No pictures this time, but I do have an update.
I had an email exchange with someone at Louet - no real information available about the USB plug on my dobby box. This person said to go ahead and plug into it and try it, it couldn't hurt anything, but they didn't think there was any circuitry inside the box for that plug. Rather than go out and buy a USB-USB cable, I opted to take the safe route and buy a USB-serial adapter and just plug it into the serial plug on the dobby box and a USB port on my laptop.
I looked back through the WeaveTech archives - I mostly use Fiberworks PCW, so I was looking for their recommendation. They recommended a Belkin. So Sunday after church, I headed to Frye's. They were out of many of the USB-serial adapters, only had 2 brands left - one was Belkin, the other an off brand. It didn't mention Windows 7, but I thought (ha!) surely they have a Windows 7 driver I can get online.
Well, when I came home, I tried and tried. Tried installing one of the drivers on the CD that came with it. Tried finding a Windows 7 driver. Tried getting a Vista driver online and installing that. Googled for some solutions, and found some strange ones I wasn't willing to try. All in all, it was a hot and frustrating afternoon, with no luck.
That night, I decided to go online and order a new adapter - one guaranteed to work with Windows 7. I even found one that supposedly will work with Windows 7 AND Mac OSX10.x so I ordered it.
Just before going to bed, I decided to go back in the loom room, try it as plug and play, and voila - it worked! I decided not to cancel the order - I suspect I'll be glad for the other adapter at some point. But still, at least things are working in the meantime.
So this weekend, now that everything has been moved and is in place, I actually plan to wind a warp and get the big loom to work. I am thrilled with the prospect!
