Editing Bitfile on 7i97t for extra smart serial connections

Any file ending in “bit” is the programming file for the card.
Any file ending in “pin” is a plain text file that describes the pin functions and which connector and pin it is on.
The best resource for location of connectors for you board is the Manual for the board.

The problem with the .pin file in the distribution zip file is that it was made assuming
you had a 7I85 so it lists 7I85 pins not P1 pins. To make a pin file that lists P1 pins:


mesaflash --device 7I97t --addr [card_ip_address] --readhmid > 7i97t.pin


Also in case there is a question, 26 pin header physical pin arrangement is:

1  2
3  4
5  6
 etc etc

Pin 1 is marked with a square pad
This means than a flat cable has wires in numerical sequence
(with the red wire being pin 1 if made correctly)
 

So like this right?
 

Yes

Ahh I messed up there my apologies.

cornholio wrote:

Ahh I messed up there my apologies.
 

I also had forgotten about the pin file options and that most of the
newer ones show daughterboard pinouts. I only noticed when I looked
at the actual distributed files.

The difference is this:

mesaflash --device 7I97t --addr [card_ip_address] --readhmid > 7i97t.pin

mesaflash --device 7I97t --addr [card_ip_address] --dbname3 7i85 --readhmid > 7i97t.pin

--dbname3 7i85 is that an internal or external file.

I've just spent a lovely morning adding a new name to mesaflash, all faults my own. Stuffed the name up in my bit file, and then forgot a few things when adding it to mesaflash itself.

A little off topic, is there any recommended convention for naming a board. I've gone with "7x57"
7 cos that seems to be a trend (or would something else be better to distinguish it as a clone), X cos it's "off brand\clone" and 57 cos it has 57 pins. I'd like to eventually make a request at github for the changes I've made to mesaflash & linuxcnc, just to make my own life a little easier when updating and if anyone wants to give setup a go.

--dbnameN 7i85

Means use Daughter Board pin names instead of the default FPGA connector pin names.
There is no file involved, just a structure in mesaflash that has the daughter board
pin/terminal block names. 'N' is the port,1,2,3 etc

Most of our Ethernet SPI FPGA cards are 7IXX, PCI are 5IXX PCIE 6Ixx PC104 4IXX

So many acronyms, I just assumed the db prefix was a database file name. Then again Daughter Board makes sense.
Thanks again

Thanks for your help so far. I tried getting the convertor board by talla83 to work and I'm done because it won't run. I`m now willing to buy my way out of the problem and just install a 7i85 to the expansion port. I have already flashed the bitfile for that as per your instructions in this thread. So I just need a 7i85 and a proper expansion cable.

Then I can connect the 7i73 with a butchered ethernet cable and also have connections for more encoders (spindle maybe and 4th axis) so I can justify saving my nerves by spending that extra money.

i would buy this combination:
eusurplus.com/index.php?route=product/pr...t_id=105&search=7i85
eusurplus.com/index.php?route=product/pr...59_63&product_id=108

Would that work with my 7i97t using my current bitfile 7i97t_7i85d.bin?