SS4544 SyncroStep Motion Control System
Application Note 107 - Saving the Motion Parameters Revised 2/3/09
Testra Corporation  1201 N. Stadem Drive Tempe, AZ 85281 Ph:(480)560-6141 Fax:(480)907-2876
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Revised 1/4/03


Gaining Control of the ss4544

    If the application that has been saved in the ss4544 is something other than the USTEP3, and you have the ss4544 set in autoboot mode, you may have to get it out of its application, and turn autoboot off in order to start up ssDEMO which uses the USTEP3 application program.   Usually if you have your application serial communications set to 38.4KB and it is booted up and running normally, you will be able to gain control by simply starting up ssDEMO and everything will be fine.   If this is not the case you will need to follow these steps:

1) Start up ssDEMO.  The program will first try to initialize the ss4544 system.  It may not be able to for various reasons, so will give a time-out error.  Some of the reasons include, the application baud rate is not set to 38.4KB, the box is in the process of booting, the program in the box is hung for some reason like the panel is not plugged in, etc.

If the ssDEMO does start up correctly, you may skip items 2-8 below.

2) Next go to System Setup/Comm Port Parameters

3) Make sure connection parameters are set at 38400bps, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, then select Dumb Ascii Terminal

4) Power-up the box.  The bootstrap firmware FBOOT will   display:

      FBOOT Version 10 (ROM)
      RSTEP xx-xxxxxxxx  512KB Flash

   With autoboot enabled you will see:

      Autoboot in 2 seconds
      'N' to boot flash now
      '/' for boot menu

 5)   You need to hit '/' or 'D' quickly to kill the autoboot or you will have to power off and back on the box again in order to do this.  You will then get the following prompt:

      Type '?' for a list of commands
      >

 6) You want to disable the autoboot at this point:

      > O
      Disable autoboot.
      Are you sure? Yes
      Autoboot is OFF.
      >

     Note: If your autoboot program is not version 10, you should update it at this time.  If you do not know how, read Application Note 106.

 7) Now hit Ctrl-Alt Keys to get out of the terminal emulator.

 8) Now you want to boot up the ss4544 with the USTEP3 application that ssDEMO uses. Escape back to the Main Menu, then Escape one more time.  This will will restart ssDEMO and load the ss4544 with the USTEP3 application.  (Note: If you did not get a timeout error initially you will have to quit ssDEMO and restart it rather than doing the extra escape)

Saving New Motion Parameter Set

     After making your parameter changes and testing them be sure to save the MPM file.  Then from the ssDEMO main menu go to <System Setup>/<SS Setup> and click on Parameters>BOX.  This will cause the currently selected MPM file to be first loaded into the ss4544 then saved to the Flash Memory in the ss4544.  (Note: Do NOT click on System>BOX because that will save the USTEP3 application and wipe out any other application you might be using, for example ssLASER)

Turning the Autoboot Back On

   If you want your application program such as ssLASER  to start up automatically at power-up you must re-enable autoboot.  Go to <System Setup>\<SS Setup>\<Terminal>. You can then normal reach the FBOOT menu by hitting the Alt-B (ALT and B keys together) followed by hitting ENTER.  If this does not work then just turn the ss4544 box off and back on.  Next  type 'A' to enable autoboot and 'Y' to confirm:

      > A
      Enable autoboot.
      Are you sure? Yes
      Autoboot is ON.
      >

    Then hit Ctrl-Alt to close the terminal emulator.  You are now back to where you started with a new parameter set loaded.   The next time you power on the ss4544 it will boot back up into your application.  You can also cause it to boot up by hitting the 'N' key while in the terminal mode.


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If you have comments or suggestions, email us at support@testra.com
Testra Corporation   1201 N. Stadem Drive  Tempe, AZ 85281  Ph. 480-560-6141  Fax: 480-907-2876