My Black Box II (or DataMite II) will not communicate to my computer. What should I do?
Remove the optical isolator from the system if you have one. If this fixes the problem, be sure to set the Preference to Enable Optical Isolator power. If this is set correctly, then you may need a powered optical isolator from Performance Trends. Be sure you are using the cable supplied with the system, called a Null Modem cable. Not all 9 pin cables are the same. You need one where pins 2 and 3 swap through the cable, pin 2 is connected to pin 3 and vice versa. With the Black Box II, remove the lid (keeping all wires connected) and be sure the ribbon cable from the computer connector is firmly plugged into the connector on the board. Click on DataMite at top of main screen, then Troubleshoot, then Check Com Ports. Does your COM port pass the “paper clip” test? Can you find a COM port which does pass this test. Note that COM 3 many times may pass this test, but will still pass the test with the paper clip removed, and is not a valid port. If no ports pass this test, you need to take y
