I am running a Pokeys 56U on my mini lathe. I started with Mach3 and got everything working pretty good except for spindle speed. Now I am changing to Mach4 and first real problem is getting the stepper motors to run properly. The internal pulse output (pins 46, 49) to either the X or Z motors during homing produce a nice even pulse train (4 kHertz) and the motors run very nicely. But when I run them in continuous jog mode or from the the MDI box the pulse train is broken up and erratic  (still about 4kHertz). The motors sound terrible but they are not losing any steps. I have tried to go even slower almost to a crawl but got the same results. Any ideas what I am doing wrong?
Jan

A bit more information different settings basically the same results. It kind of explains the bad motor sound.
So that I see when jogging or homing in Mach3 is a 20 us pulse 360 us apart to give me 2.8 kHertz. In Mach4 on homing I get the same 20 us pulse and about the same frequency. But on jogging or from the MDI line what I get is the 2.8kHertz signal for about 8 ms then a gap of 15 ms. Here are a couple of pictures from an analogue scope. Time base is 5 ms.

Hi, Jan

Let's start with the basics - what are the exact versions of Mach4, Mach4 plugin, PoKeys software and PoKeys firmware? 'Latest' is very relative and doesn't really tell much to our team.
Also, please open Diagnostic window for the PoKeys plugin - there is a progress bar at the bottom of the dialog - what values does it display as you jog or home the machine?

Hi
I will get all the info later today but I did wonder about that communication bar. I have  seen it at zero, and once at about 78% but usually sits at red 99%. But I will try it again.
Jan

If the communication bar stays above 90%, there is an issue with the communication that needs to be solved first. Run the PoKeys troubleshooting software (http://poscope.com/download/PoKeys_Troubleshooting.zip) and copy the results to there.

Hi
PoKeys version 4.1.61, Firmware 3.1.68, Device load status about 40%, Mach4 version 4.2.0.2941, PoKeys plugin 7.29.0.2914.
communication bar homing 0%, jogging 99%

Trouble shooting program

Searching for PoKeys devices... OK
Found 1 USB PoKeys devices and 0 ethernet PoKeys devices
---------------------------------
Connecting to device 33421 [USB]... OK
 - Connection: USB [PID=0]
 - Device type: PoKeys56U [10]
 - Device name: PoKeys56U
 - Firmware version: 3.1.68 [Nov 27 2015]
 - Speed test ...  500 commands in 1880 ms [min: 2.3 / average: 3.8 / max: 4.2] - device dT 1884
 - Fast USB interface: Enabled
 - Switching to Fast USB... OK
 - Speed test [Fast USB]...  500 commands in 2999 ms [min: 4.8 / average: 6.0 / max: 6.2] - device dT 3005
Searching for PoKeys devices... OK
Found 1 USB PoKeys devices and 0 ethernet PoKeys devices
---------------------------------
Connecting to device 33421 [USB]... OK
 - Connection: USB [PID=0]
 - Device type: PoKeys56U [10]
 - Device name: PoKeys56U
 - Firmware version: 3.1.68 [Nov 27 2015]
 - Speed test ...  500 commands in 1777 ms [min: 2.8 / average: 3.6 / max: 4.2] - device dT 1780
 - Fast USB interface: Enabled
 - Switching to Fast USB... Failed

Mach4 plugin uses a different communication protocol that should be faster than that used in Mach3, but in your case, it is the other way around. We want to find the cause for this situation and would be really grateful if you can provide some information on your PC (CPU, OS)?

Thanks for the reply
Windows 10 Home
Version 1511
OS Build 10586.164
Processor Intel CPU T1600 @ 1.666GHz
Ram 2.00 GB
64 bit operating system, x64 based processor

This what I get on your trouble shooting program in Mach3.
The first is nothing moving, the second is motor jogging.

Searching for PoKeys devices... OK
Found 1 USB PoKeys devices and 0 ethernet PoKeys devices
---------------------------------
Connecting to device 33421 [USB]... OK
 - Connection: USB [PID=0]
 - Device type: PoKeys56U [10]
 - Device name: PoKeys56U
 - Firmware version: 3.1.68 [Nov 27 2015]
 - Speed test ...  500 commands in 1604 ms [min: 2.7 / average: 3.2 / max: 4.1] - device dT 1606
 - Fast USB interface: Enabled
 - Switching to Fast USB... OK
 - Speed test [Fast USB]...  500 commands in 11435 ms [min: 3.8 / average: 22.9 / max: 66.0] - device dT 4291538304
Searching for PoKeys devices... OK
Found 1 USB PoKeys devices and 0 ethernet PoKeys devices
---------------------------------
Connecting to device 33421 [USB]... OK
 - Connection: USB [PID=0]
 - Device type: PoKeys56U [10]
 - Device name: PoKeys56U
 - Firmware version: 3.1.68 [Nov 27 2015]
 - Speed test ...  500 commands in 1871 ms [min: 2.8 / average: 3.7 / max: 239.0] - device dT 1875
 - Fast USB interface: Enabled
 - Switching to Fast USB... OK
 - Speed test [Fast USB]...  500 commands in 13218 ms [min: 4.0 / average: 26.4 / max: 66.7] - device dT 3503846

Do you have an option to connect PoKeys device to your computer via an USB hub?

Hi
I went through my junk box and I do have a USB hub but it is only USB 1 and not USB 2.
Jan