Please help, I need some addvise

I'm curious, why is there no command for step pule generation step type in your file and I have one in mine?

I just posted a relevant snippet from the file.
If you mean addf stepgen.make-pulses base-thread there is a command, but it is not in the same place as yours because my file was not generated by stepconf.

Quick question, on the “Port Tester”, When I click and hold the button on the out puts the colour changes, but returns to red when I release the mouse button.
Is this the result we are looking for? Or should it remain green after release?

First you have to edit the ptest.hal file to ensure that the parport specified is the address you are testing

When you click on an out pin button, the change in led colour indicates that the relevant pin is now set as TRUE
This means if you test that pin with a voltmeter between it and the ground pins (18-25), it should show close to 5v or 3.3v depending on the port type
The led will change colour irrespective of whether that pin exists or not in reality, so you need to test voltage.

You could do exactly the same with the commandline in the Show window of Hal Configuration, with setp parport.0.pin-14-out true for example,
but the tester can be easier so long as you have crocodile clip probes or 6 hands
If you test a couple of out pins and they show voltage when clicked on and none when released, you have identified the port address

Just be sure you are testing the pin you think you are

This link has a clear picture of pin nos
www.pstnet.com/support/kb.asp?TopicID=1320

regards

What dose it mean when I hook up an analog volt meter to a LPT port cable and I get:
10v on pin 1-9, 2v on 10-13,
10v on 14, 2v on 15, 10v on 16,
and I haven't even got JT's test meter running yet?

If it is an analogue meter, the adjustment screw for the dial could be turned way across
Or it could have been dropped at some point

Stick it on a good dry cell battery and adjust the dial accordingly.
It does not really matter if it is completely accurate as long as it shows 0 when there is nothing there and a consistant voltage reading when there is.

The port is in an unknown state until hal_parport has taken control of it, you can't tell anything until you run the port tester on the correct port and test the appropriate D25 socket

regards

OK, I dug out a digital meter, the analog meter was only purchased slightly before my first son was bore, and he is now 34.
What was I thinking!

I pulled the cables for all three ports out were I could check all of them.
I had the voltage mentioned last time on two, and a dead stick on the one I fried earlier.
I moved the cable from the cooked one to the LPT on the mother board, shazzam, I got the following readings
off of that port:
4.6v on pins 2-9 when toggled by the tester.
I was looking for the voltage limits I know I saw somewhere in the course of all this, I can't recall the document they were in. Are these within limits or not?
Seems like 2v was all you could have. Given this is the integrated board it's no surprise if not.

So, what do I change in order to test the other ports again?

4.6v on pins 2-9 when toggled by the tester.
I was looking for the voltage limits I know I saw somewhere in the course of all this, I can't recall the document they were in. Are these within limits or not?
Seems like 2v was all you could have. Given this is the integrated board it's no surprise if not.

ArcEye wrote:
......if you test that pin with a voltmeter between it and the ground pins (18-25), it should show close to 5v or 3.3v depending on the port type

You have probably been reading about TTL threshold voltages, < 0.8V = L, 2.0V > = H , MAX = 5V+/- 10%

So, what do I change in order to test the other ports again?

ArcEye wrote:
First you have to edit the ptest.hal file to ensure that the parport specified is the address you are testing

Arceye,

I have to make a confession.
I have had to turn my full attention back to generating a living at my work bench.
I will not be able to give this the focus I have been, and probably should be to get it going.
Not that my focus was helping all that much!
I'll need specific instruction if that's possible, as I am way to distracted to rely on my memory.
Without taking the time to learn the language you're speaking (Unix-linux/Linuxcnc/Hal) I am flying blind and relying on what I'm told to do.
I realize this isn’t fair to you but I would like to get this going without taking the time to learn all this.
So the questions are going to get even more redundant than earlier. Apologies.

What changes do I need to make to “ptestx” to go forward?

I've tried a couple things and the change is the mother board LPT port no longer reads voltage and the other ports have the voltage I mentioned before, nothing else.

The second line in the file ptestx.hal is:
loadrt hal_parport cfg="0x378 X"
the 0x378 is the port address that is being tested.
Change that to the address number that you want to test.
If the address you want to test is 8000, you would make that line read
loadrt hal_parport cfg="0x8000 X"
(I might be wrong about the 0x part, it could also be 08000 or just 8000)

I think I've been told that trying to use a port that is incompatible with X-mode could fry it.
(part of the reason for using a resistor to test with)
As easily as wires can be moved from one pin to the next on your breakout boards, I think it would be advisable to give up trying to use the X-mode, and just use the ordinary out setting for your ports, You can down load a test program for that here:
www.linuxcnc.org/index.php/english/forum...parallel-port-tester
Down load ptest.zip and extract and run just like the ptestx.zip
Then like I mentioned earlier in this thread just move the wires from the screw terminals 1,14,16,17 to 10,11,12,13. This should then work with any lpt port, (once you know its address).

Thanks Andy, this was one of the concerns I had, very very helpful.

Todd, I was rereading this thread yesterday and saw the post you mention, I had the thought why didn't I pursue this? It's the kind of thing I can get a hold of (it's more physical in nature) and make work.

I think the “Step Configuration Wizard” didn't allow me to set the pin functions I needed.
At that point I figured I needed to alter the pin functions.
I am going to revisit this tonight, Thanks to Arceye's help I see a little more clearly how these port assignments work
in the wizard.

First I will change the addresses to see what I get.

I think if I was going to toast the LPT port on the Mboard it would have gone crisspy by now.
The "ptestx.hal" currently reads- loadrt hal_parport cfg="0x378 X", so it must be in Xmod.

Thanks to you both.