PathPilot 2.0 - Working on Novakon (Pulsar)!!

Attachment 382186
I'd figure I would start a new thread for folks trying to upgrade from 1.9.x to PP 2.0 - and here are my thoughts and what I went through:

1. I had to change my motherboard because PP 2.0 didn't like my GPU which was an old GeForce 610 (Old mobo didn't have built in video). I probably could have figured it out, but I am no linux guru and couldn't even see anything on the screen - it was totally garbled. I ended up buying an old Gigabyte GA-41 with built in video, and it worked without any trouble (I wanted to still use my old E2200 dual core pentium chip that I had been using). I doubt most people will need to do this.

2. Please use a separate SSD drive, and unplug your PP 1.9.x drive for obvious reasons. Backup all settings in PP 1.9 "admin settings backup" save to thumb drive. this saves all your offsets and stuff.

3. PP 2.0 installs pretty easily from the thumb drive.

4. To get to the desktop, the Left Shift-Alt keys are supposed to work (it says so in the PP 2.0 operator_login script) but I couldn't get mine to work. So I hit Ctrl-Alt X to get to a terminal prompt. Then type in "mate-panel" This is the new desktop in PP 2.0. gnome is not installed.

5. Next go to system preferences - startup applications and deselect the PathPilot. This prevents the auto start of PP. This is important because now if PP errors out, it shuts down the computer and takes a long time to fix each error.

6. PP 2.0 still runs from the "operator_login" script. If you click that and run "in terminal" like before then you can debug it more easily.

7. When debugging, in PP 1.9.x you could look at the terminal screen to find your errors, now the terminal screen closes, so you have to open the pathpilotlog.txt which is located in the gcode folder in log files folder.

8. Also in PP 2.0, if you edit the tormach_1100-3.ini then PP 2.0 will RE-WRITE it upon any error. So instead I created a "novakon_mill_base.ini" file. Then I edited the "tormach_1100-3_specific.ini" file to point to the novakon_mill_base.ini file. This tricks PP into using the novakon file to build the new ini file in case of an error. So all edits to the ini file should be to the novakon_mill_base file. If anything messes up, you can delete the tormach_1100-3.ini file and PP 2.0 will create a new one from the mill base file.

9. Everything else is pretty similar to before. I posted all my novakon files that should get you going on a Pulsar.

10. To install Dropbox in the MDI window type "Admin dropbox" and it will prompt you to set that up.

11. Restore your old settings by "admin settings restore" and this will import your old tool table and settings.

*Just a side note: I had to re-write the Charge Pump code in the hal file. I am not sure why the old code worked in PP 1.9 but didn't in 2.0. I used PCW_Mesa's example somewhere in linuxcnc forums and now the charge pump works fine **

Thank you for your work on this Brian. I could not install PP 2.0 on the old MB I had installed in my mill so I ordered a new one should be here next week. I'll let everyone knows if PP2.0 works with it.
Steve

Steve which mobo? The orig novakon one?

It is an old ASRock MB (2006) that I used from an old computer and like yours has no onboard video. I am using a old ATI video card with it. My Pulsar came with a ASUS H81M-D Mb with Win 10 installed so I used that board and Win license to make a PC for my wife.

Steve

Gotcha. Yeah I went w the gigabyte board w built in video which is listed on the tormach site as compatible- it’s hard enough doing the PP tweaks without messing w video drivers!

I'll still wait until there's a major upgrade to the actual CNC functions as opposed to Dropbox or the like. My control doesn't have an internet connection and I prefer it that way. I only upgraded Win7 once in 10 years and Mach3 never once it was working.

Thanks to Brian for doing the grunt work, and this thread will be useful if ever an update is needed.:cheers:

kirk - yeah I dont see a big difference in functionality vs 1.9. Aside the from the larger sliders which helps with the touchscreen, and dropbox which I had installed on 1.9. I haven't run any programs yet to confirm what John Saunders postulated, that the surface finish was better. Maybe the motion planner is better in this version? Not sure.

Does anyone know if PP 2.0 will work with the motherboard that ships with the Pulsar? Mine is an Asus N3150I-C with integrated graphics.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rickjamesbrown

Does anyone know if PP 2.0 will work with the motherboard that ships with the Pulsar? Mine is an Asus N3150I-C with integrated graphics.

---

Rick - probably- but I didn’t not know for sure. If it installs easily then yes. If it doesn’t, don’t screw around just get a new mobo off eBay and move on. Integrated graphics is your friend for PP.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by brianbonedoc

3. PP 2.0 installs pretty easily from the thumb drive.

4. To get to the desktop, the Left Shift-Alt keys are supposed to work (it says so in the PP 2.0 operator_login script) but I couldn't get mine to work. So I hit Ctrl-Alt X to get to a terminal prompt. Then type in "mate-panel" This is the new desktop in PP 2.0. gnome is not installed.

5. Next go to system preferences - startup applications and deselect the PathPilot. This prevents the auto start of PP. This is important because now if PP errors out, it shuts down the computer and takes a long time to fix each error.

---

Brian,

I'm in the endless loop of shutdown because of error on PP2 on startup. Were you able to catch the boot process before it got to PP2 to disable the auto start?

Scott...

I never got the shift-alt to work. Does the ctrl-sift-x work to exit out of whatever loop u are having?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by brianbonedoc

I never got the shift-alt to work. Does the ctrl-sift-x work to exit out of whatever loop u are having?

---

I figured it out. If you go through the entire 2.0 install process and go through the mill selection screen and reboot. It will auto start PP and fail cause of config settings then power down. The trick is you have to hit control-alt-x while at the Mill selection screen (or the license acceptance screen) and bring up the terminal and mate-panel. Then you can un-check auto start of PP in the preferences.

Now the long process of editing configs.

Scott...