Melzi w/644 Atmega Running Marlin >< EARLY ADOPTERS SCREWED?

Ok Gents,

Me- "Hi everyone, my name is Adam and I'm a Melzi user addicted to wanting to run Marlin"

Supportive Crowd (in tandem)- "Hi Adam"

I got a Melzi board with my RepRapPro Huxley kit:

Melzi Wiki Entry

The Melzi is pretty snazzy; it is basically a sexy, compact sanguinololu (adds features like fan control)

The newest strain of Melzi boards hitting the block are coming with a 1284 Atmega processors (with that size chip, they can run the marlin firmware)

HOWEVER, I backed the original RepRapPro Huxley IndieGoGo Campaign and scored a first edition Melzi with a 644p Atmega (Not sure if Marlin can run on this)

I have received conflicting information from credible "feather in cap" reprapers on the Melzi 644's ability to run the Marlin firmware.

Supposedly, the Atmega 644 does not have enough memory to run Marlin... But some folks seem to think that the SD card and LCD screen features can be turned off and I am good to go.

I am looking for some cold hard evidence that I can run Marlin on my 644 Melzi... Better yet, I am looking to get my hands on Marlin Code which is known to run on Melzi 644p

I am very excited for Marlin's look ahead and auto pid tuning features.

Is there any hope for me guys? Or like most early adopters, am I simply screwed?

Edited for awful grammar and spelling!

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2012 08:55AM by Idolcrasher.

i doubt you'll have any problems running it even with the sdcard support
i've successfully loaded it on a 644p with space to spare for my few modifications, plus change to spare

That's what kills me man, I find plenty of examples of folks (such as yourself) running Marlin on 644p boards (not Melzi); but plenty of words of warning that the Melzi 644p will not run Marlin. I would love to get a conclusive answer (with reasoning) on this.

I sometimes seriously feel like the only person using a Melzi board. They don't even seem to actually be for sale anywhere! What is this cute, little mystery board and why is it not be produced on a larger scale?

I think it would be a hit if it was actually available

I have just successfully loaded Marlin with SDCARD support into a Melzi with a 644A. There is only about 150 bytes free, so I am sure that it won't support an LCD, etc. I also have the EEPROM mode turned off. I can't really see the point of it. It's easier to flash the firmware than it as it is to send gcodes.

You can buy them on eBay: [www.ebay.co.uk]

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Very Cool Nophead,

Have you done any test runs yet? It she working well?

What did you have to do to deactivate LCD support and EEPROM mode? Was it simply a matter of changing a few variables?

I emailed the eBay seller on the availability of 1284 Melzi Boards and got no response. The eBay page lists them as 644 boards. Though if the 644 can run Marlin, it might be worth it still! Just know you won't be running an LCD screen

Idolcrasher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Very Cool Nophead,
>
> Have you done any test runs yet? It she working
> well?

I haven't connected the board to a machine yet, but I can talk to it with Pronterface. I don't anticipate any problems as I have Marlin running on a Sanguinonolu with 644P.

>
> What did you have to do to deactivate LCD support
> and EEPROM mode? Was it simply a matter of
> changing a few variables?

I think they were both disabled by default. Yes they are just #defines in configuration.h

>
> I emailed the eBay seller on the availability of
> 1284 Melzi Boards and got no response. The eBay
> page lists them as 644 boards. Though if the 644
> can run Marlin, it might be worth it still! Just
> know you won't be running an LCD screen

Yes I think it is aimed at low cost like rather than bells and whistles.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Wow,

Awesome. I will have to give this a shot once I get all mced into my new home.

I just spotted a nice looking cheap sanguinololu derivative: [www.panucatt.com]

The Azteeg. It has fan support built in like the Melzi. It is only $75, very cheap! The stepper drivers have to be bought seperately though.

The ATMega 1284 is drop-in compatible with the 644, so a steady hand could easily swap. ChipQuik is great (along with solder wick for cleanup) if you don't have a hot air station. You'll have to upgrade to the Arduino 1.0 software which comes with some other gotchas in order to get it to burn a bootloader on that chip, but if they're selling 1284P based boards and it's open source it sounds like you're already more than half way there.

Just got thi email from Guan Yang on the subject:

"Hi Adam,

I have never used a Melzi 644p, so I don't know. When I disabled SD card and LCD support, the sketch was below the 64KB flash size of a 644p, so it will at least fit in flash, but I don't know if it will use too much memory. I suggest that you just try and see!

Guan"

I crossing my fingers that Melzi 644 can run Marlin well for me

I would hate to solder on a delicate clean board like my Melzi, especially while she is working.

I m running Sprinter right now, but not V2, because surprise surprise, supposedly Sprinter V2 needs the 1284

Idolcrasher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow,
>
> Awesome. I will have to give this a shot once I
> get all mced into my new home.
>
> I just spotted a nice looking cheap sanguinololu
> derivative:
> [www.panucatt.com]
> r_controller_p/ax13dp.htm
>
> The Azteeg. It has fan support built in like the
> Melzi. It is only $75, very cheap! The stepper
> drivers have to be bought seperately though.


I can confirm this works. I have an Azteeg running Marlin without a single issue.