Leaf Valeo 17wi Solid Orange light

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I can't seem to troubleshoot this problem. My Valeo 17wi does not work tethered to a G4 Powerbook running Leaf Capture (11.2 on a 10.5.8 system) over firewire....it just sits there and displays a solid orange indicator light. When I hit the 'connect' button on the laptop screen, it fails to connect.
Likewise, when connected to a powered 20gb DM, the 17wi just displays the solid orange light.
I am new to this system, but have been quite comfortable using H20 and H5 backs with amazing success.
Can this be remedied?
Thanks.
C