Losing steps/position, again

[ngwagwa]

STUMPED!
Have installed a Startech PCI Ethernet Network Card and crossover cable direct to the AXBB.
It sometimes connects but often wont.
Utility V1.8 also sometimes does not see the AXBB and when it does it all is OK when I test the connection.
UCCNC V1.2111 sometimes connects to the machine and sometimes doesn't and sometimes it wants to start in demo mode.
No anti virus installed and Firewall turned off.
Have tried with onboard network card enabled and disabled and have tried with both my Windows 7 PC (crossover cable only) and with my windows 10 laptop (straight and crossover cable)
Turning off the AXBB for 5 minutes and/or rebooting either PC does not help.
During all the attempts pinging the AXBB does not lose any packets

[ngwagwa]

If these are wired in a unipolar manner - which is sounds as though they are... you will need to isolate the centre taps. I appreciate the buggeration that comes with this - and recognise that at this time you're probably trying to keep the machine in a recoverable format (normally I'd just cut/isolate the cable at the stepper), but I understand you may want to be a bit more circumspect. the centre tap will be either to ground or to +V and it'll be causing problems for the driver - certainly your described behaviour I can imagine with the centre taps connected.

So just to recap the X Axis stepper now uses the 2 pairs of wires that have the highest resistance.

Today I thought while I would do the same with the other two steppers starting with the Y axis. Disconnected the 4 leads from the driver and the resistance on each pair is 2.4 ohm. Opened up the cover at the stepper end and to my surprise there were 6 wires connected (X Axis only had 4) I measured the resitance to find the correct two pairs to use and am now lost. Two pairs (brown/orange and red/yellow) have a resistance of 1.8 ohm and the two purple have a resistance of 0.4. I should say at this point the manufacturer of the stepper is unknown. I don't yet know where the purple wires go but all the unused wires that go to the control cabinet from the umbilical have been disconnected and isolated (at least I thought they had). I will trace the 2 purple wires tomorrow or Saturday.

[Doddy]

Two PCs, starting to sound more like a AXBB issue - but that's a very very premature conclusion.

Can you post the results of "ipconfig" from a dos prompt? And are you familiar with Wireshark? - it would be useful to know if the comms to the board is bring routed onto the correct interface... but it's not something that you can pick up in 2 minutes.

I'm hesitant but thinking I could pull my UC300ETH so that you can test your PC against that as a known quantity - just for consistent comms.

[Doddy]

So just to recap the X Axis stepper now uses the 2 pairs of wires that have the highest resistance.

Today I thought while I would do the same with the other two steppers starting with the Y axis. Disconnected the 4 leads from the driver and the resistance on each pair is 2.4 ohm. Opened up the cover at the stepper end and to my surprise there were 6 wires connected (X Axis only had 4) I measured the resitance to find the correct two pairs to use and am now lost. Two pairs (brown/orange and red/yellow) have a resistance of 1.8 ohm and the two purple have a resistance of 0.4. I should say at this point the manufacturer of the stepper is unknown. I don't yet know where the purple wires go but all the unused wires that go to the control cabinet from the umbilical have been disconnected and isolated (at least I thought they had). I will trace the 2 purple wires tomorrow or Saturday.

...Are you not just measuring the loom resistance in series with the coil resistance?, or have I misunderstood?

[ngwagwa]

Two PCs, starting to sound more like a AXBB issue - but that's a very very premature conclusion.

Can you post the results of "ipconfig" from a dos prompt? And are you familiar with Wireshark? - it would be useful to know if the comms to the board is bring routed onto the correct interface... but it's not something that you can pick up in 2 minutes.

I'm hesitant but thinking I could pull my UC300ETH so that you can test your PC against that as a known quantity - just for consistent comms.

I disabled the onboard ethernet.

[Doddy]

Okay, nothing sinister from the ipconfig, and you've already said that you've rebooted both PC and AXBB. And different cables, and different PCs. I, for one, am running out of ideas.

[ngwagwa]

Okay, nothing sinister from the ipconfig, and you've already said that you've rebooted both PC and AXBB. And different cables, and different PCs. I, for one, am running out of ideas.

Doddy are you using a cncdrive motion controller? If so (and providing it's convenient) can you tell me what the activity light does on the controller when the PC is powered up but no software is running? Mine (most of the time) is inactive which I don't think it should be as cncdrive tell me the AXBB broadcasts itself on the network.

[ngwagwa]

...Are you not just measuring the loom resistance in series with the coil resistance?, or have I misunderstood?

The 2 readings of 2.4 were pairs from the stepper disconnected from everything else. The 0.4 on the purples I am not sure now as I only disconnected 1 of them so I knew which was which - I will double check the purples and try and trace then tomorrow providing UPS deliver in the morning otherwise it will be Saturday.

[Doddy]

Doddy are you using a cncdrive motion controller? If so (and providing it's convenient) can you tell me what the activity light does on the controller when the PC is powered up but no software is running? Mine (most of the time) is inactive which I don't think it should be as cncdrive tell me the AXBB broadcasts itself on the network.

Will check later tonight (I've lots of things in bits in the shed that I need to recover before taking more bits apart. But, I have a plan to get the controller out of the bench any way to slave a second machine control cable to it - so will check as you ask.

[Doddy]

I have a video, but it's fuzzy and noisy... but if it helps I'll throw it onto YouTube. But, I think I can describe it easily enough:

No comms: Green power light on board, green carrier light as one of the two integrated LEDs on the RJ45 socket.
UCCNC starting up: Blue light on board illuminates. Orange activity light in RJ45 flashes 3-4 times a second, continuously.
UCCNC operating: As above.
UCCNC shutdown: Blue light, and orange light extinguish.