• Download the mchelper application from the Downloads page
  
• Connect the Make Controller Kit to your computer via USB
• Give it a quick test to confirm that it worked

As you're getting started, some resources that will help you out are:
Glossary - definitions of many commonly used terms in electronics and software.
Forum - discussion & troubleshooting. This is where a lot of the latest info is announced.
Documentation section - a variety of helpful information.
We also have an IRC channel, #makingthings, on irc.freenode.net for live chat. Come by and say hello!

If you haven't already, download mchelper from the Downloads page.  mchelper is an application that runs on your computer which allows you to upload firmware to the board.  If you're running Windows, it's best to run the installer for mchelper before connecting the board to your computer as it will install some USB drivers necessary to communicate with the board.

Though new boards come pre-programmed, from time to time small improvements are made to the firmware.   For this reason, it's strongly encouraged that you upload the newest version onto your board.  The newest version (called Heavy.bin) can always be found on the Downloads page.  For help on uploading the firmware, refer to the how-to page here.

Connect the Board

After you've installed mchelper, connect the Make Controller Kit to your computer via USB. You should see the red LED on the Controller Board light up - this indicates that the board is being powered, and also a green, blinking LED, which indicates that the program on the board is running. 

Note: Windows users should get a "New Hardware Detected" message when you plug the board in. To install the appropriate driver, simply tell Windows to install the driver automatically. 

Testing

To test that everything is working properly, we can send an OSC message to the board.

USB Test

The easiest way to confirm the board is all set up and ready to go is to send it some OSC commands over USB.  If you've never heard of OSC, check out our OSC tutorial.  OSC is the protocol that the Make Controller Kit uses to communicate with computers and other devices over Ethernet and USB. 

For example, to turn on one of the LEDs on the board, open mchelper and click the USB tab to indicate that you would like to send your messages via USB instead of Ethernet.  Then send the message /appled/0/state 1. You should see one of the LEDs to the left of the Controller Board (in this case, the one labeled "LED-0") light up.  To turn the LED off, send the message /appled/0/state 0. It's possible to control many parts of the board via OSC - check the reference above for a comprehensive list of all the OSC commands the Make Controller Kit knows how to respond to.

mchelper ready to turn an LED on via USB

Ethernet Test

You can also communicate with the board via Ethernet, although this requires a little more setup than USB.

There are 2 main ways to communicate with your board via Ethernet

• Connect from the board to a computer via Ethernet.  This is not as simple as connecting to the local network.  For detailed instructions on how to do this, go here.
• Connect from the board to the network by plugging into a hub or modem.

Generally, it's easier to connect the Make Controller to your local network than to connect it to a computer.  There are 2 main advantages to doing this:

    1) You automatically get an address using DHCP. 

    2) The board can communicate with other computers or other make Controllers on that network.

If you are connected to the network, you will want to get your board's address.  The Make Controller is pre-programmed with DHCP on, so in order to do this:

• In the command line, type /network/address.  The address will show up in the Output section.

• Select the Ethernet tab.  In IP Address, enter the address from that was in the output section.
• You can now give the board commands via Ethernet.