I was jogging my mill when all jog's stoped working and the message popped up "Timeout Error Getting Data" from SS. I had two choices,,push OK and it pops right back up, click the X, message goes away but Mach3 is locked and not responding?

Now when ever I start up Mach3 I get this same message,,Mach3 locks up and nothing. I have shut down the computer, restarted everything, samething.

Device Manager says SS is working properly???Shows how much Windows knows.

Turn off everything else on you machine, now try it. If that does not work try a new USB cable. It sounds like there is a poor connection between the PC and SS.

thanks Jeff, not sure what you mean by turning everything else off. I run the computer with everything I don't need shut off, since it is used for gaming also.

Tried a different USB cable, samething. I deleted mach3 and SS software. Reloaded both and it started to work again. That lasted for about five minutes while I was jogging with keyboard makeing some simple cuts. Then same thing, so took out SS, reloaded mach3 and replaced with a printer cable. No problems then.

Guess I will just keep the printer cable for now.

Are you using the latest lockdown of Mach and latest SS plug-in? (I don't think that will effect your problem though.)

As far as turning everything else off I was meaning just run the SS, turn off the spindle, steppers etc. That way you can see if the problem is with the SS/PC or from noise from the machine.

It sounds like some noise from your machine is getting into the SS. I'll send you a PM with another idea to try.

See here http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,12565.msg81550.html#msg81550

Phil

Jog, G-code execution works fine with SS, but:

If I give a manual G-code command, and I change the FRO setting by clicking on + button multiple times to increase feedrate, then timeout message comes...
Is it because I change it too quickly?
I am planning to have a pendant, and I wonder what will happen, if I use wheel for FRO settings, I am afraid the same issue will rise...
(Latest Mach version and SS plugin was downloaded (from warptech site) 2 weeks ago)

I have used SS for a couple years with no problems until today. While jogging into position, the servos would not stop and I had to ESTOP to halt motion. Mach 3 main screen displayed (Not Responding) and I had to task manager out to quit and restart. Mach 3 and SS come back for about 1 minute then Mach 3 stops responding again. The charge pump stays active during this problem and it is a bit of a hazard since Mach 3 is not really pumping! I downloaded the latest code from Warp9 and Mach3 site, reinstalled everything, and the problem remains. I have to restart the CPU to recover so Mach 3 can recognize the USB SmoothStepper. I have already tried a different USB cable and am not running through an external USB Hub. This problem just occurred with no changes to my system or config files. I have proper grounding and it use to work flawlessly until today. Did SS or Mach3 fail? What more can I do to resolve the problem?

I think SS is the culprit because I loaded everything up fresh on another computer and while the Device manager shows Smooth Stepper properly in its list, as soon as I launch Mach 3, it asks for the output plug-in, I select SS and the system locks up tight. Won't allow kill process to quit, must restart. Mach 3 runs fine with its parallel port interface, but now two computers have been locking up with SS. What's the next test I can perform? Please help.

Well, what is the status of the three LEDs on the SmoothStepper? Have you tried a new USB cable?

Thanks Jeff for helping. I got Mach3 to load up with the SS plug-in, a brand new USB cable and the SS board itself with no external connections. When Mach 3 is launching the blue and red LED glow solid. Once Mach3 screen is up and running, the blue and green LED glow solid, while the red LED flickers at a constant rate (about 20Hz). So far all is well... if I press the Mach3 RESET a couple times, the SS red momentarily stops flashing but recovers, a few more presses of the RESET and the red LED stops flashing and I'm left with a solid blue and green LED, and an unresponsive Mach3 that requires a restart to recover. I have tried 3 different versions of Mach3 and the various USB drivers and the Mach3 plug-in, and all behave the same way with the SmoothStepper. Interestingly, the red LED will keep flashing as long as I don't interact with Mach3.