RPI4 with 2.8.2 on Mesa 7c80

I am very new to Linuxcnc and Linux itself, so please be patient with me...

I have just finished installing Linuxcnc from an image "linuxcnc-2.8.2-pi4-arm64" to the RPI4, from forum:

forum.linuxcnc.org/9-installing-linuxcnc...lem?start=120#224608

I used mesaflash to write 7c80b.bit config to board, all looks good.
halcmd: loadrt hostmot2
halcmd: hm2_rpspi

everything looks good, but when I start the Pncconf Wizard the 7c80 is not shown.

How do I get the 7c80 board to appear in the wizard?

Do I need to create /lib/firmware/hm2 (because it does not exist) and place something there?

I have downloaded the 7c80 folder from Mesa and moved the config files from the hostmot2 folder to /home/pi/mesaflash, but what do I do with the hostmot2.zip in the source folder?

I have tried following many threads on RPI4 and 7C80 and been through a few builds RPI4 32bit 2.8.0, RPI4 64bit 2.8.1, and now this one. I even tried to update my 2.8.1 to 2.9, which was a disaster.

Please Help!

There is no current pncconf support for the 7C80 but
you can make a configuration for a similar card
(say a 7I96) and edit the created hal and ini files
to change:

1. The card name.
2. The driver name.
3. Input names.

Thanks PWC for you quick response.

So just make a generic config and change the name,pin out, stepgens, pwmgens, address, etc... in the hal and ini. Got it!
I will give it a try.

So that /lib/firmware/hm2 is not necessary?
I assume 2.8.2 will work with the 7c80, and I do not have to upgrade to 2.9?

The drive name and card name need to change

The stepgen setup should be fine (other than number of channels,
it does not change between cards)

The SSR outputs are the same as on the 7I96 so that should be OK
(Though you would have to hand connect the last two in the HAL file
because the 7I96 only has 6 SSRs and the 7C80 has 8)

The main thing you would need to connect by hand in the HAL file
are the inputs (they are all inmux rather than GPIO)

2.8.2 should be fine