7I76 Hooked up and good to go...uh, what do I do now?

Hi all,

I'm totally new to LinuxCNC and have a Mesa 7I76E board that is hooked up to my computer via ethernet. I was able to run the mesaflash app, as well as ping the board, and all works fine.

I am currently trying to set up a single stepper that I have wired to a driver, which is wired to the 7I76E's Stepper 0 block. It looks like the wiring is okay, I've double-checked it a dozen times, all the appropriate lights are on, and I think I'm ready to go...

... except I have no idea how to configure LinuxCNC to work with it. I am running the Pncconf wizard, and when I choose the board, set the IP, but when I get to the Configuration step, with its associated IO Connector tabs, I have no idea what is supposed to be selected. I guess I don't understand how to set, say, pin 5's DIR+ to anything in the interface. The defaults on the IO Connector 1 tab are "Unused StepGen", but when I select the dropdown none of the choices seem to refer to the DIR+/- and STEP+/- I'm trying to set.

I know I'm probably being laughably naive about something, but after literal hours of YT videos, going through dozens of topics here on the forums, some websites, etc. etc. I still have no idea how I'm supposed to get LinuxCNC to see my lowly X-only stepper.

Thanks for any help pointing the right way, I'd greatly appreciate it!
 

I would suggest that you have a look at this video:

This is maybe a bit slow an irrelevant for you in the beginning but the interesting stuff about pncconfig starts around 15:30. This should answer many basic questions. 

Thanks for that, GrandpaXYZ! That did help in getting a basic config working. Now I'm onto other errors regarding actually _using_ the card, but I figure I should step back and re-read all the LinuxCNC and 7I76 info now that I've got the actual hardware in front of me. Much appreciated!

I think that you are thinking too "parallel port"
The 7i76 has physlcal pins that are step-dir
Then inside the LinuxCNC HAL the interface pins are stepgen position and enable.

Everything in-between is preconfigured in the firmware.

joint.0.motor-pos-cmd -> hm2_7i76E.00.stepgen.00.pos-cmd -> signals on wires.

(I have guessed the pin names, can never remember if it is cmd or command and pos or position)

You might try my Mesa Configuration Tool , I think it's easier to navigate than pncconf... and it has a whole lot more features.

JT