Deciphering the diagnostic display (UD)

[fredtoo]

I have a early 2010 vintage PRS alpha which has been nearly rock solid until this past Sunday when I started having comm problems. I'm running the latest control software on an old XP trying to complete a 700,000+ line 3d file. The computer first 'lost' the ShopBot at approx line 300,000 and has continued to do so after another 1000 to 20,000 additional lines.

Troubleshooting so far has been to replace the pc with a newer Windows 7 machine - no help, replacing the iomega hub - no help, checking all the grounds - no help, running with no dust collection - no help, replacing the USB to hub cable - no help. One of the troubleshooting options is the UD command. The UD results pointed out a potential problem with the 5 VDC on the low side at 4.72. Tweaked that up to 5.01 - no help. Another consistent oddity is the Static_ET always reads 0.0. The Packet_ET reads in the 10 area. Is this some something I should chase after or is the Static_ET reading of 0.0 VERY good? Any other suggestions would be most welcome.

[srwtlc]

Have you read the UD Diagnostic Notes.pdf? 'UT' in SB3 should bring it up. Check the packet_ET after a small MX or MY move (at least 4"). 20ms or under for Packet_ET and Static_ET should be 5ms or less.

The typical, make sure nothing else is running in the background, auto updates of any kind (MS or other software) turned off, no network activity, disable USB selective suspend.

Send a detailed report to support at SB also.

[Brady Watson]

It sounds to me like your magnetic contactors are getting tired. This is what you hear when you press the blue reset button when you power up. When they stick or hang - or partially engage - they can cause COM problems. I went thru this on my own tool. The 24v drops out and then you lose COM. SB Support can confirm this for you.

-B

[fredtoo]

So, I successfully ran a 300,000 line air cut file this morning and a 350,000 line 3d file this afternoon. The only thing different from yesterday is the usb mouse! Starting some months/weeks (?) ago I often had to hit the left mouse button two or more times to see a result, always when I tried to load a new file in the ShopBot software. I didn't think too much of it as it only seemed to affect the ShopBot software and not Aspire or anything else. This morning I switched out the original Dell (Logitech) mouse with another and the left mouse button worked perfectly. I would love to hear someone else confirming a like problem before I warm up for the happy dance. For now I'm enjoying the idea of making money again.......

[fredtoo]

And, Static_ET now reads 3.2 vs 0.0 and the Packet_ET is approx 16.0.

[scottp55]

Similar problem with the Desktop once.