EMC2 version & upgrading questions

[mike944]

As suggested, i'm starting a new thread with these questions.

My first one, how do i check what EMC2 version i am running?

How do i upgrade? Do i have to "uninstall" the old version before upgrading, if so, how do i do that?


Basically, i want to run the "stepconf" setup tool, but i can't figure out how to start the program, so i suspect i'm running an old version of EMC2, and don't know how to upgrade.

I'm new to linux, and haven't used unix in about 8 years or more, so i really don't know what i'm doing with the software.

BTW, i'm running a Dyna 2400 that has a custom interface card that i'm developing. The interface works just fine, i can run the machine with turbocnc, but that program is not very user-friendly.

[cyclestart]

Originally Posted by mike944 My first one, how do i check what EMC2 version i am running?

Open a terminal and enter the command 'emc'.

How do i upgrade? Do i have to "uninstall" the old version before upgrading, if so, how do i do that?

No need to remove the existing emc. Have you looked at the instructions at linuxcnc? In any case, it might be good to see the answer to #1.

BTW, i'm running a Dyna 2400 that has a custom interface card that i'm developing.

Interesting. Maybe the others will understand. The word "developing" is enough to rule out my help

Off now to see what this new stepconf thingy is.

[acondit]

Mike,

If you have the internet running on the box you are running emc2 on, and if you are running the standard ubuntu installation, you can use the ubuntu upgrade feature. However, be sure to read the "upgrading to 2.2" info on the wiki. It will tell you what you need to do to enable the update to get the 2.2 version. It is actually fairly simple, but it gives you pretty much step by step guidance.

Are you developing your own controller or just a breakout board?

Alan

[cyclestart]

Originally Posted by acondit and if you are running the standard ubuntu installation,

Good point. Mike didn't say how or when he got the linux disk.

Try this in a shell

cat  etc/issue;   uname   -r

If it comes up something like;
Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS
2.6.15-magma

and emc is 2.1.something

You're golden with these instructions http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emc...?UpdatingTo2.2

[blumpie]

Originally Posted by cyclestart You're golden with these instructions http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emc...?UpdatingTo2.2

Worked for me! I just got done. I had to re-edit my stepper_inch.ini and standard_pinout.ini so make sure you back those up or jot down your edits.

[mike944]

Thanks for the help guys! I've been trying to read up on all this stuff online, but most of the instructions out are confusing, and assume a little more knowledge of linux than i think i have right now.

I'm at work right now, and i'm pretty busy tonight, but i hope i'll have a chance to try it sometime later. Yes, i have the ubuntu configuration. I don't know what version, and yes, it's connected to the internet. Surfing the web on the linux machine seems exceptionally slow though. But that's a separate issue in itself.

To answer acondit's question, it's sort of like a breakout board, but it's highly specific to that machine. It's basically an isolation board, configured and buffered properly to plug right into the original controller electronics, using the original electronics to run all the steppers, and all ancillary functions.

[acondit]

Originally Posted by mike944 Thanks for the help guys! I've been trying to read up on all this stuff online, but most of the instructions out are confusing, and assume a little more knowledge of linux than i think i have right now. I'm at work right now, and i'm pretty busy tonight, but i hope i'll have a chance to try it sometime later. Yes, i have the ubuntu configuration. I don't know what version, and yes, it's connected to the internet. Surfing the web on the linux machine seems exceptionally slow though. But that's a separate issue in itself. To answer acondit's question, it's sort of like a breakout board, but it's highly specific to that machine. It's basically an isolation board, configured and buffered properly to plug right into the original controller electronics, using the original electronics to run all the steppers, and all ancillary functions.

Mike,

The reason that I asked is that part of making emc2 (or any other cnc controller) work is correctly assigning the parallel port pins to the correct step and direction signals (or pwm signals, or whatever). You would probably be best off if you use something like the xylotex pinout, if you haven't already made some other (sort of irreversible) choice. It will allow you to use a set of existing ini files as a starting point. This makes life simpler.

Alan

[mike944]

No, nothing is set in stone yet. I have a working prototype, but it needs a revision.

That's an interesting thought. I set it up for best PC board layout, and the least number of jumpers, but there's no reason i can't make changes.

[epineh]

I just upgraded my EMC2 to 2.1.7 ... I just downloaded the file with the .deb file extension on the end, then put it on a memory stick (CNC controller wasn't on the net), put this in the CNC PC, then just right click on the file and (I am a little rusty here) select install with package manager ( I think).

I would confirm this by checking the CNC PC, but ... erm... I kinda blew it up, along with a servo drive, FPGA card (Pluto-P) soooooo lets just say that you probably shouldn't take any advice on electronics that you may hear me give

The EMC upgrade was pretty painless though.

Russell.

[runchman]

For what it's worth, I just installed emc2 with ubuntu a couple nights ago - for me to run stepconf, I click 'applications' at the top, then 'cnc', and to the right of cnc I can select either emc2 or stepconf.

In other words, stepconf is accessible from the start-bar as a separate entity from emc2.

On the positive side, I went thru stepconf and got my motors all turning! Yipee!

- John

[djmickyg]

Originally Posted by runchman For what it's worth, I just installed emc2 with ubuntu a couple nights ago - for me to run stepconf, I click 'applications' at the top, then 'cnc', and to the right of cnc I can select either emc2 or stepconf. - John

did u install EMC on a pc with ubuto already on it??

[softselect]

Originally Posted by runchman For what it's worth, I just installed emc2 with ubuntu a couple nights ago - for me to run stepconf, I click 'applications' at the top, then 'cnc', and to the right of cnc I can select either emc2 or stepconf. In other words, stepconf is accessible from the start-bar as a separate entity from emc2. On the positive side, I went thru stepconf and got my motors all turning! Yipee! - John

did you install this from the live cd, because i dont get the menu cnc and the emc,stepconf
i only get emc
thanks
Friedrich