Got everything working with my 1842/1900 and WinGCNC.  Now trying to port over to Mach3.  Downloaded installed and configured version 4.4 of the plug-in.  When I start Mach3 I get a Galil Communication Error in the status window in the bottom left of the screen.  Mach3 also typically becomes unresponsive and locks up.

I can close Mach3 and then run WinGCNC and everything operates fine under that control system.  I'm assuming all the Galil registration stuff is already done since the other software (WinGCNC) that it came with works.

Suggestions?  I'm considering taking another computer and moving everything over to it as it is a better machine.  I intend to do that anyway but wanted to go this route first as this machine already has the PCI card, drivers, registration, config..... in it and WinGCNC works fine so I have less 'variables' to deal with for my initial setup.  Once I get this up and running and understand all the parts/pieces better I'll move it over.

Thanks,

Mark

Mark,
Did you go to " config > Config Plugins > Galil ..."  first screen to configure the plugin to your Galil board as explained in the Galil.pdf file? If not, then download that from the plugins page where you got the Galil plugin and follow it. It should help a lot with the setup.
Cheers,
Kenny

Yes, I downloaded the plug-in and followed the install instructions.  I configured the plug-and and it was 'found' in the general Galil controller window of the setup.

Mark

One more question. Do you have Galil Smartterm installed on your machine, or are you using Galil tools. You should have Smartterm installed to work with the plugin.Please et me know?
Kenny

It already had WSDK32 as well as a Terminal program which I believe is SmartTerm but it may have been called something else.  I'll check in a few minutes when I get a chance to run up to the shop.

Mark

It has DMC Smart Terminal (version 6.1.7.0) and Servo Design Kit (version 5.21) installed on it.

Mark

Please contact me at the number listed at the back of the pdf manual to discuss.
Thanks,
Kenny

Do I have the wrong .pdf manual?  I assume you are talking about the plug in pdf manual.  It has no phone number that I see, an email, but no phone number.

thanks,

Mark

Finally got this working.

At Kenny's recommendation I updated the firmware to the latest version.  This can be a bit tricky as it resets your Galil card when you update firmware which is typical when updating firmware.  Kenny talked to one of the guys that helped write the Galil plug in and gave me a very nice/easy way to update the firmware and retain your settings.  Here's the process if you need to update firmware.
1) Download and run DMC Setup.
2) Using DMC Setup upload your .dmc settings to a location on your computer.
3) Download and install the new firmware.
4) Download the .dmc settings you previously saved

It's that easy!
 
At that point Mach3 quit locking up but still wasn't functional.  Kenny recommended that I verify the data record was accessible.  I verified that it was so then started poking around to see what I could find.  I found an entry in DMC Setup called Echo that was set to off.  Knowing I had a communication issue I thought it worth a shot so I changed it to on then wrote the settings to the E-prom.  At this point Mach3 started functioning perfectly.  To be honest I don't know that this is what fixed it because I have no idea what Echo does...it just started working so now I'm completely up 

Last thing I'd like to note;  I'm absolutely amazed by the assistance Kenny gave me.  He's on the other side of the country and doesn't benefit in any way if offering his assistance.  He spent several hours on the phone with me, not only helping with getting my machine running but also educating me on servo's, Mach3 features, limit switches, home switches.......just an absolute wealth of information.  He was away over the weekend but called me back Sunday night just to check in and see how I was doing. 

Thanks so much Kenny, you saved me hours of what I'm quite sure would have been intense frustration.

Mark

Kenny is a great guy to deal with and I have had the pleasure of visiting him since he is only a few hours from here. Like many of the people on the forums he gives freely of their time and knowledge.

Mike