Hi Matt,
Working backward: You don't have a serial port until it shows up as a device in /dev/ If you have a driver correctly installed (usually requires rebooting, without heavy command line magic) then it will be created automatically when the cable is plugged in to a USB port.
I have no idea where you are technically, you say you're new to Mac. Terminal gives you a unix shell command line. OS X is built on top of a variant of unix. If this discussion goes on, it might help to know what version of OS X you're running, and your computer background.
Open the Terminal app, which will be found in /Applications/Utilities. There will be a prompt. Mine is customized, and I no longer remember what the default looks like, lets say it's %
Assuming the leading % is the prompt provided by Terminal, type: % ls /dev/cu* <return> This will print the paths (names) of all the serial ports currently available. If you have one that isn't bluetooth, see if it goes away and comes back when you plug and unplug the USB cable. If so, that's your guy.
To tell Chirp about it, select it from the list in the popup dialog for upload/download. If it exists, it should show up there.
If you don't have a serial device in /dev/cu* corresponding to your cable, you're not ready for Chirp. I googled around and found Edgeport USB serial devices at http://www.digi.com/products/usb/edgeport#models, and I think the driver info for yours is at http://www.digi.com/support/productdetail?pid=2643&type=drivers
But that lists drivers for ten versions of Windows, three of Solaris, and mentions that linux might be available for download. But no mention of drivers for Mac OS X.
Where did you get yours, and what did you use for installation instructions?
-dan
On Oct 11, 2012, at 6:18 PM, Matthew J. Mason - mason.matthew.j@gmail.com +chirp+cordless+21e5df03ee.mason.matthew.j#gmail.com@spamgourmet.com wrote:
Thanks Dan - A quick follow-up:
You probably need to install the driver. See http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/MacOS_Tips
Done - thanks.
Use System Information -> USB to find your cable in the USB device tree. If it's a Prolific device, you can try the open source driver mentioned on that page...
What's the syntax I need to use in Chirp to point it to the cable? What you're looking at below is what System Information is reporting for the USB-to-Serial cable I'm using (Edgeport/1), plugged into a USB hub. But none of these elements seems to work as a port address in Chirp. (I'm sure I'm missing something really obvious...any help is appreciated.) Edgeport/1: Product ID: 0x0215 Vendor ID: 0x1608 (Inside Out Networks Version: 0.01 Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec Manufacturer: Inside Out Networks Location ID: 0xfd136000 / 6 Current Available (mA): 500 Current Required (mA): Unknown (Device has not been configured)