# VSA help



## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

Hi guys,
I have been sending emails back and forth with Dr. Morbius about buying one of his 3 axis skulls, I really want one. Everything was great until I mentioned I had a Mac computer. I'm an artist and love my Mac and have no plans on getting a pc...no offense to the pc peeps. (insert pc vs Mac commerical). Here's what Morbius wrote: 

"Not a stupid question at all...in fact I'm sure VSA will NOT work on a Mac. It's only available for Windows. If you do not have a PC, I would reconsider getting this skull until you do. There just isn't another software program that I know of that can do what is needed to make my skull work. I also am not familiar with anything else, so I wouldn't be able to give advice with regards to servo USB drivers for a Mac, I don't have a Mac."

Morbius, hope ya' don't mind me posting this, just trying to get some help from others that might know. I've been searching the internet looking for help, but if any of you could point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate the help.
Desperatly Seeking Software--:voorhees:


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## Sunkenbier (Jan 5, 2009)

doesnt the mac have PC simulation software? 

Also Im not sure if the Lightorama software is compatible with Mac but Ive heard they are making a controler that should be released soon


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

If you have an intel-based mac, you can run Bootcamp or Parallels to use Windows on your Mac. Otherwise, you can go the route I went and get a cheap PC laptop off craigslist or something for this purpose.


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## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

Mr_Chicken said:


> If you have an intel-based mac, you can run Bootcamp or Parallels to use Windows on your Mac. Otherwise, you can go the route I went and get a cheap PC laptop off craigslist or something for this purpose.


 Awesome, thanks so much for your help guys. Mr. Chicken, I had no idea about Bootcamp or Parallels, thanks a lot !!! :voorhees:


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

I just thought of something..has anybody used servo controller cards, esp Parallax or Lynxmotion ssc32 on a Mac? Can a Mac run standard USB devices, or are they just Firewire enabled? Does a Mac have a standard serial port?


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

I've heard that adapting the serial port of SSC32 to USB makes jibberish out of the servo commands. Other than that, I have no idea.


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

Macs have USB, but not serial. That said, it may be possible to get a serial port on a Mac Pro (don't quote me on that, though).
What I remember reading is that if you use the serial-USB adapter on a computer w/o a serial port, then it will have problems (though it could have been the other way around).
hmmm....you'll probably want to look into that before you jump into this, Fiend.


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## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

But if I use Bootcamp, or Parallels like you mentioned earlier, wouldn't that be ok ? I'm still searching for more info, but thought any info I could get from forum members would be great since I will be using it for haunt purposes, like everyone else....although I must admit, I'm so excited to start this, I might..er probably will, be playing with this stuff year round !


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

Well, you shouldn't have any problem with software, but what Doc made me realize is that you're going to need to find a way to connect the computer to the control board. For example, I use an ssc-32 board to control my skulls, which connects via serial port to my PC laptop (which I have dubbed the Schlaptop-- I'm a Mac guy). Because Macs don't come with a serial port, you would need to use a serial-USB adapter cable to make this work, but people have reported problems with these, as Sickie said. So basically, your options are (as far as I can figure):
1) get a serial-USB adapter and see if it works
2) look for a controller board that uses a connection that you _do_ have (USB, firewire)
3) go to the dark side and get a cheap PC with a serial connection


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## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

Aaah, got it. Sorry, I'm not too computer savy. My Mac is mostly for artwork so I don't know all the terminology...yet! Sheesh, looks like I got a lot of work ahead of me. Damn, and I just went and got a bunch of prop supplies! Scored big time, $70 worth of goodies for $30, I love gettin' Halloween goodies in the off season! Thanks for all your help guys, I'll let you know what goes on. :voorhees:


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

Get a PArallax USB servo controller board. You can only control 2-3 skulls on it, but it'll work on a Mac. you WILL need special drivers for the Parallax board but they are availablr through a link on thier site. www.parallax.com
If you need more servo outputs, the Parallax board comes with a jumper cord to connect two boards to one USB port, allowing as many outputs as the SSC-32 but at twice the cost since you would be buying two boards (they only output 16 servos as opposed to the SSC-32 which outputs , guess...32 servos) . Also Parallax boards do not have TTL logic level outputs for relay control like the SSC 32 does. So, if all you have is USB, then go Parallax. Otherwise go SSC-32.


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## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

I can't thank you all enough for all this help ! It would take me forever to find all this info on my own. Such great people on this forum!


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