Thanks Nophead that is a really useful test... I still could not get the 2nd led to light and then unfortunately though something went wrong... smoke appeared under where the L297 chip should be.... I can only think it could be C5 and C1 blowing, I am pretty sure that it was not a the l298.. Main LED comes on but no VCC. Cheers Simonby simonblackmore - Controllers
Thanks Nophead this really usefull but I am being a bit stupid here. I jump input 1 (4 on the L297) to VCC (12) then input 2 (6 on the L297) to ground (2).... Nothing seems to happen... Am I misunderstanding you ? Thanks Simonby simonblackmore - Controllers
sorry I tried but I couldn't quite figure out what you meant. Will try again now. I think I may have found a definite problem though. I can do a positive continuity test across C6 on my faulty board but not on the other 2..... Could this mean that the cap has blown ??? Cheers Simonby simonblackmore - Controllers
cheers... Now I am really confused though... I diligently replaced my L298 (I wish it had a socket) but exactly the same problem... I have exhausted my ideas so ended up ordering one of these... Does anybody think there would be the demand for a batch of the RepRap stepper motor drives in the UK/Europe ??? I waited over 6 weeks for mine to come from the States so would rather shop locally froby simonblackmore - Controllers
Thanks for that.... I think I will try the double soldering before trying to replace the L298... that could be a bit tricky. Is there a way to test the L298 before I surgically remove it ? Wishing I ordered a spare now.... Anybody know if anyone is supplying these in the UK now ? Cheers Simonby simonblackmore - Controllers
Thanks for that freds.... I have been through them all except the resolder. This is actually really strange... the motor is working but all I can say is its somehow inconstant.... It will run only at really high speeds but then often in the wrong direction which is interesting but can cause havoc on the reprap. Any ideas ? Thanks again Simonby simonblackmore - Controllers
Yeah you two are right I have been doing continuity tests and my (broken) led is probably fine as it glows slightly from the multimeter.... I just cant figure out where the problem is. I have done a continuity test on the pull up 'enable' resistor one from the top of the board and it connects to pin 10 and 20 on the L297 fine... I think the problem may have something to do with the diodes now buby simonblackmore - Controllers
Hi, I have 3 stepper motor drivers and 2 of them are working fine so far. Unfortunately I have a problem with my 3rd board. When I plug it into the power only one of the motor bipolar LEDs come on and when attached to a motor and an arduino this has the effect of juddering the motor. I have done a diode test on the LEDs and on my working boards I get around 1.8 in one direction and 1.6 in theby simonblackmore - Controllers
perfect thanks nophead. should this page get updated then ? I don't have log in details for the wiki yet but will investigate. Thanks again for your help Simonby simonblackmore - RepRap Host
Hi, I know this has come up before but I could not find a solution. I am sending G-Code to an Arduino with Processing and everything seems to be fine except I think the motors are running a bit slowly which is causing my machine to vibrate. My set up is... // define the parameters of our machine. #define X_STEPS_PER_INCH 416.772354 #define X_STEPS_PER_MM 16.4083604 #define X_MOTOR_STEPS 40by simonblackmore - RepRap Host
Thanks everyone... My motor seems to be running both ways now, I think the problem I had is that my motor driver v1.2 was setting my opto switches high so I turned them low in the firmware and disconnected the wires to the board and this G-code example seems run as expected, with the pauses (thanks Ian) G1 Y-5 G4 P10000 G1 Y+10 G4 P500 G1 Y-1 G4 P2500 G1 Y+1 G4 P1000 G1 Y+20 G4 P10000 I don'tby simonblackmore - RepRap Host
Thanks everyone... Unfortunately I can't get to my RepRap to try this until monday, but I am wondering if I need to physically pull down the opto inputs ? It seems on an arduino it can be done like this. pinMode(pin, INPUT); // set pin to input digitalWrite(pin, LOW); // turn on pulldown resistors In theory I should be able to experiment with my opto inputs simply within softwby simonblackmore - RepRap Host
Thanks David and Nophead, I am using the G-Code_Host processing sketch from here which I am pretty sure is working fine. At the moment I am just running and hacking the G-code examples that come with it but they don't really seem to do what I would imagine, eg; G1 X-20 Y-20 G4 1000 G1 X+20 Y+20 G4 1000 G1 X-20 Y-20 G4 1000 G1 X+20 Y+20 just sends the motor in one direction and does not pauby simonblackmore - RepRap Host
Hi Everyone, I have just got the x and y carriages of my RepRap set up ok and working with some simple arduino code.... there is a video and the code here. I want to be able to control my RepRap from within Processing. The G-code interpreter looks perfect for this but I have seem to have run into a problem and would really appreciate any help. I have managed to load the firmware onto the Arduby simonblackmore - RepRap Host
Hi Everyone, I am just building up my laser cut kit from Bits from Bytes. I have just got to the stage where I want to start controlling the motors. I was planning on using an Arduino board as I am familiar with them, and now I am looking for a suitable motor driver board. I can't seem to find anyone making the Stepper Motor Driver v1.2 in the UK so aside from building it from scratch myself canby simonblackmore - Controllers
Hi Did anyone resolve this issue. I am just working on the kit and can't find the flange bits in the laser sheet either. Are they there or are there some new PDFs. cheers Simonby simonblackmore - Mechanics