Q: Can I use Phidgets with Exemplar?

A: You cannot use Phidgets directly with Exemplar at this time. Phidgets comes with two types of sensors: analog sensors that plug into the Phidgets interface kit via a three-pin cable, and sensors that also have control circuitry on board so you can plug them directly into your USB port.

If you want to work with analog sensors, you can connect them to one of the supported hardware interfaces (TODO: Insert description of how to connect a Phidgets sensor to an Arduino board).

If you want to work with sensors that plug directly into the USB port, you'll need a program on your PC that takes the data generated by the Phidgets sensor and transforms it into messages that can be understood by Exemplar (i.e., OSC messages over UDP). We don't currently have this missing piece but may provide it if there is enough interest.

Q: Can I use Sensor-to-MIDI interfaces like ICube-X with Exemplar?

A: You cannot use MIDI data directly with Exemplar at this time. Exemplar reads OpenSoundControl data, so you would need a MIDI-to-OSC converter. Software like PureData (pd) can be programmed to act as a converter.

Q: Can I use the Make Controller with Exemplar?

A: We are currently working on supporting the Make Controller. For more info, see ExemplarAndTheMakeController.

Q: Can I use Wiring with Exemplar?

A: Yes. Download our wiring-firmware.hex file. You'll need a bootloader or a programmer like the STK500 to flash this file onto the Wiring board - it was not written in the Wiring environment. This firmware uses 10bit (0 to 1023) A2D conversions and 115.2kbps serial speed. Note that you'll lose the ability to use your wiring board within Wiring itself until you reflash the Wiring firmware. We'll try to post a source version of our firmware that is uploadable through the Wiring UI at a later point.

Q: How would I write my own proxy to send messages from (insert unsupported hardware) to Exemplar?

A: Write a standalone server application that outputs data in OSC over UDP format. Then configure Exemplar to receive OSC over UDP messages in its preference dialog. The format of the messages is described in ExemplarInputOutput and Protocols.

Q: I can't see the event panel on the right hand side of the Exemplar UI. How can I get to it?

A: You'll need at least a 1280px-wide screen to run Exemplar.

Q: When trying to configure Exemplar, I get an "Unable to create the selected preference page." What's wrong?

A: This indicates that Eclipse found the Exemplar plug-in but was unable to load it. There are several possible sources for this problem.

Exemplar can't find the RxTx classes for serial communication.

TODO: insert a solution to check an RxTx installation

Eclipse is running Java 1.4.x, but Exemplar needs at least Java 1.5.x.

It's easy to get tangled up with multiple Java VM versions on a single computer. If Eclipse uses an older (<1.5.0) virtual machine, it will not be able to load Exemplar as Exemplar uses features introduced in Java 1.5. If you are using an old VM, you should see the following lines in the console error message of Eclipse (How can I see Console Errors in Eclipse?):

java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError:
edu/stanford/hci/exemplar/Activator (Unsupported major.minor version 49.0)

In Eclipse, go to the Window menu -> Preferences -> Java -> Installed JREs and make sure the checked JRE is >=1.5.0. Restart.

If this does not resolve your problems, try starting Eclipse with a command line argument specifying where to look for the Java VM (./eclipse -vm

/...(Path to JRE 1.5)). Thanks to Christian Guggenmos for pointing this out. The Exemplar bundle for Windows comes with its own JVM and uses precisely this command line argument method to make sure Eclipse uses that JVM.