Software Installs

Installing Arduino software can be a little idiosyncratic depending on the operating system and version. Feel free to ask for help if you're having trouble getting things to work.

Step 1: Install Arduino Drivers

Mac OS:

First, for all versions of Mac OS:

Visit the Silicon Labs website, scroll down to find the section that says "Download for Macintosh OSX," and click where it says "Download VCP". Download the file, open it (which unzips it), and open the dmg within. After asking you to agree once or twice, it will pop up the contents of the dmg folder.

If you are running 10.11 or higher (El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra), double click on the file "Silicon Labs VCP Driver.pkg."
If you are running an older version of MacOS, open the folder titled "Legacy MacVCP Driver," then double click on the file "Silicon Labs VCP Driver.pkg" contained in that folder.

Then click through the install agreeing to things as asked. Depending on your version of MacOS, you might be told that you have to open your security preferences to grant permission to these drivers. If this happens, click "Open Security Preferences," then click the "Allow" button.

Then, follow the specific directions below depending on which version of Mac OS you are running.

Mac OS Mojave (10.14), High Sierra (10.13), Mac OS Sierra (10.12) or Mac OS X El Capitan (10.11):

Nothing additional is needed; you should be able to skip completely to the "Install Arduino IDE" section below.

Mac OS Yosemite (10.10) or Mavericks (10.9):

These versions of Mac OS come with Arduino drivers already installed, but they don't work. You need to first uninstall them. Open up a terminal window, then issue the following commands. (We found these here.)

cd /System/Library/Extensions/IOUSBFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns
sudo mv AppleUSBFTDI.kext AppleUSBFTDI.disabled
sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions

After completing this step, continue to follow the instructions immediately below for all Mac OS versions 10.10 and below.

Mac OS Yosemite (10.10), Mavericks (10.9), Mountain Lion (10.8), Lion (10.7), and presumably earlier:

Download and install the appropriate drivers for your version of Mac OS from the FTDI drivers website.

If you're running Yosemite, Mavericks, or Mountain Lion (10.10, 10.9, 10.8), you should download the 64-bit version. Otherwise, you can learn from the instructions on this Apple website whether you should grab the 32 bit or the 64 bit version, as the answer depends on your specific computer

Once this step is complete, skip to the "Install Arduino IDE" section below.

Windows

Windows 10:

Nothing should be needed to be done. Skip to the "Install Arduino IDE" section below.

Windows 8:

We have not tested installation for Windows 8. We're optimistic that it will be similar to Windows 10, so try skipping to the "Install Arduino IDE" section below, and speak up if having problems. You might need to install drivers (see Windows 7 below).

Windows 7 and earlier:

We have not recently tested installation for Windows 7. It might need drivers to be installed. First skip to "Install Arduino IDE" below to see if it will just work, and speak up if having problems. You might need to download and install the appropriate drivers from the FTDI drivers website. You can learn from the instructions on this Microsoft website whether you should grab the 32 bit or the 64 bit version.

Step 2: Install Arduino IDE

Download the Arduino development environment. Specifically, download the main release version (avoid the hourly/beta versions) for your operating system. Then, run through the install process.

On Windows, choose the "Installer" version when downloading. Then open it, which should take you through the usual process of installing a program.
On Mac, open the zip file that you downloaded, which should extract an app called "Arduino". Drag that over to Applications.

Start it up and make sure that the program runs.

BELOW ARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL LIBRARIES WE MAY NEED; DON'T INSTALL THEM AS PART OF THE INITIAL LAB. WE'LL INSTALL THEM AS NEEDED LATER.

Skip this step for now: NewPing

We're using a customized version of the NewPing library. Grab it from our course Moodle page, and download it somewhere to your computer. Once you have done so, inside the Arduino development environment, go to the menu and choose "Sketch," then "Include Library," then "Add .ZIP library..." A file chooser should pop up; navigate to the NewPing zip file you got from our Moodle site, and select it.

You'll know you've succeeded if, within the Arduino IDE, you can visit the "Sketch" menu, then "Include Library," and then be able to see "NewPing" listed near the bottom.

Skip this step for now: MMA_7455

Download the MMA_7455 library. Then follow the same directions you followed above for NewPing.