424 board and E-Stop

[kane14109]

Just got my board today and have it all wired up and connected to the computer.   Running Mach4 I can not enable the system.  I get an error message - EStop Active not allowed.  I have tried with the J14 jumped and not jumpered. (plugging in and unplugging the termination plug).  Suggestion are needed.   Anxious to get resolved.   Thanks. 

[Bob at PMDX]

This error message appears when the device thinks that its EStop input is active.  There are a few things to check:

(1) Make sure the jumper on J14 is on the two pins closest to the corner of the board (and not on the pin closest to the "J14" silkscreen).

(2) Make sure there is nothing connected to J14 pin 1 (the terminal closest to the "J14" silkscreen and labeled "Fault").

(3) When installing the jumper, first make sure the screw terminals are fully open (turn the screwdriver counter-clockwise when looking down from above the board).  This sounds trivial, but the screw terminals are "rising elevator" type, and only make reliable connections when the clamp is raised up onto the wire by turning the screwdriver clockwise when looking down from above the board.

(4) Look at the two right-angle LEDs on the PMDX-424, specifically the red (top) one.  If the EStop input is active (i.e. the EStop terminal not tied to its GND, or the Fault input IS tied to its GND) the red LED will remain lit always.  If the EStop is NOT active, the red LED will turn off when the plug-in establishes communication with the device.

(5) In Mach4, go to the "Diagnostics" menu and select our device.  Then click on the "Real time display" button (you can then close the diagnostics dialog and leave the real-time display running.  Look at the EStop indicator on the real-time display.  If it is a bright red, then the device thinks its EStop input is active.

(6) Do you have anything connected to the "Fault" terminal on J14?

(7) Do you have anything connected to either of the two 26-pin ribbon headers on the PMDX-424?

(8) Try removing all connections to the PMDX-424 except for power and the EStop jumper (you can simply un-plug the screw terminal connectors).  Do you still have this problem?

Bob

[kane14109]

Thank you for your quick response..  Answers to your question and comments.

1. yes.  between pins 2 & 3.  Also verified with ohmmeter.
2. Pin 1 open
3.  Yes- there is a good connection
4. Red led on solid under all conditions, green led is blinking
5. Light is Green
6. no
7. no
8. Problem still exists.

I checked the dc voltage between on J14
Pins 1 - 2 = 2.5 vdc
pins 2 - 3 = 15 mv

I believe there is no voltage on pin 3, which there should be.   I replaced the plug on j14 to make sure there was not a problem with the plug and have the same results.

Thank you.

[Bob at PMDX]

Rats.  It looks like you have a defective board.  Please send it back to us at the address here:
    http://pmdx.com/ContactUs
Write somewhere on the outside of the box "RMA 05231601".  If you send us a tracking number for this, we will ship you a new PMDX-424 so you can get up and running sooner.  Email the tracking number bob at this domain.

P.S. It appears that you do not have the PMDX-424's EStop input mapped to the Mach4 "E-Stop" input signal.  When you get your replacement board, go to the Mach4 "Configure" menu and select "Mach..".  Then click on the "Input Signals" tab and scroll (way) down until you see "E-Stop".  Enable that and map it to the SmartBOBUSB "EStop" input signal, with a red "X" in the "Active Low" column.  Doing this will allow Mach4 to know when the PMDX-424's EStop is active.

Bob