Configuration Problems for The Beast

cmorley wrote:

If you are trying to use PNCconf from the live CD for the 5i25 you are going to get errors.
You need to get linuxcnc from the buildbot - it has bug fixes.
buildbot.linuxcnc.org/

You can hand edit configs for the 5i25 from the live cd but as you have found its a real steep hill.

I just tried the buildbot and it seems to be down right now...

I wish I could buy you guys a beverage of your choice for such useful information! Thank you!

I'll keep trying the buildbot, and hopefully get the latest and greatest from there.

I guess there's a good reason that the download page (near the top of the column to the left of this page) doesn't have the most recent version?

I need to reread the parts about software updates. Update manager kept wanting me to update Ubuntu, but I remembered reading that I shouldn't, because it'd break LinuxCNC? I have three different distros now, and I can't keep their recommended update policies straight. My notebook PC is running PCLinuxOS, and they expect updates at most every two weeks or it can get out of sync with no update path, requiring reinstallation, and those weekly updates seem to break as much as they fix. Ubuntu LTS is starting to look pretty good. Maybe Kubuntu, as I prefer the KDE GUI.

Peter is the 7i64 on serial # 1 because the 7i77 isn't powered up?

No, it should be port 2 if on the first 7I77s expansion port

The first 7I77s expansion port is always port 2, that is sserial devices
currently have static port numbers

sure, on 7I77:
0 = field I/O
1 = analog out/enables
2 = expansion port

Yes, thats exactly what you would expect with no 7I77 field power
(so no chan 0) and no 7I64 (so no chan 2)

I had no +24V to the 7i77, just the +5V that was parasitically supplied from the 5i25, and the 7i64 wasn't connected at all. I may have only tried to configure the bare necessities required by PNCconf to avoid errors - just the servo encoders and PWM.

I'll try PNCconf again, with the field power supplied to the 7i77, the 5V logic power and 24V field power supplied to the 7i64, and the RS422 connecting the 7i77 and the 7i64.

I was trying to configure the system and then wire it, but there are several hints that it should be wired and THEN configured. I figured that it's easier to change the configuration than the wiring if there is a conflict or problem, and I expected problems as I basically made up the details as I went. I didn't understand all of the various constraints and interactions between MESA hardware and LinuxCNC, so I was trying to figure it out by playing with PNCconf. That seems like a bad strategy. I'll revert to good engineering practices, understand the entire system as best I can, plan everything, wire the important parts, and then try to configure it. I'll get all of the MESA hardware connected and fully powered before trying to use PNCconf to configure it.

And as always...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SELFLESS EFFORTS ON MY BEHALF. I'd never be able to figure this stuff out on my own.

cmorley wrote:

If you are trying to use PNCconf from the live CD for the 5i25 you are going to get errors.
You need to get linuxcnc from the buildbot - it has bug fixes.
buildbot.linuxcnc.org/

I just tried the buildbot and it seems to be down right now...

I've been trying buildbot last night and all day today. Any idea when it'll be back up?

Can I do a fresh reinstallation of everything (Ubuntu and LinuxCNC) and then use Synaptic or apt to upgrade to the latest LinuxCNC?