add error logging to serialport

README.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ It's in the early stages, so bear with us. Everything is going to be great.
 
 # Usage 
 
-## Installing Node.js, WebSocket and SerialPort
+## Installing Node.js, WebSocket and SerialPort, and MathJS
 
 To Run DMC, you'll need to install node.js, and then the packages serialport and ws (websocket).
 
@@ -45,6 +45,12 @@ To install ws, do
 
 ``npm install ws``
 
+## Install MathJS 
+
+MathJS is just a node package that does maths. To install, you guessed it, do
+
+```npm install mathjs``` 
+
 # Running DMC
 
 To run the program, we launch the main.js file with node, from the command line. One of the things this does is run a tiny HTTP server that we can use to access the UI.
@@ -81,6 +87,10 @@ In a browser open *localhost:8080* you will see the mods and this msg in the ter
  - rm modules
  - change settings 
 
+# Troubleshooting
+
+Herein will contain a list of known problems / common errors and their fixes. 
+
 # Writing New Modules 
 
  - whenever a menu is requested, the system searches ```modules/ * ``` for *anything*. include your .js of a new module there 

modules/hardware/atkseriallink.js

@@ -48,15 +48,22 @@ function ATKSerialLink() {
     serialport = null
 
     function findSerialPort() {
+        state.portStatus = 'searching for CP2102 device'
+        var found = false 
         SerialPort.list(function(err, ports) {
             ports.forEach(function(serialport) {
                 if (serialport.manufacturer == 'Silicon Labs') {
                     console.log('found cp2102 serialport')
+                    found = true 
                     state.portName = serialport.comName
                     openSerialPort()
                 }
             })
         })
+        if(!found){
+            console.log('no CP2102 device found, try serialport-list to make sure it is available to the system')
+            state.portStatus = 'no CP2102 device found'
+        }
     }
 
     function openSerialPort() {