Limit error

your homing and limits are configured through a lookup table. I'm not sure how to decipher all that.

It looks like you 5 inputs, you could have 3 seperate home inputs and a single limit input, with another unused.
That may be an easy option to set up with stepconf.

I just use home switches and use software limits with no problems ever.

Yes, i have the printout of it sitting out next to me and staring at it I just dont get what it is saying. It doesnt tell me where LS1 LS2....are on the board and what pins they attach to on the parallel port unless im missing it. I think it has confused me more then helped.

Okay, so I hooked it back up the was it was based on pics i took before i disconnected it all and it wasnt getting a signal from the limits, So i switched to another pin on the BOB and at least got the home switches working setup as all home in the config. But when I try to home it moves to tousch off the switch, then when it starts to back off it error saying something like 'switch active before latch move' I have tried changing around some numbers in the axis config, like home location and table travel numbers but no luck. I am really having a difficult time wrapping my head around this mess.

ls1 ls2 and ls3 are the 3 2 pin blocks on the left side.

ls3 pin 2 is the common for all the switch pins, they want you to wire normally open switches, when the switch is active, ground runs from ls2 pin 2 to the corresponding pin

sorry meant to say ls3 pin 2 in the last post, dont want to add to the confusion.

really starting to think the BOB has more problems, If i could just get it to work off the 3 home switches I could at least get it running.

really starting to think the BOB has more problems, If i could just get it to work off the 3 home switches I could at least get it running.

It is an old, limited BOB.

There is no opto isolation by the looks of it, so that does not bode well for your parport health, if having effectively a short between the pin the limits are on and ground stops the computer booting.

I can see where you get your limits in parallel idea from, as that is the layout shown in the manual.
It also shows the home switches in parallel, something that would work if each axis homed seperately, but not good practice either.
The use of a look up table to try to make sense of things does not aid simplicity.

I have made a basic config of how I would suggest you set your mill up
Each positive shared home/index goes to an input and all the neg limits go to one pin in series
I have included the stepconf file so you can open that and play with it if you don't feel confident to edit by hand

You need to refer to the manual to see which parport pin relates to which screw connector on the board.

I can't assist re any problems with the BOB and / or parport. You will need to connect up properly and then concentrate on what does not work.

If you have a pin which cannot take being grounded at startup connected to the limits, switch it to one of the home switches, which should be open and see if it works once started.

Given the lack of opto isolation the original short out

It was found that I had a burnt resistor on my BOB which was my fault for trying to check for loose wires with the power on and dropped the BOB on the case chassis. I rreplaced the resistor and jumpered a burnt trace, replaced the BOB wired as it was

might well have damaged the parport, have to wait and see

regards

Wow, thanks, if it ever gets above freezing today i will take a look at what you sent. I dont think I can look at them on my Windows PC's

Is there a BOB that isnt expensive that you would recommend for my set up. I was thinking of one from CNC4PC www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/product_info.ph...th=33&products_id=45