This machine has been running fine for the last several years…
And then today, I’m struggling to get the thing connected through Repetier host and eventually when I do even though its states its connected, I can’t get the machine to move, and it’s not even trying.
It looks like there’s messages coming back from the board but it’s a string of unintelligible special characters.
I thought I might try reinstalling the firmware on the card, but for some reason I cannot find clear instructions on that? I’m sure I must have done it through the Arduino IDE before, which means it’s got the Marlin firmware on it and not the V1 version? Maybe that not the right thing to do trouble shooting anyway?
I run the thing on 24V and it’s getting that.
Ok, so where do I start trouble shooting this? Advice is appreciated.
Let’s get more details of your machine.
This is in the MPCNC sub forum, so I’ll assume you have an MPCNC, and you’ve got a Rambo 1.4.
Do you have an LCD on the Rambo?
Is it possible that the Rambo had the serial settings changed/corrupted?
What settings are you using in Repetier host, and if you cycle through the available baud rates, do you ever get non-gibberish results at any of those other rates?
This usually indicates that the BAUD rate is mismatched between the computer and the connected device.
Typically the BAUD rate is set at 250000, and it is more likely that the computer is incorrect than the controller.
Personally I would hold off on that for now. Reinstalling firmware won’t fix computer configuration issues, and may unexpectedly introduce other issues (especially if you have any custom settings in the controller)
I agree with Bartman that waiting to upgrade the firmware is the best approach. If you decide to tackle the upgrade, you will find the firmware here. It can be uploaded to the board without compiling using XLoader, or you can compile and upload using PlatformIO. V1 versions of the maintained Marlin are too big to use the Arduino IDE to compile and upload the firmware.
MakerJim asked about an LCD. If you have one, can you move the axes from the LCD? The LCD talks directly to Marlin, bypassing the USB connection, helping you figure out if the issue is with Marlin or is a PC/USB issue. These displays run about $15 USD on Amazon.
Baud rate is my first thought as well. Other things to check:
Make sure you’ve rebooted the PC.
Try a different USB cable
Make sure you have 24V applied to the motor bus. The motor bus is powered separately from the microcontroller, so it is possible for it to be disconnected or for the fuse to blow. Since you are getting something back from commands, I’m assuing the microcontroller is powered.
I’d been seeting the values to be the same in Repetier Host as the port settings and this was not working.
So in Repetier out of desperation I set it as below:
Windows doesn’t have 250000 as an option (I confirmed on my own W11 Home Edition), so you need to use the associated Serial communication program (Pronterface, Repetier, Putty, HyperTerminal, etc) to override the value in the Ports setting in Device Manager.
When you set the BAUD rate in a Windows program, it automatically sets the port setting to that value, but it DOES NOT necessarily change the value in Device Manager.
The following screen grab is from my Ender 3 3D printer, and shows Pronterface connected at 115200, but Device manager Port Properties still showing 9600.
This is the first I’ve ever seen 112500. Back when we had +/- 15v rs232 serial ports hard wired, the fastest i remember was 115200. Usb emulated ports can go way faster though.
Was that a transpose error with the numbers or was that speed actually used?
Ryan’s configs have always been 250k. The default in Marlin is 115.2k. 128k has never been used afaik.
The setting in repetier host is all that matters. I bet this is completely fixed and I’m not sure how something changed. Let us know if it isn’t working.
I’m really glad to see these rambos still chugging along. I recommended a lot of people get them and I’m sure they are more reliable than the import RAMPS.
