I'm updating the controls on an older router right now to use a Gecko G540 and Mach3, and I'm having trouble with the limit switches.
The manufacturer used NO for the Z axis and NC for the X & Y, and they're giving me fits.
Obviously I can't use NO & NC together when wired in series, so I've got each switch (all ++, used for both ++ and home on each axis) set up on a different input on my Gecko. They're plugged into pins 1-3 on the Gecko, in order of X-Y-Z. One wire goes to the Gecko, the other goes to the -48VDC pin on my power supply.
When I disconnect the switches and use a meter on them to check continuity, I get the expected behavior. The Y-axis switch shows 0 ohms, and goes open when I press the button. The Z, of course, does exactly the opposite. When I wire them in, however, things start to go south. The switches don't respond to anything anymore. Automatic input setup doesn't recognize them as inputs. I've even gone to the level of pulling the manufacturer's wiring harness and adding a new one of my own, so I know it's not the wiring. I'm almost wondering if it's an issue at the Gecko, because even if I disconnect the switches and jumper the input to the -48VDC pin, nothing happens. (It's unlikely to be a Gecko problem though - it's brand new.)
Anyway. Next possible culprit is my parallel port. If I'm not in the right mode (EPP vs ECP vs w/e), will I have LPT1 pins 11/12/13 as inputs still? I know that pin 10 is still being used / recognized as an input. Is there a way to tell if my LPT1 is set to the right mode? (My BIOS doesn't show the info - my only options there are enable & disable.) Computer is a Gateway E4300 running Windows XP SP3.
Thanks ...