no has yet to explain why within a matter of seconds it went from working perfectly to not working at all… of course i can’t find my powered usb hub and i don’t have the money to buy one. Using my social media contacts to try and rouse one up I could borrow in the meantime… Is there a reason I can see the com port in the device manager but nothing can seem to find it???
@BrianNagels brings up a good point.
@JoshuaLMabry it is possible that your Arduino got flashed or corrupted… That would explain the symptoms.
Can you check that GRBL is installed using the Arduino app? It may need to be re-flashed to the board.
i left the shop for the day. @sketch42 if you would be so kind as to tell me how to check that so I don’t have to google anything else tonight, that would be amazing. I’ve spent far too much energy on this for the day… I’ll give it another go in the morning.
Yep, no problem @JoshuaLMabry
I’ll type it up when I get a chance later today and you can give it a go in the morning.
Ok, lets see if this will help:
First, if you don’t already have the Arduino App then you can get it here:
I bet you already have it, so open it up and see if it connects to your Arduino (plug in USB if it isn’t) Try and see if it shows you the version number in the Serial Monitor section of the app. Can you send it a code and get a response? In Serial Monitor send $I (dollar sign and capital “i”) and see what it sends back.
If our hunch is right then you probably won’t get very far in the Serial Monitor. Then it will be time to try and reload the HEX file onto your Arduino.
Here is the HEX file you will want to use:
Follow the flashing for Windows steps here using the HEX:
Once the hex is uploaded using XLoader (as per the instructions) you should see how many bytes were loaded. That is a good sign.
Once this is done, you can close out of all apps and just for good measure restart your computer with the Arduino unplugged and off. Then plug the Arduino back in with it on and the first thing you will want to do is get it set up with Easel by going here:
http://easel.inventables.com/setup
^^ this is a must and will get all of your settings configured and test the movement of the machine.
If all goes well and our hunch was right… your machine should be moving again with Easel. After that you can move on to trying to get UGS or ChiliPeppr to work, but always use Easel as a place to troubleshoot seeing as it is made for the X-Carve and the others aren’t.
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Joshua,
I don’t even have the controller on my X-Carve connected yet, so am nowhere near some of the other people on operations. However, From a basic troubleshooting perspective, I’ve always found it good to look at the last thing that changed before something breaks… In your case, it was re-connecting a spindle power supply wire. Immediately after connecting that wire, you lost connection to your PC.
I suggest removing the wire you just attached, and see if you can then re-establish connectivity. As small as the terminals on the Gshield, I can see it would be easy to have a stray wire short something out.
Good luck.
–Rick
@sketch42 it says it can’t open port. so obviously its a port issue. now i guess i just wait until i can get some money together to buy a powered usb hub and see if that does the trick…
This is the cheapest one I can find. You also can check Amazon site. Of course it’ll take some time to get it.
Have you tried a different USB cable? Some people have had the one that come with the XC fail.
It is worth a shot if you have a spare handy.
Do you have an external disk drive or another USB device that draws power from the USB port? If so see if it will work in the port you are using for the Arduino. It just seems strange to me that it would work for months and then suddenly the port does not supply power any more. I am thinking it is something else.
I would try completely uninstalling the JSON serial port server that Chillipper installed.
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hmmm… yeah, checking the connection is next, but before you spend money do you have another USB cable that you can try with it? like one connected to a printer or something that your X-Carve can borrow to test out?
I know I said it before, but if you know anyone that could stop over with their laptop and just test it with Easel, it might help answer a few questions without having to buy more kit.
Edit: I see that we are all pointing down the same track here with the other USB cable thing.
Jeez - I would check the Arduino first. Flashing the hex file is quite simple and will tell you if your Arduiino got futzed. If so, you can get an Arduino clone for $8 on Amazon and use that.
If the spindle wire was loose, that can cause a LOT of problems with electronics - that is a large inductive load pumping voltage out and back into the system. I can just see the spindle winding down, the wire coming loose, it touching another connector and sending 3x 24 volts into the Atmel brain.
- It worked 2. spindle came disconnected 3. now it doesn’t work. My bet is Arduino. 2nd bet - USB ports have an internal protection circuit but it won’t handle a spike from an inductive load. Try a different USB port on the same computer. If there is only one USB bus on that computer, try a different computer.
so i finally have had time to deal with this crap some more, i spent the $20 on a powered hub @alandavis it didnt work, moving on. @sketch42 so it doesnt see my port when i try to flash arduino. When i go to device manager it shows my arduino uno under com3, the json server says it sees port 3, but i cant connect. YES I have tried through easel, but it just sits and spins when i type 3 in the com popup. @Zach_Kaplan
And what happened when you tried a different computer? Try that. OR DO THIS FIRST: Take the g shield off the Arduino and try to flash it.
If not, get a new arduino. Amazon - generic. Uno R3. $8.
Something broke on you. My bet is, it is the arduino or your shield.
I don’t remember if we ask you to do this. Have you tried to take your GShield off the box, make Arduino along and try to connect. Maybe GShield causing interruption.
no luck with removing the gshield. xloader still says can not find port
