Anyone successfully flashed the LongMill firmware with gSender 0.7.3?

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.

Thanks!

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Did you try to re-download the firmware and re apply?

I ordered a spare board to run testing in the office.

I will flash that before applying it to the long Mill and get back to you

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).

Ok, so I haven’t spent any time looking for the file yet. however, I did follow the instructions used for gSender.

I did so with my Arduino Uno, that I ordered from sienci.com a few months back.
Sticker on the Arduino says " GRBL 1.1h Feb 25,2020"

After the update (which reported successful) it now says the following in the Console;

gSender - [Grbl]
Connected to COM8 with a baud rate of 115200
Grbl 1.1h [’$’ for help] LongMill build Sept 8, 2021
client $$

So my backup Uno is patched, but it also looks like the same version of the Feb update.
maybe retry it?

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@chrismakesstuff

Stefan has a point, the Resource Page targets specific GRBL builds:

" We keep all major LongMill firmware instances available for download, you’ll likely want to click to download the most recent one: LongMill Firmware (Oct 21, 2019) LongMill Firmware (Feb 25, 2020)"

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?

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So, I will update my findings.

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

and after completed, I reconnected successfully

(did this with 2 different boards) both worked.

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Thanks for the update!
Now that’s strange… I retried it with the exact same results. So it started the flashing process and then it failed.

So it seems to be related with my setup.

Maybe try updating to the pre Feb version of nothing else is done for the next few days

Then gSender upload

Also which version of GSender are you using

We’ve just now got the updated Firmware ZIP now available on the GRBL Firmware page for download :+1:

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?

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So rather then have someone update the webpage to link in the Zip file, maybe make the directory browsable, and keep “all version” there.

just makes it easier to have the page just display a folder rather then a hard coded file that needs to be updated over and over

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

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@chrismakesstuff

ok something has happened to my machine. I need to run a job so I cant mess with it.

howeevr, since updating to the new firmware. no matter state I try to Job in, its always the same speed.

the numbers in the UI change, but speed never does.

i will roll back to an earlier firmware, but this is a heads up

@chrismakesstuff I restored to the Feb build from the .zip and its working again.

Looking at the $$, it looks like the Sept firmware has :

$30=3000 (Maximum spindle speed, rpm)
$100=250.000 (X-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$101=250.000 (Y-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$102=250.000 (Z-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$110=500.000 (X-axis maximum rate, mm/min)
$111=500.000 (Y-axis maximum rate, mm/min)
$112=8000.000 (Z-axis maximum rate, mm/min)

and the February has

$30=30000 (Maximum spindle speed, rpm)
$100=200.000 (X-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$101=200.000 (Y-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$102=200.000 (Z-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$110=4000.000 (X-axis maximum rate, mm/min)
$111=4000.000 (Y-axis maximum rate, mm/min)
$112=3000.000 (Z-axis maximum rate, mm/min)

it looks like a few zero’s got dropped.

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 :+1:

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:

  1. Export current settings if not using LongMill Default settings
  2. Flash
  3. 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

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@chrismakesstuff I was able to reflash when I installed my sensors, I am back up and running.

thanks

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