porscheman
08-13-2008, 12:17 PM
After many weeks getting my recently purchased PRTalpha set up and wired, I'm finally ready to give it a test drive!! However, when I turn on the control box and start the SB software, I get a pop-up message window that says:
"The remote stop button connected to input #4 appears to be on and needs to be checked"
This message is also confirmed by the fact that the #4 input indicator in the on-screen Shopbot Position window is also "illuminated". I've obviously checked the E-stop itself - turned the knob to make the button pop out - mechanically, the switch looks ok (not damaged, dirty, or worn).
Here's some other details that might help to diagnose this problem:
1) When I moved the Bot to my shop, I had disconnected the wiring for axis motors, limit switches, E-stop, etc. so the control box could be safely moved by itself. I made careful note of all wire locations. However, if it matters, I did remove and then subsequently reconnect the 4 wires going to the E-stop connector on the control board. Wiring connections were/are: green wire to ES1; black wire to ES2; red wire to ES3; and white wire to ES4.
2) In addition to the wire connections mentioned above, there were/are two small resistors/capacitors/??? that connect between the ES2 and ES4 terminals and the Input Ground connector just to the right of the E-Stop connector. I don't know what purpose these items serve, though a brief forum search leads me to guess that they might be there to eliminate electronic noise. They are small, green enamel looking gadgets, rectangular in proportion, and are labeled with the text "2A 103K" (103K ohm resistor???).
3) As I was cleaning some dust out of the control box cabinet (using low-pressure compressed air, careful to avoid static electricity), I noticed an additional, identical resistor (or whatever it is) lying in the rear corner of the cabinet bottom. I'm 99% certain this didn't come loose when I was uncabling anything - I was careful to retighten all connectors and would have made note of items like this. My guess is it might have been an extra device left in the cabinet, but maybe it's the source of my problem??
4) The Bot was working properly before I disconnected it and removed the wiring, so I think I'm just dealing with a wiring problem of some kind as I've reconnected it.
5) I double checked the "normally closed" configurtion of the E-stop with the VN command, and I even tried the "normally open" option just to see if that would make a difference, but neither solved the problem.
So, does anybody have any clues about what the problem is and how to solve it? Also, if it's related, when I first start the SB software and get the Shopbot Console window, there's are about 10 or 15 lines of "info" that pop up and then subsequently disappear a half-second later. I can't find a way to recall that info or scroll back and see what it said. How would I do that?
Thanks in advance for assisting with this silly newbie question/problem.
Regards.
John
"The remote stop button connected to input #4 appears to be on and needs to be checked"
This message is also confirmed by the fact that the #4 input indicator in the on-screen Shopbot Position window is also "illuminated". I've obviously checked the E-stop itself - turned the knob to make the button pop out - mechanically, the switch looks ok (not damaged, dirty, or worn).
Here's some other details that might help to diagnose this problem:
1) When I moved the Bot to my shop, I had disconnected the wiring for axis motors, limit switches, E-stop, etc. so the control box could be safely moved by itself. I made careful note of all wire locations. However, if it matters, I did remove and then subsequently reconnect the 4 wires going to the E-stop connector on the control board. Wiring connections were/are: green wire to ES1; black wire to ES2; red wire to ES3; and white wire to ES4.
2) In addition to the wire connections mentioned above, there were/are two small resistors/capacitors/??? that connect between the ES2 and ES4 terminals and the Input Ground connector just to the right of the E-Stop connector. I don't know what purpose these items serve, though a brief forum search leads me to guess that they might be there to eliminate electronic noise. They are small, green enamel looking gadgets, rectangular in proportion, and are labeled with the text "2A 103K" (103K ohm resistor???).
3) As I was cleaning some dust out of the control box cabinet (using low-pressure compressed air, careful to avoid static electricity), I noticed an additional, identical resistor (or whatever it is) lying in the rear corner of the cabinet bottom. I'm 99% certain this didn't come loose when I was uncabling anything - I was careful to retighten all connectors and would have made note of items like this. My guess is it might have been an extra device left in the cabinet, but maybe it's the source of my problem??
4) The Bot was working properly before I disconnected it and removed the wiring, so I think I'm just dealing with a wiring problem of some kind as I've reconnected it.
5) I double checked the "normally closed" configurtion of the E-stop with the VN command, and I even tried the "normally open" option just to see if that would make a difference, but neither solved the problem.
So, does anybody have any clues about what the problem is and how to solve it? Also, if it's related, when I first start the SB software and get the Shopbot Console window, there's are about 10 or 15 lines of "info" that pop up and then subsequently disappear a half-second later. I can't find a way to recall that info or scroll back and see what it said. How would I do that?
Thanks in advance for assisting with this silly newbie question/problem.
Regards.
John