Mesa 5i25 with plain G540, no 7i77

Hi,

I bought the Mesa 5i25 to use with a G540. I don't really need the extra I/O just yet so no daughterboard.

When I ran PnCConf I got to the page where you identify the hardware. There is no option for the single 5i25 / G540 that I can find.

I have dug around the various web sites looking for info. I did find one recent post on the EMC Users Mail list that seemed to say that there is no option for a 5i25 running to the G540 without a daughter board.

I have had the mill working for a few weeks using the parallel port with no issues.

What am I missing? Do I need to use PnCConf to set this up?

I think I need a push in the right direction.

Thanks!

Matt

The hardware will work fine.
PNCconf doesn't work with the firmware yet.

You don't need PNCconf to configure it - you can do it by hand.

Chris,

Wow! Thanks for the quick reply! I see your name on a lot of pages here, thanks in advance for helping.

Ok, now the rub. I need help with the process of configuring this by hand. I am still new to this. But I can figure it out with some help.

Where do I start?

Regards,

Matt

freeby.mesanet.com/g540.zip
is a very rough .ini and hal file pair for a 5i25/g540

PCW,

Thanks for the files, I will try them tonight.

I did get the other files for the 5i25 in place. I'll put these in the same place.

Regards,

Matt

Ok, now I feel stupid.

I get a 404 Error if I click the link.

If I "Right click then save as" I get no file.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

Matt

Sorry I copied it to the wrong place, fixed now

freeby.mesanet.com/g540.zip should be re-fetched to fix the name/nane misspelling

Hehe,

Just testing me right?

Ok, I have been reading the PnCConf documentation.

Let me start with an easy question and see if I understand a very basic relationship here.

The xml files are used to pre-load PcCConf with appropriate values that will allow choices from the spinners and pull down menus. The output from PnCConf builds the myMachine.ini file for that machine. Is this correct?

In other words, without an xml file, there are no presets available in the PnCConf drop down lists.

So, if I were to manually do the job that PnCConf does, I would go edit the Hal.ini file which is a generic term for the mymachine.ini file. This would then be the same as a Hal custom ini when I finish the editing.

I'm still trying to see the relationship between Hal and the other parts of LinuxCNC.

I have seen the relationship between StepConf and the mymachine.ini file. In my case, I chose "SX3.ini"

Since PnCConf is based on StepConf I will be able to see the relationship between PnCConf and SX3_5i25.ini.

Is that correct?

More reading is in order.

Thank you for the help so far. I'm trying to understand and I think the fog may be lifting.

Until of course, you come back and tell me I have it all wrong!

Ha!

Regards,

Matt

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply.

I agree, the wizard does a great job. I didn't mean to criticize anyone's contributions. I am simply amazed at the level of support folks like your self, Chris and PCW (Peter?) provide.

I think from here I need to go look at the different files and get a feel for how they interact.

Peter uploaded a file for me, I will try to get it put in the proper spot and see what happens.

I think a lot of beginners with LinuxCNC like myself struggle at first. The parallel port is working fine for me at the moment. I will eventually get the 5i25 working though.

It will pay off in the future. I still think LinuxCNC is superior to the other options out there if a person is willing stay with it and get past the initial learning curve.

I'll go try some things and see what questions that generates.

Thanks,

Matt