# OpenScale not showing up

**URL:** <https://community.sparkfun.com/t/openscale-not-showing-up/39307>\
**Category:** Force & Weight\
**Created:** [April 7, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/openscale-not-showing-up/39307 "2020-04-07T21:43:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![etracrichard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@etracrichard](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/etracrichard)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/openscale-not-showing-up/39307/1 "2020-04-07T21:43:38Z")

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Hello!

I’m trying to communicate with a new OpenScale board for the first time and am stumped. I use FTDI serial-USB devices all the time, and checked to make sure I have the drivers working on my computers and I do. I tried hooking up my new OpenScale with attached 10kg load cell to three different Windows 10 machines and a Ubuntu computer with the same result on all of them-- a blinking blue status light on the board but no communications at all with the host computer. That is, no virtual COM port appears on the windows machines, and no "other " or “unknown” device either. Same story on Ubuntu-- no available usb device/port to talk to. As far as the OSes are concerned, there’s no device connected. Did I miss an “enable USB” jumper or something?

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**Author:** ![TS-Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TS-Brandon](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/TS-Brandon)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/openscale-not-showing-up/39307/2 "2020-04-07T22:02:37Z")

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Hello,

Can you provide a picture of the top of the board? Also you’re just using a USB at the moment correct, not an FTDI breakout?

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**Author:** ![TS-Chris](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/sparkfun/user_avatar/community.sparkfun.com/ts-chris/32/6057_2.png) [@TS-Chris](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/TS-Chris)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/openscale-not-showing-up/39307/3 "2020-04-08T17:32:46Z")

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Double check your USB cable, you might have a power/charging only cable that has no data lines.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![etracrichard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@etracrichard](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/etracrichard)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/openscale-not-showing-up/39307/4 "2020-04-08T21:20:09Z")

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Thanks for responding so quickly! Suspecting the cable is a good idea, sadly I haven’t figured out a way to check it… I don’t have anything else that uses mini-USB connectors anymore! Well, I have Raspberry Pis but they only use it for power, I think. I can see copper conductors at at least four of the five pin locations in the cable’s plug end (I’m not sure about the center one).

Here’s a picture of the board and attached load cell when the blue status light is on. When plugged in it blinks on/off for roughly one second each.

[https://photos.app.goo.gl/tpNda29FuhoHeqrYA](https://photos.app.goo.gl/tpNda29FuhoHeqrYA)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![etracrichard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@etracrichard](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/etracrichard)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/openscale-not-showing-up/39307/5 "2020-04-08T21:27:30Z")

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I tried a second board (I bought three, two to use in a project and one as a spare/tester) with the same result, which makes me suspect the cable even more. Will see about getting a new one.