Hey all,

I am struggling to get my manual pulse encoders to work with mach3.

I have a DB25 1R5AM board, mach3 on win7, encoders are 100ppm and have the following pins:

A
B
/A
/B
V0
Vcc

From what I can read I just hook the A and B to inputs on the board. But it doesn't seem to do anything! (Change pins in the MPG tab to reflect the pins on board ofc).

The manual encoders did not come with any instruction or manuals.

Thanks,

Kyle

I should add

I am trying to set up my Z and X axis to be able to do manual work on a lathe.

I have two of the above wheels and want to be able to switch to MPG under jog and then be able to move the tool around.

The DB25 1R5AM is connected to mach 3 with one parallel port (I have a 2nd card and a C10 board). Am I missing a part? Reading sounds like people use a C22? I was hoping to strictly use the P Port.

Hi,
that MPG looks like it has a +A/-A output and a +B/-B output.

measure with a multimeter the output of just one, say +A. I suspect it will only go to 2.5V while the -A will go to -2.5V, and then swap over.
This is differential output and I suspect has insufficient voltage to be 'seen' by your BoB.

You may need to build an amplifier that converts the differential to single ended 5V, assuming your BoB is 5V...you don't say.

Craig

Just the +A and +B outputs can be used in a single ended system like a parallel port interface as long as ground noise is not too great. -A and -B would be unused.

The typical 5 volt differential encoder has two complementary outputs per phase. When +A output is on (5V)  -A is off (0V) and when +A output is off (0V)  -A is on (5V).  If you attach the positive lead of a meter to +A and the negative lead to -A the meter will read either plus 5V or minus 5V depending on the state of the output. The difference between the two states is 10 volts compared to the 5 volt swing of a single ended output. Not only does a differential signal give you twice the noise margin but but also cancels common mode noise.
Logic outputs don't actually go all the way to ground or the power rail so the voltages in the example above would be slightly less, say 0.5V and 4.5V.
 
https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/understanding-encoder-output-signals-to-aid-optimum-device-selection#:~:text=An%20encoder%20that%20contains%20a,exact%20opposite%2C%20or%20complementary%20signal.

Thanks for the replies.

Here is what the voltage does with meter on A and -A

https://youtube.com/shorts/1pV5mxpi51c?feature=share

In the video the encoder  is being turned too fast for the meter to settle so I'm not sure what I'm seeing. When you measure from +A to -A I would expect to see some negative values but didn't.
Try measuring from each output to ground (0V). If you turn slowly enough you should see values near 0V and 5V. All 4 outputs +A, -A, +B and -B should look the same.

Okay, here is a longer video and I turned slow (sorry haha, newbie here).

https://youtu.be/TmQur5z5cpE

Also, with the C10 break out board, I did some reading and do I need to install the UC plug-in? If so, windows 7 ultimate doesn't seem to support. Net 2.0 framework (not supported by Vista error) and mach 3 gives me a defective plug in if i install it regardless?

The outputs of a quadrature encoder should be on 50% of the time and off 50%. This is not what I see in your video, they are at 0V most of the time with a brief excursion to about 2.5V. The most I saw from +A was 1.25V but that might just be your meter not reading quickly enough. You should be able to find positions where the output stays at the higher voltage.

We really need more info on your encoder, does it have a model number?

Your encoder may need pull ups. If you don't have resistor in the range of 1 to 10K on hand you can use your C10 board for a test. Configure it as shown in this diagram to provide pullups. Which encoder output goes to which input isn't really important as long as they see a pull up from an input. No 25 pin port connection is needed, just power and the encoder.

Thanks,

I will test out the wiring you gave me and set it for pull ups. I'll test V at the board as well on the encoder and get back to you.

These encoders are just Amazon special ones lol. Photo of the product number on the encoder.

ZSS600-001-100B-5L
NO:YCJ 2021.04.02

Thansk for the help, much appreciated.

Hi,
I bought this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/201195367332

It might be old but great quality.

Craig