intermittent usb connectivity issues with new macs

Community General Discussion
1

Hi there,

I'm getting settled at my new job as sound and video supervisor of a small theatre company. The troupes use a small RF transmitter > Receiver > Relay system from National Control Decives to trigger the space bar on their show computers which in turn, hits the "go" button on the show control software and plays the next audio or video cue in the show.

When I got here the company was in the midst of switching from their old 2013 mac minis to new 2018 mac minis. I have read a lot about some intermittent usb connectivity issues with the new macs. Sure enough almost all of the troupes that are using the new macs are in fact having problems where the remote receiver will either not working upon startup of the computer OR it will lose connectivity with the computer mid-show. Mid show fixes are to quickly unplug it and plug it back in, or, sometimes to restart the computer.

I have gone through all of macs recommended fixes - SMC reboots, resetting the NVRAM, nothing seems to help.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this with their arduino units?

2

What is the relay model?

For RF signal interference, have you tried relays in another, more "interference free" environment?

Are they powered by their own power supply, or are they powered by the USB port?

Do USB cables have noise blockers?

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3

How does this relate to Arduino?

4

sterretje:
How does this relate to Arduino?

I thought the same thing, but electronics is all related. :smiley:

5

What is the device in question?

Recent versions of MacOS have really tightened up their standards for USB devices; people have problems with VUSB devices sometimes too, and for two versions of macos in a row, they broke the CH340G driver. I would complain to the manufacturer of the device, and see if they have a fix available.