How can I tell if the Falcon drivers installed correctly, and the Falcon is functioning properly?

Novint has developed a program called Falcon Test (also known as Falcon Diagnostics), which can be found within N VeNT or your Novint program folder.  Falcon Test is designed to help you determine if there are any problems with your Novint Falcon, and can also be used to reset the Falcon out of a bad state or to manually calibrate the Falcon.  There are 2 ways to launch the Novint Falcon Test program.

Option #1

1. Launch N VeNT
2. Toward the center of N VeNT screen, you will find a Help pull-down button.  Click the Help button and select Falcon Diagnostics.

Option #2

1. Browse to C:Program FilesNovintFalconTestUtilitiesFalconTest
2. Double-click FalconTest.exe

Troubleshooting Steps – How to use Falcon Test:

1. Make certain that the Falcon’s power supply is plugged in and that the Falcon is connected directly to your PC’s USB port (it is best to use a port on the back of the PC.)
2. Launch the Falcon Test program.
3. Click the Open button on the top left.
4. Now you should see the Com Thread Loop Count, counting up (don't worry about the Update Errors counter). If this happens properly, this means that the Falcon drivers are correctly installed, it is plugged into the USB port, and the Falcon is detected. If this doesn't work correctly (i.e. you don't see the Com Thread Loop Count box rapidly counting), then please check your USB connection.
5. While the Com Thread Loop Count box is still counting, push the Home Button on the top right.
6. Then, move the Falcon all the way towards you (making sure each of the 3 arms extends as far out as it can), and then all they way away from you (making sure each of the 3 arms goes all the way back into the Falcon body). The three lights in the Homing box should change from Red to Green.  If this happens properly, it means that the Falcon has power, and that the movements of all three arms are being read. If none of the 3 lights turn green, then it could mean the Falcon is unplugged from the power supply (or the plug is not properly snapped into the body of the adaptor), the power supply itself is not plugged in or is not getting power, or there is a faulty power supply.
7. If one of the 3 lights does not turn green, but others do, then it could be a faulty encoder (an encoder is what reads the position of an arm) or that particular arm might not have been extended far enough. If only one of the lights remains red, try moving all three arms all the way out again, holding the arm itself (rather than the grip) to make sure it is fully extended, then move it all the way back in again. You can do it one arm at a time to see exactly which arm is having a problem, if there is a problem.
8. If you can successfully complete the steps above, then it is time to check that the motors and encoders themselves are working correctly. You can move each arm all the way in and out, and the range of motion on each arm should show in the Position Sensors box for each encoder. The values should range from approximately -1600 to 1600. If the numbers don't quite reach those maximums and minimums, but are close, it is okay.
9. To check the motors and forces click the "allow negative values" checkbox in the Motors area, and click & drag the slider button for each arm, while tightly holding onto the Falcon grip. As you drag the slider button for each arm, you'll feel that arm pull and push. If it does so smoothly for each arm, then you're in good shape for the motors, cables, forces and arm movements.If you run into problems with any of the above steps, please make a note of the issue you encountered and Contact Customer Support.