Sieg KX3 and 5i25. Seeking firmware.

Theres a trick for testing a possibly bad bitfile on a 5i25/6i25 with little risk.
What you do is write the bitfile into the fallback area of the Flash EEPROM and then
load the FPGA from that image:

sudo mesaflash --device 5i25 --write iffybits.bit --fallback
( write test file to fallback area )

sudo mesaflash --device 5i25 --reload --fallback
( load FPGA from fallback area )

then launch linuxcnc or do a:

sudo mesaflash --device 5i25 --readhmid
to see if things look right

Do not power cycle your computer or the user config will be loaded


Now if this does something bad like crash your computer, a power cycle will fix things

If this does work you can replace the fallback with the proper fallback config and write your new bitfile to the user area

John ,
i'll take a look at it later today

Hi
I was wondering if this ever got working? I'm looking to connect my PP to a c11g board, but on a lathe but was looking for a starting point at least
Thanks
M

run stepconfig , will give you a starting config the c11g is very simple
shout if you become stuck , or if thers anything specific needed

I thought I needed to flash the MESA 5I25 with a bitfile first before I got into the rest???
M

Hi Mooser
Sad to say I didn't, and I'm still running a parallel port system.
I think at the time Mesa were swamped with commercial orders and busy with Tormach, so unable to help in the way they normally might. The sticking point for me was making a custom bitfile. I seem to recall spending a lot of time getting the Xilinx suite even to install. Despite following the How-To mentioned elsewhere I was never confident that I was following the process correctly; indeed, I was unsure if any bitfile I produced would even be safe to use (ie would it brick the card?). I was very much lost in a foreign land: you may not be

I think if Mesa are back to their usual form (they have a deserved reputation for being very helpful) and can make you custom bitfile, then all should be well. If, OTOH, you're on your own and unfamiliar with the Xilinx stuff, I would honestly say find another way - perhaps use card for which Mesa has a ready-made bitfile.
I would be interested to know how you fare.

Regards,
John