I tried to update to the latest LongMill firmware (September 2021) as a preparation for using the newly available limit switches.
However once I clicked “Flash GRBL” it took some time and then a error message appeared “failed to flash board” and after that the LongMill was no longer usable. gSender could connect but the LongMill never reacted to any command.
I could solve the problem by reflashing the old GRBL version (Feb 2020) via Arduino IDE but it would be interesting if this is a issue with gSender or my personal setup.
Mh, I could not find the download the the latest Firmware (September 2021) anyone on the Resources site or in GitHub. There is only the old February 2020 version for download. So I downloaded the February 2020 version and reapplied it via Arduino IDE (which worked and made the LongMill working again).
These links are hard coded rather then a Open Directory of supported build numbers?
I assume the version that gSender probably isnt on the Website yet, but I also dont see a link to the builds you guys have other then the prepackaged zip?
any plans to make the website more dynamic and point to an open folder?
so I went out into the workshop, and flashed the new firmware and it was successfull.
I went from "
gSender - [Grbl]
Connected to COM3 with a baud rate of 115200 Grbl 1.1f [’$’ for help]
To
gSender - [Grbl]
Connected to COM3 with a baud rate of 115200 Grbl 1.1h [’$’ for help] LongMill build Sept 8, 2021
So, @Stefan Since you were able to get back to a working machine using the artduino IDE, maybe try it again?
Steps I completed.
1 - updated to 2.7.3
2 - launch gSender
3 - Connect to the Comport from the drop down.
4- click on Firmware.
5- Click Flash GRBL
6 - clicked Yes
We’ve just now got the updated Firmware ZIP now available on the GRBL Firmware page for download
I’m not sure what you mean when you’re referring to
any plans to make the website more dynamic and point to an open folder?
The ZIP is the build, the only other way to distribute is as a HEX which requires a different flashing process
@Stefan it’s interesting to hear you report this since I’ve seen it happen in another instance since the more recent update. Is there anything about your setup that you think could be unique or affecting the reliability of the flashing? One thing that comes to mind is perhaps having many COM devices plugged into your computer and somehow that’s messing with gSender?
Thanks for the updated firmware download! I used Arduino IDE to flash and it worked flawlessly.
I can’t think of anything special with my setup. There is one additional COM Port listed (COM 1) but the LongMill is connected via COM 3. Not sure what the second Port could be (I don’t have anything connected) but neither gSender nor Arduino IDE can connect to this COM 1.
One thing I realized which was not clear from the documentation (but in hindsight obvious…) Is that after flashing the Firmware using the Arduino IDE, that all adjustments (e.g. calibrated travel resolution of the stepper motors) are lost. So one should always export those setting so that they can be reapplied
Looking into this with the guys and nothing’s immediately clear about how you’ve received those settings. We’ll see if we find anything and I’ll let you know if we do
That’s a good point that I never realized was missing from our flashing instructions. I’ve just gone and updated both flashing methods to remind of saving existing settings if you’ve customized your setup and want to get it back once flashing is complete. Thanks for the feedback @Stefan
@Menglor I’ve looked more into the issue you had and it seems that somehow the EEPROM settings aren’t being correctly loaded in very rare circumstances. I’m not sure why this is happening, but since the flashing procedure is to:
Export current settings if not using LongMill Default settings
Flash
Import saved settings or ‘Restore Defaults’
This shouldn’t be an issue since it bypasses the possibility of the flashing not setting the EEPROM correctly i.e. importing your saved settings or restoring defaults will always set these values as expected