[Hack]

I did check that. It is a full 5V. I am taking my readings using the step terminal on the gecko and the grnd on the BOB. Is this correct?

Thank you.

[Mariss Freimanis]

Well, 3.92V is wrong. It should be exactly equal to the BOB supply voltage. Either the BOB is busted, not being powered or the G202 COMMON (term 10) isn't going to the BOB +5VDC supply.

Mariss

[Hack]

Well I tried a few things. First of all I tried some new wiring from the gecko to the stepper just to rule a faulty wire / short out. No change

Measured the voltage going from the 5V mini power supply to the BOB. This is a full 5 volts

Checked the voltage at pin 9 again on the gecko - still not anywhere near the 5V as it should be.

I have 5V going from the mini power supply to pin 10 on the gecko....measures a full 5 volts.

Checked a couple of other connections on the BOB that say 5V out - they only read about 3.4 with a voltmeter.

Wondering if the BOB is bad or something. How can I check this without swapping it out just yet?

I am also gonna do a quick wiring schematic for those interested to help verify that I am wiring things right. I'll posti it in a little while.

Getting very frustrated today.

Dan

[Hack]

Just a qhick wiring diagram of how I have been wiring things.

[CJL5585]

Wondering if the BOB is bad or something. How can I check this without swapping it out just yet?

I am also gonna do a quick wiring schematic for those interested to help verify that I am wiring things right. I'll posti it in a little while.

Getting very frustrated today.

Dan

You can make additional tests such as:

If you have a wire connecting the common of the 50 Volt driver supply (Pin 1 on any Gecko) to the (-) of the 5 VDC on the BOB, disconnect this wire and throw it away. These 2 supplies have NO common connections.

Take the Volt/ohmmeter and place it on Ohms X 1. Touch the two leads togather and see if it reads less than 1 ohm on the scale. If it does you are in luck, so perform all steps. If not go to the bottom to voltage section.

Turn off all power to system. Leave printer port cable dis-connected.

Place one meter lead on the negative (ground) side of the 5 Volts DC AFTER the point where it is connected to the BOB. Take a reading to pins 18 thru 25 on the BOB. These readings should all be less than 1 ohm.

If these readings are not less than 1 ohm:
These pins 18 thru 25 might require some type of jumper or something on the board to complete the ground circuit. The manual on the CNC4PC is not very clear on this point. It says that ground is NEARBY FOR EASY CONNECTION. The board layout nearly dissappears if one attempts to zoom in to verify some things and is nearly useless. I am speaking of the documentation on the web-site.

------------- Voltage Section -------------
Re-connect the cable to the printer port. Power up everything. Test for 5 Volts DC with 1 meter lead on the +5 V at input on BOB and the other lead to pins 18 thru 25. You should read 5 volts at each of the pins as you test them. If you have any other voltage, make notes of your findings.

Also, use a common connection that connects to pins 18 thru 25 for ALL ADDITIONAL READINGS. when communicating with us at CNCZone so that we will know the reference point to the voltages going to the drives.

The above will give additional info as to where the problem might be.

Jerry

[CJL5585]

Here is a link as to how it should be wired. It is MY drawing in the Gecko section. IT DOES NOT SHOW THE +5 Volt connection to the BOB you have. Just imagine it is there.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...chmentid=12093

Jerry

[ger21]

Are you sure it's not a bad printer cable? I was recently setting up someone's CNC4PC bidirectional board for limit switches, and was getting 3.4V on a few pins. Turns out the cable didn't have all the wires going straight through.

[Hack]

Thank you for your help folks. I really appreciate it. I will try your tests tomarrow and report back.

I am a bit confused about the BOB - yes the documentation is very poor. None comes with it either so what is on the website is all you get.

I am not sure how to access pins 18 - 25 on the BOB. I only see pins 1-17 labeled and then some grounnds and +5v connections scattered throughout. I am assuming the grounds that are scattered are pins 18-25? Am I thinking correctly?

Dan

[CJL5585]

I am not sure how to access pins 18 - 25 on the BOB. I only see pins 1-17 labeled and then some grounnds and +5v connections scattered throughout. I am assuming the grounds that are scattered are pins 18-25? Am I thinking correctly?

Dan

You are correct. I went back to their web site and looked again at the manual and there are just grounds between the pins. All these grounds should be connected to the - 5 volts. They may be connected on the board from the factory. Then again it might require a jumper.



Jerry

[Hack]

Well I checked a couple of things like was mentioned above. First of all, my ohm meter wont read as questioned.

Second, I checked the voltage between input pin on BOB and Grd pins 18 to 25 and get 5.04 V everytime.

Also, I am now noticing a buzzing sound form the motor now when I power them up. I only have the Y axis connected right now trying to eliminate some issues. And of course the Y axis runs ragged now too.

I just used the same computer, with a different cnc and it worked flawlessly for 6+ hours. That machine uses a xylotex board, and completely different steppers, etc. The only shared parts were the computer and printer cable. Just mentioning this to hopefully rule out the cable. An yes I have been changing settings in TCNC when switching between machines.

What's next folks?

Thanks all

Dan

[CJL5585]

Dan,
In you wiring diagram in post number 24 (I think) I noticed that it shows the power from the 24 VDC supply going to pins 2 and 3 on the Gecko's.

Is this correct?


Jerry

[Hack]

Sorry about that, but the power is being supplied to pins 1 and 2 - Not 2 and 3 as shown in my diagram.

Dan

[CJL5585]

Dan,

I need to know the resistor color code that is presently installed on each Gecko.


Jerry

[arturod]

Dan,

If you are not getting +5vdc signals your drivers will not move.

Please confirm the following:

1. You are connecting the BOB to +5 and gnd from a power supply with at least 300 milliamps.

2. You are providing signals with at least 3vdc for a hi signal.

3. You are providing +5 to the EN pin to enable the board.

4. You have the jumper for selection if pins 2-9 are gong to be used for input or output in the right position. You could have placed the jumper to use those pins for input, and now you are trying to output signals.


If the answer to both questions is yes, then there is a problem with the BOB. I will send a replacement one right away, please confirm.

All boards are individually tested on all channels, but a buffer might have blown.

Arturo Duncan
http://cnc4pc.com

[Hack]

Again folks, I truly appreciate your help.

Art, Thank you for the email and posting to this forum. Your continued support has been very good. To answer your questions see below.

1. I am using your mini power supply to power the BOB. I see that it is rated at 500 Miliamps

2. I am not sure what you mean by providing signals with at least 3VDC for a high signal. How do I measure this?

3. I have the mini power supply connected to the en pin and grd on the BOB board. I have checked it and it measures +5V at the connnection.

4. I have the jumpers set for output on pin 2-9.

Jerry,

I do not currently have any resistors installed. I removed them early in this sage just to get the motors to turn. I believe I had the wrong ones initially installed.

Thanks again to all. Your helpful nature has been a support for me to lean on during this frustrating period. I started this project back in OCT and can see it soooooooo close. 7 months and over 3 grand later. To say that I am anxious to see this run is and understatement.

Dan

[arturod]

Dan,

The voltage coming out of the pins must the exactly the same as the voltage supplied to the BOB. The 3vdc signals are the signals coming out of the computer’s parallel port. The standard is 3.3 and 5. The decision point of the IC is 2.8.

I think you have a blown buffer, I will send a replacement board tomorrow.

Arturo Duncan
http://cnc4pc.com

[CJL5585]

I do not currently have any resistors installed. I removed them early in this sage just to get the motors to turn. I believe I had the wrong ones initially installed.

Thanks again to all. Your helpful nature has been a support for me to lean on during this frustrating period. I started this project back in OCT and can see it soooooooo close. 7 months and over 3 grand later. To say that I am anxious to see this run is and understatement.

Dan

Dan,

The Gecko's cannot power the motors that you have with NO current limit resistors installed. The motors require about 3 or 4 times the current that is available from a drive without the resistors.


Jerry

[Hack]

Art,

I appreciate the service you are providing and I look forward to seeing the new board.

Dan

[Hack]

Well I recieved the neww BOB from Art and unfortunately it did not help the problem. I will gladly return the BOB if you would like Art. Drop me a line with a shipping address.

I have noticed something that may be an issue. I wired up only the Y axis with the new board and it ran better, but as I added the other 2 axis, I noticed a humming / buzzing noise coming from the motors and control box. More of a static type sound. I thought it was interference coming from the power supply in some way shape or form, but it wasn't as I changed it with another I had on hand. So I am thinking some sort of issue with the wires. As I moved the wiring around in the box, the buzzig would get worse / better depending on position.

Could this interference be causing the problems I am having? If so, how do I correct it?

Also, it was mentioned above that perhaps it could be a bad parallel cable, but I dismissed that idea as I use it for another machine with no problems. However, on this machine I am using a gender changer from the parallel cable to the BOB. Is this a possible concern?

Thanks all. Been another frustrating afternoon.

Dan

[arturod]

Dan,

You mentioned you where not getting the 5vdc in the output pins when the signals where hi. Did that changed with the new board? Are you getting +5vdc signals out of the BOB?

Arturo Duncan
Http://cnc4pc.com