Mac/ Powertap download issues

It's not clear where you loaded the driver and how you're communicating between the Mac and VPC. If you're not already, you should load the driver onto W2K and use USB sharing (rather than com port mapping) to communicate to VPC. To turn USB sharing on, click the USB icon at the bottom of the VPC window and there is a box to check in the upper right of the dialog box that comes up. If it isn't alread on, turn USB sharing on (requires a restart of W2K). Then after the Keyspan adaptor is plugged in, clicking the same USB icon will now show USB sharing on and a box to check for the Keyspan device. Click on that box and the device should be mapped to Com 3. Check that through the hardware settings in W2K, and choose the proper Com port in CyclingPeaks and it should work. I should add that while this works for me in W2K, I haven't been able to get it working in XP.

Thanks for the response. I spoke with Saris who say that they don't support Mac users and don't know what to do to help, so you guys are basically my only hope.

I did download a driver from Keyspan onto W2K. I also downloaded a driver onto the Mac desktop for the same device. I do have a device appearing as Keyspan USB/Serial adapter and it is mapped to COM 3 on W2K. The USB sharing seems backwards from what you state below. When I click on the box adjacent to the Keyspan USB/Serial adapter and a checkmark is present is appears to designate that sharing is "turned off" rather than on. I have tried this both ways without success.

CP is set to look for COM 3 as well. When I connect to PT computer to its cradle, however, I don't get a download.

asgelle said:

It's not clear where you loaded the driver and how you're communicating between the Mac and VPC. If you're not already, you should load the driver onto W2K and use USB sharing (rather than com port mapping) to communicate to VPC. To turn USB sharing on, click the USB icon at the bottom of the VPC window and there is a box to check in the upper right of the dialog box that comes up. If it isn't alread on, turn USB sharing on (requires a restart of W2K). Then after the Keyspan adaptor is plugged in, clicking the same USB icon will now show USB sharing on and a box to check for the Keyspan device. Click on that box and the device should be mapped to Com 3. Check that through the hardware settings in W2K, and choose the proper Com port in CyclingPeaks and it should work. I should add that while this works for me in W2K, I haven't been able to get it working in XP.

I found the discussion I used when I was having trouble. They go through some options in better detail than I was able to give.
http://cycle-smart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31

nberk76 said:

I just got a new PT pro wheel and am unable to download the rides into my computer. I am using a Mac with OS X and am running Virtual PC with Windows 2000. I have a trial version of Cyclingpeaks I am running through VP. I bought a Keyspan USB/serial port adapter and according to the windows test this is working properly.

I downloaded a driver from Keyspan for the adapter and have it set on COM3. I set Cyclingpeaks to look for my Powertap on COM3, but it doesn't work. The change to COM1 provokes a warning that whatever is designated and connected to the port will no longer work if I proceed so I haven't done this.

The Powertap screen shows HOSEt when on the Link cradle.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Nathan

I'm a Mac user and finally realized I had to join the PC world. I picked up a used Dell and dedicated it to cycling with power. Ask around, your friends will GIVE you their old Pentium 3 computers.

Try VPC6 instead of VPC7. When I upgraded, Keyspan quit working for my Polar and Keyspan.

Thanks for the responses. I'm afraid that I'm still stuck and looking at being forced to get a PC for this to work. Bummer. I think that the differences between VP6 and VP7 just might be what's holding me up in comparison to the others on these historical posts.

Chipotle said:

I'm a Mac user and finally realized I had to join the PC world. I picked up a used Dell and dedicated it to cycling with power. Ask around, your friends will GIVE you their old Pentium 3 computers.

I too got a PC for Polar and Netathlon. However, when I travel I only have my Powerbook, so I download using iSMARTtrain, a fantastic Mac program. For now it only supports Polar, but try contacting them and ask about a future version for Powertap and other monitors.

http://www.ismarttrain.com

nberk76 said:

Thanks for the responses. I'm afraid that I'm still stuck and looking at being forced to get a PC for this to work. Bummer. I think that the differences between VP6 and VP7 just might be what's holding me up in comparison to the others on these historical posts.

Hope you haven't gone out and bought a PC or something...

I have a dual 2GHz G5 with VPC 7 running windows XP and I use CyclingPeaks software no problem. I tested the PT software and it works fine as well.

I found the below instructions online and it is what I've used and it works perfectly. You don't need any drivers on the PC side only on the Mac side and use the keyspan utility (on mac side) to make sure it's working alright. You need to make some setting on VPC for the PC side to see the USB/serial addapter as a serial port.

when you attach the PT unit to the cradle press one of the button so it does show HOSet

---------------------------
Instructions: Since my PowerTap Pro uses a serial port (RS-232) and almost all PC and Mac hardware have only USB and Firewire ports, you will need a little gadget to convert RS-232 to USB. The one I use is made by KEYSPAN, Part No. USA-19HS. There are a lot of converters out there for PC’s but the one above is one of a very few that are compatible with OS X.

It must be configured exactly like this:

1. Install the KEYSPAN drivers for OS X
2. Plug-in the converter to a free USB port and make sure KEYSPAN's utility can see the device in OSX using the OSX Keyspan utility software.
3. Startup your virtual PC and Windows OS
4. On your virtual PC hardware configuration setup the KEYSPAN converter as a Serial Port (COM1) and not as a USB device. Under advanced settings turn on DTR tracks RTS and CTS tracks RTS.

[Edit] modem off

5. If you want to download directly into the PowerTap 1.04 program follow the instructions above except turn advanced settings off and make sure that modem and RTS and CTS tracks RTS are turned off. This way you can download the file into PowerTap and drag it into CyclingPeaks.

These instructions did work for me. Thanks so much. My free trial for Cyclingpeaks has expired unfortunately so I downloaded the ride info directly into the Link software. N

doctorSpoc said:

Hope you haven't gone out and bought a PC or something...

I have a dual 2GHz G5 with VPC 7 running windows XP and I use CyclingPeaks software no problem. I tested the PT software and it works fine as well.

I found the below instructions online and it is what I've used and it works perfectly. You don't need any drivers on the PC side only on the Mac side and use the keyspan utility (on mac side) to make sure it's working alright. You need to make some setting on VPC for the PC side to see the USB/serial addapter as a serial port.

when you attach the PT unit to the cradle press one of the button so it does show HOSet

---------------------------
Instructions: Since my PowerTap Pro uses a serial port (RS-232) and almost all PC and Mac hardware have only USB and Firewire ports, you will need a little gadget to convert RS-232 to USB. The one I use is made by KEYSPAN, Part No. USA-19HS. There are a lot of converters out there for PC’s but the one above is one of a very few that are compatible with OS X.

It must be configured exactly like this:

1. Install the KEYSPAN drivers for OS X
2. Plug-in the converter to a free USB port and make sure KEYSPAN's utility can see the device in OSX using the OSX Keyspan utility software.
3. Startup your virtual PC and Windows OS
4. On your virtual PC hardware configuration setup the KEYSPAN converter as a Serial Port (COM1) and not as a USB device. Under advanced settings turn on DTR tracks RTS and CTS tracks RTS.

[Edit] modem off

5. If you want to download directly into the PowerTap 1.04 program follow the instructions above except turn advanced settings off and make sure that modem and RTS and CTS tracks RTS are turned off. This way you can download the file into PowerTap and drag it into CyclingPeaks.

I am struggling with PT download issues and have tried the methods suggested in this thread. I have a PT SL/pro CPU and am trying to download to an iMac G5 running OS 10.4.3 with virtual PC 7.0.2 and windows xp service pack 2, with everything connected through the recommended Keyspan USB-serial adapter. I have tried various permutations of loading drivers on the vPC side or on the Mac side, with USB emulation or serial port mapping (com1). The Keyspan drivers load OK, but when I go to download with Link 1.04, the download stops/fails after either 130 records are read or 250 records are read (depending on whether I am using serial or USB emulation). No data file is created. I have not been able to get anywhere with Hyperterminal. I also tried downloading and installing the new Power tuned software, but that does not even recognize the PT CPU.

I am out of ideas other than surrendering and looking for a cheapo used widows laptop. I welcome suggestions.

Thank you

aabrian said:

I am struggling with PT download issues and have tried the methods suggested in this thread. I have a PT SL/pro CPU and am trying to download to an iMac G5 running OS 10.4.3 with virtual PC 7.0.2 and windows xp service pack 2, with everything connected through the recommended Keyspan USB-serial adapter. I have tried various permutations of loading drivers on the vPC side or on the Mac side, with USB emulation or serial port mapping (com1). The Keyspan drivers load OK, but when I go to download with Link 1.04, the download stops/fails after either 130 records are read or 250 records are read (depending on whether I am using serial or USB emulation). No data file is created. I have not been able to get anywhere with Hyperterminal. I also tried downloading and installing the new Power tuned software, but that does not even recognize the PT CPU.

I am out of ideas other than surrendering and looking for a cheapo used widows laptop. I welcome suggestions.

Thank you

mine started getting stuck the odd time too, since i got a new USB hub.

try this.. turn off all other apps, remove the unit from the craddle so the "HOSt" on the display goes away... then put it back and try the download again... usually works after one or two tries.

if that doesn't work then just restart your computer, open VPC and Cycling Peaks or Power Tap software 1st thing, and nothing else, then download... this always works.

good luck.

doctorSpoc said:

mine started getting stuck the odd time too, since i got a new USB hub.

try this.. turn off all other apps, remove the unit from the craddle so the "HOSt" on the display goes away... then put it back and try the download again... usually works after one or two tries.

if that doesn't work then just restart your computer, open VPC and Cycling Peaks or Power Tap software 1st thing, and nothing else, then download... this always works.

good luck.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I tried your suggestion, but still no luck. Meanwhile, a coach I know swears that assigning the keyspan adapter to comm 4 will do the trick (with Link likewise configured). To assign port mapping requires that I use the Windows driver and USB emulation. I also tried this, changing the port mapping in Keyspan Serial Assistant to Comm4 from Comm3. No go. I tried the Hyperterminal testing and managed to get the CPU to spew out its firmware version, but the attempt to test the download by typing "D" resulted in clearing the memory and causing something that looks like AP ldr to appear on the CPU display where HOSt had been displayed.

The only other thing I can think of is that maybe the 512 Mb of RAM in my iMac is just not enough--maybe the virtual machine is a little too slow and the USB emulation is not working for that reason. Now Apple is showing off its new intel-based machines. Too late for me, but maybe future Mac users won't face these problems.

aabrian said:

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I tried your suggestion, but still no luck. Meanwhile, a coach I know swears that assigning the keyspan adapter to comm 4 will do the trick (with Link likewise configured). To assign port mapping requires that I use the Windows driver and USB emulation. I also tried this, changing the port mapping in Keyspan Serial Assistant to Comm4 from Comm3. No go. I tried the Hyperterminal testing and managed to get the CPU to spew out its firmware version, but the attempt to test the download by typing "D" resulted in clearing the memory and causing something that looks like AP ldr to appear on the CPU display where HOSt had been displayed.

The only other thing I can think of is that maybe the 512 Mb of RAM in my iMac is just not enough--maybe the virtual machine is a little too slow and the USB emulation is not working for that reason. Now Apple is showing off its new intel-based machines. Too late for me, but maybe future Mac users won't face these problems.

yeah.. I think a gig is about the minimum for running VPC 7, expecially with XP... i've hear win95 will run considerabley faster... although i haven't tried it... it works now so i don't want to chance that it stops working... you know the old... 'don't fix it if it aint broke'

Okay, HERE IS WHAT WORKED, finally. I called Saris and told them about the problem. They sent me a USB download cradle. The cradle is not yet available and is still being tested, but they were kind enough to send it to me anyway. They also said I would have to use the PowerAgent software. First try--didn't work. PowerAgent did not detect the PT cpu. After an exchange of emails they directed me to a web site where I could download a driver for the cradle. This did the trick. With USB enabled in PC settings, Virtual PC detects the cradle and installs the driver. The download worked with either PowerAgent (slow and glitchy) or with Link (much better), using com 4. My downloads have been going smoothly since. What a relief!

aabrian said:

Okay, HERE IS WHAT WORKED, finally. I called Saris and told them about the problem. They sent me a USB download cradle. The cradle is not yet available and is still being tested, but they were kind enough to send it to me anyway. They also said I would have to use the PowerAgent software. First try--didn't work. PowerAgent did not detect the PT cpu. After an exchange of emails they directed me to a web site where I could download a driver for the cradle. This did the trick. With USB enabled in PC settings, Virtual PC detects the cradle and installs the driver. The download worked with either PowerAgent (slow and glitchy) or with Link (much better), using com 4. My downloads have been going smoothly since. What a relief!

Glad you hear you got this working...

USB cradle eh? Seems Saris has finaly entered the 20th century... couldn't believe it when i got this thing and it had a serial cable? USB's only been out for 10 years.

Here are step by step instructions from Keyspan... they explain the two methods:

1) setting up the addapter from withing OS X or 2) setting up the addapter in Windows

http://www.keyspan.com/support/macosx/usa/docs/html/homepage27.html#Heading13

doctorSpoc said:

Glad you hear you got this working...

USB cradle eh? Seems Saris has finaly entered the 20th century... couldn't believe it when i got this thing and it had a serial cable? USB's only been out for 10 years.

Except that it is apparently not a USB cable, just a serial cable with a built-in serial-to-USB converter.

I've never had a problem using a Mac, VPC, Keyspan and a PT Pro importing into CP...works perfectly.

More trouble; I have a trial version of Cycling Peaks. I am unable to download my rides from my PT SL cpu connected to either the new USB cradle from Saris (oh, sorry, serial cradle with a built-in USB adapter) or the old serial cradle with the Keyspan adapter. CP does not see the cpu and times out. Fortunately, I can still download with the Link software, then drag and drop the data file into CP. It's just a little inconvenient. System specifics: iMac G5, 1.8 GHz, 1.5 Gb RAM, OS 10.4.5, Virtual PC 7.0.2, Windows XP SP2.