Hello!
I've finally got everything together and am trying to get the Polargraph working.

I assembled the PolarShield v1.2
Installed the stepper controllers
Installed the Display (The original style one)
Installed the Mega2560

I WAS able to build the polarshield server (v24) (From the 1.7-1.6 download), connect and download it to the Mega.
I AM able to bring up the pre-compiled controller on my Windows machine (32-bit).
I AM able to serial connect to the Polargraph (App says "Polargraph READY! (PolargraphSD)")

But I see nothing on the screen... I am thinking that I should...
It has the backlight on, so I know it is getting power....

Any ideas?

Thanks,
B

Sandy,
That did it!
THANK YOU very much for your insight!

I have a working touchscreen.

As to your excellent question... You have to consider your audience.
Your website is easy to find. Adding a tab with links to all of the relevant code, instructions, schematics, hex files, BOM, videos of usage, revision changes, etc... would be great... That way, it is all in one place.
You have to write to your least technical audience member... Which for Polargraph, I imagine is teens and artists.
If it were just me, I would capture everything in videos that tell an emerging story.
I would place these videos on that webpage I mentioned above. They are quick to author and you will tend to reach a larger audience as video is a very accessible medium. It also allows you to tell a compact story about one facet of either building, commissioning or using these great devices (This would have helped me, and kept me focused!)
If it is mostly folks who will compile their own code, then everything [code-related] as an option in the configuration.h file (with a brief write-up on what those options do) is appropriate (A la reprap).
There is also the question of use. Having a flowchart of menus available on the touch-screen would help immensely. Please see this for a reference
http://www.gabotronics.com/development-boards/xmega-xprotolab.htm
(The short list of links across the top of the text, but below the title of the product is ideal.)
The documentation (under 'Manual EN'), at page 12 presents a flowchart of where the menus flow, and most importantly, how to get back!
(Can you tell I am a fan?) 😉

A short write-up/video is probably in order for just the usage case.
The process of taking a picture with a camera and eventually drawing with a polargraph is still a bit of a puzzle for me.

Again, Thank You for your time and thoughtfulness in maintaining this site, answering our inane questions and thinking about improvement!

VR,
Bruce

Sandy,

...Please let me recind my previous remarks. I was going from the memory of your site, as I first discovered your Polargraph, more than a year ago. I have since delved into the site and come to a different conclusion (mia coupla!)
I think you are doing it right!
you have videos of usage, links to code, instructables with examples - An excellent effort!
It is a daunting problem to try to document a project that pulls together so many disciplines... Essentially ensuring that everyone who builds one will need some one-on-one Sandy time... I can well understand your wanting to put together a canonical package that will help folks, without your personal intervention.
You have also created a very functional unit, requiring a bit of learning (oh no!) on the part of the user.
I have only a couple of suggestions...
1. There appears to be more than one way to get to the data. This is good. I think you are on the right track with your last email. Just some more organization of all of the data.
2. More videos of usage!!!!! Seeing the Polargraph work is what made me want one, immediatley! I believe that the more pictures/video that exist, the more people that will see it, and eventually make a purchasing decision. You have some great videos of the machine doing its thing, additional footage including the setup of the machine, importing of a picture, processing, download and kickoff would be most enlightening. people generally learn better from visual input than from reading. (also, I hope you are posting these videos to Youtube, as enough hits causes them to write you a check).
3. Consider opening up the technical aspects to a formal wiki environment (I see the one at code.google.com... and that is a great start!) Opening up a page that everyone can contribute to is a mixed bag, but may open up opportunities for you. Nobody can do it all, alone (although you are making a heroic effort!). there is also the idea that the more people that work on it, the more readable and understandable it is (see reprap wiki) - You have made the design completly open, there is no reason that you don't capitalize on the benefits of maintaining an open design.
You are doing an awesome job!
(Sorry for the long post. I am excited about Polargraph)
vr,
Bruce