7i76e with PWM, 4 step gen AND TB5 and TB6

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28 Apr 2022 02:57 #241429 by hoverdj
I am in need of a PWM with 4 step gen on my 7i76e. I found the 7i76e_7i76x1pD.bit file and it looked like it would fill the need, but after flashing, it seems that it doesn't have support for the TB5 and TB6 I/O connections and the 7i76 doesn't show up in the list on the I/O Connector 1 tab to enable it.
Am I out of luck or is there something I'm missing (very likely!)?
Thanks
Darryl

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28 Apr 2022 04:10 #241431 by PCW
I would just run pncconf for standard 7I76E firmware
and add the PWM support by hand to the hal file

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28 Apr 2022 19:54 #241560 by hoverdj
Thank you for your reply.
So I now need to get back to the stock 7i76e firmware. Which bit file should I flash for that? I saw that in another post somewhere, but try as I might, I can't conjure that up again.

Once I do that, I understand that I can add the "pwmgens=1" parameter to the hostmot2 load command in the HAL file, but how do I know what physical pins that uses on the 7i76e card? I seem to remember reading *somewhere* that it uses one of the stepgen outputs? But which one? Where is this actually documented?
Darryl

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28 Apr 2022 20:11 - 28 Apr 2022 20:11 #241563 by PCW
You don't need to flash the 7I76E again (if you have installed the firmware with one pwmgen).
I was just suggesting that you tell pncconf you are using standard firmware.

pncconf doesn't care about the cards firmware (or even if the card is installed),
if you are not using its "discover" or test options.

To determine a configuration pinout, you can look at the associated pinout
file (bitfilename.pin) or run mesaflash:

mesaflash --device 7i76e --addr xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx --readhmid
Last edit: 28 Apr 2022 20:11 by PCW. Reason: reformat

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28 Apr 2022 20:21 #241564 by hoverdj
Gotcha! But when I flashed that firmware with the pwm, I lost the I/O on TB5 and TB6.

Or are they still there, but just not showing up in pncconf?

I’m sorry if I’m not getting it. I’ve read so many things over the past few days trying to figure this out, everything is now a scramble in my mind.

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28 Apr 2022 20:48 #241567 by hoverdj
Was able to confirm that the I/O is still there by running

mesaflash --device 7i76e --addr 10.10.10.10 --print-pd

Now on to configuring the HAL manually.
Thanks for your help.
Darryl

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28 Apr 2022 21:09 #241569 by PCW
pncconf runs even if the card is unconnected
(it does not communicate with the card at all)

So if pncconf does not show the I/O tabs, its not related to
the installed firmwae.

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29 Apr 2022 02:07 #241598 by hoverdj
Well that clears that piece up a bit.

When I didn't see the TB5 and TB6 in the interface, it was after I had run a discovery after flashing the bit file. But selecting the 7i76e from the menu, it was all there. Makes sense if it's not talking with the board.

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30 Apr 2022 03:19 #241694 by theslawek
I have the same exact need for a PWM signal. I called in yesterday and spoke to Peter (I assume that's you, PCW) and was told to flash the firmware 7i76e_7i76x1pD.bit as well. I tried the below command but getting a "Doesn't support FPGA programming" message. Need to look into that further.
mesaflash --device 7i76e --addr 192.168.1.121 --program 7i76e_7i76x1pD.bit

I'm confused by your mention of not needing to update the firmware. I opened up pncconf but the GUI will not permit me to change pwm generators from '0' to '1'. I even changed the step generators from 5 to 4 first and still it wouldn't take. Even if I manually edit num_pwmgens the .hal, I don't see anything pwm related show up in the HAL.

It's been less than 24 hours since I first touched LinuxCNC, so please bear with me.

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30 Apr 2022 03:33 #241695 by theslawek
As always, I always solve the problem shortly after banging my head for a while leading to the forum post. I found that I was supposed to use '--write' instead of '--program'. After that, pwmgen does show up in HAL viewer!

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