5i25 - 7i76 support testers wanted

Ahh thank you for your post.
The preference file will be written when saving a config regardless if you have the hardware or not. meaning saving a dummy config with hardware you don't have will still write that file. This is a 'back-door' way of entering firmware info to pncconf.
Ultimately I should ask for it to be included with the hostmott2 firmware download. which means I need to convert it to a dummy XML file- which I have not done.
Aside form the 7i76's analog output pncconf can control the spindle as you suggested.
single pulse spindle feedback is possible but requires a line added to the custom hal file to tell the encoder you wish to use a different counter mode.
having that possible in pncconf is on my todo list too.

Did you figure out how to assign signals to the 48 I/O points? at the moment it requires you to select the 7i76 card in sserial0 combo box.
I'm back from holidays so should start working on this again soon.

Note, the 5I25 bitfiles are not of any use with EMC, as you cannot change FPGA configurations dynamically
The config line in the INI file should just have the proper modules selected (encoder, stepgens, sserial etc) but no bitfile specified

Yes I realize the 5i25 doesn't need bit files but the XML file is convenient (transparent) to the user.

Sam surely read other posts and assumed that the 5i25 was the same and needed the bit files for pncconf to work.
Pncconf just needs to know about the 5i25 and the two ways to do that is to have it search for the XML file where it searches for all others or to use the back door method.

To be honest, I was pretty fuzzy on what files need to be where, so I just put all of them everywhere.

This might be a stupid question, but how do I even know which firmware is loaded onto my 5i25? There seem to be a variety of choices, including G540 configs, but is the default the 7i76x2? How would I change that if I wanted to (I do have a secondary machine that runs on a G540 which I'd like to connect up at some point).

-Sam

5I25s are normally loaded with firmware that matches the desired daughtercard (or cards)
at time of shipping. New firmware can be loaded into the 5I25 but its not something that can be done dynamically as it requires a power cycle to start the reload process. Currently theres just a DOS firmware load utility but we will have a linux version soon (this will still require loading the firmware and then a power cycle)

For more information on firmware loading, see the 5I25 manual

Thanks for the clarification, I suppose that makes sense. Thanks for preloading my 5i25 with the correct firmware.

I have no immediate need to change firmware - but I might wait and see how the linux tool comes together. Is that firmware change something that can be flashed a limited number of times, or could it be a routine swap? IE, would it ever be practical to use one 5i25 to control two machines, one with the DB25 cable plugged into a 7i76, and the other with the DB25 cable moved over to a G540? Perhaps with a little script that ran the tool, loaded the correct firmware, then ran EMC2 with the right config?

-Sam

Another option would be to have a G540 interface on one connector and 7I76 on the other

The serial flash EEPROM is supposedly good for 100,000 or so writes but you need to cycle the PC power to load the new firmware, and it also possible to "brick" the 5I25 if you load the wrong firmware file so its not something you want to do casually.

The 5I25 uses the Spartan6's fallback configuration scheme so loading some garbage file or interrupting the firmware update is recoverable (We've tested this many times by pulling the PC's plug in the middle of an update and the fallback seems quite reliable) but loading a Spartan6 bitfile for the right chip but wrong board (ie not a 5I25) is not recoverable without JTAG.

The script will not work unless you power down the computer after loading new firmware

Ok, thanks for the clarification - sounds like changing the firmware as a regular matter is probably not practical, though a firmware could be loaded that had a G540 on one connector, and a 7i76 on the other. Something for me to consider for the future.

-Sam

Has anyone built a config with the 7i76's spindle control?

I need to understand how SpinOut-maxlim SpinOut-minlim and SpinOut-scalemax are used properly.

I just pushed changes to EMC 2.5's pncconf that should support the 5i25/7i76 spindle.
also added support for the 7i69,7i70,7i71 sserial cards.

Here is an barebones XML file for the 5i25/7i76x2 combo.
you would need to add a folder named 5i25 to /lib/firmware/hm2
then add the XML file into the folder.
you need sudo permission to do all that.

Feedback would be great - I need to confirm the pin names of all the cards are right and the pin numbering is right.