Mesa 7i96 driver/setup Plasma Table

Built an XXYZ Plasma table, having trouble with a few things. I'm entirely new to Linuxcnc is the first problem, the second problem is that I'm using a card that is relatively new, and information is relatively scarce. I've updated my version to 2.8 (master) and Mesa says "there is no firmware specifically for the 7i96 and that the 2.8 version already has the drivers for the card integrated into the hostmot2 and hm2_eth drivers.

A: Since there is no specific driver for the 7i96 when selecting board+firmware, which leaves me with selecting a host of options that may, or may not, work. I've found a potential solution, but I'm unaware of how to actually implement it, and is ostensibly entirely redundant... according to Mesa. The closest numerical option for the board is "7i92" and firmware options are only for that of the 7i76/7i77
github.com/LinuxCNC/linuxcnc/blob/master...s/man/man9/hm2_eth.9

B: Network configuration issues - forum.linuxcnc.org/27-driver-boards/3276...ernet-board?start=10
working on solution on pages 3-4

C: I'm probably thinking too far ahead, however, how then do I install my Proma THC? My concern is the lack of support for input/output without the proper firmware.

Firmware is the "code" on the FPGA, there is no need to change this.

The hm2_eth driver in LinuxCNC 2.8 full supports the 7I96

There is no pncconf (setup utility) support for the 7I96 yet so you either need to create a hal/ini file set by editing one of the example files or the 7I96 example here:

freeby.mesanet.com/7i96-2.8.zip

Absolutely fantastic, thank you very much. I will begin working on this post haste.

I was going to ask you to try pncconf's experimental discovery option, but then remembered mesaflash is not included with linuxcnc and is a bit of a hassle to add.

I think we should add that to linuxcnc...

Chris M

I think so too, but AFAIK you can just:

sudo apt-get install mesaflash

to install it on a standard LinuxCNC system (that has the repositories setup)

I am but a new fish in a large pond. If I can do it without risk of bricking my card, I may be willing to try it with a backup and some good instructions.

While you definitely _can_ brick your card with mesaflash by writing incorrect firmware to the card,
what mesaflash is used for here is simply reading out the cards configuration information.

It's the Proma 150 THC. Currently learning how to edit HAL files. Such an adventure!

I seem to be encountering a networking issue, the computer recognizes the card as a wired network, however I'm not getting any motion. Do I need to manually configure the network properties for the card? The manual isn't much help in this regard.

I've pinned it out to the default EEPROM 10.10.10.10