mach3 turn spindle dro not working, spindle speed changing while jogging

[Hood]

You still have the relays disabled.
Hood

[Geoff Ford]

I am not using any relays other than the estop contacts on the external relay energised by the motor starter.
I will enable the relays as you suggest
Thnaks Geoff

[Hood]

Yes I know but as I said earlier you need to have the relays enabled even if they are set to outputs you are not using and also you need to tell Mach the spindle has started by either commanding a M3, M4 or pressing the Spindle button. If you dont have either of these then you will not see the spindle speed displayed. This is just when using the parallel port though, if using an external device such as the SmoothStepper then these steps are not needed.
Hood

[Geoff Ford]

Hi Hood Hope you are not losing hope with me
Done as you say and attach the latest .XML file . Can you see anything wrong ?
when I go to turn should the spindle revs appear without further key strokes ?

[Hood]

You still have the tick in disable spindle relays as in the last pic posted, you need to enable them.
Load this xml, switch on spindle (button in Mach) and see if it works.
Hood

[Geoff Ford]

Dear Hood
 You are so good to have stuck with me and I cannot thank you enough. The pressing of the mach spindle button did the trick.
I had wrongly assumed that this only applied when the spindle was under a speed control or via the program and since I only have the on/off lathe motor switch I never pressed it.
thanks now I can get on with some screwcutting
Cheers Geoff Ford Cape Town

[Hood]

Glad you got it
Hood

[crozjota]

Hi All,
Sorry if I am "highjacking" this thread but can a NPN proximity switch work as a spindle RPM counter? and if so are there any available suitable for 5V supply from the BOB? or, do I have to use an optointerrupter? and if so how do I connect the cathode/anode wiring? I am converting an Orac, mine had reflective strips on the disc rather than the segmented one. I have looked at OPB917B  on the RS website, I'm not a "spark" so excuse me for the lack of ability I undoubtedly show!
Regards,
Wayne

[Hood]

I have used both the OPB 916B and 917B and they work well, all you need apart from them is a 220ohm resistor to limit the current to the switches LED (and of course  a slotted disc).
To wire you connect the Green and Black wires together then connect them to your 0V (Gnd) on your breakout the Red wire connects to 5v on your BOB but with a resistor in series so that you limit the current to the LED. The White wire connects direct to the 5V and lastly the blue connects to a spare input on your BOB.

Some people use prox switches but I have never so cant suggest which one would be suitable.
Hood

[crozjota]

Thanks for the info Hood, one on order from RS as I type!
Regards,
Wayne