Denford Software & Machines

setup - XP and USB RS232 dongle with VR Milling 2.08 on laptop

I've had some really good results with this setup for a while now, but recently I've had a couple of disturbing events where when using the cursor keys on my USB keyboard to jog the mill around it'll lock up and the mill will keep on travelling in the direction it was going. I nearly damaged the bed one time jogging down in z... only way to stop it is to hit the emergency stop. My USB keyboard seems to jog the mill better than the laptop keyboard. Thinking a USB problem...

Are there any settings for XP like on widows 7 to improve USB stability?

Would I be better off using the desktop tutor (thru another USB to RS232 dongle)?

Other plan is to run a couple of cables down from my desktop above my workshop (rs232, monitor, keyboard mouse etc) to use proper hardware rs232 ports, or see if I can get hold of an old desktop / a laptop with an integrated rs232 port.

I also have the latest mint chip 2.1 which was in my novaturn so I could give VR Milling 2.31 a go again (it didnt like my machine with a 2.0 chip it didnt home properly see my previous posts).

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Cheers
Barry M

An early version of V2 VR Milling could well have had issues with jog not stopping.
Work was done in later versions to stop this from happening - I also remember being caught out while editing a program using the cursor keys, and the machine started jogging at the same time.
v2.31 will have a green indicator in the control panel to show jogging is active - this automatically goes out when you click on another window (like the editor)
it will also have improved "jog key up" detection - with older software it was possible to hold down a cursor key and at the same time click into another window, this meant that releasing the key was missed and the axis carried on jogging.