With Microsoft’s new OS and 64 bits, there’s sure some steps to be done to make Sun’s SPOTs run – here’s a quick how-to.
- Download and install x64 version of the USB driver needed for the SPOTs from http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/MCHPFSUSB_Setup_v1.3.exe
- Start Internet Explorer as Administrator and go to http://java.sun.com
- Download the JRE and SDK for Windows x86 and install (JDK6u16 at the time of writing), make sure you have no 64 bit versions installed
- Restart
- Start Internet Explorer as Administrator and download and install the Netbeans IDE from http://www.netbeans.org if desired
- Make sure that Netbeans finds the SDK correctly (especially if changing Java versions)
- If you get an error, edit the netbeans.conf file, typically located in C:Program Files (x86)NetBeans 6.7.1etc
Note: you need to edit the file as administrator - Adjust the following:
# Default location of JDK, can be overridden by using –jdkhome <dir>:
netbeans_jdkhome=”C:Program Files (x86)Javajdk1.6.0_16″ - If you get an error, edit the netbeans.conf file, typically located in C:Program Files (x86)NetBeans 6.7.1etc
- Start Internet Explorer as Administrator and go to http://sunspotworld.com
- Go to the install section and click on the install icon
- Click your way through the installation
- Use a directory path without spaces, e.g., “C:SunSPOT”, as SDK path
- Connect the SPOT, you will receive and error message about the unfound driver. Each SPOT will need to go through the following procedure:
- Open the device manager (right-click on My Computer and choose Manage)
- Find the SPOT under Other Devices
- Right-click on the entry and choose to Update Driver Software…
- Select Browse my computer…
- Select Let me pick…
- Scroll down to Ports (COM&LPT) and click Next
- From the Manufacturer list select Microchip Technology, Inc.
- Select the Communications Port entry
- Click Next and confirm the warning
- Close the dialog
- Your SPOT is now listed as Communications Port (COM x)
- Close the Device Manager
- Launch the Sun SPOTManager, your device should appear properly