for using an Immersion MicroScribe-3D system with
a Silicon Graphics computer:

Configuring SGI serial ports:
----------------------------
In the System Manager, each port can be set to TERMINAL, MODEM, or OFF.
The Immersion MicroScribe-3D software requires the OFF setting.  If you 
change this setting, you need to restart the machine for it to take 
effect.

Serial Cables:
-------------
Most SGI machines have a DIN8 (round) connector on their serial
ports.  The Immersion MicroScribe-3D requires a mini-DIN8 serial 
cable.  There are many different types of peripheral cables (even
many different types of SERIAL peripheral cables), so simply finding
one with the correct connectors does NOT guarantee that you have the
correct cable.

If your SGI machine does not have a DIN8 connector, consult your SGI
owner's manual to find out how the serial port is connected.  You will
need to find a serial cable that connects the proper signals to the
proper pins on the Immersion MicroScribe-3D.  

Consult the Immersion MicroScribe-3D Owner's Manual or SDK Manual for a 
diagram and more information about the serial connection.

Baud Rates:
----------
The Immersion MicroScribe-3D will not bother with any baud rate below 9600.
On the SGI platform, this means the only available rates are 9600, 19200,
and 38400, so be sure to confine any trouble-shooting experiments to
those three.

Manually Communicating with the Immersion MicroScribe-3D:
---------------------------------------------------------
You should be able to manually 'sign on' the MicroScribe-3D by using a 
terminal program to send the string 'MSCR' repeatedly.  Run your terminal
program while connected to the Probe, and type MSCRMSCRMSCRMSCR...
with no spaces or carriage returns.  After you have typed this
from 3 to 6 times, the Probe should respond by echoing back 'MSCR'
one time.  You then must type 'BEGIN' only once, and the Probe will
echo 'BEGIN'.  If you can do this manually, then you have confirmed
that (1) your Immersion MicroScribe-3D is working, (2) you have the right
cable, (3) your serial ports are properly configured.  Remember that
this will only work if your baud rate is set to 9600, 19200, or 38400.


These trouble-shooting tips solve most SGI/MicroScribe-3D integration 
problems.  If you have investigated these tips and are still having 
trouble, please let us know.  You can reach us

       by email at immersion@starconn.com
       by phone at (408) 467-1900
       by FAX at (408) 467-1901





