EMC2, CNC4PC C1, Ubuntu-Doesn't seem to work

[BTS]

Set up a new PC with Ubuntu 10.04 and EMC2 from linuxcnc.org. Ran parallel cable from PC to cnc4pc C1 BOB. I have tried many different configurations on the EMC2 software however nothing seems to work. The two power leds, the status output led and four other leds on C1 card light up and that is all that happens.
Are some of the other leds supposed to "flicker" or com on in some way to show operation?
Is there any way to see if the C1 card is getting a signal?

Much of this is new territory for me and the hours of internet research seems to assume the reader has a large amount of pre-existing knowledge and understanding of the linux software.
Any assistance or useful direction would be appreciated.

[doorknob]

I don't have one of those boards, so I'm just going by the documentation that I found on the net.

Some questions:

1) Do you have a USB cable plugged in to the board from your PC? It is required to provide +5 volts to the C1's input circuits.

2) Do you also have a power supply connected to the terminal strip for the output power?

3) Do you have the output Enable pin connected to a 5-volt terminal?

4) Supposedly the board has an LED for each input line and each output line.

So, if EMC2 is sending signals to the board, and you have proper power, then you should expect to see at least the step signal pins on both the input side and the output side blinking. The direction signals may be more or less steady state with fewer changes, so they may be lit or unlit or occasionally blinking.

[BTS]

Originally Posted by doorknob I don't have one of those boards, so I'm just going by the documentation that I found on the net. Some questions: 1) Do you have a USB cable plugged in to the board from your PC? It is required to provide +5 volts to the C1's input circuits. 2) Do you also have a power supply connected to the terminal strip for the output power? 3) Do you have the output Enable pin connected to a 5-volt terminal? 4) Supposedly the board has an LED for each input line and each output line. So, if EMC2 is sending signals to the board, and you have proper power, then you should expect to see at least the step signal pins on both the input side and the output side blinking. The direction signals may be more or less steady state with fewer changes, so they may be lit or unlit or occasionally blinking.

#1 Yes, USB power connected
#2 Yes, Separate power supply connected
#3 Yes, Enable terminal powered
#4 Yes, It appears each axis has an "on" and "signal" LED

No apparent flicker or flashing that shows activity. I have looked many times for the pin/signal requirements for the C1 board input with no success.

Thanks for the response.

[doorknob]

Do you have (or have access to) a multimeter or oscilloscope? Do you have some basic electronics knowledge, or a friend with such knowledge?

Some parallel ports output 3.3 volt signals instead of 5 volt signals, and some breakout boards have a difficult time dealing with the 3.3 volt signals, so that's one possible failure cause that might be occurring.

I have not found a schematic of the board - maybe you have one, or maybe you could dig one up with further searching - it would be helpful to have one (or to make one by carefully studying the board layout and component datasheets) so that you could do some probing with a multimeter or oscilloscope - it should be possible to follow the step and direction signals connection by connection (device by device) from the input through to the output, or else find out where the signal disappears, by probing with the meter or scope.

I have only just started to learn EMC2, so I'm not familiar with its configuration or diagnostic screens, but maybe someone who does have that experience can chime in with suggestions.

[BTS]

Put a Fluke scope and a multi-meter on the parallel cable and is shows 5.1 volts and 3.3 volts on some of the pins so I assumed the voltage was OK.

[doorknob]

I don't know for certain whether the C1 will be happy with 3.3 volt signals on some of its inputs.

The first steps in probing the board with the Fluke scope would probably be to see whether you are getting pulses on the "step" pins at the input to the board or at the input pins of the optoisolators (while jogging the motors or running some sample G-code), and then see if the step pulses make it through to the "other side" of the optoisolators without losing anything.

[BTS]

When the sample g-code is run in EMC2 the pulses show up on the parallel cable. The documentation specified a straight through parallel cable and I checked the cable with a DMM and it showed straight through pin to pin. Just can't find any documentation on what pinout the C1 board needs. One of the other guys on the team working on this machine has sent emails to the CNC4PC asking about these issues. When I find out something concrete, I will post it here.

[CaptainVee]

Maybe asking a silly question but have you tried running the stepconfig wizard? If so, can you at least jog the axis?

[BTS]

Yes, I have tried several configurations.
Nothing moves and no led's indicating anything.

[ktchk]

My pc parallel port is holding down the pin 17. Not thing move.
under the stepconf wizard, invert the signal of pin 17 frix my pc. I did try the emergency stop also.
The test axis part can show you some movement if you pick the right setting.

Also run under root "dmesg|grep port" can tell you the correct port address of the pc.

[helpmeout]

you may have got your machine running and i hope so. but the first thing you could check is if your bios has the parellel port is setup for bi-directional. check that out for sure it will cause some problems. then check to see if your 3.3 volts is enough that the board sees this as a true high, would be best if it were a full 5-volts. seems to me its not reconizing the output change pulse.they used to make an led plugin that plugged to your printer port and you could see any lines that were high or low or if they changed or not. check on a dos program called frybit.com i think and it will pulse your outputs from the key board.I would start there.